Chapter 4

The air crackled with tension, not static electricity. This was different, an electric of anticipation. Omega 7 assembled in the briefing room. Our mission operation black tide, retrieve classified data from a sunken research vessel, the RV Leviathan, lost at sea 6 months ago, deemed a catastrophic accident. We knew better. The Leviathan was no ordinary ship, Commander Thompson's voice cut through the silence. His face, etched with concern, projected the image onto the hollow table. It housed Project Chimera, a top-secret government program exploring genetic manipulation and other classified projects.

My fingers trace the outline of the vessel. Its skeletal frame, a ghostly apparition on the screen. What went wrong? I asked my voice betraying my unease. Thompson's gaze met mine. A flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. That's what we need you to find out, Agent Smith. The armoury hummed with a sterile metallic scent. Weapons gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights.

Each member of Omega 7 moved with practised efficiency, checking and rechecking their gear. We were specialists in our own right, but together we were a force to be reckoned with. Make sure those neural dampeners are calibrated. I reminded Jackson, our resident tech whiz. He grunted. His fingers flew across his wrist panel. The dampeners were crucial, masking our presence from the Leviathan's advanced security systems. Don't worry, Cleo, Jackson smirked. This baby could scramble cybernetic circuits from a mile away. I nodded, strapping on my custom-modified Glock 19. Trust, but verify, especially with tech this sensitive. Our ride was the V 22 Osprey, modified for stealth insertion. Its sleek black exterior was almost invisible against the night sky. 30 minutes to drop, Thompson's voice crackled through the comms. Time to disappear. The Osprey dipped low, skimming the waves, its rotors slicing through the air with precision.

The aircraft seemed almost like a phantom itself, gliding effortlessly over the churning sea below. The roar of its engines was swallowed by the howling wind and the crashing of the tumultuous sea. The storm was relentless. A cacophony of nature's fury that threatened to engulf us at any moment. Through the rain-streaked window, I saw it. A shadowy outline emerged from the mist, growing clearer with each passing second. The Leviathan, a dark skeletal finger pointing accusingly at the storm-ridden sky. It was a relic from another time, a ghostly reminder of the past that refused to be forgotten. Deploying in 5, the pilot announced, his voice strained against the turbulence. His hands gripped the controls tightly, knuckles white with the effort of keeping the Osprey steady.

My stomach lurched. Even for omega 7, this was pushing the limits. The turbulence was like a wild beast, tossing us around as if we were mere playthings. We were about to breach a ghost ship, swallowed whole by the abyss, its secrets buried beneath tons of crushing pressure and the weight of the ocean's silence. The very thought sent a shiver down my spine, its secrets buried beneath tons of crushing pressure and the weight of the ocean's silence. The wreckage was a tomb, a silent witness to the tragedies that had unfolded within its rusted hull. Remember your training, I said my voice calm, despite the adrenaline surging through me. We had prepared for this moment, but nothing could truly prepare us for the unknown that awaited. The team nodded, their faces illuminated by the eerie green glow of the internal lights. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts, contemplating the mission ahead. We were soldiers, scientists, and sometimes even something more.

We were explorers of the unknown, seekers of truth in the darkest corners of the world. Tonight, we were ghosts hunting ghosts. The irony was not lost on us as we prepared to face the spectral remnants of a bygone era. The Osprey shuddered as it settled onto the turbulent surface of the water. The waves crashed against its hull, but it held firm. A testament to the skill of our pilot and the resilience of our craft. We were ready to face whatever lay ahead. The icy water hit me like a physical blow, sending a shiver down my spine and making my muscles tense involuntarily. I gasped. The shock is momentarily tensed involuntarily. I gasped. The shock momentarily stole my breath. My lungs burned as they struggled to adapt to the sudden change in temperature. Years of training kicked in. My mind focusing on the mission at hand, pushing aside the discomfort and the cold. I stabilized.

My body adjusting to the pressure and the cold. My movements becoming more controlled and deliberate. Around me, the rest of Omega 7 emerged from the Osprey. Their movements are fluid and silent.

Each member a shadow in the dark water. We moved like phantoms through the water. Our dive suits are equipped with the latest S I N tech, designed to make us nearly invisible to both sonar and the naked eye. The Leviathan loomed before us, a decaying monolith against the churning depths. Its massive structure, a testament to the power of the sea.

Bioluminescent creatures darted away from our lights. Their ethereal glow painted the darkness with fleeting streaks of colour, adding an otherworldly beauty to the scene. Jackson on point, I whispered. My voice amplified through the comms, the sound clear despite the surrounding water. He nodded, his eyes glued to the scanner in his hand. The device beeped softly as it scanned the area for any signs of movement. Motion sensors are clear. For now, he reported his voice steady, but with an underlying tension that matched the gravity of our mission. We swam towards a gaping hole in the ship's hull. The entrance resembles the maw of a monstrous sea creature ready to swallow us whole. The Leviathan was about to reveal its secrets and we were prepared to uncover every hidden corner, every forgotten story buried within its depths.

The interior of the Leviathan was a graveyard of twisted metal and shattered glass. Corridors once bustling with life were now silent, haunted by the ghosts of a failed experiment. The air was thick with the stench of decay and something else. Something metallic and alien. Sensors are picking up an energy signature. It's faint but definitely there. We moved deeper into the ship's bowels following the signal. The oppressive silence was broken only by the hiss of our breathing apparatus and the steady thump of my own heart. The energy signature led us to a sealed door, its surface cold and metallic. What is this place? Her voice usually laced with sarcasm was hushed with awe. I didn't have an answer. Not yet.

The heavy door groaned open, revealing a laboratory bathed in an eerie blue light. In the centre, a containment chamber pulsed with unnatural energy. Inside, floating in some kind of viscous fluid, was a humanoid figure. Its skin was pale, almost translucent, and its eyes were closed. What the hell is that? Mark, our weapons specialist, breathed. His hand instinctively went to his sidearm, a nervous tick I'd seen 100 times before. Subject 0. I murmured.

My gaze was transfixed on the figure. The data we'd recovered before the mission mentioned a prototype. A being engineered to be the next step in human evolution. It seemed Project Chimera had been more successful than anyone had imagined, but something wasn't right. The energy readings were off the charts, chaotic and unpredictable. This wasn't a dormant subject. This was something far more volatile. We need to get that data core. Bishop's voice crackled through the comms, a stark reminder of our mission. He was right. We couldn't afford to get sidetracked no matter how unsettling this discovery was. The data core from Project Chimera held secrets that could change the world, for better or worse. Jackson, his face pale but determined, set up his equipment, his fingers dancing across the holographic keyboard. I'm in. Downloading now. Time seemed to stretch, each second an eternity. The blue light from the containment chamber flickered, casting grotesque shadows on the walls.

The air grew colder, a bone-chilling cold that seemed to seep into our very bones. Download complete. Let's get out of here. As if on cue, the containment chamber pulsed violently. The blue light turned a sickly yellow. The humanoid figure inside, subject 0, twitched. Its eyes snapped open. Glowing with an unnatural intensity. We have to go now. We turned to leave. Our movements were urgent, but it was too late. The lab door slammed shut. The metal groaned under an unseen force. We're trapped.

The containment chamber shattered. The sound deafening in the enclosed space. Subject 0 was awake. Subject 0 rose from the shattered remains of the containment chamber. It moved with a speed and agility that defied logic. Its eyes burned with a cold calculating intelligence. Fear, primal and instinctive coursed through me, but I pushed it down. We had to survive this. Jackson, can you override the door? I'm trying, but there's some kind of energy field blocking the controls. Subject 0 advanced towards us. Its movements are fluid and predatory.

We were outmatched, outgunned, and trapped. This wasn't just a retrieval mission anymore. This was a fight for survival. The Osprey's engines roared, a welcome sound in the aftermath of the chaos. The noise was deafening, but it was a reminder that we were still alive, still fighting. The vibrations from the engines seemed to shake off the remnants of fear that clung to us. We'd made it out, barely, thanks to a well-placed explosive from Sarah that had bought us just enough time.

The explosion had been our saving grace, A desperate move that had paid off. As the boat sped away, the flames reflected in the water. A stark reminder of the danger we had just escaped. But the encounter with subject 0 had left its mark. It wasn't just the physical scars. It was the mental and emotional toll. The image of its eyes, cold and calculating, was seared into my memory. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them, and I knew the others did too. Questions lingered. Gnawing at the edges of my mind. What was subject 0's true purpose? Why had it targeted us specifically?

The more I thought about it, the more questions arose, each one more troubling than the last. What happened back there, Cleo? The question hung in the air heavy with the weight of our collective uncertainty. It was a question we all wanted answers to, but none of us had them. The others, their faces pale and drawn, echoed his question with their eyes. Each of us was searching for some semblance of understanding, some clue that would make sense of the chaos we had just endured. I shook my head, my gaze lost in the churning water below. The ocean seemed to mirror my thoughts, turbulent and unfathomable. I felt a deep sense of unease, as if the answers we sought were hidden in its depths. I don't know. The words felt inadequate, but they were all I had.

The truth was, none of us knew what had really happened or what it meant for our future. I admitted. My voice was barely a whisper. The admission felt like a defeat, but it was also a step towards understanding. We needed to confront our ignorance if we were ever going to find the answers we sought. But the dreams, the ones that had haunted me ever since we'd accepted the mission, they were becoming clearer.

Each night the images grew more vivid and more disturbing. They were trying to tell me something, but I couldn't yet decipher their message. And they were filled with images of subject 0, its eyes burning with an all too familiar hunger. Those eyes seemed to pierce through the darkness, reaching into my very soul. They were a constant reminder of the threat we faced. The Leviathan might be at the bottom of the ocean, but the secrets it held, the questions it raised, were just beginning to surface. The ocean was vast and mysterious, and I had a feeling that our journey was far from over. And I had a sinking feeling that we, Omega 7, were in way over our heads. The weight of our mission pressed down on us. And I couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come. We were on the brink of something monumental. And the answers we sought might just be the beginning of a new set of questions.