An Unus Annus Fanfic: But it Gets Increasingly More Frustrating to Read

Chapter 7

"Mark please, you have to snap out of it!" I begged, swimming over to his side.

He was crouched on a rock ledge that was underneath the water. It wasn't very big though, and every so often he would slip off and burst into a panic climbing back on it. I still had no idea how to get him out of the trance that The Gongoozler placed on him, but I didn't have time to figure it out. The shadow of The Gongoozler's form became visible below the water's surface.

"Mark please!"

I shook his shoulders to try to get his attention but he remained unresponsive to my pleas. The Gongoozler breached the water in all it's glory. It had black iridescent scales that turned shades of blue and green when hit with light. Though the hind end could be compared to the shape of a shark, the front half of The Gongoozler appeared to be the horrific amalgamation of human and fish. crowded fangs made it so it's jaw could not comfortably close. Arms came from each side and ended in talons. At the top of it's head was some kind of appendage with a glowing orb on the tip, much like an angler fish.

With a hiss, it's mighty tail splashed back into the water, creating a wave that knocked Mark and me under. We were sent into a disorientating spin. Just as I was about to swim back to surface it's jaws clamped down inches away from me. The Gongoozler spun away, hitting me with it's tail. My spinning finally stopped once more next to the wall of the cave, giving me a guide to get back to the top. I burst forward gasping for air. I quickly spotted Mark, once more clinging to his corner. His panic only increased with each movement from The Gongoozler below.

It's shadow slowly vanished. Was it really leaving again? Something didn't feel right. Mark frantically tried to find footholds in the slippery rock to get up out of the water. His phone light flashed a few times before finally going out as the battery died. The cave fell into darkness. I felt my way onto the rock ledge, hoping to stay close to Mark, as well as give myself a moment to rest.

"Mark, do you still have bed knife?" I whispered.

He didn't answer, but I did hear the sound of his knife's sheath unlatching. Just then the I heard The Gongoozler break through the water. Despite his lack of sight, instead of handing me the knife, Mark hurled it blindly into the water. By the sound of it, he missed. Curiously enough thrashing came from the water, as if The Gongoozler dove to chase it.

I pulled my phone out of my bag once again to see what was going on. My phone's flashlight proved my suspicions right. However, once my light was turned on The Gongoozler quickly changed direction, and lunged towards me instead. I screamed and pushed off the wall into the water in an attempt to escape it's jaws. The light on it's head flickered on with blinding flashes. I guess it blinded Mark too because he flung his dead phone at the beast in a panic and missed. again. I felt bad for the guy, but at the same time 'panic Mark' was starting to get on my nerves.

The Gongoozler dove towards the descending phone, and I took this opportunity to get back to the wall. He disappeared into the deep as I racked my brain for ideas. There had to be a way out of this. As the gears turned in that dusty head of mine a realization slowly formed.

"I think it's blind in this form," I muttered slowly. "It seems to chase after anything that moves, almost like it sees by vibrations in the water rather than with it's eyes..."

As I pieced together the reasons for it's behavior, things started to make sense. The shape of the cave must be just right that the vibrations bounce around in a way that confuses The Gongoozler enough to let us get away. The only problem was that we only had so many things to throw. We had to take this opportunity while it was away to search for an exit. I grabbed Marks arm and tried to pull him into the water with me because there was no way I was leaving him here, but he just shrieked at me.