Echoes from Below

The song was ethereal and unnatural, like the sound of metal scraping against metal.It was that radio application!The sound didn't travel through my ears. It vibrated in my head directly. I suddenly recalled the first rule of the Listening Guidelines.[This station's signal may extend into dreams. If you hear the broadcast while dreaming, firmly believe that you are awake.]Awake? How could I possibly be awake? I kept telling myself that it was all a dream and that I needed to wake up quickly.'Wake up!'However, the song got closer and louder.Outside my window, something enormous drifted past. A vast black silhouette, blocking what little light that had filtered in.That thing stopped right outside my window. A huge, murky eyeball pressed against the glass of my window, staring at me. It was laughing.I could feel it laughing. The excitement of a predator when it found its prey.[Believe that you are awake.]I bit my tongue. It hurt.I could instantly taste the sten

[June 2021. At the extreme depths of the Marina Trench, we detected a set of anomalies frequency. Initially thought to be the seismic vibration caused by whales, spectral analysis shows a structured pattern consistent with a type of language.][January 2022. All decoding attempts failed. Researcher Daniel Lynch experienced an acute psychotic break while monitoring the signals. He pierced his eardrums with a pen. Before he died, he kept yelling, "They're hungry! They're hungry!"][March 2023. It's confirmed. The signal source isn't technological. It's biological. An ancient, colossal organism that feeds on bioelectric signals, which humans perceive as emotion.[We named it God of the Seas, or more accurately, the Abyssal Maw.]My hands and feet turned cold.It feeds on emotions? Then, why did it need to go through a radio app?The final block of text answered my question.[Modern wireless signals are the perfect bait. It has learned to camouflage itself, taking advantage of human

Two hours later, I saw the lighthouse.It stood on a stretch of black, jagged reef. Alone, broken, abandoned.There was no light at the top. There was only a ring of rusted iron railing silhouetted against the stormy sky.My car died about 100 meters away. The engine started smoking. The car was done for good.I opened the door, only to be faced with a stunningly strong gust of wind.The air was filled with that disgusting stench of rot, much stronger than what I encountered at home. I felt as if I had jumped into a huge tank of rotting fish.However, the gills on my neck reacted eagerly. They flared open and shut, gulping the foul air with hunger.I even felt lighter.Was that the effect of the Deep Sea-fication?I was adapting to the monster's world. I staggered toward the lighthouse, boots slipping on wet stone.The front door was wide open. Inside was pure darkness, like a mouth waiting to be fed."Dr. Chenowith?" I called out.My voice echoed inside. No response came.

I picked up a metal chair by the side and smashed it against the control console.Wham! Sparks flew. The exploding sound of the electronic components in the machine sounded like fireworks.I did not stop.Slam! Bam! Clang!I released all of my fear and anger on the control console like a maniac until the machine had turned into nothing but scraps for recycling.The constant buzzing in my brain finally vanished. The world turned quiet. All that remained was the waves lapping against the reefs.I threw the chair aside and slumped to the ground.It had all ended. Everything was done."Heh…"Dr. Chenowith snickered gutturally. He had not died. Lying in the pool of his blood, his remaining fish eye glaring at me.He coughed up blood while chuckling. "The machine was never the source."What?I sharply turned to look at him."It's just a receiver. An amplifier."Dr. Chenowith's voice grew fainter by the second. "The real source is down below…"He pointed at the floor, the r

Some time later, perhaps a second, perhaps an eternity, when I opened my eyes once more, I was back at home in my bed.The sun shone through the window, hitting on my face. I felt the warmness coursing through me. Birds were chipping merrily outside the window.I suddenly set up. My body was unharmed. I had no scales, no gills, nor fins.My neck was clean as before.Was I dreaming? Was it really all just a dream?I picked my phone up. The Echoes from Below application was gone. I could not find the forum either.The only thing I saw was a message in my inbox from someone unknown.[Congratulations.]I was stunned. What was I being congratulated for?I walked over to the bathroom and turned the tap on to wash my face. Just when I cupped some water in my hands, I heard voices. Countless voices."I'm starving.""Help.""I really want to go home."Those voices were coming from the water, from every molecule in the water.I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes had turned a