Hidden Below

Chapter 1: Ocean

I grab a small stone I spotted next to me, studying it for skipping abilities. It was thin, smooth, and heavy enough. I nodded to myself in approval. Slowly reeling back, I tossed the stone. My hand slipped before making the toss.

Plop.

I stared disappointed at the ripples in the water caused by my failed toss. I watched the stone sink, beginning its 20,000-foot journey.

It was such a perfect skipping stone. I pouted.

I uncrossed my legs and stretched out, laying down on my stomach. My fingertips were barely able to touch the water. I admired the water, watching the waves wash onto the artificial shore. There is nothing I loved more than the water. It was home to the largest ecosystem on the planet. There were plants and animals and all kinds of other critters. I had studied them here on Portum ever since the scholars brought them up in grade school lessons.

Today was the day I finally got to explore it for myself. Today was my 18th birthday. The day that children become adults. The day that they are allowed to venture below the water's surface to search for resources. Of course I have seen what lies below from afar, but being able to see how out of reach it is breaks one's soul. Mine at least. Training since childhood, I have swam just beneath the surface. That's all that was permitted. That is not to say I haven't tried, and gotten into plenty of trouble.

Our civilization survived off the water. I watched for years as divers came up with old canned goods from ancestral shopping marts and edible ocean plants. Every once in a while, one of our spearmen would come back with meat.

Poor fish.

My lip ticked to the side as I held a small moment of silence for that which died to provide for our people. The last of the human race. Soon we are going to have to solely live off them, along with what edibles we can find amongst the seaweeds and corals. The amount of scavenged goods being found that haven't expired are scarce. We knew this day would come. Food only lasts for so long. The salt in the water surrounding us provides us with enough to store meat for longer periods, giving our hunters more time to return with bounties.

My favorite diving group, however, was the island's Protectors. The League consists of the most skilled divers, trusted and hand-picked by the Elders. I want to be in The League. They get to dive so much further out than everyone else. Scouting the area and warning us about any dangerous creatures. Of course, there haven't been any attacks like that for decades. Those of animals beneath the ocean's surface. Tales say that The League was created to protect us from The Hidden. Deadly, murderous creatures lying in wait to kill. Of course, these are just tales to encourage little ones in training from venturing too deep. That aside, a position as a Protector would give me a much more vast area to discover. I want to see everything the ocean has to offer.

I don't care much about scavenging for food, or protecting my home from underwater critters. Though, if it meant giving me the privilege of going underwater, I wasn't going to pass that chance up. The Elders named our man-made landmass "Portum," which was Latin for haven. However, it felt so confining. It is composed of a large circular plate of ballistic steel supported by adjustable stilts, keeping it above the ocean's surface. Surrounding the strong metal was a layer of stainless steel, preventing it from rust. It was constructed before The Great Flood, theorized to have been built as a fallback. Over the years, clutters of debris and driftwood that has remained afloat after the Great Flood collected here, and sand from the ocean's floor mingled with the remnants creating the rough surface of Portum today. I had only heard about the Great Flood from history lessons. No one knows what truly caused it, but scholars say it was possibly a nuclear war that caused the world to be taken by the ocean. Our ancestors found Portum about 500 years ago, in their attempt to escape the flood. The inhabitants of Portum, now, are what's left of the human race. Our population is 107.