Into the Depths

P R O L O G U E

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  𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟  

LOCATION:
The Ark—Captain's Deck
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Coordinates:
40º 19' 10.5168" N
73º 8' 31.0416" W

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It had been on the family calendar for weeks, that it was finally time for Delilah's father to bring her on an exciting day of what his job entails. As per request from the schooling the younger years were required to be signed off on.

Generally, the students in her class had loathed the day they followed their parents around to experience their daily tasks, but she kept an active countdown until then.

All Delilah cared about, at the ripe age of five, was that she was able to father and brother for the day, but that came with a workload—Given that she was the second heir to Captain James, the current leader of the Ark. The proud facility that managed to save nearly three hundred and twenty-five humans during the nuclear explosion that happened something odd centuries ago.

Meaning Delilah's great great-great-grandfather had been the first Captain to lead the Ark to the glory it holds to this day. 

And that glory took its physical form of a neat and pristine Bridge. Where the highest officials remained on constant watch for all things detrimental. As there was nothing more horrific than what lies in the depths of the ocean waves—Though, in technicality, the Ark was stationed in between a set of crevices that gave them a border on one side. Leaving them nearly several hundred feet below the ocean line.

Natural sunlight was a myth to those who dwelled with them, and the life surrounding them seemed endless. But the different levels of artificial light had allowed those dwelling below to instigate something similar.

As wonderful as the experience was, to spend time with her father, Delilah had grown tired of looking over virtual maps, hearing about options to hunt and gather for more resources—Instead, she had slipped from her father's chair and gone directly below, via a small lift.

Her father had introduced it to her upon arrival to the control deck—"This is where my father taught me the most important life lessons that remain from our kind, someday soon...I wish to share them with you and your brother." It was pointless, for him to mention Delilah in the mix.

Given that the Captain's position had always been the son of the former. Even at the ripe age of four, Delilah knew that the chair was going to belong to her brother.

If not him, then one of the eldest sons of the second or third in command. Allowing the bloodline to continue fruitfully onto the next.

However, coming down below allowed her to witness the natural movement that the ocean allowed. No matter how many deterrents were made, it would never stop the wildlife from coming to investigate.

And how was she meant to react when a mixture of tentacles had suctioned onto the glass—A shrill of laughter had escaped her, and nobody had noticed.
It was a wonderful experience to see without the glare of the screen.

Even if the fish didn't wave back, it still allowed her to get a glimpse of the different types of species—Colors—And features that those outside their protective windows had portrayed.

Yet a sense of seclusion had settled in, that this day was meant to be able to spend time with her father. Only for him to continue to work, it was all he ever seemed to do.

Work. Work. Work.

Delilah's mother, Lauren, was an absolute saint. Raising two rowdy children with the rest of the women of this generation was difficult. The mortality rate was turning fickle, and the theories had gathered long before Captain James Totten had sworn into duty.