Submission (#70) Approved

CONTENT WARNING : HORROR


There is something dwelling in the sea...

When these words cross the mouths of travelers, the assumption is often intense. The mind conjures incredible and massive mental images of behemoths floating in the deep, sharp toothed and bloodthirsty. Fears of thrashing tails and flailing fins in frenzies of carnivorous hunger keep even the bravest of explorers from the more shaded parts of the oceans spanning the world.

But it isn't the dark parts that they should worry about.

Floating not far from the surface, a true horror awaits any who dare travel too close to the uniquely grotesque and beautiful Nyearuem reefs. These reefs exist in coastal and shallow spots dotted all along the ocean, constructed entirely of the Nyearuem corals. Even from above the water the bright colors and intricate structures dazzle and impress. They float amongst the tides, heavy and bobbing like natural submarines.

But the longer one looks, the more questions arise. Where are all the fish? The plants? The organizisms that on other planets call similar life forms, such varieties of coral, home? Not an animal in sight... and then you notice, theres no minerals either. No stones, no sand. Just a mass of coral pires with branches that break on the ends in abrupt threads.

Then, suddenly, you may see one. A small, round ball floating between the towers. They're rare... only one or two residing in a space at a time. A polyp, small and unimposing, bouncing to and fro between the Nyearuem. They sometimes glow with UV light, soaking in the suns rays for energy. And they die quickly. Short, sporadic lives often leading to nothing at all before crumbling in the tide.

Unless... of course...they make contact.

Nyearuem polyps have been documented a handful of times across the surface. The unassuming orbs, about the size of a light bulb, appear fragile and glassy. Until they touch a surface... be it a stone in the sea, an unassuming passing ship, or even skin. From there, the polyp begins its horrific metamorphosis. It begins to writhe and pulsate, before flattening entirely on the surface it has adhered to. It then quickly hardens, almost like a mollusk, before growing and spreading in a slow and yet urgent rate.

Many methods have been used to attempt to remove the polyp after it has taken hold. Heat, chemicals, amputation... But none have been successful. On objects, it simply spreads too quickly on surfaces to be effectively quashed, leading to the consumption of entire boats and vessels as it devours the material to form an entire Nyearuem reef.

On organic beings, the spread is more nepharious. It almost appears to be molecular in a way, but it has been impossible to analyze this theory further. The polyp, theoretically, enters the vascular system of the host, engulfing it from the inside out as well as the outside in. The victim petrifies, blood curdling and oxygen slowing and nerves locking up as they become consumed by the coral. Death may happen in minutes, or in days...

Any additional contact to the polyp during this time results in spread. This includes with objects or other organics. The most in-depth record of this occured in REDACTED lab ship number REDACTED, where an entire crew and all their equipment were taken into the deep...