The Depths and other tales of Intrigue Read online



 

  The Depths

  and other Tales

  By Christian Bianchi

  Copyright 2016 Christian Bianchi

  Copyright © Christian Davis Bianchi, 2016

  All Rights Reserved

  (Note: if you copy and paste this into your manuscript, be sure to remove the paragraph returns that may appear at the end of each line)

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Table of Contents

  The Depths

  A Normal Life

  Just a Talk

  About the Author

  The Depths

  Let it be known that this audio recording is the last known word of Oscar Lindström before his disappearance on December the sixth, 2015. The words heard here have not been tampered with in any way since it was acquired on December the fifth, 2015. The contents herewith do not leave this room through word of mouth or other written documentation.

  I apologize for the quivering in my voice so forgive that I am recording this instead of my usual handwritten courtesy. By the time you listen to this, Charles, I will no longer be in the comfort of my seaside home. For reasons better or worse, instead I will be moving inland to take time from my salvaging work to be with my loved ones. I'm afraid that precious time might soon be out of my reach. I don't consider these actions rushed or unjustified, as I hope you will soon understand. 
​

  The reason I came to this conclusion was not written in my detailed logs of our recent dives, nor in our prior email exchanges, but from personal experience in our recent nightly excursion into the icy waters of the Baltic Sea on November the 16th, 2015. I haven't forgotten the truth of what I saw down there and I will describe it to you in detail here, for your ears only. I trust this terrible knowledge to no one else.
​

  Diving beneath the icy waters just over 50 miles outside of Sundsvall, I began to feel the cold embracing me long before I started to see the darkness; then, as I dove deeper down, you informed me that I would be approaching the supposed geological upending and I agreed based on our dive map. However, as I approached the 60-meter anomaly, I began to feel…chills run down my spine. Not from the cold, but something just beyond it. You were gnawing through my headpiece for any kind of solace in my actions; however, I became so engrossed in what I sensed that I neglected to respond. Hushed breathing was all I gave you as I investigated our designated undersea relic. Every new crevasse lurched

  in my chest as I dug deeper into my surroundings, hoping to find my tormentor. 
​

  Then I saw it. Through the black and muck of the Baltic Sea was...something. Something beyond the scope of our ship, and nearly the size of the anomaly we dove to investigate was an even greater conundrum. It seemed amorphous, yet capable of movement without hindrance in these frigid waters. Suspended in my view was a living being I had never seen before and could not understand. It was at this moment that my foot slipped on a loose stone at the bottom. 
​It shifted in place. ​I was frozen. I could not breathe; I could not move. My entire line of sight belonged to this otherworldly being now. As this incomprehensible shadow loomed over me, I forfeit my senses, embracing my environment in a way I never had before.
​I can't remember if it was the ultimate peace or the most crushing terror that kept me there in the icy depths for that indistinguishable time lapse. The deafening silence I experienced then was something I’d only remembered in my sleepless nights, and here it was…haunting me again. It’s as if the whole world had left me behind and I had melded with the unknown. When I'd reopened my eyes, I expected anything other than what I received: An empty expanse. The otherworldly being was gone, or so it appeared. With this opportunity I rushed back to the surface. 
​

  This may come across like fiction to you, but you know me better than almost anyone. I would not keep this from you unless I feared the worst. For now, I leave this tale to you. Whatever happens in the unforeseeable future, I trust you with my account of these events. If what I fear turns out to be untrue, then I shall see you again soon, my friend. Until then, goodnight.

  The voice recording ends, with nothing but static and ultimate silence left in its wake. So ends the last known will and testament of Oscar Lindström.