"Keeeetlen! I'm here now, look!" He stretched out his hand, touching her shoulder, the contact electric in the water. "Give me your hand, quick!"
Ketlen extended her hand and he grabbed it firmly. The touch was like touching ice wrapped in wet fabric.
The water they faced was the murkiest they had ever witnessed in their entire existence, a warm, damp soup of terror.
The last image that disturbed them before emerging to the surface, still holding hands, was that of a gigantic creature, resembling the black anglerfish, possibly measuring approximately one hundred meters. It seemed endless, a fleshy shadow coiling through the depths, with eyes like craters glowing in cosmic magenta.
He inhaled deeply, gathering courage and determination, and continued to guide them both to the surface.
"I-I'M SCARED, GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!" She stammered between sobs, her voice trembling.
Emerging from the aquatic depths, Nunes lifted Ketlen towards the sky, giving her the chance to grab onto a platform of the ship and climb to safety. Immediately after, he joined her, climbing aboard, his muscles tense, adrenaline pulsing.
The creature, annoyed at being deprived of its prey, began a violent protest, striking against the ship's hull. This impact triggered an uncontrolled spin, making the ship twist and whirl through the agitated waves, like an abandoned toy. The internal cabin lights spun in neon-purple strobes, creating flashes that seemed like lost memories.
Pressed by urgency, they re-entered the ship, passing through the hatch, closing it with a metallic clang.
Once inside, Ketlen knelt on the floor, her head resting heavily on her knees, as she absorbed the intensity of the moment, her suit dripping the moon's water onto the floor, each drop a reminder of the terror they had just faced.
"My... Oh my God..." The whisper barely escaped her lips.
"Ketlen..." He approached, hesitant, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"GET AWAY! LET GO OF ME!!!" She sharply pulled away, euphoric, almost exploding.
She cried like a desperate child, sobs tearing through her chest, the sound reverberating with sharp clarity through the microphone in Nunes's suit, finding its way directly to his ears. He heard every sob, every muffled gasp, every expression of anguish—everything. Yet, he found himself lost, unsure how to act in this situation. Ketlen's gaze turned to him, her ruined face showing deep sadness, her eyes red and swollen. However, there was something about her, perhaps her intrinsic beauty mixed with her vulnerability, that made Nunes's heart clench every time he saw her in that state.
He looked at her, trying to appear determined, controlling his own apprehension:
"Help me fix things outside. It's just screwing on some thermal plates. There are about twenty back there. Help me put them on. We'll be done in half an hour at most."
He shouldn't have said that.
Nunes began to hear her breathing quicken, completely uncontrolled, a sharp hiss on the radio.
A trigger pulled.
"It'll be quick." He started to move and extended his hand to her, for her to get up. "Come on, help me, we can leave when we're done, the ship's fine... It just needs a little help, you can help me..." he insisted, his voice full of forced calm.
Her body trembled all over, almost collapsing under the weight of her own panic.
"N-… Nunes… Nu… Nunes… Please…" She tried to speak, her voice choked by lack of air, her lips barely moving.
"Hm... Are you okay?" He smiled awkwardly, confusion on his face.
"GET ME OUT.... GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!"
"Out of... the suit?"
"YES!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE, DAMN IT!!!" she screamed, amidst tears, her voice scraping her throat.
"Okay! Okay..." He calmly walked to her, kneeling to help unfasten her suit.
When she was finally out of the suit, the sound around Ketlen vanished. All she heard was her own heart pounding in her chest, a frantic, deafening rhythm.
"Ketlen... are you okay? Your arms are all sweaty!" Nunes's genuine concern was clear.
Her fingers trembled uncontrollably, her breathing came in gasps, as if the air had turned to cement, each breath a struggle.
"I'm not going out." She tried to speak, but only a muffled sound came out, almost a grunt, her voice strangled by panic.
"What?"
Nunes's face, with its momentary confusion and naiveté, made her feel foolish, powerless in the face of her own uncontrolled reaction. Her feet gave way again, making her fall to the metallic floor with a dull thud.
Her vision blurred, as if she were submerged back in the moon's murky water, seeing Nunes as a blur, the panic reactivating the memory of drowning.