Underwater Hosts (1)

"Wake up" A voice whispered.

He ignored it, feeling very sleepy. His mind drifted back to the cold and hard surface of the pyramid where he had been stuck for almost three weeks. That cold and hard floor could never compare to this. He was sleeping on a soft... wait... uh... what was he sleeping on?

And in the first place, where was he?

"Wake up, Six. Wake up, wake—"

His eyelids shot open, and the first thing he saw was a ceiling. Not the sky, not the glittering expanse of stars above the pyramid. Just a ceiling.

"Ceiling?!" he muttered, jolting upright and saw that he was not on the pyramid or in the water. Instead, he was within the confines of strong steel bars conjoined with a wall and arranged perfectly to form a cell that was part of a larger, dimly lit chamber. The ground was covered in slick, damp seaweed that covered its entirety like a rug and clung to his hands as he moved.

This wasn't the pyramid.

"Where am I?" he croaked.

A soft touch on his shoulder stopped him from rising further. He shook his head trying to clear the remaining bit of dizziness that loomed there. He turned around and saw Thirteen kneeling where his head had just been. Her hand was still on his shoulder, firm, yet gentle as she guided him back down.

"Don't move too much," she murmured, her expression tense.

"Thirteen?" he rasped, his mind racing. "What's going on? Where are we?"

She didn't answer immediately, her lips pressed into a thin line as she helped him adjust. Six's gaze flicked around the room. The events leading up to his capture came flooding back.

He remembered being attacked and now that he was here, he was definitely captured but why was Thirteen here with him? He vividly remembered that the other Seekers did not go with him.

"How are you here?" he demanded, his voice rising. "I thought—" He paused "You followed me?"

Her silence was answer enough. Before he could say more, a low voice called from the cell directly across the corridor.

"Six" The familiar voice called out.

Six froze, the voice pulling him out of his spiraling thoughts. It was calm but carried a weight that made his pulse quicken. He turned his head toward the source, his sharp eyes narrowing as they landed on another cell directly across from theirs.

"Eleven?" Six said, his voice hoarse. The faint, bluish light in the room cast eerie shadows on the walls, but the figure sitting on the other side was unmistakable.

"Eleven?" he croaked, staring at the figure in the cell opposite his.

Eleven was sitting on the ground, her back against the wall, one leg stretched out while the other was propped up. She looked disheveled. Fairly speaking, she already looked rough from weeks on the pyramid but this was another kind of rough— Her hessian was torn all over and she had a spot of dark red blood on her lower torso, but her sharp eyes were still as piercing as ever. It was bandaged though. Come to think of it, he looked the same as her.

"Finally awake, huh?" she said, gripping the bars and leaning forward. "Took you long enough."

 "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice rising with urgency.

"I'm fine," Eleven replied, her voice clipped. "Better than you look, anyway." She added, referring to his wound and fresh bruises.

Six frowned, his gaze flicking between her and the cell. "I let them take me. I thought I could find you, get you out and we could finish this stupid "prologue""

"And instead, you got yourself locked up," she interrupted, her tone dry. "Brilliant plan, Six. Really."

He opened his mouth to reply when movement caught his eye. In the dim light, a figure shifted beside Eleven. Six's eyes widened as Stone stepped into view, his broad shoulders and calm expression unmistakable.

"Stone?"

"Yeah, I'm here too," Stone said evenly, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bars. "Figured I'd tag along since you decided to run off and get yourself caught."

Six stared, his gut twisting. "You—how—You acted like you weren't coming," Six shot back, his frustration bubbling to the surface.

"And we weren't," Stone said, his tone steady. "Until we heard the voice saying another Seeker had died and we decided to check it out. But then, we also got caught"

"And now, everyone is here thanks to you"

"Everyone?" he asked quietly, the weight of the question heavy in the air.

"Yes," came Purple's voice from the adjacent cell. He leaned against the bars, his sharp eyes glinting in the dim light.

Six stood with his back to the bars "You're blaming me for this?" He said, his tone flat, almost indifferent.

From the adjacent cell, Purple's voice came, sharp and accusing. "Not blaming you, just pointing out that you thought you could go it alone. Now look where we all are."

Six smirked, his eyes narrowed but focused straight ahead. "I told you before going. You guys were too scared to come, that's on you. And besides, this is part of the plan so everybody stop whining"

From across the corridor, Purple's voice cut through the tension. "You've got a plan, then?"

"Well, I hadn't thought about it for until when I got caught since I didn't know the interior so, we're going to have to stay here a while. It's better than being on that pyramid anyway and now we actually know that there is somewhere else besides that pyramid" Six said "Speaking of, is Red with you?"

"Red, yeah, he's right beside me, but he's in no mood for talking"

As their discussion grew tense, their voices bouncing softly against the damp stone walls, a sound cut through the entire chamber, silencing them all.

The soft squelch and slap of bare, wet feet against the cold floor echoed in the dim corridor, deliberate and unhurried. Each step seemed to drag with a weight that sent an involuntary chill down Six's spine.

He froze, his posture stiffening as he strained to locate the source of the sound, though his view was obstructed by the solid bars and walls. Eleven shifted slightly in her cell, her sharp gaze narrowing in the faint bluish light.

"Someone's coming," Purple muttered from his unseen position.

"Yeah, no kidding," Stone replied, though his voice carried an edge of unease.

Thirteen's fingers curled against the bars of their cell, her knuckles pale. "Who do you think it is?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Six's jaw tightened. "We're about to find out."

The wet footsteps slowed as they neared, the rhythmic squelching growing louder with each step. The pace only heightened the tension, the oppressive silence pressing down on them like a weight.

A tall being emerged from the shadows, illuminated faintly by the bluish light. Its green, scaly, slick skin gleamed wetly, gills pulsating faintly along its neck. Long, webbed fingers gripped a trident that shimmered with dark hues. The creature's eyes—black sclera with slit pupils—fixed on them with a predatory stillness, unblinking and cold.

Six clenched his fists, his muscles tensing instinctively, though he knew there was little he could do even if he wasn't behind the bars. Actually, he preferred it that way. Across the corridor, Eleven straightened, her piercing gaze never leaving the creature.

It paused a few steps away, its head tilting slightly as if studying them, its jagged teeth visible in a faint, unsettling grin. The sound of its gills opening and closing filled the silence, a wet, raspy noise that made Thirteen step back, her fingers still tightening on the bars.

The creature spoke, its voice a guttural rasp that reverberated through the chamber, though the words were unintelligible. It pointed the trident toward Six and then slowly swept it across the cells as if taking stock of its captives.

"What does it want?" Thirteen whispered, her voice trembling.

"Maybe to remind us who's in charge, maybe?" Stone muttered, his usual enthusiastic veneer cracking slightly. Six knew he was referring to some comic book scene again, but it looked like that was what the creature was doing.

He wouldn't deny that he spoke loudly after all.

The creature didn't reply—if it even understood them. Instead, it lowered the trident, stepping closer to Six and Thirteen's cell.