Maw

This piece is a micro flash fiction — a complete story in 150 words or less. The only setup you get: it’s prompted by this photo, and it’s speculative fiction, which means it falls into the broad category of not entirely realistic/of this world. Sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian, and horror all fall under this umbrella.

Maw

At this depth, even my spine is slow.

I push off, drifting through cold, thick water toward the cave’s rocky mouth. Simon lost contact two hours ago while charting a section of the ocean floor. The glow in the cave ahead is my only hope to find him.

The current pulls hard. My body is slow to respond down here, but I catch the rocks, pull myself inside, and pray.

Spongy walls lead into a cavern guarded by thick stalactites, walls split by jagged slits open to the ocean. I float feet first toward the cavern, bump into an object floating in the dark.

I glance up and see Simon, his frozen eyes staring through his helmet’s visor.

The floor heaves and the opening snaps shut, stalactite teeth tearing us both in half. Our bodies wash toward the beast’s throat, and I watch until my brain realizes I’m gone.

Photo via Splickety Magazine