Where the Strangers Live

by Phipps, Oliver

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One: Discovery

  Chapter Two: Enigma

  Chapter Three: Arena

  Chapter Four: Death Match

  Chapter Five: Final Game

  Chapter One:

  Discovery

  "Wait, what's that? There's something, check that."

  The deep-sea submersible slowly moved to the left and its lights shined on a mysterious object lying on the ocean floor.

  "Do you have something Oceana?" The radio operator from the mother ship Pacifica, far above on the ocean surface, called with a tone of excitement.

  Troy examined the item through the tiny sight hole. He then looked at the camera monitor.

  "Negative Pacifica, it appears to be several decades old at least, whatever it is. Are you getting the video?"

  "Yeah, we're getting it Troy but it's not very clear."

  Troy shifted his position in the tiny sub. He glanced over at Sophie. She was leaning over to gaze out of a small portal and her shapely bottom was now almost in Troy's face.

  He smiled a little as he admired Sophie's very close rear section. She was a very attractive young woman, several years out of college and around twenty seven years old. About the same age as Troy and maybe eight years younger than Eliot, the third crew member. Both men had become quite interested in Sophie since she'd recently joined the Oceana crew.

  She glanced around to a control panel and suddenly realized Troy was staring straight at her rear. He never had a chance to turn away.

  "Are you butt checking me?" She expressed a tone of shock with the sultry French accent Troy had grown very fond of. He tried to act as if he wasn't and attempted to do something in the area close to her bottom.

  "What?! No, I was just, uhm checking the pressure on this side of the..., no I wasn't checking out your..."

  "How's it going down there? You guys are getting short on time. Are you getting a better reading on the signal?" The radio operator far above unexpectedly injected himself into the conversation.

  "Negative Pacifica, we're still getting the faint reading, but it doesn't come across as a black box." Troy replied and was relieved when the mother ship's radio operator interrupted.

  Sophie shook her head as if irritated by the event. But when she turned away she giggled a little to herself about Troy's obvious embarrassment.

  A low toned laugh was heard at Troy's feet. He glanced down to see Eliot looking at him with a smile indicating he'd witnessed the entire incident. Troy just sneered a little as if he would rather the event not come back up. He had been on many dives with Eliot over the last few years and was very fond of his fellow crew member. But since Sophie had joined the team the two were not quite as close.

  Eliot was thirty five years old. He was sort of husky and acted a little more manly than Troy. He often tried to use his more masculine features in order to impress Sophie.

  He'd made attempts already to take her out on a date. Sophie however had graciously declined each time; much to the relief of Troy.

  "We're beginning to lose you Oceana, are you still getting a reading?" The radio began to crackle and now carried more static.

  Sophie replied to the mother ship.

  "That's affirmative Pacifica. We're still picking up a very vague signal. Are you not getting anything?" Then she glanced at a tiny monitor as if watching for something.

  "Negative Oceana, and we're losing your signal as well, where are you, can you give us a location."

  "We're at the edge of the trench Pacifica. Maybe the trench is somehow causing some disturbance. We're still getting a weak signal from in front of us and in the general area of the trench." She adjusted a device to help pinpoint the reading.

  "Can you move a little closer to the trench? You'll need to return to the surface soon and the Captain would like you to check the reading out a bit more before you resurface."

  "Affirmative Pacifica, we'll move closer." Troy replied and then sat his small microphone down and glanced at Eliot.

  Eliot turned back to his small observation port and began to maneuver the deep sea submersible closer to the drop off.

  "We're moving towards the trench now base."

  After reporting this Troy again glanced at Sophie's shapely bottom next to him. This time however he was quick to glance away just in case she turned again.

  "Approaching trench," Eliot eased the craft closer to the edge.

  "Oh my, that is very deep."

  "Yes it is." Troy agreed with Sophie.

  Though neither one could see very far into the darkness of the abyss, they both knew the depth from the pre-briefing and being on the edge now brought this knowledge to mind.

  "We're getting the signal a bit stronger now Pacifica. We have enough time to venture out over the trench a little but that's about all. Are you still not getting anything?"

  "Copy.... Don't-You, are- Minutes and return-" The radio broke up now as the Oceana moved slowly out over the edge.

  Eliot maneuvered the craft along the perimeter of the trench, and then they slowly crept out over it.

  "Well, we're running out of time here and if that black box is hanging on the edge of this trench somewhere I don't think we'll have time to go looking for it today."

  After Eliot said this Troy nodded in agreement, and then Sophie added, "Oui, it's much to search with so little time," she then gazed out the tiny viewing portal.

  "You sh- time- Oceana you hav- resurfa-" The radio was now mostly static and broke severely as the Oceana lingered over the trench.

  Suddenly, as the Oceana floated beyond the edge of the trench, the faint signal became much clearer and all three took notice.

  "Wow, it's very close! It really picked up when we moved over the edge." Sophie now gazed out the tiny portal with increased urgency.

  "I can't believe we get this sort of signal right about the time we've got to return to the surface." Troy added with frustration.

  Eliot now turned the craft around and moved back from over the trench.

  "Alright, our time is up, let's start our ascent. We'll have to check this signal out tomorrow or not at all."

  The submersible moved farther away from the drop off and slowly began rising to the surface. As they gained distance from the trench the radio began to function normally again.

  During the slow ascent they all sat quietly with their thoughts. Troy and Eliot mostly thought of Sophie and how they might gain an advantage over the other guy.

  Some time later, and back on the Mother ship Pacifica, the three submariners spoke with their captain.

  "So, do you think it was the black box from flight N340? We heard nothing up here. It seems very odd, but then what else could be giving out a signal at that depth?"

  "The signal didn't sound like an aircraft black box Sir. But it was a strong signal and it seems to be the only possibility." After Eliot said this, the captain rubbed his chin as if in thought. He then glanced at Troy and Sophie who stood by.

  "What do you think Sophie; you have the degree in Marine Biology? Is there anything you could think of that would cause such a thing?"

  Sophie thought about the question. She turned slightly and seemed to be recalling the memory of what she had heard. Finally she answered as the others watched her in anticipation.

  "It seems doubtful any sort of living creature could produce such a thing. However, at that depth and with so many undiscovered and undocumented creatures and organisms, I couldn't say for certain."

  Eliot and Troy appeared deflated with this answer as if it would ruin the chances of checking the signal the following day.

  Then Sophie continued as she turned slightly and raised her hand, as if pointing to her further asse
ssment in the air around her.

  "It seems possible though, that the black box could have landed in an anomaly position or some sort of thermodynamic vent. In theory this could disrupt or distort the signal. With the information available I would say we must investigate again, if only to rule this possibility out."

  Now the captain again rubbed his chin in a habitual manner as he considered Sophie's comments for a few seconds. All three watched him anxiously. Finally he spoke almost under his breath. "It's 2013, my God, with all of our technology, how does a massive passenger airplane just completely disappear in the Indian Ocean?" He then briefly looked at all three as if hoping for an answer. He then continued.

  "I was about to call off tomorrow's search in that area… but with this information from Sophie I believe it needs to be looked into. We seem to have nothing else to go on. Be ready to dive first thing in the morning." He then turned and went back towards the bridge.

  Eliot and Troy now slapped a high five to each other. Sophie smiled slyly at the two men as their attention moved back to her.

  "Did you guys really think the captain would let us check that reading out unless there was a chance the black box from 340 might be there?"

  They glanced at each other with surprise as the two realized Sophie had saved their hopes of investigating the mysterious reading."

  Sophie laughed a little at this and then left towards her cabin. Both men watched her closely as she walked away with a bit of extra female finesse, just for them.

  When she disappeared around a corner Troy and Eliot looked at each other. The two said nothing but both knew well the other wanted Sophie. The friends now seemed to be entered into an unspoken challenge to win the saucy French girl's heart.

  The following morning all three prepared for another long dive. Troy watched Sophie as she prepared her equipment on the deck of the Pacifica. He took a deep breath of the humid sea air. She was a beautiful young French woman. Her hair was light brown, almost blonde. She stood about five foot seven inches and the light blue overall uniform couldn't hide the perfect female figure underneath. She was exotic, sassy and sweet all at the same time. Sophie was everything a young man from Nebraska could ever want in a woman. As she moved closer to him he turned his attention to his own bag in order to avoid her catching him admiring her again.

  While the morning sunlight broke across the horizon, the Oceana was slowly lowered into the dark water. Sophie gazed out a small viewing portal at the breaking sunshine just as the small craft drifted below the surface of the water.

  After some initial silence, Troy finally turned the radio down and spoke.

  "The signal didn't really sound like an aircraft's black box. And why didn't the Pacifica get the signal? Does anyone else wonder about this?"

  Eliot and Sophie considered his assessments as the small craft slowly descended further into the darkness. Then Eliot spoke.

  "It's strange alright. First a deep trolling sensor catches the signal. Then we go down and barely get a reading until moving over the edge of the trench, and then signal gets very clear. It’s all very strange. That's one reason I'm interested in getting back down there again. Today we'll have time to find out what it is." He glanced out the portal in front of him, in his usual pilot manner after saying this. Then turned back to Sophie and Troy.

  "Well, I mentioned that unlikely theory to the Captain so we could take another look, but I don't think it's the black box from flight 340 either. I was thinking about it last night. I wondered about some device falling from a ship and landing on the edge of the trench, but I don't see how anything from a merchant ship could withstand the pressure at that depth. Perhaps it's a device from a military ship."

  Sophie's beautiful voice and French accent distracted the two men. But after some thought about what she said they both agreed and the slow decent increased the three's desire to solve the mystery.

  Finally the Oceana reached the bottom and again located the faint signal. As the lights exposed the edge of the deep trench Eliot spoke with some reservation.

  "Here we go again. Man, that's a long way down."

  Sophie and Troy gazed out the small portals as the Oceana gently moved farther into the black abyss. Eliot hugged the edge of the trench cliff and the sight of it through the tiny portals was comforting. The faint signal became stronger as they sank farther down.

  "This reading is much stronger than any aircraft's black box." Troy then moved a selector to help pinpoint the signal. He clicked the microphone. "Are you getting any of this Pacifica?" Static came over the radio as he turned it up in an effort to make sure this wasn't the problem.

  "It must be this trench. We had the same problem yesterday." Eliot spoke without turning from his task of piloting the submersible.

  "Yeah, I guess so, must be." Troy also continued his task of adjusting the radio, but in vain.

  For several minutes the Oceana crept farther into the trench and silence prevailed inside the tiny submersible.

  "What in the world?"

  Eliot sounded frightened now and the other two moved quickly to the front to see what he spoke of. The three submariners stared in amazement at an unbelievable vision in front of them. As the small craft moved down the trench face, they saw lights shining through the dense water. Also, a large opening was presenting itself to the tiny craft. From the barely distinguishable outline of lights, they appeared to be arriving at some sort of underwater base.

  "What in the world is this? This isn't possible is it?" Sophie moved at different angles to get a better view.

  Eliminating their doubts, the dim lights began presenting themselves much clearer one by one as they came closer and slowly moved inside the opening. As the craft floated past the lights, they flickered quickly as if triggering something. However, the three submariners were still in disbelief and didn't notice this.

  Moving cautiously into the large bay like opening, the crew now realized more lights were slowly turning on as they ventured farther in. "Is this real? We're not seeing things are we?" Troy couldn't believe his eyes.

  As the three marveled at the mysterious lights and the submersible ventured farther into the mysterious facility; confusion and fear began to take hold over four miles up on the surface of the ocean.

  "Oceana, Oceana, can you hear me...!"

  The captain watched the radio operator franticly calling for the small sub. He then glanced back at a crew member manning the sonar.

  "Anything?"

  "No Sir, it's as if they disappeared completely. There are no readings at all. Yesterday we at least had faint signals."

  The crew of the Pacifica moved about nervously, doing everything they could to locate the sub that had vanished from their tracking equipment.

  "Keep trying. Maybe they will move out of the area that's causing the loss of signal." The captain spoke to the radio operator with a nervous tone and a fearful expression.

  "Yes Sir," he replied, turning back to his microphone; “Oceana, Oceana, do you copy Oceana?"

  Inside the Oceana far below, the three crew members were so captivated by the fantastic find that they had little concern of communication with the mother ship. The sites they now perceived kept them completely distracted.

  "Is this some sort of submarine docking station? Maybe this is a secret submarine base or something?"

  As Sophie made her observation the submersible crept farther and farther into the large bay. Dim lights could be viewed overhead as well as under them now. From the outline it resembled a massive enclosure.

  When the small craft had moved into the enclosure around thirty yards, a noise resonated through the water and inside the submersible. It was of something large moving.

  "What was that? Is this thing caving in on us?" Sophie began moving around anxiously. Troy also moved from portal to portal in an effort to identify the source of the noise.

  "Come on Eliot, let's get out of here."

  "Yeah, alright let me get turned around." Eliot spoke with a n
ervous tone and began maneuvering the craft back around.

  As the small sub slowly turned around, the sound of water rushing along with the strange scraping sound was heard inside the sub. Now the three became very uneasy. Troy suddenly remembered the radio and grabbed the microphone.

  "Pacifica, Pacifica, do you copy?" His voice expressed the tension that all three felt now. Sophie moved from one tiny portal to another as she also tried to identify the sounds that resonated through the small craft.

  "Hurry Eliot, let's get out of here." She almost shouted as Troy continued with his efforts to contact the mother ship.

  "I'm trying, we're moving as fast as we can." Eliot piloted the sub one hundred and ninety degrees and now slowly moved back towards the opening.

  Then Sophie became even more animated as she peered through a view port overhead.

  "Oh my god, there's doors out there, and they're closing."

  Troy moved over to see what she spoke of. "I don't believe this. It's impossible. I don't believe it!" He felt the tiny space closing in on him as things were happening almost to fast to comprehend.

  "What, what is it? What's going on?" Eliot tried to remain at his post piloting the craft but also expressed fear from the sudden events.

  The excitement inside the small sub reached a fever pitch as all three moved around in panic. "Pacifica, do you read me? Pacifica, Pacifica!" Troy alternated between the radio and a small portal towards the top of the submersible.

  Soon the loud metallic sounds of a large door shutting and locking could be heard.

  "Oh mon dieu , oh mon dieu , les portes sont fermées ! We're trapped I can't believe this!" Sophie became very excited and bumped into Troy as they both moved about in an effort to see outside the craft.

  The sound of rushing water suddenly accented the submariner’s dismay.

  "What is that?" Eliot could barely stay in his prone piloting position.

  "It's the water. I think it's draining out." Troy almost shouted as he looked through a portal towards the top of the craft.

  "No way, are you sure?" Eliot turned his head as if trying to get a look.

  "I'm not sure but ... Yes it's draining out! Is there another way out?" Troy watched closely as Sophie tried to get a view from beside him.