Stone Remains
This part of the ocean was too dark and quiet, and all signs of life were nearly impossible to see.
As he swam closer, he could’ve sworn that he saw the bodiless arm of what had been The Statue of Liberty. Normally, the huge, immense mass of the ocean comforted him. But this didn’t feel familiar at all. It felt cold and dark, and he felt eyes on him, invisible but still felt. He had to stifle a gasp when a giant stingray flapped over him like an aquatic bird, glowing bright purple in the dark water. The slashes that were its eyes and mouth flashed green and ghoulish as it glided past.
His team had insisted that he go to this section of ocean alone, with nothing but the camera for company. He had been frightened, but he agreed. They’d come halfway across the globe for this information, and none of them wanted to return home emptyhanded. Unable to help himself, he swam closer to the arm, ripped from Lady Liberty. The bottom of her arm was broken and crumbling, the gray stone wrapped in green sea grasses. The flame from her torch seemed to flicker in the water, as if it were desperately holding on to life.
He remembered the day that the Statue had been ripped to pieces, a symbol so offensive to the gods that had descended onto the earth that it had been dismembered and discarded into the ocean. His colleagues were convinced that the secret to victory hid with her, but Ryan wasn’t so sure.
To him, it represented the oppression that the human race was struggling against. That he wasn’t so sure that they all didn’t deserve. But he silenced that tiny, dissenting voice in his head. There was only so much air in his tank, and he still needed to go deeper, see if her other pieces were nearby.
Instead, the images of the gods were burned onto the inside of his eyelids. Beings made of water, sunlight, fire, and rage. They were beautiful and terrible, and once they set their sights on the bright blue jewel that supported so many kinds of life, it was just a matter of time before humanity would be annihilated. At times, it was difficult to remember a time when humans ruled themselves, weren’t collared to the needs of spiteful, bored deities.
Ryan knew he had to hurry, and he raised the camera to his face, trying to ignore the presence he could feel but not see. He took pictures of the arm, and closeups of the flame. He found himself wondering what would happen, if they brought the pieces to the surface and rebuilt her. He found himself smiling, and he burbled with laughter, bubbles floating up toward the surface.
When he got all the video and pictures he could get, he began the laborious climb back to the surface, toward the sun and what was left of civilization. He had never before been so happy to leave the ocean behind.
**
