The fish sleek, three meters of muscle and bone—didn't slow when they passed me.
They zipped through the water in unbroken formation, completely ignoring my presence. Perhaps it was because of the absolute lack of light here, where eyes were almost useless.
Their course was fixed, their attention locked on the only source of illumination, the angler's lure, faint and distant in the abyss.
But I didn't ignore them. I couldn't.
Even without sight, I could feel them. Every subtle shift of water, every minute vibration, every whisper of their streamlined bodies parting the ocean, it all scraped against my awareness. The sound of their movement was like a mosquito buzzing directly in my ear, persistent and unbearable.
They had already pulled me from my sanctuary once. And now, their existence was grating on me.
They needed to be removed. No—eradicated.
I reached out and seized the tail of the nearest fish. My fingers sank into its slick skin like claws.
Tug!
