Lost cargo

A stream of bubbles flowed past the diver with each breath. The lone swimmer slowly descended, checking his dive watch every couple of breaths. He knew his depth was quickly nearing fifty meters.

Various fish swam around him, as though they were curious about this new being in their waters. Unconsciously, the diver moved his hand a towards his knife. The fear of being alone in the freezing cold waters was obvious, even if the goggles prevented it from being seen.

Carefully, the diver began to scan the deaths around him. The sea floor was barely twenty meters below him, but in the available light, barely anything would appear.

All at once, he noticed something. Quickly, the lone diver aimed his flashlight in the direction of the movement. It was a floating piece of metal, grey and rusted. If he could have smiled with the breather in his mouth, he would have.

The lone diver continued downwards, looking around. He didn't care about the cold or his limited air supply at that moment. There was a prize to be found down here. The lone man knew that the story of a U-boat having been sunk in this area had persisted for decades.

If the legends of its existence were true, then within its hold existed a potential untold fortune in lost paintings. It was a prize that many had sought, and none yet had retrieved. Many had given up on it, and some had even lost their ships in the process.

With a start, the diver looked around. A chill had just run down his spine, though he could not confirm what its was from. The waters remained fine, and no creature was approaching him. He knew full well that his dry suit was intact, so it was clearly not the water that had sent that chill.

Again the diver looked around, expecting something to be approaching him. Instead he found the seas empty. It was at that moment that the problem occurred to him. There was nothing but water. Not a single fish in sight. Everywhere he aimed his flash light returned the same result. Every last fish had ducked out of the area.

Fearfully, the diver looked above him. There, he could still make out the shape of his ships hull. It was silhouetted against the clear sky, a dark patch against the moons light. The research continued to hold position, awaiting his return.

For the first time, a sound other than his breath leaving the mask reached his ears. It was a slow churning noise, like that of a propeller churning through the water. With a start he glanced back up to his ship, but it remained completely still.

Frantically, he looked around himself. He made a quick circle, checking first the surface around him, and then the waters immediately around him. Not a single object could be seen, yet still the ocean hummed with the sound propellers.

Final the diver looked below himself. Cast in light grey, was a single vessel, rising to greet him. Quickly, he swam to the side, as the submarine continued its ascent. The vessel narrowly missed him. Had the diver held out his hand, the metal racing past would have greeted him.

Awestruck, he watched as the new found vessel halted its ascent barely five meters from the surface. Powerless, he stared at the gleaming hull of the vessel. Unlike a military submarine, its hull was not cylindrical in shape. Instead, it was shaped almost like a knife blade. The submarine was over sixty meters in length, far longer than any research submarine.

Still dumb founded, the diver watched as a part of the ship's bow shifted positions slightly. A second later, two cylinders shot out, each leaving a trail of bubbles. The pair of torpedoes shot forward, both squarely impacting the hull of the the divers ship. The diver watched, shocked, as the hull began to split open, and less than a minute later, slip beneath the waves.

The submarine sat there for a moment, before descending back down. It halted its descent at the same depth as the diver, with the bow pointed squarely at him.

It was clear that it was a U-boat. There was no mistaking the fact. With a start, the diver watched as the hatch on the coning power opened. From within the U-boat, a single figure stepped forth. The figure was seemingly unaffected by the water pressure. Nor did he wear any sort of breathing equipment. It would have been point less for him to wear such equipment.

The lone figures uniform was in tatters, but it was clearly that of a kriegsmarine captain. On his head he wore his cap, and his chest still bore his medals. The captain however, was no more alive then his ship. His flesh had rotted away long ago. If one were to look closely, they would be able to see right through the spaces in his ribs. The captain looked at the diver with empty sockets that had once contained eyes.

Slowly, he raised one skeletal finger to point at the diver. The divers heart pounded in his chest, the sound drowning out that of the U-boat's propellers. Shaking his head, the captain pointed towards the surface. Looking up, the diver could make out the shape of a single life boat. The diver looked back, only to see the captain and his ship slowly descending. As the U-boat continued downwards, it became harder to see, before disappearing from view completely.

Still wearing a look of shock, the diver slowly made his way to the empty lifeboat. Below him, drifting through the depths, was the frame of a painting; part of the cargo the U-boat had been sworn to protect.