Hudson's POV

I knew that Albion wanted his belongings, and I felt bad for trying to stop him, but we couldn't risk anything right now. I felt like everything was extremely close and yet so far out of our reach. I was being rather brooding as we stalked the mutated bag. I didn't know where it was taking us, and that terrified me, but I still couldn't stop the hope which bubbled in my chest. I didn't want to admit that there was a slim chance of this benign successful, after years of hoping and longing.

We swam in a very awkward silence, the tension radiating off us. Tasi kept giving the three of us looks which were making me very uncomfortable. I didn't get a good feeling from her in any way. I figured that she was just another creature of the abyss meant to lure us into traps.

"You know, this is a pretty well-thought out and elaborate trap for a place which seemed to only create nightmare fuel," Albion spoke up, cutting through the silence. "It's using something close to me to lure us away, maybe this place is more intelligent than we give it credit for?"

"Or the person behind it is," Ler added. "I still don't think that this area is sentient, that would be very creepy and unnerving."

"It's home to many creepy and unnerving creatures," Tasi pointed out. "What if they're all just one big thing and your bag has been infected by some kind of parasite?"

Albion was silent for a moment, his face paling and eyes wandering around a little quicker. "Is that possible?" He looked kind of cute when he asked us for confirmation, reminding me how far we were pulling him out of his comfort zone.

"Probably." Ler answered casually. "Your bag really isn't your bag anymore, clearly."

The bag had begun to lower itself in the water, looking like a lumpy jellyfish of some sort. I would compare it to a stingray if it weren't because of the lumps which formed on its surface because of Albion's belongings. It looked far too strange and unfamiliar for my comfort. I'd been a bit more comfortable with the giant dolphin and the octopus. They were peculiar creatures, but at least I could recognise their features and mannerisms, I'd never interacted with a sentient bag before.

"I haven't been here before," Tasi said cautiously as she glanced around just like the rest of us were, with paranoia. "I don't recognise that." She gestured to some brightly coloured coral which I hadn't noticed earlier. The coral seemed to be illuminating light, but it was pulsing like a heart, causing a shiver to run down my spine.

"That looks like a warning," Albion stated, slowing down and tugging us backwards a little. "What if it's really as unhelpful as we think it'll be? It is definitely leading us into a trap of some sort."

"Probably," Ler said once again. "But let's not worry about something which may or may not happen. Let's go into this with an open mind and let our hearts be crushed." I love him. Of course I do, I saw more and more of my personality and snide comments in him every day, and I'm so proud that he wasn't afraid to say his thoughts.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

"Oh, yeah sure, what's-" Albion stopped himself from finishing the question he was about to ask, but I knew where it was going.

"Good call." I pushed forward, getting closer to the bag, feeling rather comfortable in the water still, despite my lack of a tail. I felt as though that was the reason why Tasi and Albion were so hesitant to follow the bag, alongside the uncertainty, they weren't used to swimming in the depths of the ocean.

The bag was sliding across the black rock below, heading towards the coral which Tasi had pointed out and Albion described as a warning. The light coming from it was growing brighter with every inch the bag moved towards it. I wondered if it was activated by magic, or movement, but I didn't know anything about this kind of coral. Anything could be enchanted, I suppose.

"Ler, keep your eyes up, yeah?" I asked as I stared down at the bag.

"Why me? I'm the one pulling you two." He had a good point.

"Okay then, Albion, keep your eyes upwards just in case nothing comes." I didn't know if I was doing the 'word thing' right. I wasn't sure if that would cause anything to happen or not.

"Right."

Tasi let out a huff, but I wasn't sure why. I thought that she'd be glad I didn't tell her to look up, and she was swimming mostly by herself, so looking up wouldn't be the most effective.

"Wait," Ler said suddenly, grunting as he quickened his pace to pull us forward. "Look."

It took a little while for me to figure out what he was seeing, and I didn't like it once my eyes landed on it. The coral was lighting up brightly and casting a shadow on something, at least that's what it looked like until you got closer.

The bag was sliding closer and closer to what I thought was the shadow when it slid inside, completely going out of sight.

"A tunnel?" I asked with a frown. "I don't like tunnels, nor do I like any in the abyss."

"Maybe it's its new home?" Tasi replied with a joking tone, examining the pit of blackness before us. "It might lead somewhere unimportant."

"A tunnel?" Albion didn't seem to like the idea of going into a tunnel, which I appreciated because it meant there was less chance that we had to go down there to investigate. "As in, a very dark and enclosed space, almost like the mouth of a dolphin?"

Ler sounded like he was holding back a laugh as he said, "yeah. But it probably smells nicer down there."

I could feel Albion's anxiety radiating off him, or maybe it was my own. "Wonderful, that is such a unique selling point. I'm convinced to try this very dark and enclosed tunnel now that it probably won't smell as bad as a siren-eating dolphin." Albion's sarcasm was amusing, but I wasn't sure if it helped our situation. I hoped that the abyss wouldn't give us any ideas and create something which smelled putrid, because I didn't think I'd stay conscious if I smelled anything worse than the dolphin's mouth.

"It looks very friendly." Tasi said with hesitation. She seemed to have lost a lot of confidence in the past few minutes. Her ankles had crossed, and she was playing with some of her camouflage hair, twirling it as best she could between her fingers. "Do we really need that bag? I don't think it'll come in useful."

"I think it will," Albion argued quickly before frowning and looking around. "What happens if we say contradictory things? Surely the abys couldn't cater to both of them if they're complete opposites?"

"Shh," Tasi shushed hurriedly, moving back and covering his mouth with her hand. "Don't ask stuff like that. We don't know what it's capable of. Speculate, sure, but be careful. That kind of stuff could lead to situations which we don't want."

"Okay?" I'm sure that's what Albion tried to say under Tasi's hand. The irritation slowly creeped onto his features, as he began to attempt more speech. And then he just pushed her hand off and took a big breath of air. "Hey, Gilly, I need to breathe. Why were you pushing against my nose?"

Tasi frowned. "I was? I didn't mean to." I didn't know if she was lying or not, but it sounded believable.

"And on that note, let's go." Ler began pulling me towards where the bag disappeared to, the coral glowing even brighter.

"I'm going to have an allergic reaction to those words once this is all done," Albion muttered under his breath, causing me to chuckle a little.

"I believe I feel the same." I hoped that this would actually end with us being able to hear those words again. That there would actually be an end where we all survived.

But as Ler, Albion, and I began to swim towards the tunnel, Tasi stayed back. "I don't think that going in there is a good idea." Her voice was stern, but it also shook. It felt very strange to see her hesitant. We hadn't known her long, but she didn't look like someone who would shrink back in the face of a tunnel.

"What other choice do we have?" I asked, voice a little firmer than I had intended. "We're literally in the worst place in the entire ocean. We're being pursued by creatures who want nothing but our death and misery. We have to watch every single word which we say, and we literally can't escape. Our family was taken years ago, that's years of loneliness and confusion. This is our only shot at getting them back, stay up here if you want, or come with us. We all have the same goal here."