The night after their harrowing escape from the cove was one of restless silence. Marco sat in his small apartment overlooking the water, the faint glow from the lighthouse sweeping across the darkened horizon. The events of the day, the depths they had ventured into, both physically and mentally, felt like a haze, a dream he couldn't fully shake.
His fingers tapped the edge of his coffee cup, the rhythm matching the pounding in his temples. He could still hear the voice. The entity's voice. It echoed in the back of his mind like a whisper he couldn't fully decipher, but its presence lingered—heavy and insistent.
The phone rang, shattering the quiet. Marco jumped, reaching for it almost instinctively.
"Marco?" Julian's voice was strained, the urgency in his tone unmistakable. "We need to talk."
Marco didn't respond immediately. He didn't have to. Julian always seemed to know when something was off, even if Marco didn't want to admit it to himself.
"I'll be there in fifteen," Marco said, his voice flat.
---
Julian was already sitting at the small table when Marco arrived at the lab. The man's face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept for days. His hands trembled slightly as he clutched a mug of coffee, but his gaze was sharp.
"What's going on?" Marco asked, shutting the door behind him. There was an air of finality in the room, like something had shifted between them that couldn't be undone.
Julian looked up, his jaw tight. He seemed to hesitate, then pushed a stack of papers across the table. "This came through from the government." His voice was bitter, almost disgusted. "They've been monitoring the cove for weeks. They know about the entity. And they know about us."
Marco froze, his heart dropping into his stomach. He skimmed the papers, seeing official-looking reports, satellite imagery, and scientific data. But it was the last document that made his blood run cold—a sealed memo from the Department of Defense.
"We are aware of the ongoing research on Project Leviathan. Please cease all further activities immediately. The subject is under government control." Marco's throat tightened as he read the words again. Project Leviathan. It hit him like a blow to the chest.
"That's... that's what it's called?" Marco whispered, almost to himself. His fingers trembled as he set the memo down, staring at it.
"It's not just a sea creature," Julian said grimly. "It's an experiment. It was designed. Created. And it's been under observation for years, hidden from the public. Whoever has been pulling the strings doesn't want us to dig any deeper into it."
Marco exhaled sharply, sinking into the chair across from Julian. "This is why they've been trying to stop us. But why now? Why did they let it loose?"
Julian rubbed his eyes, clearly struggling with the magnitude of the revelation. "That's what I don't understand. If they've known about this thing all along, why are they acting like it's a new threat? And why did it... talk to us?"
Marco's mind spun. They were dealing with something that wasn't just a natural disaster or a strange anomaly. This was something engineered. Something designed for a specific purpose. And now, it was free—aware, active, and watching them.
"I think we've been a part of something bigger all along," Marco murmured, more to himself than to Julian. "What if the government didn't just want to study it—they wanted to control it? Use it."
Julian leaned forward, his eyes intense. "What are you saying?"
Marco glanced up at him, his expression hardening. "I think the entity... it's not just trying to survive. It's trying to evolve. And we've been feeding it. The more we investigate, the more it grows, the more it learns. Whatever it was designed for... it's changing. It's adapting, and it's using us to do it."
Julian's gaze shifted uneasily, but Marco continued. "What if that's why it reached out to us? To merge with us? It needed us—our minds, our actions, our curiosity. It's growing, Julian. It's becoming something else. Something more."
Julian ran a hand through his hair, frustration building. "And you think they know all of this? You think they've been trying to control it and now they're worried it's beyond their reach?"
"I don't know what they know," Marco said. "But I know that we've seen it change. We've seen its intelligence—its awareness. This isn't just some monster in the water. It's... something more."
There was a pause, and Marco could almost feel the weight of the decision hanging in the air, between them.
"So what do we do now?" Julian asked, his voice low.
Marco stood, pacing the small lab. "We have to find out more. We need to understand what Project Leviathan really is, and why they've kept it under wraps for so long. And if it's evolving, adapting—it could be dangerous. Not just to us, but to everyone."
"We're not safe," Julian muttered, the reality of their situation sinking in. "If they know, if they want to contain it, there's no telling what lengths they'll go to."
Marco turned sharply. "We can't let them control it. We can't let them turn it into a weapon. If we can understand it—really understand it—maybe we can stop it before it's too late."
Julian didn't argue. He knew that Marco was right. The government's involvement was just the beginning. The true danger was what would happen when the entity had been fully unleashed—or worse, when it was under someone else's control.
"We need to track it down," Marco continued. "We need to find out where it's going, what it's doing. If it's evolving, it's not going to stay in the cove much longer."
"We'll need help," Julian said quietly, but there was a sense of finality in his voice. "We can't do this alone."
Marco looked at him, then at the papers scattered across the table. "I know. And I think I have an idea of who can help."
Julian raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
Marco's lips twisted into a grim smile. "Someone who's been watching us for a long time. Someone who's been tracking the entity long before we even knew it existed."
Julian's eyes narrowed. "And who's that?"
Marco hesitated. "Dr. Eliza Warren."
---
Later that night, Marco stood on the edge of the pier, the wind biting at his face as he looked out over the water. The sky above was dark, clouds rolling in, and the ocean below seemed as restless as his mind.
Whatever they were dealing with, it wasn't going to be solved by running away. There was no turning back now. The game had changed.
He clenched his fists, determined. He had to stop it. They had to stop it. For everyone's sake.
But the question remained: could they?