Mixed Up: A Short Story Anthology

Under the Sea (Qualifying Entry)

(Inspired by Lovecraft, facilitated by sleep deprivation, and prompted by the concept of flat earth, I present a look at the other side of the world... and I don't mean Australia)

 Howard stared out at the ocean, flat and blue. The water was calm, the sky bright and clear. At this angle, it was hard to tell that just fifty yards away, the ocean cascaded off the edge of the world in an endless waterfall. Below that was nothing—no light, no stars, nothing but darkness and oblivion.

Sometimes, Howard imagined that the water was pooling down there, accumulating until it one day rose high enough to engulf the Earth. It was silly, but it was far better than what would really end the world: something ancient and evil, long since forgotten by the society that, by all rights, should spend every waking moment cowering in fear.

He often felt the creatures moving down there, sending tremors through the thin crust of the earth. He had never seen them in their entirety, but the mere bits and pieces he had encountered were enough. Any more might drive him mad—more mad than he already thought himself. He feared the Things, as anyone would, but half a lifetime spent at sea for their sake, floating just above them, observing their rare movements, had taught him to respect them as well.

Howard's initial fear and disbelief had long ago given way to burning curiosity. He stayed on the water for weeks at a time, living in his small motorboat and subsisting on fish and rainwater, all for a chance to glimpse them again.

He desperately wanted to know how they lived, these enigmatic underworld gods. He pictured them walking around on the bottom of the world, clinging like giant bats to the Earth. He imagined a city, buildings as tall as mountains to house the massive Things; inverted, mirroring Howard's own world. He saw them as sleeping giants, waiting for the right moment to leap up and conquer the pathetic, ignorant human race.

He worshipped them.

So Howard sat, waiting, on the deck of his little boat. He waited for an event that might not come until the planets aligned in a thousand years, but he waited nonetheless. What he was not waiting for was the ship approaching him. It was unexpected, but not entirely unheard-of.

Howard waved his arms and shouted for the oncoming vessel to stop. It did, and one of the men shouted a greeting.

"Strange to see a little boat like yours so far out," remarked the stranger. "Fishing, are ya? Us, too."

Howard shook his head. "You won't catch any fish out here. I'd turn back now if I were you."

The man frowned. "Sure it can't hurt to try. You never know what you'll find out here."

Howard frowned right back. "Do you know where you are, sir? The edge of the world. It's not a place you want to be. Turn back."

The man looked at him for a moment, a strange expression on his face. Then he burst out laughing. "Buddy, you're crazy." He turned to the other two men on board. "Let's go before this wacko tells us the moon landing was fake."

The men snickered and the boat sped away. Howard sighed to himself and sat down, watching the men grow closer and closer to the edge of the world. Before they could get there, a giant tentacle came up over the edge and crashed down on the boat, sending it under the water in the blink of an eye.

Howard braced for the wave, awed by his ruthless upside-down gods, to whom he and his race were no more than bugs.

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581 words