1K Feet under the West of the Pacific Ocean
Daylight

{Damian}

"Wake up, Damian!" Iruka forced my eyelids open. "Wakey wakey little merman!"
          "What?" I force myself up. "Are we there yet?"
           I stretched my arms and wanted to stretch my legs... like I always do whenever I wake up... but I forgot that this time, I have fins rather than toes.
          "Nope, we're in the Mariana Trench." She said. "And as you can see, the waters bright. Which means we're closer to the surface than before."
          The moment I heard the words Mariana Trench, I hooked in horror. According to scientist, the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the ocean ever recorded. Ever since then, I've always had a fear of extremely deep oceans. Right now, as a Siren, I still have them.
          But to my surprise, everything looks, normal. I was expecting pure darkness, scary creatures, and emptiness. But, this is the opposite. The waters crystal clear with the sunlight reflecting from the surface. However, there are no other lives around here. It is just me, Iruka and the whale.
          "Mariana Trench?" I ask. "Are you sure?"
          "Yes... the Atlantians told every lives the names of every part of the ocean... and this is called the Mariana Trench because it is the deepest."
          "Yeah, I know the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the ocean but this isn't what I was expecting at all," I said, surprised. "Where's the scary creatures, like the Kracken, the Spider Crabs, Fangtooth Fish, Cthulhu? The Dark Waters? And.... and..." I seem to have run out of words.
          "What?? Don't be a clownfish." She laughed. "The Kracken doesn't live here. It is imprisoned by Poseidon in the Black Hole of the ocean."
          "Black Hole?" I ask, feeling scared.
          "Yup. It is where the sea God imprisoned all the ancient beast, including the Cthulhu, for our safety and of course, the land dwellers."
          "At least... that's what we're told." She said, looking down at the darkness.
          I followed her gaze towards the bottom and was mesmerized on how pitched black it all looked.
         A long time ago, I've watched a video about the Mariana Trench on YouTube. It says that the people had touched the sea bed of it but didn't stay long because of the crushing pressure. Along the way, they came across many new creatures but it wasn't a giant-sized creature. However, they were extremely terrifying to look at.
          Speaking of terrifying, I noticed something coming out through the darkness. A dot of light that is slowly getting bigger and bigger.

          "Do you see that??" I alerted Iruka without taking my eyes off the light.
          "Huh? Oh, yes. I do." She said in a normal tone. "It's an Angler fish."
          My eyes widened with horror because the Angler fish was listed as one of the most dangerous deep-sea fishes in the ocean.
          "Wait... shouldn't they be staying in the deep? For a deep-sea creature, the atmosphere up here isn't suitable for it." I said.
          "It's fine." She assured. "Angler fishes usually come out from the deep when the light on their beacon turns dull."

          "I thought their beacons were supported by bacteria and plankton," I said, following the science in the human world.
          "They do but sometimes, even plankton's are smart enough to hide from them," She said. "Many of them risks their life to come up towards the surface to attract some sunlight into their beacons."
          "However, it's like you said, they can't survive in this atmosphere so... most of them, didn't make it back." She said.
          My eyes were glued to the angler fish that was swimming closer and closer. But thankfully, it wasn't swimming towards us.
          It looked much more horrifying in real life. Its teeth and sharp scales are definitely something I wouldn't want to touch.
          But putting aside its appearance, I noticed something unusual... on its tail. A bright red rock, the size of a fingernail is dangling behind its tail.
          It didn't take me long to notice that the red rock was a ruby gemstone. It looked very similar to the ruby gemstone father had back home that he received as a gift from his parents. He mentioned how one carrot of those gems could cost millions.
          That fish is swimming away with a million rock on its tail.
          "Hey, the rock on its tail." I pointed towards its tail, helping Iruka see what I see. "Do you recognize it?"
          "A rock... Yea?? So?" She said, not surprised.
          I gave her an expression that says are-you-kidding-me?!
          "A rock?!" I ask, surprised that she isn't. "Yes it's a rock but do you realize how valuable those rocks are in the human world??"
          "Valuable?" She asks confusingly. "What's that?"
          Oh right... she's a fish with no understanding of money or wealth.
          "It's like something very very important and could not be obtained easily," I said
          "Well, you're right about one thing... but you're also wrong about one thing." She said. "You're right about it being hard to obtained since its only available in the sea of the Mariana Trench."
          "But... you're wrong on the fact that it is very important." She said. "Maybe humans might find it very important but to us, it's just another rock like every other rocks in the sea."
          All a sudden, the water current moved the necklace around my neck, reminding me that I was still wearing it. Jon's compass necklace. I held it in my grip and stare at it.
          "Oh right, I've been meaning to ask you about that." She said, floating closer towards the pendant. "What is that?"
          "It's a necklace. It's a thing humans wear to make them look more... attractive." I said, trying to sound as simple as possible.
          "Attractive huh?" She scoffs. "When I first saw that, I thought you had a kelp stuck to your neck and will soon get it off... but you didn't." She laughs.
          "No," I said. "This was given to me by the human I told you about who saved my life. It means a lot to me."
          "Well, I don't know anything about humans but... I'm glad that I'm learning some from you." She smiled.
          "Before he left, he gave this to me... as a sign of hope that I'll return home soon," I said. "And it looks like I am." I smile as I look up and tighten my grip around the pendant.
          "Yes... but unfortunately, we might take some time," She said. "Apparently, the whale has stopped her journey to get some rest."
          I took my eyes off Iruka and looked at the whale. I got up and swam towards her enormous eye.
          Though her eyes were fully open, I can see that she's tired... by using my underwater abilities. I didn't know whales or any fishes could get tired... this is absolutely something new for me.
          "Rest girl," I said, laying my hand above her eye. "We can wait."
          She blinked as a sign of understanding.
          I then head back towards Iruka and sat next to her.
          I'm assuming the whale is going to take a little longer time to rest due to her large mass. So I gaze around the area to see if there is anything me and Iruka to do to pass the time.
          We're in the middle of the sea, surrounded by clear bright waters and darkness below us. There are no other lives around us. Which means, there is nothing to do.
          "Well, it looks like we're gonna have to wait for the whale to wake up and then we'll be on our way," Iruka said as she settles down on the whale.
          At this point, I guess she's right. But then out of nowhere, I started thinking about the angler fish that came up before. More specifically, the ruby that was stuck on its tail. Then, I started thinking about Jon. Besides the phone, have I ever gotten him something that represents our bond with each other?
          No.
          I suppose not.
          And that's when it hit me. I should get a ruby gemstone for him as a symbol of our love.
          This is going to be a challenge. Both to conquer my fear and to get a gem for someone I love.
          "Is it possible for me to get some of those red rocks, Iruka?" I ask her who was sleeping upside down like a dead fish.
          She didn't respond at first because she had the shocked expression.
          "You wanna go down the trench?" She floats back straight.
          "That is, if my bod--- my Siren body... could take it, yes," I said.
          "You're a Siren, of course you're able to survive in such depth." She said. "However I can't."
          "I know, Dolphins can only go so deep," I said. "I want to get one of those rock for my friend.
          "I think you should be able to." She said looking down. "Usually we sea creatures take a very long time to reach the bottom but I heard stories that Atlantian's and other none fish creatures could make it down there quicker."
          "Fast?" I ask.
          "Yes." She said. "You're a Siren which means you can swim faster than any other sea creatures. Your scales will glow ones you're in total darkness so you'll be able to see what's around you."
          "You can reach the bottom and even take your time." She said. "But, be careful of the dangers that lurks around the darkness."
          "What kind of dangers are you referring to?" I ask, my heart pounding faster than usual... not in a good way.
          "There are predators who lives in those depths such as the Giant Squid, Megaladon, Viperfish, and the Anglerfishes... the one we just saw not too long ago. Thankfully that was a smaller version of it,"
          "What happens if I were to get caught by one of those beasts?" I ask, officially feeling afraid.
          "Isn't it obvious, you'll be killed and eaten." She said in a very chill tone.
          "Look, Damian." She sighs seriously. "If you're going down there, I want you to return."
          "Please... you're my first human Siren friend." She said sadly. "I can't lose another friend. I just can't."
          For ones, I felt speechless... and at the same time, touched.
          "I never realized you care for me." I tease her. "Thanks, Iruka."
          "I'm serious." She said. "Please... get whatever rock you want from there and get out as fast as possible. Come back safely."
          "I will, Iruka," I said, placing my hand above her dorsal fin. "I will."
          I held the compass pendant and look at the darkness below me... and then to the pendant.
          "This is for you, J," I said as I lightly kiss the pendant.
          And with that, I bend my spine and started swimming down... into the darkness I go.