She pushed the stall door open, the plastic feeling heavier under her fingers than before.

Reed felt tired... slumped... Like a flower that hadn't felt a drop of rain in the summer heat.

She dropped onto the toilet, grimacing at the cold porcelain touching her back.

The world felt off... Distorted...

She couldn't give up yet... She had done so much, she just couldn't...Or everything would have been in vain.

And yet, the void ate away at her soul.

The colours were gone...

Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

She slumped forward, resting her elbows on her knees while she looked at the fake floor tiles beneath her feet. Her white socks were dirty, visibly scuffed and coated with a layer of dust and whatever Reed had stepped in that day.

Her thoughts absently travelled towards the notebook.

For the first time in her life, the excitement of discovery wasn't there...

Reed dreaded the moment she would open the pages of the notebook.

Just another mystery that will bring more sorrow and hurt.

Another dissatisfactory answer, that will reveal a cruel truth of her reality.

Was that really what she had been chasing her entire life?

Answers? Was that what it was all about?

Reed's fingers trembled.

Should she even open the notebook?

Did she really want to know?

It felt like her world was crashing down, shattering into a million pieces while she mulled over her life choices.

She had followed the GOI because she wanted to get back at Bell.

She came there because she wanted to discover yet another anomaly as if putting a poaching target at "Sound Maria" wasn't enough...

She wanted to prove something...Reed couldn't believe it.

She had sacrificed her life to prove a point...

Tears squeezed themselves into her eyes, her fist connecting with the bathroom wall.

Who the hell cares what others think?

She was content... Why did it matter so much?

Why was she so focused on "succeeding"? What did that even mean?

Getting a rare smile from Diane? Return to Oxford?

So she could get some piece of junk award and put it on the shelf?

Before she knew it, her fingers already closed on the edge of the metal bin, prying it open with her shaky fingers. The woman practically tore the text block out of the bin, twisting the pages under her iron grip.

What was it worth?

What was all the time she spent there worth?

She pulled at the seams.

The sound of the binding glue being ripped felt like a crack of the whip against her ears.

She looked at the text block, eyes widened at the ripped seam.

What?

What was she doing?

What on earth did she try to accomplish?

The paper slid out from under her fingers, dropping onto the floor.

She watched, frozen in place as the text block hit the tiles, Bryan's letter sliding out from between the pages.

What was she doing?

Why was she like that?

Her heart clenched unpleasantly, chest muscles contracting.

That anger... That violent burning that wouldn't go away, threatening to turn into a wildfire with every minor inconvenience. She didn't understand... She didn't understand why she couldn't get a hold of herself...

She leaned forward, picking up the closer half of the block, praying the binding wasn't damaged enough for the pages to fall apart. Thankfully, soon, the text block laid safely in her hands, broken but still whole. She gently grasped the letter, sliding it back between the pages.

I will do everything to come back to you...

Bryan didn't give up... He didn't give up till the very end...

Reed sighed.

She might have felt dejected and defeated, but If she stopped now, everything she had sacrificed would go to waste.

She inhaled deeply.

It was time to find out what Ryan wanted to hide from her so badly.

They opened the first page.

Reed recognised the swirly handwriting...

"The doodler..." she muttered.

The Umbra Ingens/ Draft- L. J. Glass= Research Journal

Umbra Ingesn- The Great Shadow

It is perhaps one of the most mysterious creatures discovered in the twenty-first century.

Just after a few days, the amount of data we have gathered is astounding.

(Must thank Bell and Oxford in the final version- Ask Bryan)

Profile of the Creature:

Size: 1km in diameter, perfectly cylindrical, 3000meters tall

Surface temperature: 22 Degrees C

Structure: Soft Tissue

Feeding behaviour: Unknown

Origin: Unknown (Possible mentions in human history? Leviathan? Hafgufa*? Folklore?)

12#8 Note

With David's help, we have analysed the samples brought by the UUV.

I am utterly shocked, by the structural complexity of the external tissue. The creature seems to possess cells capable of acid production, however, the tissues taken from the internal parts of the creature suggest otherwise. David theorised that the outside of the UI is its stomach, given that the acid composition strongly resembles that of the digestive acid. I'm afraid I however have to disagree with the matter... Since we are so close to the creature, our sensors and cameras have been trained on it ever since we arrived. Whilst observing, I have seen creatures enter through the gelatinous mass unharmed, whilst our UUV had been slightly damaged by the acid. That would mean that UI is capable of controlling the acid release based on the interaction... Could it be that it is a defence mechanism? Could it be luring the fish inside? Have I witnessed the feeding process? I guess only time can tell...

Theory for the final version:

The acid response is meant to protect UI from the inorganic matter trying to enter its system?

(Why else would the fish enter unharmed? Why did they enter? Could the temperature mess with their navigator instincts?)

Note 23#B

This is the most interesting discovery yet... I think we might have just cracked the code to understand how the acidic release works. Through various sensory and auditory tests, we have established the iridescent lining of the outer surface is in fact some type of sensor (possibly ocular) that inspects the approaching bodies. Our UUV must have looked threatening due to the unfamiliar texture or sight, which prompted the creature to release the acid. We do not understand fully how the creature operates yet, but the sensor discovery brings us closer to the answer.

(Not to mention this whole experiment is being rushed by the upstairs. We have to start gathering the data before the GOI or Bell will cancel our funding)

The part was scribbled, but Reed could easily distinguish the letters.

It wasn't unlike Bell to threaten to cut the funding, Reed had experienced a similar power display during her own research.

"So... You started earlier, huh?" she muttered.

How much earlier did they start?

It didn't make sense...

Was Bell trying to squeeze her in there last minute?

It sounded like the crew had been there at least a few weeks longer than the Vault crew...

She turned the page.

Note 14#C

The trails had confirmed something completely unexpected... David has discovered that the internal tissue structures aren't in fact black at all... The red pigment is so concentrated it looks black, due to lack of reflective properties. He did also comment on the structure of the tissues, but there is not enough evidence to back his theory... We will need more samples for testing...

(Blood? How creepy would that be?)

She turned the page again, her heart sinking at the contents of the next page...

We have been absorbed by the creature at least that is what we are all thinking... It's dark... We do not know where we are... I don't understand... the creature should have melted the sub according to our theory, but it didn't... Were we wrong? We don't even know what set it off... Lena ensured we followed all protocols and did not disrupt the creature... have we tripped something? Had it perceived us as a threat?

No... It wasn't their fault... It wasn't their fault at all...

Reed's insides twisted.

The day Alex pushed the UUV through the tissue must have triggered a reaction. It was their fault they were in there...

Reed always pushed that thought to the very back of her head, trying to focus on the present, but now? With the notes in hand?

The thought would forever be etched into her mind...

Her eyes slid to the next page.

There is nothing left to do... Are we all going to die here? We tried to move but something is holding the sub in place... Everybody is too scared to go outside.... Surely... Surely somebody is coming... Bell knows we are down here. I am sure we will be fine. We will be fine. We will be fine.

The note was barely decipherable with the black angry scribbles covering the text.

Her heart clenched at the scratched words of hope, somebody having clearly vandalised them long after the note had been made.

We finally managed to get the UUV cameras to work... It's still inoperable, but at least we can see the outside now... It appears we are stuck on some kind of reef. I do not recall any reef warnings, but we all could see it clear as day... We are stuck.

Another page...

Note 34#B (I know you will check it, Lena)

As instructed by the captain, I am to continue my research despite the apparent life-threatening situation we have found ourselves in.

Reed paused, feeling a sad smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Whoever Glass was, they weren't the ones to stay quiet about their opinions.

She continued reading.

...It appears that the inside of UI is a whole ecosystem, unlike what we have seen before. We have already observed multiple unknown species of marine life, including marine flora and fauna. It appears that the outer layer of the creature insulates the inside, creating something akin to a tropical biome. I cannot help but draw similarities based on the water temperature and the structure of the reefs, however, the species we have observed contradict whatever theory I am trying to formulate. None of the fish we had seen had the characteristics that would match the environment... If anything, they all seem to be either migratory type, but their bodies seem...(Flawed?) Their external build doesn't make sense...

Ask About the UUV

Note 15

The sonars picked up something large moving around the submarine... We do not know what it was, but the heat signatures spiked somewhere between 2 and 3 am... I suspect we have been investigated by an unknown large species that inhabits this particular ecosystem. I can only speculate on what it was, however, the heat signatures suggest that it was larger than an adult blue whale... We were preparing to send somebody outside in the suit but with the new development, we will have to postpone the UUV repairs...

(Can the temperature be caused by the thermal vents present in the area?)

Theories to review:

Deep Sea Gigantism

Growth in warm waters

Large Creature= Large prey? Quantity?

Note 45#C

The large creature is a frequent visitor at our sub. It comes every few days around the same time. I have serval reports of tapping along the walls, scratching and humming coming from somewhere outside of the base.

(The team is pressuring me to investigate since I am the lead scientist. I don't know anything about this. How would I know? I can only do so much... I can't stop the tapping... Everybody is scared... Lena is losing control...)

I will do my best to observe the immediate area of the sub in hopes of spotting the creature... Maybe even photographing it with the UUV...

Yet another page was turned, Reed's heart hammering in her chest.

Note 45#C2

I... I can't help but think the creature outside is intelligent... It was intelligent enough to avoid the cameras of the UUV. I know it was there... Tapping and humming like always, but the UUV cameras? Nothing... I couldn't see anything... The sonar and heat signature were there, but the second I shone the light it was gone...

Note 45#C3

Rob ran the diagnostic of the UUV... Whatever was visiting us broke the light of the UUV, so we are stuck with the broken lens and the light... We have to go outside and fix it, otherwise, we won't be able to see anything... I pray this goes well...

Note 17#B

The UUV camera was fixed... I can't help but feel guilty over what Robert had to go through out there. I have asked if he could try and bring in a couple of specimens if there were any near the UUV... Well, he did fix the UUV and brought two unknown species to containment, but... He is very shaken. He said he was being watched... That he felt a large presence somewhere there with him...

I have checked the heat signatures... he was right.

We had a visitor.

It was in there with him... and it was me who forced him to stay longer than he needed...

Specimen Observation:

Day 1

The specimens are two unknown species of fish, measuring about 10 cm each. Both have been deposited in special containers with filtration and will be under strict surveillance. We have allocated the specimen separately to avoid aggression.

Physical Description:

Both appear to be the same species (gender undetermined).

Long thin torso, no distinctive markings.

Milky white eyes.

Silver-white in appearance.

Long dorsal fins (Flying fish?*)

Day 4

There has been no significant change so far... The fish remain calm in their tanks. We have tried feeding them, but they do not react to food, be it raw meat or flakes. It's also worth noting they did not produce any visible waste... I am worried we might unintentionally starve them, however, I did not observe any sign of hunger... The specimens, however, are visibly aware of my presence, often following me with their eyes.

Day 10

The specimens are showing no signs of starvation. Our attempts to feed them have been unsuccessful, however, they might exhibit behaviour where the food is not needed as often... There is no way to tell. They have certainly become more energetic even swimming up to me whenever I approach the tank. I have also gotten a DNA sample from both (Almost lost a finger in the process...They have teeth...).

Were they... bitten?

Day 15

I think the starvation is kicking in... The fish are aggressive beyond belief, so much so that we had to close the tanks shut, in case one decides to jump out. They keep swimming in circles and smash into the glass whenever somebody enters the lab... I do not know the reason for such erratic behaviour, however, we did get some answers from the DNA tests we have done... It... It looks like their DNA is close to an actual Flying Fish... Maybe they are related through evolution? Except, the DNA seems fragmented... It's not an exact match...

Day 19

The fish keep being overly active. We have tried everything to keep them from overstimulating, but the lights and lack of presence in the room don't seem to change much. I am afraid we might have caused them to develop some sickness. Their bodies are bloating, fins are falling apart and no matter how many times we change their water, it becomes murky after just an hour or two... (Wasting disease????)

I haven't been feeling very well and they just keep fucking banging against the glass. The whole sub can hear them. Everybody is asking me to release them, but we can't... Nobody can go out there... Not with that thing outside...Why am I being held responsible for that? I didn't even do anything. I am just doing my job.

Day 24

This is impossible... I had David look over it but he just confirmed. I don't understand... How could the DNA change so much in the span of a few days? Have we stored the sample wrong? I don't understand, but the lesions look eerily similar to the tissue samples we have taken from the UI... What is happening? The fish are barely moving... They are bloated, their skin is breaking and oozing some kind of black liquid... I tried to take a sample but every time they snap at me... I don't want to get bitten again... I have disinfected the wound but it hasn't healed yet...

Reed turned the page, eyes widening at the content.

The whole page was covered in angry scribbles, the paper roughed up and torn in some places as if Glass had pressed the tip of the pen with full force.

She could distinguish only a few words.

Day 28

####################They died###############################

Reed didn't have to guess what happened, the horrifying squelch echoing in her ears.

The fate that awaits everyone...

She turned the page.

Theory of Assimilation:

The creature uses the tissue to infect the host, processing it into nutrients over time.

Note 50#C

The morale is dropping, but the research must continue. I have spent hours combing through the theories and possibilities of deterioration... I mean, the fish couldn't just disintegrate... Not unless there was something in them that caused them to decompose... Could it be some kind of digestion method? If that were the case... No, a digestion method wouldn't break down their DNA... I must keep looking... There must be an answer to this...

The crew is pressuring Rob to fix the UUV so we can operate it again. Maybe we could get help since our Radio only picks up the GOI team... Well, that and some other signal... Lena told us something must have fried in the wires.

(Ask Rob to bring more specimens if possible)

My hand is itching so bad... I might have gotten an infection. My ankles are swollen, but I ran out of my birth control long ago... I wouldn't be surprised if my PCOS* was wreaking havoc and making me swell up... I will ask Lean if we have some...

Reed bit her lip... She got infected... Glass was a female scientist working in labs... Just like Reed did...

She turned yet another page, the rustle of paper making her cringe.

However, what she found on the next page made her eyebrows touch her hairline.

The page was smeared, some words almost impossible to decipher.

He died... We watched him die... Rob is gone... I... I don't know why... He... he was alright... He repaired everything and was all right... He got the UUV working and then... It got him... I saw it on the camera... It got him... Dragged him away... We don't know what to do... We lost him... We lost the exo suit... The sub is leaking because of the damage...He is gone... Oh my god... He is gone...

Something had happened to Robert... Something terrible...

Reed felt her stomach churn.

If it wasn't for the exo-suits they had, the Vault crew would have died of starvation a long time ago... She couldn't imagine losing one, not to mention losing a crew member in such a horrible way...

Had he suffered?

Did it end quickly?

Reed didn't think so...

She turned the page and then another...

The next few notes were completely scribbled and scratched, some even missing...

It was only after a few pages that Reed stumbled upon an actual readable text...

I checked the heat signatures and the cameras of the UUV... I checked everything to see if maybe... If maybe he is still out there... It's been days, but Lena said these suits can last surprisingly long given that it recycles oxygen from the water...

But there hasn't been anything... Anything except the Visitor...

It still comes around, does what it pleases around the sub and then leaves...

Like nothing ever happened... Like it didn't kill my friend...

Thanks to the newer lens, I managed to capture a couple of photos of it...

Robert... I won't let your sacrifice go to waste...

Reed turned the page, revealing a bunch of pictures crudely glued to the page.

Her eyes slid across the depiction of the monster... No... The Visitor...

Some were black and white, depicting the already familiar bald puffy skull of the creature while it floated in the darkness staring into the camera with those blank eyes. What caught Reed's eyes however was the other, colourful picture that covered the entire A4 page of the notebook.

It was a heat signature picture, showing the outline of the creature along with the snake-like torso stretching as far as Reed could see.

She inhaled deeply, looking at the next page.

Note 45#B

It has been decided... We will attempt to use the UUV to track the Oxford ship... That is the plan... Our food is running out... People are getting sick... We are all too weak to just wait around...

My wound has gotten worse, but there is no use in talking about it. It's not like we have the supplies to help me... best I can do is get us out of here... Even if it kills me...

I will pilot the UUV tomorrow.

Another page.

Reed paused... The writing was different... It wasn't L.J. who was writing anymore... It was more neat, less blocky...

The UUV mission ended in a complete failure... We have lost contact with our UUV about an hour after we have released it. Knowing Lily is in no state to write this report, I have decided to fill it in for her along with the photos taken by the UUV shortly after we lost contact.

The initial plan was to manually lead the UUV towards the Oxford ship by the coordinates and thus reach for help. The plan had been going smoothly up until 00:32 when our map began to malfunction. Shortly after, we lost contact with it for almost 10 minutes before it reappeared on our devices. It appeared that the UUV somehow had shifted miles away from our original target.

Lily tried to set us back onto the course, but with the battery running low we had no chance of reaching the Oxford, we had maybe only twenty minutes of control before it faded to black.

From what we have deciphered from the photos and the camera, we must have accidentally been swept by the current and ended up in the very centre of the UI area, where the oil platform is.

We did not manage to reach Oxford.

Lily passed out shortly after we lost the signal.

Reed turned the page looking over the photos.

Surely enough, five different photos were glued to the pages. They were all black and white, the images grainy due to the weak connection the UUV had with the sub.

All were depicting the same thing, the long pillars of the oil rig climbing up into the darkness in a state of absolute disrepair. The pillars were bent and broken, lost wiring visibly drifting in the current. Reed couldn't see the seabed in the pictures, but she could easily see the metal plates peeling off like old paint, having sustained lots of damage over the years of standing in the murky depths. There wasn't anything exciting... Just... Just pictures of the abandoned oil rig that somehow found itself in the claws of the Noctis...

Perhaps it was the Visitor that had butchered the pillars so badly?

She wouldn't know...

It was the very last blurry photo that caught her eye...

The image was a bit wider, having been taken from a further distance than the others.

It depicted the rig in all of its broken glory, the steel corpse of human greed falling apart at the slightest touch of the tides. Except...

Except something wasn't quite right about it...

Now, Reed had seen many oil rigs in her lifetime, particularly because of her time as an activist in Oxford. She would go to rallies, organise lectures about it... All to get just a little of Bell's attention. She wasn't quite proud about it, having advertised for the cause under the false pretence, but the point wasn't her integrity... but rather what she was seeing.

The oil rig appeared to have some kind of ribbed structure right down the middle and it wasn't quite like any drill Reed had seen before... These were obviously rooms, stretching down along the length of the supporting beams. They looked like huge bubbles, the glass barely visible due to lack of light...

"What is that?" Reed muttered to herself, tracing over the shadows of the photo.

Chambers on this depth, not to mention the purpose of the structure?

Why on earth would a rig have something like that?

She turned the page, ready to skim through more notes but to her surprise the page was blank.

Her heart skipped a beat...

Impossible... There has to be more...

She flipped the page... And another... and Another... Each weighing on her heart more and more. There was no continuation? No nothing? Was this how much they have noted in the span of the month?

Surely... Surely that wasn't it...

Maybe Ryan had ripped some pages out? Should she search his workshop once again?

No... No there were no marks indicating any more rips...

What happened to Lily? Had she gotten better?

Was she the one lying in the Oxford Infirmary?

Reed felt her stomach drop at the thought.

She must have been... She must have been one of the women who were too sick to greet them...

The guilt spread through her veins like venom, the burning sensation of shame filling her eyes with tears. Was this all that was left? Just confirmations of what she already knew?

There was a sickness that would kill them...

There was a monster...

It was nothing new... Nothing she hadn't known before...

She flipped through the pages, the numbness settling in her bones.

There was nothing more...

The ghost of Lily had left just as soon as it arrived... Or that was what she expected to happen.

Her hand stilled as she flipped to the last page, fingers curling at the sight.

Scribbles... The same scribbles she had seen before.

Lily had returned with her final message.

WE ARE ALL DEAD

WE ARE ALL DEAD

WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE

MELANIE

M

E

L

A

N

I

E

IT'S IN MY HEAD THEY ARE ALL IN MY HEAD

I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW

MELANIE

RADIO

MELANIE

YOU HAVE TO PICK UP

IT'S ALL CONNECTED

WE ARE PART OF THE SYSTEM

WE ARE ALL CONNECTED

MELANIE

M E L A N I E

EINALEM

LOOK

MELANIE

LOOK

PICK UP

PICK UP

PICK UP

Look?

What did Reed have to look for?

The angry black marks glared at her from the page, thick and skewed from the swollen fingers that gripped the pen. It was concerning... gut-wrenching... Lily's last moments must have been an agonising delirium just like Alex's...

But something... Something wasn't right...

Radio?

What could she mean by that?

Radio?

Look?

Pick up?

What could she pick up? What could she look at?

Was Lily referring to something on the sub?

It was too late to check there... Reed couldn't even locate the vehicle if she really wanted...

Look...

Melanie...

Radio...

Maybe she meant the photos?

Reed quickly returned to the scans from the UUV, scrutinising the black and white grains.

What was she referring to?

Look where?

Somewhere in the notebook? Reed was sure she didn't miss anything...

The first picture told her nothing... So did the second and the third...

But the fourth?

It was mostly black, the lens gazing into the oblivion that was Noctis except for the far-left side of the image. There, partially hidden by the shadow was one of the broken pillars.

Reed could have sworn she saw letters on it...

...JECT MEL...

What...The cogs in her head were turning...

Project? Project Melanie?

Her heart was hammering in her chest.

What was Project Melanie? She had never heard that name before... Why on earth was everything revolving around some name like Melanie?

Her eyebrows creased, fingers quickly flipping the paper back to the last page.

Look?

Radio?

Pick Up?

What the hell?

She stared at the text, hoping some revelation would come if she looked at it long enough.

Melanie... Project Melanie...

Melanie...

M-E-L-A-N-I-E

Suddenly, her mind went quiet...

M-E-L-A-N-I-E

M E-L-A-N-I-E

L-A-I-N-E- E M.

===================================

Hafgufa- A sea monster originating from Islandic Folklore

PCOS- Hormonal condition affecting period cycles. Sympthoms include swelling, weight gain, irregural cycles etc.