Observation

The Observation Craft, IRV Forunta, had been searching the South Pacific for three weeks. Madison Warwich scanned the expanse of water with binoculars. A plain of emerald blue shimmering in all directions. Warwich hadn’t seen her home of Dunwich in nearly a year.

She sat back down on a chair. Her silvery bionic leg creaked. It would need maintenance when they returned to port. The water-resistance finish wasn’t as good as the box claimed.

“There’s nothing out here,” commented her second, a well-to-do Anglo named Bertram. An academic with decades of research, but only months field experience.

Warwich ignored him and continued searching the horizon. The sun beat overhead. Sweat beaded across their foreheads. The science vessel was comfortable and they had been well-provisioned. Tomorrow, however, they would have to return to an Andean port.

“It’s a crying shame,” said Bertram.

“Shut up.”

“What?”

“Shut up!” she peered through her scope. “Look!”

In the distance was a small string of volcanic outcroppings. A craggy ripple of rock covered in sea plants and scurrying with crabs.

“It’s an island,” said Bertram.

“Is it now?”

The Science vessel moved closer to the island, but no matter how many knots they moved, the island remained some distance away.

“Ring the bell,” said Warwich.

A master’s student nodded and flicked a switch. From specialized speakers beneath the craft, a low rumbling song echoed through the water. A siren call for primordial titans.

Now the island moved towards them. Warwich leaned over the rail, grinning like an excited child. Her sunburnt arms were covered in kaiju and nautical tattoos. Her mane of unkempt brown curls pulled back.  

The Leviathan swam past their ship. Over two hundred feet long with skin like igneous rock. A beaked face worn like bleached coral. Wide fins glided through the ocean. Schools of fish circled the titan. A floating ecosystem for a dozen unique species.

It was massive. Ancient. Almost a thousand years old. Maybe older if they could get samples.

Warwich peered through the water and saw its tiny black eyes. The eyes of an ancient sea god.

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