Rhodoreef

6. The Blasted Brats

The vault smothered them in its cold, somber confines—completely cut off from the ocean above.

A bone-chilling silence pervaded the place, every ripple vibrating their eardrums before being swallowed up by the walls. The very air, pulsing with audible breaths and the beating of hearts, was heavy with foreboding—or it was merely a projection of their inner seascape.

"This place is kinda creepy." Dea shivered, afraid to make noise lest it would awaken an otherworldly entity.

"It's because of the unnatural quiet," Oomie said, her voice decaying into nothingness without even a hint of an echo. "There's no ambience that we're accustomed to. No biological noise, no city sounds, no reverb..."

"I'm not gonna be surprised if we start seeing things," Hima whispered. "You know, like in The Exorcism of Anemone Pearl."

"Oh, shuddup, Hima!" Dea shouldered past her.

She grinned. "Scaredy seal."

"Guys, focus," Oomie cut in, kicking her flukes to propel herself in the shallow pool. "Time's running out."

They paddled up to the shelves that melded into the concave wall. Every plop and even the tiniest squelch was a blaring gong in Dea's ears.

"Wait, we blindly go around checking these for info on the Sea Witch?" Dea asked, eyeing the lines of folders. "There are so many."

"We don't have a choice." Oomie sighed. "There must be some kind of organization, but I dunno what these labels mean."

"Three pairs of hands to find it at least." Hima extracted a file, prompting the others to follow suit.

Dea leafed through sheets of paper, her fingers squeaking on the glossy surface. "Whoa, I think I came across some intel on a northern state."

"Calliathron probably has surveillance networks and spies there." Oomie leaned sideways for a quick glance. "And everyone's trying to tap into encrypted data, though I've heard the other cities have solid defenses—as good as ours."

"Yeah, these must be the profiles of spies—or special forces?"

"The Stingrays, no doubt. It's an elite commando and intel unit. Most don't even know of its existence. Their identities are only known to the Regent and my dad."

"Ooh..."

The seconds ticked by with agonizing urgency while they labored away folder by folder, but to no avail. The data they unearthed ranged from fascinating to incomprehensible, but there was no mention of a Sea Witch.

The maddening quiet ate away at Dea, feeding the desperation that escalated with each passing minute. Her grandiose fantasy of meeting the human and the possibilities it would open up were all built on a precarious foundation—there were just too many variables on top of a phantom Sea Witch. Now, it all threatened to crumble down.

"Four minutes," Oomie announced, the words rending the silence. "We need at least two minutes to get up to the top level. It's not as fast as the slide."

Hima groaned and sped up her efforts. "Two minutes then."

Dea skimmed through the folders, barely registering what her frantic eyes were reading. C'mon, c'mon, there has to be something!

Another minute elapsed.

"This is useless—maybe the Sea Witch doesn't exist." Hima slapped a folder shut, making her jump.

"We better go." Oomie swam backward. "We tried at least. Sorry, Dea."

Dea shook her head and grabbed yet another folder that was directly behind the swivel chair.