nosleep

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/HorrorSoup_ on 2024-09-17 11:03:12+00:00.

I can think of anywhere else to share my story. But people need to know....

Unfortunately, my story doesn't begin any different than most others. It was a usual, uneventful kind of day.

Until it wasn't...

The sun was low when we started the day, the three of us - myself, my husband Dom and his best friend Tyler had decided to call in sick to work in favour of a sneaky mid week fishing trip.

Spring had finally come and i'd woken that day to look out at the ocean, it was flat as glass, shimmering like diamonds without a white peak in sight- the sky was empty of any clouds and there was not enough wind to even shift my fringe from my sleepy eyes.

I flopped back down in bed next to my husband, Dom.I suppose he could tell from my expression that there was mischief on my mind. He didnt take much convincing, he'd already been nursing a sore back from working overtime on the weekend, and (as I assured him) he'd earnt a bit of R&R.

We couldn't forget his best friend, Tyler. He was never going to be left alone whilst we spent the day lounging on the boat, beers in hand and lines in the water. It only took us about 30 minutes to pack the cars and most importantly the esky before we were driving towards the harbour, music on blast and phones turned off.

Soon we were cruising out towards our favourite spot.Gap Tooth Rock.

It was a collection of two pillars of stone, jutting out of the water connected to a long break of a reef. It looked like a pair of crooked buck teeth, hence the name and had once been the home of a colony of fur seals.

However, when we were setting up the boat I overheard one of the tour charters lamenting that there had been no sightings of the seals for some time. 

Most just assumed they had moved on, others at the Marina vehemently denied that and stated that something in the water was preying on them. Tyler, Dom and I agreed- most likely they were being taken by sharks. It was the general consensus and a few anglers boasted excitedly that they would be the ones to return with a White Pointer, belly full of fur seal. But as there had been no sighting of any sharks for over a month, I was disappointed when we reached the Teeth that there were no seals to be seen.

Handing me the first drink of the day as a consolation, my husband tried to cheer me up as he baited my line, smiling at me and squinting against the sun, 

“Maybe you’ll catch a shark instead,” he joked. Always the optimist he claimed that less seals meant more fish for us.  

For a few hours we just laid out on the boat, talking about everything and nothing whilst our speaker sang with my 90’s playlist as a backing soundtrack for us. Nothing was out of the ordinary, drinks were drunk, jokes were made and Tyler shared a little too much about his activities with his new girlfriend. 

Things only got weird when I felt a sharp pull on my rod. 

I knew immediately something wasn't right, the way the line was pulled was just too sharp, so abrupt- one yank and then absolutely nothing- there wasn't even a ripple on the water left over.

I frowned and stood up to move to the side of the boat, pushing my polarised lenses up my nose so I could get a better look through the water. I thought at first i’d snagged the reef that grounded the Teeth, but i’d made a point not to cast so close to the rocks - I’d lost a good dozen lures on prior trips and I knew to avoid them.

A second yank came and I had to brace myself against the boat for a second. It was so strong that I almost lost my rod overboard.I planted my feet and I started to pull back, the rod almost doubled over on itself and I thought it was going to snap as it curved towards the water. I grimaced as I pulled against the great force, the line remained tense- as if it was frozen in place to the ocean, the line had no slack and the reel wouldn't budge at all.

Suddenly there came an awful sound - I dont even know how to describe it but it was enough that I dropped the rod in favour of covering my ears.

It was as if it was a cacophony of every awful sound I had ever heard, the high pitch ringing of a car alarm, the crushing of metal, a jet breaking the sound barrier and nails on a chalkboard all combined in one. I looked around me to try and see the source of the noise, my rod was hanging over the side of the boat and the water was still glassy.

Dom and Tyler were behaving strangely, it was like they weren't hearing what I was - their eyes were fixed on the water, their backs rigid. The sight made all the hair on my arms stand up, and gritting my teeth - I stood to go and check on them. Neither responded to my calls, they just stared frozen at the water, their lines tense like mine had been reaching down into the dark. 

The noise was filling my head, so loud I couldn't think of anything aside from how wrong everything felt.

How my whole body was screaming over the noise that I needed to leave.

I tried to pull them away from the edge of the boat, which was now starting to slowly pull towards the left side, following the same direction as their lines. I tried yelling their names, tears making my vision foggy as I exclaimed they were taking the joke too far, that I was scared and they needed to stop.

I watched my rod slide over the edge and splash into the water and when Tyler started to reach into the water. It was then, when I was sure my eardrums would burst with the sound that it finally went silent. 

I flew into action, snatching the knife from our bait station before looking over to the water. 

Out of the darkness came a mottled grey arm, at the end there was a clawed fist gripping onto Tyler's braided fishing line.

I sliced the line in a panic and pushed both men away from the side of the boat. It took all my strength to force them off their anchored feet, and the two fell back as both lines went slack. The boat righted itself violently and I would have lost my footing if not for grabbing onto one of the handles on the left side of the boat.

I thought I must have been seeing something, maybe I hadn’t drank enough water, maybe I had listened a little too much at the Marina when the fishermen talked about monsters around the Teeth, maybe I had been in the sun just a little too long.

Clutching the knife I peeked back over the boat and this time I saw more of the creature. 

Its eyes were black and beady, with needle pointed teeth and a sick smile - it glared up at me. It’s head looked human shaped, with wet hair slick against the blue/grey scalp. No ears but the shoulders and the torso of a woman. The underbelly was that of a normal, nude woman if not for the white and shimmering reflective scales which flashed rainbow in the light From the waist down it disappeared into the depths and I swear the water around it was darker then I had ever seen, a black abyssal cloak which shrouded the rest of the monstrosity. I watched water around its head shift as it opened its mouth and took in a breath and then the noise came again.

It took everything to not cover my ears and duck away from the sound.

And again Tyler and Dom stood to walk back towards the water. 

I grabbed their arms, but both were stronger than me and easily barged their way past me.

I stared into my husband's eyes, usually bright and blue. They were cold grey and vacant. The eyes of a complete stranger, and fixed on the horizon.

When I looked back, Tyler was leaning over the side of the boat- his face just inches from the surface. The sight was enough to force me into action and I flung my hand over the side, slashing the knife wildly at the water.

I felt the knife make contact with something, the tug of resistance before the clean slide of the blade against flesh. The noise stopped instantly at that moment, breaking whatever spell that had taken over the men. I grabbed Tyler’s collar and yanked him away from the side, looking over as the creature stared back at me, a thin line was carved across its cheek. They were both groggy and confused as I pulled away from them, dropping the knife and running to start the engine before putting the boat into full speed away from Gap Tooth Rock.

They asked what my problem was, why I was in such a sudden rush and why I had let their rods just tip over the edge into the sea. I couldn't think of any way to even start explaining what had happened and seemingly they hadn't been aware through any of it.

All I could focus on was getting away from that place. 

It's been a week since then, and I tried to share this with them - Tyler laughed at me and Dom asked if I was still taking my medication, a meek - sympathetic smile on his face.

I wanted to forget about what I had seen.

I wanted to chalk it up to dehydration or sunstroke.

But yesterday they went fishing without me.

They promised they would stay away from Gap Tooth…But they havent come back.

I don’t know why I wasn't affected by that thing like they were but I am hoping it will work to my advantage.

I’m writing this from a hired boat and I think I will leave my phone at the Marina once I post this, I don’t need it with me- I know the Police can’t help me.

This time I have added a spear-gun to my pathetic arsenal and I hope this thing, whatever it is - spends some time playing with its food, for the sake of Dom and Tyler. 

Wish me luck I guess… and stay away from Gap Tooth Rock.