That morning began like any other expedition. Their small vessel bobbed lazily on turquoise water, equipment clattering with each swell. Laughter floated across the deck, mingling with the cries of gulls. Beneath them, however, the reef pulsed with life, and far beyond their sight, something vast had already learned of their presence.
The first sign came as vibrations. Faint tremors brushed their fins, as though the seafloor itself exhaled. Schools of fish shifted abruptly, veering in unison. Dolphins vanished without play. Nathaniel noted the patterns with curiosity, unaware that the ocean was staging a convergence few humans had ever been close enough to witness.