First message
For ninety thousand years, the Pacific has been my kingdom.
I have hunted through trenches untouched by sunlight, slept beneath volcanic shelves, and watched species appear and vanish. I need no pod, mate or companionship. Creatures of the deep know my sonar and scatter before I arrive. I survive. I hunt. I provide only for myself.
That morning, I was hunting when an unfamiliar pulse traveled through the water.
Sonar.
Human-made, patterned to imitate the calls that attract dolphins. Curious, I followed it until a vessel appeared above me, drifting seventy-six miles from shore. Humans rarely ventured this far without purpose.
Then I saw her.
She stood aboard the vessel pulling on a diving suit, checking instruments before fastening her equipment. I surfaced beneath the shadow of the hull, concealed from view, and stared.
Beautiful.
I had seen countless humans, but none had made me forget hunger. She did.
She stepped toward the edge.
One movement and I could drag her beneath the surface. She could not outswim me. Nothing this far from land could protect her from what I was.
Yet when she jumped, I retreated into the blue.
I did not attack.
Instead, hidden beyond the reach of her human eyes, I followed as she descended into my world. She looked around with wonder rather than fear, studying everything as though the sea held answers she had spent her life seeking.
For once, I forgot my prey.
I wanted to know what she sought.