Abyss

Scene 1

The wind lashed the Deepwell-4 offshore platform with icy gusts. Dr. Ethan Caldwell had been locked in the laboratory for three days, analyzing that impossible substance. It was black, denser than oil, but with a barely perceptible iridescence under ultraviolet light. What troubled him most wasn't its appearance. It was its behavior. The fluid moved in microscopic patterns. As if trying to form structures. As if it were thinking. The other scientists had begun to show strange symptoms: insomnia, hallucinations, episodes of irrational violence. Two of them had jumped into the sea in the middle of the night. Their bodies were never found. The platform had been quarantined. Communications with the outside were erratic, as if something was interfering with the satellite signal. With a sense of urgency, the doctor accessed the platform's internal server. Maybe in the company's records, he could find more information about the origin of the substance. He opened the browser and began digging into the hidden files.

Scene 2

While browsing through restricted documents, he found an unusual file on the internal server. An HTML document from over two decades ago. He opened it with the system's code editor.

The doctor felt his stomach churn. Deepwell-1. That project had been erased from the official records. He rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted. The computer screen seemed to flicker for a second. But when he looked back at the HTML, something had changed. A new line had appeared at the end of the document. It hadn't been written in 1998. It was impossible.

The doctor felt a chill run down his spine. The hallway outside the laboratory fell into absolute silence. Too silent. As if something was holding back the sound. And then, behind him, the reflection on the screen revealed a tall, shapeless shadow that shouldn't have been there.

Scene 3

Dr. Ethan Caldwell stared at the screen, frozen. “IT HAS SEEN YOU.” The message hadn't been there a second ago. His mind tried to rationalize it. Maybe someone on the platform was playing a prank on him. But no one else on the station knew he was reviewing these files. The laboratory was completely silent. Outside, the sea battered the platform's structure with increasingly violent waves. Ethan slowly turned in his chair. Nothing. But the feeling that he wasn't alone lodged in his chest like an invisible hook. He clenched his fists and forced himself to breathe calmly. He needed answers. First, he needed to check if the other team members were okay. He left the laboratory and headed to the common room. The metal hallway vibrated with the distant hum of the generators. The fluorescent lights flickered occasionally, as if something was interfering with the power supply. When he reached the common room, he found it empty. On the table, the remains of dinner were still there, half-eaten, as if everyone had suddenly left. —Hello? —he called, his voice muffled in the dense air. No response. A bad feeling spread through his chest as he searched the platform. One by one, the dormitories were empty. The hallways deserted. The platform, which just a few hours ago had at least seven people on board, seemed abandoned. Ethan tried to use his radio. Only static came through. He went to the control room. The security camera on the dock was still working. He rewound the footage to a few hours ago. And then he saw them. At 02:47 AM, the entire team had left the main building. They walked in single file straight toward the edge of the platform. Without speaking. Without hesitation. As if in a trance. One by one, they jumped into the sea. Ethan felt his skin crawl. He rewound the footage, examining every detail. When the last of his colleagues plunged into the black waters of the ocean, the camera focused on the sea for several seconds. And then… Something moved beneath the surface. A massive shadow. Something was watching him, through the screen. The lights in the control room flickered. The monitor's signal distorted for a moment, and when it returned to normal, the screen showed something impossible. A new message in the system interface:

Ethan turned off the screen abruptly. His pulse was racing. Someone… or something was manipulating the system. And he was completely alone on the platform. Or at least, he should have been. But then, a sound echoed through the metal hallways. A dry thud. As if something was scratching the laboratory door.

Scene 4

Ethan held his breath. The sound repeated. Scratching. It was coming from the laboratory door, the same place where he had found the cursed file. His instinct screamed at him to leave, to go up to the deck and wait for the supply helicopter in the morning. But his scientific mind pushed him in the other direction. If he fled without understanding what was happening, he would never sleep peacefully again. He took a deep breath and moved down the hallway. The laboratory door was slightly ajar. The emergency lights tinted the room with a flickering red hue. The computer was still on, projecting a line of HTML code on the screen that hadn't been there before. But Ethan didn't see it immediately, because his eyes were fixed on the floor. There were wet footprints. They looked human. Barefoot. But with something… strange. The toes were too long. The scratches on the door were deep, as if someone—or something—had tried to force their way in. A chill ran down his spine when he noticed seawater dripping from the worktable. Something had been in there just seconds ago. Swallowing hard, he approached the computer. His own webpage was open in the HTML editor. But someone (or something) had added a message to the code.

A dry thud echoed behind him. Ethan turned sharply, his heart pounding in his chest. The laboratory door had closed on its own. And in the reflection of the window, just behind him, a tall, twisted figure began to move in the shadows.

Scene 5

Ethan held his breath and slid slowly behind one of the worktables, hiding in the shadows of the laboratory. The thudding continued, but now it wasn't coming from the door. Something was moving inside the room with him. His pulse hammered in his ears. From his hiding spot, he caught a glimpse of a tall, deformed silhouette moving clumsily among the equipment. It seemed humanoid, but its movements were erratic, as if every step was a struggle against gravity itself. And then he heard it. Breathing. But it wasn't coming from the creature. It was coming from very close. Ethan turned his head and his body tensed as he saw, in the dim corner opposite him, another human figure crouched against the wall. It was Ava, one of the scientists on the team, in charge of logistics and data monitoring. Her face was pale, her hair disheveled and wet. Her lips moved in an inaudible whisper, as if she was repeating something to herself. Without making a sound, Ethan slowly crawled toward her. —Ava… —he whispered, barely moving his lips. She looked up sharply, her eyes wide open. She seemed to have been crying. —Ethan… —her voice was a thread of air. —What happened? Why are you still here? —he asked, keeping his eyes on the creature, which was wandering around the room. Ava swallowed and shook her head. —I tried to hide… when the others… left. —Her hands trembled. Her knuckles were white from clenching them against her chest. —Ethan, I saw it. I saw what's down there. He felt the air grow heavier. —What did you see? —he whispered. Ava's eyes filled with tears. She seemed terrified to say it out loud. —It's calling us. And… some of them heard it. —Her jaw trembled. —Whatever we brought up from the depths… it's not just a substance. A dry, viscous sound echoed in the room. The creature had stopped. Ethan didn't dare move. In the absolute silence, a slow, thick drip began to fall onto the nearest metal table. It wasn't water. It was the same black substance they had extracted from the seabed. And the creature… was dripping with it. Ava stifled a sob, and the thing turned sharply. It had heard them.

Scene 6

Ethan felt his body tense. The creature had heard them. Ava grabbed his wrist tightly. —Don't move —she whispered, her breath ragged with fear. The thing took a step forward, its elongated limbs making a viscous sound against the metal floor. It moved clumsily, but there was something deeply wrong with its form. As if its body wasn't fully defined, as if every step made it subtly change. It dripped that black substance onto the worktable. Ethan felt a knot in his throat. It was the same substance they had extracted from the seabed. Ava leaned close to his ear. —Listen to me. I can trap it. —What? —Ethan turned his head toward her, incredulous. Ava swallowed. —That thing… shouldn't be able to be here. —Her voice trembled. —It's like it's trapped between our world and… another place. Ethan frowned. —What the hell are you talking about? Ava looked at him urgently. —I don't know exactly, but there's something in the code. —She pointed to the computer, still on, with the message “YOU ARE NOT ALONE.” —I can write something to contain it. —What? How? —Ethan whispered, trying to ignore the sticky sound of the creature approaching. —I don't know. But I saw it in the hidden files. In Deepwell-1… they did something similar. They used a code, a pattern, to trap something. —Ava clenched her teeth. —And it worked. Ethan felt a chill. —You want to… seal it in the network? Ava nodded. —Or at least, make it get stuck in a loop, as if the platform were a closed node. —That sounds insane. —Do you have a better idea? A dry thud interrupted them. The creature turned sharply in their direction. And began to advance. —Do it! —Ethan pushed Ava toward the computer. —Write whatever you need to write! Ava jumped into the chair and began typing frantically.

—I don't know how long this will last! —Ava shouted as she typed. Ethan grabbed a wrench from the table and stood up. If that thing attacked before Ava finished, they would be dead. The creature let out a guttural sound. Ethan felt his mind waver. It wasn't a human sound. It was as if someone was speaking in a language his brain couldn't comprehend. Ava pressed Enter. The lights in the room flickered violently. The HTML code appeared on the screen with distorted letters. And then the creature stopped. It stood rigid, as if an invisible force had contained it. The laboratory filled with a strange buzzing. The air vibrated. Ava trembled, her fingers still on the keyboard. —Did it work? —Ethan whispered. The creature began to writhe. Its form fluctuated, as if it were being pulled in different directions. For a moment, Ethan thought the code had truly trapped it. Until the thing lifted its head and revealed something that made no sense. A human face. Not its own. Ava's. The real Ava gasped and stepped back. —No… no… The creature was copying her. The code wasn't containing it. It was assimilating it. Ava looked at Ethan with absolute terror. —We have to get out of here. Now. Ethan didn't hesitate. He grabbed her hand and they ran toward the exit.

Scene 7

Ethan and Ava ran down the metal hallway, leaving behind the room illuminated by the flickering light of the monitor. The creature didn't chase them immediately. But Ethan knew they didn't have much time. As they ran, his mind couldn't stop replaying what he had just seen. Ava's face. On the creature. His stomach churned. What did that mean? Was it a trick? Or… was something worse at play? They reached the supply room and closed the door behind them. Ethan was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. Ava trembled. She leaned against the wall, her hands clenched into fists. —It didn't work… I don't know what went wrong… —she whispered, her voice trembling. Ethan stared at her. —Ava… —his tone sounded colder than he intended. She looked up. —What? —Are you… you? Ava blinked, confused. —What? What the hell are you talking about? Ethan swallowed. —That thing… had your face. A heavy silence fell over the room. Ava looked at him, and for a moment, her expression was unreadable. Something inside Ethan tensed. —What do you mean by that? —her voice sounded lower now. Ethan took a step back without realizing it. —You saw it. The thing in the lab. It took your face. Ava took a deep breath, her expression hardening. —And what? Now you think I'm… that? Ethan didn't respond immediately. Something in his gut told him something wasn't right. Ava took a step forward. —Are you really looking at me like that now, Ethan? —Her voice sounded almost hurt. But there was something in her tone… something subtly different. Something he couldn't identify. He swallowed. —Just tell me something only you and I would know. Ava narrowed her eyes. —Seriously? —Do it. Silence. Ava stared at him, her breathing ragged. —Do you really think I'm lying? Ethan clenched his jaw. Every part of his being told him something was wrong. And then Ava sighed. —Fine. —She looked him straight in the eyes. —Remember the night the satellite radio failed? You said you didn't care because you never called anyone. Why? Ethan felt a chill. It was true. He had said that. And she was the only person who had heard it. He let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. —I'm sorry. I… —He shook his head—. This is insane. Ava looked at him for another second and then sighed. —You don't have to apologize. —Her tone was softer now. But something in her eyes still seemed… off. Ethan wasn't sure if it was paranoia… Or if he had made a mistake. A sound echoed outside. A screech of metal. The creature was looking for them. Ava grabbed his wrist. —We have to get out of here. Ethan nodded… but his mind was still racing. Was the Ava by his side really her? And if not… What the hell had happened to the real one?

Scene 8

A loud crash shook the platform's structure, rattling the floor beneath their feet. Ethan stumbled and Ava fell to her knees, bracing herself against the wall. —What the hell was that? —Ethan gasped. The sound wasn't just a clang of metal. It was something deeper. As if the entire ocean had groaned. Emergency alarms began to blare throughout the facility. 🚨 CRITICAL ALARM: STRUCTURAL FAILURE ON MAIN DOCK. Ethan ran to a window. What he saw made his throat dry instantly. The platform was sinking. The far end, where the main generators were, had already begun to tilt into the sea. The metal creaked as if something gigantic was dragging it from the depths. The air smelled of ozone and salt, and the atmosphere vibrated with an almost imperceptible frequency. Ava stood up abruptly. —We have to go. Now. Ethan didn't argue. They ran through the hallways, the floor trembling beneath them. Every few seconds, an even stronger jolt made the metal groan and the lights flicker. They headed to the evacuation module, where the emergency boat was. But when they reached the main hallway, they stopped dead in their tracks. Ethan felt his blood freeze. Because at the end of the corridor, standing in the shadows, was the creature. Only this time… it had changed. Its silhouette was more defined. More human. More like Ava. Ethan felt a cold sweat run down his back. Who was the real one? The Ava beside him trembled but didn't back away. —Don't look at it. —Her voice was barely a whisper. —What? —Ethan felt his mind splitting in two. Ava gripped his arm tightly. —Don't look at it. Just run. The metal beneath their feet tilted suddenly. The platform was splitting in two. Ethan had no choice. He bolted toward the exit, with Ava running behind him. But at the last second… he couldn't help it. He turned his head. He looked at the other Ava. And the other Ava… smiled. A human smile, but too wide. As if her skin wasn't made for that expression. Ethan felt something inside his mind crack. And then… the platform collapsed. The metal gave way with a deafening roar, and everything plunged into the sea. Ethan felt himself falling. The black water swallowed him completely. For a moment, everything was darkness. Ethan descended, his body battered by the debris of the platform. He tried to swim, but something was dragging him down. The water was thick, as if the black substance had dissolved into it. His vision began to darken. And then… he saw something in the abyss. Something enormous. Something that should never have been awakened. Before his mind could comprehend it, he was pulled to the surface.Ethan coughed and spat out water as he woke up. He was floating on a piece of debris in the middle of the ocean. The sky was gray. The platform was gone. Only fragments of metal remained floating. He looked around, desperate to find Ava. And then he saw her. Floating a few meters away. Watching him. Ethan felt relief for a second. But then… something didn't add up. Ava wasn't gasping. She wasn't coughing. She didn't even seem to be breathing. She just watched him. With an expression impossible to read. And then, very slowly… she smiled. Horror struck Ethan with devastating force. Because now he was sure. He had been wrong. And he was trapped in the sea with whatever she was now.