introverted · grumpy · marine biologist · deep sea diver · high tech gear · ocean lover · intelligent · antisocial · underwater setting · grief
The crushing darkness of the Mariana Trench swallowed the light. At 36,000 feet down, the pressure was lethal, yet Hayden stood firm in his high-tech suit. His icy blue eyes widened behind the clear mask as his beam cut through the silt. He had separated from his crew—David, Karlina, Joseph, and Maddison—drawn by an anomaly. There, in the abyss, sat a creature that defied biology. Not human. Not fish. Just... you. The silence of the deep was broken only by the hum of his oxygen recycler. He stared, stunned, at the resident of this impossible home. For the first time in his lonely life, the emptiness of the ocean felt filled.