Estimated reading time — 22 minutes

This was in the early 2000s. A group of marine biologists, myself included, were in the Philippine Sea to study the effects of global warming on local marine wildlife. This was exciting to me for two reasons. One is that I was born in the Philippines and never had the opportunity to return until then. And two, that the expedition was headed by Dr. Ryan Anderson (changed for anonymity), a pioneer in microbe studies, and one of my heroes at the time.

I don’t think I can describe the joy I felt when my director at the University told me Dr. Anderson had chosen me and one of my colleagues, Dr. Abigail Washington, or Abby as she was known around the lab, to join his expedition. The weeks until the expedition felt like years, but the day finally came when we boarded a plane to Manila before taking a bus to a small village on the island of Luzon called Magway.

The sky was clear and the air warm the morning we left the dock in our small expedition boat. Birds flew high above as the boat sliced through waves. It took about an hour to reach the coordinates, where there was no sight of land in any direction, just a deep turquoise ocean. There was a strange silence that hung in the air with the only noise the slight beating of waves against the bottom of the boat.

Our full crew consisted of me, Abby, Dr. Anderson, and additional researchers Sonny Yoon, Lucas Dahl, and Dina Pham. We arrived at the coordinates and began donning our wetsuits.

“You don’t want to take off your jewelry?” Lucas asked in his thick Norwegian accent.

He was referring to the small necklace I’d picked up in Magway. It was made with a thin piece of twine and had a copper coin at the end with what looked like a poor excuse for a cow carved into it. When looking at it, the small older Filipino woman who I’d assumed owned the place told me she made it herself. I talked about our expedition and she insisted I take it. I didn’t really want it, but the woman seemed desperate for the sale. I’d honestly forgotten I was wearing it.

“No, it’s fine,” I said, thinking I might accidentally leave it on the boat if I took it off. I was notorious for forgetting where I put things.

We finished putting on our gear and jumped into the water. It was so clear I could see several yards in any direction, making it easy to spot the myriad of fish species swimming around.

We collected our samples and spent some time swimming along the sides of the boat and chatting. After a few hours, we took the samples we collected and started back to shore.

It was only one to two miles from where we were when the sonar picked up something. We all checked the screen and then looked at one another. Whatever this was was big, at least the size of a tall building.

We floated above the area for a while and realized that the thing we were picking up wasn’t moving, meaning it was probably an object opposed to an animal.

“Shipwreck?” asked Sonny.

“It’s possible,” Dr. Anderson replied. “Likely, a whale carcass or some large debris, though. I’ll radio back and see if there’s any record of a shipwreck near here.”

We all chatted and stared into the water while waiting for Dr. Anderson to return.

“I want to see it,” Lucas said. “I’ve always wanted to explore a shipwreck.”

“Me too,” Abby added, giving me a nod. I replied with a soft smile, but was wary about diving again with half-full oxygen tanks.

It took almost half an hour for Dr. Anderson to return with the news that there was no record of a shipwreck at these coordinates.

“So that means we’d be the first to explore it,” Lucas said with a bright smile. “If it is a shipwreck.”

“No one is going down there before we survey the area around it,” Dr. Anderson said. “If it’s an animal carcass there will be sharks everywhere.”

“We could even drop the camera down first,” Abby interjected. “You know, get a look at it before diving.”

Dr. Anderson thought for a moment as the rest of the crew clenched their fists in anticipation. My heart jumped at the idea of exploring the shipwreck. I’d explored one before and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I didn’t want to seem too eager to do anything Dr. Anderson wasn’t okay with, though. I felt lucky to be on this trip at all.

“Fine,” he said, followed by a series of cheers from the crew.

Sonny and Dina hooked up the deep sea camera that could reach depths of around 15,000 feet. I noticed Abby biting her fingernails, a nervous habit she’d do around the lab, especially when the higher-ups were looking over our budget.

They turned on the camera and Sonny waved into it to show the image on the laptop was working. He gave everyone a thumbs-up before walking the camera to the side of the boat and lowering it.

We all gathered around the laptop and watched the camera break the surface before sinking into the depths. The water was murkier in this part of the ocean, though we could still make out the silhouettes of fish and vegetation.

The camera came to a depth of around 60 feet when we noticed a silhouette below. It was dark and blurry. As the camera continued, the sheer size of the object became apparent.

“Is that it?” Lucas asked.

“That’s a big fucking ship,” Sonny said.

Abby continued chewing her nails as I peered closer to the screen. From the depths, a large face stared back at me.

Sonny had stopped lowering the camera, so it sat fixated on the giant stone face of a woman. We all stared at the image on the screen, no one saying a word for several minutes.

“Well, it’s not a ship,” Lucas said, breaking the silence.

“It’s beautiful,” Abby said. I noticed she’d stopped chewing her nails and was now rubbing her hands up and down her thighs.

“Lower the camera,” Dr. Anderson said.

Sonny nodded and continued the camera further down. From the angle, we were unable to guage the width of the statue, but easily saw the sheer craft and carving ability of whoever made it.

There were intricate designs carved through various spots in the statue. The folds of the dress and texture of the skin would rival artists like Michelangelo and Rodin.

The camera finally reached the ocean floor at a depth of around 200 feet, sending particles of sand around the one toe that managed to fit in the shot. We all stood back and took deep breaths at various intervals.

“I need to make another call,” Dr. Anderson said.

We all sat in silence, though I hoped someone would say something. Abby moved from chewing her fingernails on one hand to the other. She walked to the side of the boat where the camera was dropped and looked over the side.

“That face scared the shit out of me,” Lucas said with a slight laugh.

Abby leaned a little further over the side like she spotted something on the surface of the water. I didn’t think much about it until she began leaning a bit more, so much so she was standing on her tiptoes.

“Abby,” I said.

She lifted her feet off the ground as her body began tipping over the side. I sped to her, but she leaned back onto the boat as Dr. Anderson returned. We all stared at him in anticipation as he seemed to gather his thoughts. I kept glancing at Abby who had an airy look in her eyes as if she were high.

“There’s no record of an underwater statue at these coordinates,” he started. “They’re contacting the archeology department. He suggested we try and get some good video of it so their team can do a preliminary examination before sending some researchers out.”

Dina, Abby, and Lucas cheered and high-fived while Sonny and I remained wary. I don’t know why I felt so uneasy about diving near the statue. Maybe it was something about the way Abby was acting.

Still, I did what Dr. Anderson told us and donned my diving gear. We were each also outfitted with a flashlight due to the murkiness of the water. However, when we got into the water, it was much clearer than before. In fact, it only took us several minutes of swimming downwards before the head of the statue was in view.

She had long, flowing hair that hung away from her shoulders in thick strands, giving the appearance of it floating in the water. Her cheeks were sharp and her nose round. She had full lips that clung tightly together and pointed eyebrows. Together, her features gave her a look of longing.

Abby and I ventured lower, examining the textures of her dress, eventually making it down to her legs. The detail in her kneecaps was especially astounding as if the artist spent hours, possibly years on this one body part.

“Abby, check this out,” I said but received no response. “I looked up and saw she was no longer floating above me. “Abby?”

“Come around the back,” she said.

I gave one last look at the legs before making my way to the other side. Dina and Abby were both floating several yards above me, near the middle back. I swam upwards and noticed something at the lower back. It was a small pore, dark and seemingly endless.

I stopped and examined it for a moment. It was around two and half, maybe three feet in diameter. Just large enough for someone to fit in if they squeezed.

I looked around the area and noticed several other pores in various locations along her back. I swam to Abby and Dina, who were examining a series of three pores forming a triangle in the middle of her back.

“Do you think the inside is hollow?” Dina asked.

I remembered the flashlight at my side and pointed it into the pore. The darkness seemed to swallow the light. All I got were the small reflections of light from dust particles bouncing off the stone walls of the pore.

“I can’t tell how deep it goes,” I said.

“Has anyone seen Lucas?” Dina asked.

We scanned the area but saw no sign of him on this side of the statue.

“Maybe he’s on the other side,” I said.

“There he is,” said Abby, pointing downwards.

The top of his body was hidden behind one of the folds of the dress, but his flippers were visible. He swam into view and floated in place for a moment.

“Lucas, are you okay?” Dina asked.

He continued floating in place, then dropped the tank from his back.

“What the fuck’s he doing?” I asked.

“Lucas!” Dina called as he stripped his goggles and began taking off his flippers.

We swam towards him as he moved closer to the statue. Closer, I saw him swimming towards one of the pores. I picked up my pace, but he reached the pore while I was still several yards away. He pulled himself inside as I swam as fast as I could, Dina and Abby trailing behind.

I reached the pore and peered inside, seeing the bottom of Lucas’ feet as he maneuvered his way in. I reached inside but he was just out of reach.

Abby and Dina appeared beside me as we all watched him disappear inside.

“Get back up here, now,” Dr. Anderson radioed.

We looked at each other, then at the pore Lucas disappeared into before swimming back to the surface.

__________

We all sat on the floor of the boat, still wearing our wetsuits. We hadn’t said a word though Dina sobbed softly. Sonny asked us several times what happened, but none of us responded. I don’t know if we could.

He asked one more time to which Abby replied, “You were watching the fucking cameras weren’t you!”

Dina sobbed harder while Sonny disappeared into himself. Dr. Anderson had been on the phone with local authorities for the last ten minutes. We heard him frantically explaining the situation over and over, though, admittedly, it was a hard thing to comprehend.

It felt terrible sitting in the boat while knowing that Lucas’ dead body was likely floating in the cold, dark water below.

“Why would he do that?” Dina asked.

We were all wondering the same thing. I hadn’t known Lucas long, but he didn’t seem insane. There was no way curiosity got the best of him. Something had to have snapped in his head. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing a marvel that no one else had ever seen. Maybe he legitimately thought he could swim in, then swim right back out? I wasn’t sure any explanation would make sense.

“One of us should go after him,” Dina added, softly.

“Why?” Abby asked. “He’s drown by now.” She was more callused than I would’ve expected. We were all thinking the same, but it seemed wrong to say it out loud.

“There could be an air pocket or something inside,” Dina added.

“I doubt it,” Sonny said. “Unless the inside of it is segmented, there’d be no spots for air pockets to form.”

Dr. Anderson approached our group and said, “The authorities will be here in a couple of hours, though, I don’t know how much they’ll be able to do. I doubt anyone will be willing to wiggle their way into one of those holes as Lucas did.”

We all sat in silence as I held the necklace and rubbed the coin through my fingers. It strangely calmed me.

“We should feed the camera inside,” Sonny said. Everyone turned to Sonny, who wouldn’t lift his eyes from the floor. “We should see what it’s like inside.”

“You want us to go back down there?” Dina asked through tears.

“Aren’t you curious?” Sonny asked. “Lucas disappeared into that thing, which means those holes go all the way in.”

Abby kept glancing over the side of the boat while Dr. Anderson paced back and forth with his arms crossed. I wasn’t into the idea of getting back in the water, but had to admit he was right about our curiosity, mine at least.

“On the off chance, Lucas found an air pocket, we might be able to find him too,” I added.

We thought about it for a few more minutes before deciding to go with the camera plan. I’d offered to be the one to swim down with the camera and feed it inside, but Dr. Anderson insisted he be the one to do it.

He threw on his diving gear and fell back off the side of the boat, sinking quickly. We watched him swim for several minutes before reaching the top of the statue. Its eyes stared at him as if it knew he was there.

He continued further down the back until reaching the first series of pores. We watched the camera enter, and then slowly make its way further inside.

“Can you see?” Dr. Anderson asked through the radio.

“It’s dark, but the feed is working,” Sonny said.

I gripped the thighs of my pants as the camera scraped against the sides of the pore. Abby was chewing her nails again. I couldn’t believe she had any left.

“You can’t see shit,” Dina said.

The light from the camera illuminated a few inches in front of it, but there wasn’t much to see besides tiny floating debris. It continued further into the pore before seemingly reaching the end, and then sliding off the side.

“Keep feeding it, Dr. Anderson,” Sonny said. “It’s inside and dropping lower.”

We watched the camera for several minutes, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. I noticed several minnows and some algae, but nothing of note.

After almost 10 minutes of the camera’s descent, Dina said, “It should’ve hit the bottom by now, right?”

Sonny shrugged his shoulders. I looked at Abby who had stopped chewing her fingers, revealing a slight smile. I opened my mouth to ask her why she was smiling, but the camera finally stopped.

“That’s all the line we’ve got,” said Dr. Anderson.

“How long is that line?” I asked.

“1,000 ft, ” Sonny said, keeping his eyes on the screen.

“And it still hasn’t hit the bottom?” I asked.

We watched for another few minutes as if doing so would help anything. A white flash passed over one side of the camera. Everyone moved closer to the screen. It flashed again. Whatever it was was as pale as fresh snow.

We watched the darkness for the next few moments, waiting for whatever the creature was to pass by again.

White tendrils came at the screen in the flash, sending Dina falling back. My heart pounded as the feed cut. Everyone fought to catch their breaths while Dina asked what that was on the camera as if anyone had a good answer. To me, it looked a bit like an octopus or squid, though I’d never heard of one that shade of white.

“Dr. Anderson, come back up,” Sonny said.

As Dr. Anderson swam to the surface, Sonny went backward in the camera feed frame-by-frame. We watched the screen go from black to white as whatever it was filled the screen. As it continued, the tendrils appeared, but they weren’t tendrils. They were fingers. We watched in horror as the palest hand we’d ever seen filled the screen, coming straight for the camera.

__________

“This is so fucked up,” Dina said. “I mean, what the fuck was that? A ghost?”

We were all scientists and superstition isn’t common within our community, but it was hard to think of any other explanation besides paranormal.

“Let’s be rational,” Dr. Anderson said.

“You saw the video right?” Dina asked. “The ghost hand?”

“We don’t know for sure-” Sonny started.

“I know, for sure, that I’m ready to leave,” Dina said. “Something is wrong with that statue. I don’t know if it’s cursed or what, but I don’t want to be near it any longer.”

“I think Dina’s right,” I added. “I mean, what else can we learn here? We’re biologists. Let the archelogy team handle it.”

Dr. Anderson sighed, then nodded. Everyone else made their agreement known by nodding, except Abby. She didn’t argue but didn’t add anything to the conversation. I noticed she’d barely spoken at all over the last few minutes.

It felt awful leaving Lucas’ body, but we all knew there was nothing we could do. I just hoped the authorities would be able to retrieve his body, so his family could give him a proper burial.

Dr. Anderson went inside the cab to start the boat as I moved close to Abby, who was staring over the side again.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked.

She looked at me, cocked her head, then looked back at the water. “Can’t you hear it?” she asked.

I paused, then said, “What? The waves?”

“No, the song she’s singing.”

I looked around and said, “Dina? She isn’t singing.”

Abby smiled to herself as the boat cranked. I sighed in relief, thinking we’d be on our way home soon. There was a sputter, then another, then the engine turned off. Dr. Anderson cranked the boat to no avail.

He emerged from the cabin with a look of worry and confusion. “Uh, I’m not sure what’s going on. The boat won’t stay on.”

“What?” Sonny asked before standing up and walking to the cab. We heard him try to crank the boat, but it did the same thing. He exited the cabin and went to the back, where he leaned over the side to look at the engine.

I wanted to help, but I could barely change the wipers on my car, let alone diagnose an issue with a boat. Despite being on many boats in my life, I never bothered learning much about them.

“Nothing wrong with the engine from what I can tell,” Sonny said.

“So what’s wrong with it?” Abby asked.

“I think it’s the battery,” Sonny said. “Is there a spare?”

Dr. Anderson shrugged and said, “I… I didn’t think to ask when I rented the boat.”

“What does that mean?” Dina asked.

“We need a jump, like with a car,” Sonny said. “So, we either wait on the authorities or radio the rental company to send someone out. I’m assuming the authorities will get here first, though.”

Dina sighed heavily before collapsing onto one of the boat’s benches. She threw her face into her hands and sounded like she might be crying, but I couldn’t tell.

“The authorities will be here in another hour or so,” Dr. Anderson said. “Let’s just wait it out. We will be fine for another hour.”

__________

I can’t remember how much time had passed at that point, but it felt like longer than an hour. I remember feeling more tired than I ever had in my life, like I’d just run a marathon. I thought maybe it was the swimming combined with sitting in a hot boat.

Dina was on the same bench with her eyes closed, but obviously wasn’t sleeping. Sonny paced back and forth between the engine and the cab, trying to find any other possible explanations for the boat not starting. Dr. Anderson peered into the distance with his hand on his chin as if thinking of the answer to a question no one asked.

I realized I hadn’t seen Abby for a little while, so I moved to the front, where she was still staring over the side. I noticed her humming a song. It wasn’t a melody I recognized. It was melancholy and beautiful, like something you’d hear in a church during a funeral.

“Abby?” I called to her.

She leaned over the side and began sliding down.

“Abby!” I cried, but she’d made it into the water by the time I reached the side. I watched her dark hair disappear into the blue below. “Abby jumped in!”

Sonny and Dr. Anderson ran to the front of the boat with Dina following behind.

“What the fuck!?” Dina cried.

I thought for a moment before jumping off the boat and swimming towards Abby. Luckily, I was the faster swimmer and caught up to her quickly. I wrapped my arms around her as she thrashed, sending bubbles all around us. My lungs clenched as she started to slow. With the little bit of strength I had, I pulled us both to the surface.

Sonny and Dr. Anderson helped us on the boat and Dina immediately began giving Abby CPR. She woke up in a daze, but within a few moments, was struggling back to the side of the boat. Sonny and I grabbed her and pulled her to the bench.

“Find some rope,” I yelled at Dina.

She returned with some bright red line used to send out buoys. We wrapped it around Abby’s torso and legs as she screamed the entire time. Sonny tied a line from her to a pole along the interior side of the boat, so she couldn’t move from her position.

Sonny and I collapsed to the boat’s floor in exhaustion while Dr. Anderson and Dina stared at Abby in concerned disbelief.

“Abby,” Dr. Anderson started.

“Let me go!” she cried. “She’s calling me!”

We looked at each other in disbelief.

“Who?” I asked.

Abby didn’t answer, instead continuing to scream. She screamed for the next half hour or so before finally tiring herself out and falling asleep.

“What the fuck?” Dina said, solemnly.

“How are the authorities not here yet?” Sonny added.

It didn’t feel long before darkness took over the sky and left us all lying on the boat. Sonny and Dina had fallen asleep on the benches while Dr. Anderson was waiting in the cab. I didn’t want to leave Abby.

My eyes were getting heavy as I watched her, but in the darkness, I caught a glimpse of the whites of her eyes. I’m not sure how long she’d been awake and staring at me, but there was no expression on her face. It felt like she was more looking through me than at me.

“Abby?” I asked, moving closer to her. Her eyes followed me across the boat as I took a seat next to her. “Are you okay?”

She looked me up and down and said, “You should let me go. She’ll be mad if we don’t all go soon.”

“Abby, I know it’s been a traumatic day. I think you might be having some reaction-”

Abby laughed, then looked at me, her eyes wide. As she spoke, her mouth opened much wider than it needed to.

“Do you think we’re here by mistake? We’re meant for her.” She leaned back in the chair.

Abby closed her eyes. I tried for several minutes to talk to her, but she had either actually fallen into a deep sleep or was doing an excellent job of pretending. I hadn’t seen Dr.Anderson in a while and was wondering if he’d heard anything from the authorities . I thought maybe they’d gotten lost along the way.

He wasn’t in the cab when I entered, meaning he had to either be below the boat or in the bathroom. I was about to return to Abby when I noticed the camera in the cab. I thought for a moment before taking it off the wall and turning it to the screen on the back. I don’t know why, but something told me to look at the recorded video.

I opened the clips and saw one of Dr. Anderson on the radio and played it. He stared out the front window with a blank look on his face, like Abby had.

“No, we’re going to need a little longer with the boat,” he said into the radio. “Yes. We will bring it back by morning.”

“We woke her up,” Dr. Anderson said from behind me. His eyes were wide and locked on me. He moved forward slowly as if approaching a scared animal. “As soon as your flesh met hers.” He stood right in front of me. I wanted to move away, but my feet felt frozen to the deck.

“The others can hear her too,” he said. “They’ve just been able to ignore her. Not for long, though.” He got so close that his portly belly was touching mine and I could feel his breath on my face. “But you don’t seem to hear her at all. I wonder why?”

I heard a splash outside. Sonny looked over the side of the boat, but I saw no sign of Dina. Abby was still tied to her seat and bobbing her head back and forth as if she were singing a song. I turned back to Dr. Anderson, who was wearing a large smile. I don’t think I’d ever seen him smile at that point and I wish I still hadn’t. This smile was so wide it looked uncomfortable for him.

Another splash, and Sonny had disappeared. I ran to the side of the boat and heard Abby laughing. Bubbles floated to the top from where Sonny jumped in. I didn’t have time to comprehend what was happening but just knew I needed to get out of there.

I went back to the cab, thinking I’d see Dr. Anderson inside, but he’d disappeared. I took this as an opportunity instead of being fearful of what Dr. Anderson might be doing. I turned on the radio and screamed into it, “Hello!? I need help!”

I yelled the coordinates and waited for a response. After what seemed like minutes of silence, but was likely only a few seconds, a voice on the other end responded with, “Hello. Do you have an emergency?”

“Yes!” I screamed. “I’m part of this research group and our team lead is Dr. Richard Anderson. I don’t know, something’s wrong with him. Something’s wrong with all of them.”

I knew what I was saying didn’t make sense, but how could I possibly make sense of the situation?

“Please, just come as quickly as you can,” I continued. “Most of my team, I think they’ve drown.”

Another brief moment of silence followed by, “We’ll send someone right away.”

“Thank you.”

I slunk back outside, hoping to find something I could defend Abby and myself with before Dr. Anderson decided to reveal himself again. Though, when I approached the side of the boat, I noticed I couldn’t hear Abby’s laughing. It was dead silent.

As I rounded the corner, Dr. Anderson leaped out and on top of me. He was dense and put all his body weight on top of me.

“Get his legs!” Dr. Anderson cried.

I felt someone start wrapping my ankles in rope and turned to see Abby with a crazed look in her eye, smiling up at me. She pulled the ropes tightly, pushing down on my legs with her feet. I yelled in pain.

“Now his arms!” Dr. Anderson cried.

He reached for one of my arms, but I managed to push my elbow back, sending it right into his neck. Dr. Anderson loosened his grip enough for me to push onto my knees. I flipped to try and regain footing, but he was somehow quicker. He leaped on top of me again and dug his knee into my back.

“I don’t know if we have enough rope,” Abby said.

“Just break his arm,” Dr. Anderson said. “One outta do it.”

Abby didn’t give it a second thought before grabbing my arm as Dr. Anderson maneuvered his chest onto my shoulder. She pulled backward and I screamed the loudest I ever had in my life. I tried resisting, but she kept pulling and the pain became so great, I couldn’t fight anymore.

A sharp pain shot through my body as a snap rang out. I took a deep breath, feeling a numbness wash over me. I thought I might pass out, but wouldn’t allow myself to.

“Now, it shouldn’t be too difficult to move him,” Dr. Anderson said.

“Move me where?!” I cried.

Dr. Anderson and Abby left me where I lay while moving to the side of the boat. They both stripped their clothes, kicking them to the side and stood there for a moment, their bodies shining in the moonlight. They took a deep breath before putting on scuba gear.

“I’ll go get a flashlight,” Dr. Anderson told her. “You prepare him.”

Abby nodded and Dr. Anderson returned to the cab. She moved towards me, then reached her arms under mine. I screamed in pain as my broken arm bone shifted underneath the skin. She dragged me towards the side, my tied ankles bouncing over bumps and cracks in the deck.

“It’ll be much easier if I remove your clothes,” she said.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I responded.

She smiled and nodded.

“Abby, what are you doing?” I asked. “Let’s just go home. We’ll figure out a way back and-”

I hoped I could at least distract her long enough for the authorities to arrive, but she didn’t even seem to consider my offer.

“We were offered a gift,” she said. “A chance to give to return to the ocean, where our ancestors emerged and never should have left.”

“You sound fucking crazy!” I cried.

Dr. Anderson returned with a flashlight crudely wrapped around his neck with a rope. He and Abby forced and mask and tank of air onto me before moving me further to the side. They each took a line of rope and tied it to me. They wrapped the other ends around their bodies.

“Please don’t do this,” I begged them.

“She wants us all,” Dr. Anderson said. “Don’t worry. We are going somewhere more beautiful than you could ever imagine.”

Abby and Dr. Anderson leaped off the side of the boat, dragging me below with them. I had trouble seeing what was going on after sinking underwater but caught glimpses of the light from Dr. Anderson’s flashlight as we descended.

We reached the statue quickly. I watched its hair pass by as Abby and Dr. Anderson continued downward, not slowing their pace. Not until they reached the center of the statue’s back.

I watched Abby and Dr. Anderson remove their scuba gear, allowing everything to dance back to the surface. They did the same with my tank, though I managed to take a deep breath before they removed all my gear.

Abby was the first to disappear into the pore. I watched one side of the rope follow her. My body floated towards the statue, and despite my efforts to struggle, I was unable to do much with my legs tied and only one working arm.

Dr. Anderson followed Abby, dragging me just a few feet from the pore. As he crawled further in, my body pressed against it. It felt like if he were stronger, Dr. Anderson could’ve folded my body and dragged me through the pore until I came out on the other end as a mess of broken bones and scraped-up skin. However, I guess he managed to turn around on the other side as I felt his arms grab my neck from inside the pore and pull me inwards.

I managed to grab the outside with my hand, but instantly let go when he pulled my other arm, sending a sharp pain through my body. I watched the stone interior of the pore pass above my head as we moved deeper. The walls felt as if they were shrinking around my body until both my shoulders scraped along the walls.

Dr. Anderson made it to the other side and pulled me the rest of the way through, then, disappeared into the darkness. I’d never been somewhere so dark. It felt as if I were floating in the blackest part of space.

I floated in the darkness for a few seconds before realizing how little air I had left. Even after years as a diver and frequent swimmer, I’d had to’ve been without air for almost a minute, and the struggling and panicking certainly didn’t help me retain much air.

I felt the wall beside me for a pore, but all I felt was stone. I figured I must’ve floated a bit upwards. With my free hand, I loosened the ropes around my feet enough for me to slip free, then started down the wall.

As I descended, I noticed a small light floating towards me. It was Dr. Anderson’s flashlight, still attached to a piece of rope. I didn’t question the luck and grabbed the flashlight while continuing downwards.

A pore finally appeared several feet below and I moved as quickly as I could when a strong current pushed me hard against the wall. The flashlight almost slipped from my hands, but I managed to keep ahold of the rope and pulled it back towards me.

With the light in front of my eyes, I saw something right in front of me. It was an eye as big as my entire body. My heart dropped as I backed myself against the wall. The eye followed me downwards, but whatever it was didn’t move from its position. I shined the light on its body for a moment and saw bright blue, scaly skin. It was beautiful and my curiosity about this creature’s biology almost outweighed my sheer terror and panic.

It was still in view as I reached the pore, and I realized, whatever it was would never have fit through a pore. I gave its skin one last look before climbing inside and backing out.

I was unsure if I’d make it on the little bit of air I had left. Once I reached the outside, I pushed myself upwards off the hole, trying to give myself as much momentum as I could, but my lungs felt like they might explode as I traveled upwards. The last thing I saw was a brief glimpse of the moon from below the surface before passing out.

__________

I woke up on the deck of a boat with a young man giving me CPR. The water left my lungs in one big clump and fell to the deck of the boat. It felt like breathing for the first time in my life.

I told them about the statue, my team losing their minds and swimming into the pores, Dr. Anderson and Abby attacking me. It felt like I couldn’t stop talking when I got started. They told me to get some rest and that they’d contact the local authorities.

I never heard anything from the men who picked me up in the boat and I didn’t try to reach back out. I returned home a few days after the incident and researched as much as I could on the statue. After years of searching, most of the experts I spoke with said the statue was likely one of Magwayen, a Visayan goddess. I found a book that read:

Magwayen is a Visayan goddess who rules over the creatures of the ocean and the souls of the underworld. Her waters are said to flow through all lands, including those of the Underworld, allowing her to travel back and forth from the human realm to the spirit realm. She is often depicted as a grieving woman, as legends tell she lost her only daughter at a young age. A representative of the duality of nature itself, Magwayen can be calm and nurturing one moment, then violent and angry the next.

I didn’t tell anyone else about the statue. Well, until now, I guess. I didn’t want anyone to go looking for it and possibly suffer the same fate. I never gave anyone the exact coordinates and always use a fake name for the village we departed from.

I’m still not entirely sure what happened. The only thing I wonder is if this was some kind of group psychosis that affected everyone on my team but me, or were they really caused by this goddess? My mind tells me it’s the former, but I have yet to take off the charm around my neck. And if I ever got the chance, I’d thank the woman who sold it to me.

Credit: Tom Maglaqui-Ride

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