홈 / Mystery/Thriller 단편 작품 & 소설 / Echoes from Below / 챕터 1 - 챕터 10

Echoes from Below의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 10

10 챕터

Chapter 1

Online sales tactics were getting out of hand.Extending into dreams?If they could extend the repayment of my bank loans, that would be better.I snickered and continued scrolling down.[If you experience dampness behind your ears and detect the smell of seawater, please shut off your device immediately and place it in direct sunlight for a minimum of three hours.]That was even more absurd.My phone spraying seawater?I flipped to the side and fluffed my pillow.The final guideline was written in a jarring red font.[On rare occasions, the station will transmit the Predator's Song. When this occurs, remain completely still and hold your breath until the broadcast concludes.]Hold my breath? Were they trying to asphyxiate me? I pouted and clicked on [I Agree and Start Listening.]The so-called 'Echoes from Below' were nothing more than just some white noise, like the wind moving through an empty corridor or a massive creature slowly exhaling beneath the water.Rumble.T

Chapter 2

The song was ethereal and unnatural, like the sound of metal scraping against metal.It was that radio application!The sound didn't travel through my ears. It vibrated in my head directly. I suddenly recalled the first rule of the Listening Guidelines.[This station's signal may extend into dreams. If you hear the broadcast while dreaming, firmly believe that you are awake.]Awake? How could I possibly be awake? I kept telling myself that it was all a dream and that I needed to wake up quickly.'Wake up!'However, the song got closer and louder.Outside my window, something enormous drifted past. A vast black silhouette, blocking what little light that had filtered in.That thing stopped right outside my window. A huge, murky eyeball pressed against the glass of my window, staring at me. It was laughing.I could feel it laughing. The excitement of a predator when it found its prey.[Believe that you are awake.]I bit my tongue. It hurt.I could instantly taste the sten

Chapter 3

[Help! My wife started eating raw meat! She says it's tartare!][Did someone hear the song last night? My cat died of fright.][I'm an ENT doctor. I've been receiving a lot of patients with abscesses behind the ears, but when I cut into them, I found…]With trembling fingers, I tapped into that doctor's post. The original poster's ID was 'The Scalpel'.The post was of a blurry photo accompanied by a block of text.[Upon incision, no pus was present, only this semi-translucent, scale-like tissue. Moreover, the tissue appears biologically active. It continues to writhe after being removed from the body.][I attempted lab analysis. DNA sequencing indicates that it does not belong to any known terrestrial organism.]The replies were even more terrifying.[Dude, run! This is the first stage of Deep Sea-fication!][Don't cut it! Those are their egg sacs!][I have them too. You can’t scratch them off. The more you try, the deeper the itch goes.]I touched the back of my ear. The pl

Chapter 4

[June 2021. At the extreme depths of the Marina Trench, we detected a set of anomalies frequency. Initially thought to be the seismic vibration caused by whales, spectral analysis shows a structured pattern consistent with a type of language.][January 2022. All decoding attempts failed. Researcher Daniel Lynch experienced an acute psychotic break while monitoring the signals. He pierced his eardrums with a pen. Before he died, he kept yelling, "They're hungry! They're hungry!"][March 2023. It's confirmed. The signal source isn't technological. It's biological. An ancient, colossal organism that feeds on bioelectric signals, which humans perceive as emotion.[We named it God of the Seas, or more accurately, the Abyssal Maw.]My hands and feet turned cold.It feeds on emotions? Then, why did it need to go through a radio app?The final block of text answered my question.[Modern wireless signals are the perfect bait. It has learned to camouflage itself, taking advantage of human

Chapter 5

I had turned into a monster.Looking at my neck in the mirror, the slit was still seeping translucent mucus. I was somehow extremely calm.It was not acceptance. It was numbness from despair.Dr. Chenowith's message came once more.[Are you still alive? Your will to live is stronger than I expected. Since you survived the first hunt, this means that the transformation has begun. The inhibitor won't work on you anymore.]I merely replied, [Then, am I just to wait for death?][No. There's another solution.] Dr. Chenowith sent me a screenshot of a map. A red marker glowed in the middle of nowhere, 300 kilometers away from the city.It was an abandoned lighthouse.[That’s the original signal reception site. There’s a jammer there. It can sever your link to it, but you have to reach it before full Deep Sea-fication.][Remember. No matter what you hear or see, don't stop the car. It uses your strongest emotions and memories to stop you.]Emotions?I smiled bitterly.I had been

Chapter 6

Two hours later, I saw the lighthouse.It stood on a stretch of black, jagged reef. Alone, broken, abandoned.There was no light at the top. There was only a ring of rusted iron railing silhouetted against the stormy sky.My car died about 100 meters away. The engine started smoking. The car was done for good.I opened the door, only to be faced with a stunningly strong gust of wind.The air was filled with that disgusting stench of rot, much stronger than what I encountered at home. I felt as if I had jumped into a huge tank of rotting fish.However, the gills on my neck reacted eagerly. They flared open and shut, gulping the foul air with hunger.I even felt lighter.Was that the effect of the Deep Sea-fication?I was adapting to the monster's world. I staggered toward the lighthouse, boots slipping on wet stone.The front door was wide open. Inside was pure darkness, like a mouth waiting to be fed."Dr. Chenowith?" I called out.My voice echoed inside. No response came.

Chapter 7

I instinctively swerved.Dr. Chenowith slammed onto the railings, causing a loud crash. I had underestimated his strength. He swung back, and his webbed hand clamped around my arm like a steel vice.I was in excruciating pain. My bones were about to break."Let me go!"I pulled out my folding knife and stabbed it into his arm. The blade stabbed into the scales, but slipped away as if it was stabbing into a tire, leaving a white mark."It's useless!"He snarled and flung me away. I landed badly on the control console, bleeding from the corner of my mouth.Dr. Chenowith came closer, step by step, and asked, "Why are you resisting?"The scary thing was that he did not look murderous. He looked oddly sympathetic. His uncanny imitation of compassion made it seem even more creepy."Think about your ex-boyfriend. You two were so much in love, yet you ended up breaking up because of money."He stopped in front of me and bent down, staring at me with that huge fish eye of his.His

Chapter 8

I picked up a metal chair by the side and smashed it against the control console.Wham! Sparks flew. The exploding sound of the electronic components in the machine sounded like fireworks.I did not stop.Slam! Bam! Clang!I released all of my fear and anger on the control console like a maniac until the machine had turned into nothing but scraps for recycling.The constant buzzing in my brain finally vanished. The world turned quiet. All that remained was the waves lapping against the reefs.I threw the chair aside and slumped to the ground.It had all ended. Everything was done."Heh…"Dr. Chenowith snickered gutturally. He had not died. Lying in the pool of his blood, his remaining fish eye glaring at me.He coughed up blood while chuckling. "The machine was never the source."What?I sharply turned to look at him."It's just a receiver. An amplifier."Dr. Chenowith's voice grew fainter by the second. "The real source is down below…"He pointed at the floor, the r

Chapter 9

At that moment, I should have gone insane.Any normal human, staring directly into that kind of incomprehensible cosmic horror, would have had their sanity shatter like thin glass.However, I did not.Perhaps it was due to the emotional hollowing-out I had already gone through.Maybe it was the mutations numbing something inside me, or some twisted instinct protecting me.My mind was oddly clear at that moment.Crystal clear.It wanted to eat me. Not my flesh, but my entire being.Its countless eyes twinkle with greed and hunger. It was absorbing my fear, my despair, and my memories.I felt slowly stripped of them.The joy of riding a bicycle for the first time. The excitement of getting into college. The pain of my first breakup…All those memories were slowly becoming a blur to me, at the same time turning into its nourishment.No.I was not going to become an empty shell. In despair, my mind turned quickly.I knew it feasted on emotions. Fear was an appetizer, while

Chapter 10

Some time later, perhaps a second, perhaps an eternity, when I opened my eyes once more, I was back at home in my bed.The sun shone through the window, hitting on my face. I felt the warmness coursing through me. Birds were chipping merrily outside the window.I suddenly set up. My body was unharmed. I had no scales, no gills, nor fins.My neck was clean as before.Was I dreaming? Was it really all just a dream?I picked my phone up. The Echoes from Below application was gone. I could not find the forum either.The only thing I saw was a message in my inbox from someone unknown.[Congratulations.]I was stunned. What was I being congratulated for?I walked over to the bathroom and turned the tap on to wash my face. Just when I cupped some water in my hands, I heard voices. Countless voices."I'm starving.""Help.""I really want to go home."Those voices were coming from the water, from every molecule in the water.I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes had turned a

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