Skeletons
For starters, you are surprised to see the unmistakable sight of not one, but three skeletons - or at least, what were once full skeletons. One is lodged haphazardly in what was most likely a window at one point in time, as if the person had tried to escape the ship as it was sinking but got stuck in the window during their attempt. Another is deeper in the shadow of the ship’s body, half of said skeleton trapped beneath what appears to be a large crate - their head and one hand is still visible, that hand reaching out at you as if calling out for help that will never come.
You feel a sense of unease, but, you swallow this down and swim a little lower, checking the rather somber sight, then turning to the last visible skeleton. This one is sitting awkwardly on what might’ve been a bed in the past, with one leg apparently trapped under the ‘body’ of the bed. One shoulder looks dislocated.
It is clear to you that this was a manned ship, clearly, if there are three bodies here. You begin to wonder what became of the rest of the crew, and your mind races with dozens of questions - this, despite the fact you are still coming to terms with the reality you are now a selkie due to angering a genie. It seems not even magic can conquer the unyielding strength of a curious mind.
You eventually shake this away, and you notice something else, something deeper in the ship’s body - it is hard to see given how black the darkness is, but, it looks like… a small chest!
You swim toward it slowly and find that it is indeed a chest, the sort that reminds you of pirate movies you’ve seen in the past, and though you cannot see inside because it is locked shut - locked shut with a fairly large lock that seems far too big to be real, and not only is there a lock, it is covered with a large, thick, rusted chain encircling it - you catch sight of something that looks to be… shiny?
You feel a rush of excitement at the sight - an excitement that is mitigated only slightly by the fact you can still feel the sense you’re being watched by something. You can ignore it, however, and circle the chest, admiring it. If it is what you think it could be, then, that is definitely a fantastic discovery to make underwater like this.
Yet before you can dwell on this discovery, let alone begin to think of what you can do to perhaps open the chest and see for yourself what is inside, you stop, because you hear something. It is low at first, a very distant, echoing noise - yet it approaches, and you turn your head toward the direction of it (which happens to also be above you by this point).
You swim up, pushing above the sunken remnant of the ship you were only just beginning to truly explore, and you hear the noise much clearer now.
Written by Hollowpages on 05 July 2020
