The Waiting Darkness

A storm rolled across the open sea as the crab boat Northbreaker creaked through the swells.

The crew had grown used to the groans of metal and the slam of waves, but tonight the

sounds were different—slow, deliberate knocks from beneath the hull, as if something

alive tapped back. They hauled up the next crab pot. The winch strained, whining like it

would tear itself apart. When the cage finally surfaced, everyone froze.

Every crab inside was dead, their shells split open and marked with spirals carved

from the inside out. No one spoke. The ocean around the boat went unnaturally

still. Even the storm seemed to hold its breath. Then the water darkened, as though a shadow