T-02-02-02 — “The Fish” [ALEPH]
“…It has come to our attention that several employees have started to experience severe visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations after working with O-02-02. If you are suffering from these hallucinations, it is heavily advised that you tell a superior immediately. We do not want another repeat of the incident that took place yesterday.”
[The following is a transcripted retelling of the events that happened on the 3rd of April, 97X, regarding what exactly went down during a Great Lakes expedition led by the Eight Association.]
“I-It was dark that night. Really, really dark. The whole deck was covered in fog, you could barely even see an inch in front of you. It was only when the boat started rocking violently that we knew something was wrong.
“We had recieved information regarding the lake we were currently sailing through. Its rules, its whales… we had followed all of it to a tee. So when the rocking began, we… didn’t know what was going on.
“The air turned icy cold, and that’s when the screaming started. Nobody could see what was exactly happening, but I could hear my fellow crew fighting for their lives and the splashes of bodies falling into the water.
“The moment I realized that this was beyond our control, I decided to make a break for the lifeboats. It was difficult, to say the least, for my lantern only provided a small bit of light. When I got there, somebody else was already on the lifeboat, and was almost about to deploy. I made it in the nick of time, though.
“We departed as quickly as we could. It wasn’t long before the engine suddenly died out on the tumultuous waves, and… I found myself being thrown overboard.
“The water… was dark. As I sank into the depths my eyes gradually adjusted, and… in front of me… were thousands of fish. Staring at me, completely still amidst the roaring waves above… and I had this overwhelming sense that they were judging me. Judging me for leaving my coworkers behind— no-nonono. Judging me for leaving them behind. I felt frozen, sinking deeper and deeper, and let go of my breath, and my vision faded to black.
“When I awoke I was on another ship. The other survivor had dove into the water and brought me back to the surface. We were lucky another ship was nearby, and even luckier that they deemed us to be humans.
“I should be glad to be alive, I should be thankful. Yet everywhere I go, I see them. Those blank eyes, staring back at me. Judging me. ‘Why didn’t you stay? Why did you abandon us?’ over, and over, and over, I can see those fish in my peripheral vision. Again and again they tell me to come back, and nobody believes me when I tell them what I’m experiencing.
“Ha…ha… it’s… just fish. They’re just fish. That’s all they are— they’re just fish. It’s just fish.”