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Back The Abyss Surrounds Us Save as PDF
Chapters (37)
  1. Dedication
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. Acknowledgments
  37. About the Author

My face flushes, and I find myself stammering for my next words. No Reckoner should be a burden to her companion ship. “Sir, I’m sorry,” I manage. “But something’s wrong. I don’t know what’s happening, and I’m severely concerned for Durga’s health.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You’ve never seen anything like this?”

I shake my head. “I’ve been talking to my pa—the other trainers on the uplink, and they don’t have any theories. As far as we know, nothing like this has happened to a Reckoner before.” The last time I spoke to my mother, we’d both been crying. Me from concern for Durga and her from the frustration of being unable to figure out why one of her monsters has suddenly fallen ill.

From somewhere behind us, a keening groan rings out. Durga rarely vocalizes, but today she’s been making all sorts of noises.

Captain Carriel runs a hand over his beard, his eyes darkening. “Give it one more night. We’ll drop anchor for her scheduled rest, and in the morning we’ll make a judgment call.”

I don’t know what that kind of call would entail, but I nod along. The captain claps me on the shoulder, steers me out the door, and leaves me in the hall, stewing in the ever-present smell of rotted flesh.

That night, I can’t sleep.

The next morning, the entire ship awakens before dawn to Durga’s unearthly screams.

3

3

I spring out of bed and struggle into my wetsuit as fast as I can. My heart aches inside my chest as I sprint for the trainer deck. I’ve been hearing Reckoner noises all my life, but never like this. This isn’t a groan of discomfort, a roar of fury. No, this is a shriek of pure agony.

I burst onto the trainer deck and snap on the LED beacon. It flashes her homing signal into the dark, and immediately she surfaces, her shadow looming against the glow on the horizon. I grab a spotlight and shine it on her as she approaches.

A wave of nausea threatens to overtake me, and I have to fight to keep the spotlight pointed at her as she draws near.

Durga is bleeding all over. The sickening stench of her blood washes over me as if it clots the air. Sores dot her back, some of them burst and ragged-looking, and I realize with a jolt that several of her keratin plates have fallen off. She groans again, the noise causing the deck underneath me to shudder, and I watch, horrified, as the plate protecting the top of her head slides forward, pulling free with a meaty snap. It plunges into the NeoPacific, sending up a spray of salty, gory water in its wake.