False Demise
Sarah Narbles giggled delightedly as her boyfriend Aaron told another joke. Because of Aaron, she was popular and envied by every girl in the 10th grade. She loved her status�too much some girls said, but those were the unpopular ones. Oh well, boo hoo for them. She�d accidentally let slip some juicy rumors about them. Boy, were they sorry that they had messed with Sarah Narbles! Anyway, she didn�t care if their nerdy friends stayed away�they tarnished her otherwise perfect image. Those good for nothing brats. She sighed delicately and became once more enraptured by Aaron�s joke.
� � �
�Are you sure it�s all right Jera?�
Jera Moore snorted. Her best friend Cindy always worried too much. She pushed her slipping glasses up her nose.
�Of course it�s all right. You�ve all seen how Sarah treats us!� Jera paused for effect and received fervent nods from the group around her.
�Perfect Miss Sarah Narbles with her hoity-toityness,� Jera sneered. �Just because of her ickle boyfriend! Puh-leeze! Sarah wouldn�t know real class if it bit her on that plastic nose of hers! We�ll show her! Are you all with me?� Jera got cheers this time.
�I don�t know��began Cindy.
�Oh stop being such a wet blanket Cin!� Jera snapped. Cooling down, she gently said, �After all our plans, don�t back out now!�
�Ooooooookay,� Cindy said reluctantly.
�Right then, down to business. Remember, it�s tomorrow night at the overnight field trip��
Jera Moore snorted. Her best friend Cindy always worried too much. She pushed her slipping glasses up her nose.
�Of course it�s all right. You�ve all seen how Sarah treats us!� Jera paused for effect and received fervent nods from the group around her.
�Perfect Miss Sarah Narbles with her hoity-toityness,� Jera sneered. �Just because of her ickle boyfriend! Puh-leeze! Sarah wouldn�t know real class if it bit her on that plastic nose of hers! We�ll show her! Are you all with me?� Jera got cheers this time.
�I don�t know��began Cindy.
�Oh stop being such a wet blanket Cin!� Jera snapped. Cooling down, she gently said, �After all our plans, don�t back out now!�
�Ooooooookay,� Cindy said reluctantly.
�Right then, down to business. Remember, it�s tomorrow night at the overnight field trip��
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Sarah strode out on deck to smell the fresh air. It was 11:00 pm, but who cared? This four-day cruise was the best!
Sarah was pulled from her thoughts when she heard shuffling footsteps coming towards her. Who would be up at this hour?, she thought. She waited anxiously, but then heard the sound of glasses being pushed up. She rolled her eyes. It was just a nerd! She sighted Jera Moore among them. Interesting�
Jera was the smartest person Sarah knew and was the craftiest. She knew things that no normal person knew. She heard Jera call out.
�Nice weather, no?�
Sarah nodded.
�Too cold for a good swim though. Stay too long in these waters and you could catch hypothermia. Not to mention it is hard to see the sharks at this hour��Jera trailed off, smiling sweetly.
Now what the heck does that mean?, Sarah wondered. Jera sidled up behind her.
�Golly, Sarah that is a real gorgeous necklace you have on. May I see it?�
�Sure,� Sarah said, reaching to take it off. She was okay with Jera touching it.
�No, no, let me!�
Jera moved to take off the necklace. Suddenly, Sarah felt a cloth go over her mouth. She screamed in terror, but no sound could be heard.
Jera chuckled. �Homemade soundproof cloth. Do you like it?� Her mouth twitched. �Let�s see how well you really swim. Oh, did I mention that the gag would weigh you down? It�s simply marvelous what science can do nowadays!�
Sarah whimpered in fear.
Jera laughed silently and gave a great shove. Sarah felt herself falling, and then felt herself impact with the icy waters below. The breath was knocked out of her body, and she saw stars. She whimpered again. She couldn�t swim! She flailed helplessly about, tasting blood. Damn! She has d bitten her lip. What had Jera said about there being sharks in the water? Weren�t sharks attracted to blood? Suddenly, Sarah felt large, rough bodies swimming around her, like vultures circling their prey. She felt a sharp pain, and was dragged under. Sarah found herself staring and rows upon rows of pointed, yellowed teeth. She screamed out Aaron�s name, and the sharks sunk their teeth into her warm flesh.
Sarah was pulled from her thoughts when she heard shuffling footsteps coming towards her. Who would be up at this hour?, she thought. She waited anxiously, but then heard the sound of glasses being pushed up. She rolled her eyes. It was just a nerd! She sighted Jera Moore among them. Interesting�
Jera was the smartest person Sarah knew and was the craftiest. She knew things that no normal person knew. She heard Jera call out.
�Nice weather, no?�
Sarah nodded.
�Too cold for a good swim though. Stay too long in these waters and you could catch hypothermia. Not to mention it is hard to see the sharks at this hour��Jera trailed off, smiling sweetly.
Now what the heck does that mean?, Sarah wondered. Jera sidled up behind her.
�Golly, Sarah that is a real gorgeous necklace you have on. May I see it?�
�Sure,� Sarah said, reaching to take it off. She was okay with Jera touching it.
�No, no, let me!�
Jera moved to take off the necklace. Suddenly, Sarah felt a cloth go over her mouth. She screamed in terror, but no sound could be heard.
Jera chuckled. �Homemade soundproof cloth. Do you like it?� Her mouth twitched. �Let�s see how well you really swim. Oh, did I mention that the gag would weigh you down? It�s simply marvelous what science can do nowadays!�
Sarah whimpered in fear.
Jera laughed silently and gave a great shove. Sarah felt herself falling, and then felt herself impact with the icy waters below. The breath was knocked out of her body, and she saw stars. She whimpered again. She couldn�t swim! She flailed helplessly about, tasting blood. Damn! She has d bitten her lip. What had Jera said about there being sharks in the water? Weren�t sharks attracted to blood? Suddenly, Sarah felt large, rough bodies swimming around her, like vultures circling their prey. She felt a sharp pain, and was dragged under. Sarah found herself staring and rows upon rows of pointed, yellowed teeth. She screamed out Aaron�s name, and the sharks sunk their teeth into her warm flesh.
� � �
Jera chuckled as she finished brushing of her gloves. Sarah would be soaked and she would have had her revenge�
Jera went to breakfast whistling. She looked about and saw people standing by the railings, looking bereft, wearing black, and crying. What was going on? Jera wondered. The teacher, Mrs. Bentley, came up to her and whispered gently in her ear.
�Try not to look so happy, dear. And while you�re at it, change your clothes into something more suitable. Poor Sarah Narbles�s bloody clothes were found this morning drifting on the tide. She was pushed overboard, it seems, and was eaten soon afterward by sharks. The poor, poor girl!�
Jera went to breakfast whistling. She looked about and saw people standing by the railings, looking bereft, wearing black, and crying. What was going on? Jera wondered. The teacher, Mrs. Bentley, came up to her and whispered gently in her ear.
�Try not to look so happy, dear. And while you�re at it, change your clothes into something more suitable. Poor Sarah Narbles�s bloody clothes were found this morning drifting on the tide. She was pushed overboard, it seems, and was eaten soon afterward by sharks. The poor, poor girl!�
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40 YEARS LATER
Jera Saranelli stared out of the mini-sub widow. It had been forty years since that fateful field trip, forty years since she had inadvertently killed Sarah Narbles. Many things had happened since then. She had gotten married to marine biologist Jacob Saranelli; she had become a famous scientist, and had been widowed by a freak accident, just to name three. Now she was to be the first human to explore the ocean floor of the Mariana Trench. She let her thoughts drift slightly. So many years had passed�
She was jerked back to reality by an object on the sub�s sensors. It appeared to be human! Jera swiveled in her chair and pressed the button to open the view port. She turned towards the black maw that was the trench and screamed. For in front of her sub, clad in what appeared to be seaweed, was Sarah Narbles. She was, however, a changed woman. Although twenty years had passed since Sarah�s fateful plunge, she looked to be about twenty years of age. Also, she had long white hair and gills, as well as a few fins and a long, sweeping tail where her legs had been.
Jera whimpered as Sarah�s cold voice filled her mind. �WELL, IF IT ISN�T JERA MOORE? OR SHOULD I SAY JERA SARANELLI?! IT�S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I LAST SAW YOU, A VERY LONG TIME INDEED. WHAT WAS IT THAT WE WERE DOING? OH YES! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME! HOWEVER, THE SHARKS� BITES HAD THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF MUTATING ME AND ALLOWING ME TO MUTATE OTHERS. IT ALSO KEPT ME LOOKING YOUNG. NOT A BAD BARGAIN, EH? WELCOME TO MY WORLD, JERA. FOR YOU ARE DEFINITELY HERE TO STAY!�
At that last word, Jera felt cold, icy tendrils wrap around her mind, shoving their past her thoughts. She felt her body mutate, and saw that it was a reflection of Sarah�s. The glass of her min-sub cracked, and with a sweep of her tail, she broke free to join her new species.
5 YEARS LATER Shannon Saranelli stared out of the mini-sub window in wonder. It had been five years since her mother had disappeared in these waters, five years since she had become an orphan. She sighed and looked back at the tactical display, and violently started when something flashed across her screen. It was not anything that was indigenous to the area, that much she was sure of. But what else could it be? Shannon was ready to discount the disturbance as a sensor ghost when it happened again. A ghostly figure approached the sub, although she was strangely unafraid. She peered myopically out of the view port as hundreds of gilled, finned humanoids crowding the mini-sub. One came to the front, one that looked like a younger version of Shannon's mother. She put her hand against the glass, almost as if to touch this phantasm of her thoughts. She heard a voice begin to talk gently in her head.
�HI SHANNON, SWEETHEART. IT�S MOM. WE HAVE COME TO GET YOU, TO TAKE YOU TO JOIN US. WE ARE THE CAROUNI, AND WE WANT TO MAKE YOU ONE OF US.�
Shannon felt icy tendrils wrap around her mind and her body mutate to a mirror image of those outside. She blew the hatch on the sub, and went to join the freedom of the CAROUNI.
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Jera Saranelli stared out of the mini-sub widow. It had been forty years since that fateful field trip, forty years since she had inadvertently killed Sarah Narbles. Many things had happened since then. She had gotten married to marine biologist Jacob Saranelli; she had become a famous scientist, and had been widowed by a freak accident, just to name three. Now she was to be the first human to explore the ocean floor of the Mariana Trench. She let her thoughts drift slightly. So many years had passed�
She was jerked back to reality by an object on the sub�s sensors. It appeared to be human! Jera swiveled in her chair and pressed the button to open the view port. She turned towards the black maw that was the trench and screamed. For in front of her sub, clad in what appeared to be seaweed, was Sarah Narbles. She was, however, a changed woman. Although twenty years had passed since Sarah�s fateful plunge, she looked to be about twenty years of age. Also, she had long white hair and gills, as well as a few fins and a long, sweeping tail where her legs had been.
Jera whimpered as Sarah�s cold voice filled her mind. �WELL, IF IT ISN�T JERA MOORE? OR SHOULD I SAY JERA SARANELLI?! IT�S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I LAST SAW YOU, A VERY LONG TIME INDEED. WHAT WAS IT THAT WE WERE DOING? OH YES! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME! HOWEVER, THE SHARKS� BITES HAD THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF MUTATING ME AND ALLOWING ME TO MUTATE OTHERS. IT ALSO KEPT ME LOOKING YOUNG. NOT A BAD BARGAIN, EH? WELCOME TO MY WORLD, JERA. FOR YOU ARE DEFINITELY HERE TO STAY!�
At that last word, Jera felt cold, icy tendrils wrap around her mind, shoving their past her thoughts. She felt her body mutate, and saw that it was a reflection of Sarah�s. The glass of her min-sub cracked, and with a sweep of her tail, she broke free to join her new species.
5 YEARS LATER Shannon Saranelli stared out of the mini-sub window in wonder. It had been five years since her mother had disappeared in these waters, five years since she had become an orphan. She sighed and looked back at the tactical display, and violently started when something flashed across her screen. It was not anything that was indigenous to the area, that much she was sure of. But what else could it be? Shannon was ready to discount the disturbance as a sensor ghost when it happened again. A ghostly figure approached the sub, although she was strangely unafraid. She peered myopically out of the view port as hundreds of gilled, finned humanoids crowding the mini-sub. One came to the front, one that looked like a younger version of Shannon's mother. She put her hand against the glass, almost as if to touch this phantasm of her thoughts. She heard a voice begin to talk gently in her head.
�HI SHANNON, SWEETHEART. IT�S MOM. WE HAVE COME TO GET YOU, TO TAKE YOU TO JOIN US. WE ARE THE CAROUNI, AND WE WANT TO MAKE YOU ONE OF US.�
Shannon felt icy tendrils wrap around her mind and her body mutate to a mirror image of those outside. She blew the hatch on the sub, and went to join the freedom of the CAROUNI.
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After the disappearances of the Saranelli women, the Global Science Directorate suspended all acts of underwater exploration. In the ensuing investigation, it was discovered that over five hundred explorers had disappeared in the last forty-five years. Although the Directorate wanted to eradicate the UEF (Underwater Exploration Federation) for such discrepancies, the exploration continued and the disappearances dropped down to about four per year�an acceptable amount according to the GSD.
However, no one ever forgot about the disappearances, the Saranelli Files as they were called�especially in the dark depths of the ocean where one hears the slight swish of a tail and a brush against their mind�
However, no one ever forgot about the disappearances, the Saranelli Files as they were called�especially in the dark depths of the ocean where one hears the slight swish of a tail and a brush against their mind�
