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Normally, when situations like this arose, witness testimony could be strong enough to save everyone from getting the axe…or at least going to jail. And there was an example of that to be had! The colossal squid footage came up in the interviews more times than Simon would have been able to count.
All of them describing it in relatively the same way. Logs noting the discovery and crew making references to it were all easily found. Of course, they'd caught it on pretty much day one.
Issue with that…Simon was the only one who saw that big awful cavern of teeth. And he knew as much to be true. He'd sat down with Ava in the short amount of time before the Director summoned the internal investigation officers.
"Ava." He looked her right in the eye. She knew what he was going to do and rapidly shook her head.
"Simon, no."
"Tell them what you saw. Not what I told you. I was wrong." He half lied, taking her hand. "I had a hallucination driven by lack of sleep and stress. Tell them about the sleep walking. Just…let me shoulder all the blame for this one. Okay?"
"Why should I let you take the fall?" She scowled at him, her old eye injury drawn into stark relief.
"Because you shouldn't lose your job and risk being fined or worse over an expedition you never wanted to be on. You were just repaying a favor. This is my white whale, Ava. Let it take my leg and not yours. Don't make me fight you on this." Such acts of self sacrifice weren't actually fully in his nature. He wasn't a selfish person, but everyone wants to survive.
But this time, he needs to ignore the life ring. It would only drag the others overboard. And he'd never forgive himself for letting them drown.
He loses his job, that much was without question. He already started mentally running through his past offers the second he got past the shock of the empty folder. Work in the modern era was rough though, and research was no different. Especially in his field.
Not to mention he's on the hook for the ROV, which was well above thirty thousand bucks. Hooray. Just as he was about to finish paying off his student loans.
There had been mild damage to the boat, but it was such a piece of shit they just waved that for him. Small blessings or whatever.
So he was out of work, in sudden, or to be specific, more severe debt, and almost certainly on multiple government watch lists. Oh! And his reputation was now in line with a delusional conspiracy theorist trying to scam his employers into outfitting his spiral of madness.
Getting anything that even remotely looked like his former job was out of the question. He'd lost his dream career over this.
Y'know what? Simon needed to get his mind off of this. Even if it's just for a couple hours.
He's generally a mainstream guy. Boring as a two by four with about as much appeal…at least that's what the public at large thinks about him. The mild mannered doctor had of course had a wild streak. Especially way back in his school days. He'd been introduced to a…hm, how to put this delicately?
…Alright, let's level with each other. We're all adults here. It's a glorified sex club. Nothing crazy, but more than most expected from him. The past few days had been so awful, he just needed to blow off some steam.
The lady he'd met was pretty enough. Soft curves he could sink his fingers into. Pale, almost hazy eyes. She had a gift with her mouth, and he'd elected to continue his dalliance with her. He was flush against her, sweat dripping from his brow.
Then-
Simon.
He froze. "What was that, miss?"
The woman squinted. "I didn't say anything. Why'd you stop?"
"I thought I heard…" The man sighed, placing a soft kiss to the underside of her jaw. "Sorry. You still good?"
"I'd be better if you'd start moving again." She chuckled softly.
They had a few more minutes to themselves before it struck again. A bright light, dancing in his vision like a star.
She's a lovely little morsel…
Okay. He slowed, trying to figure out if he'd been slipped anything. None of his symptoms make sense though. He's seeing lights and hearing voices. But no dizziness. Or anything else really.
"Hey, if you're not gonna pay attention, we can just call it. I don't mind." She huffed.
"I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you." Rather than chasing his own enjoyment, Simon extracts himself, sinking between her thighs.
When the next…hallucination? comes along, he very intently ignored it. He focused on his partner. She didn't need to suffer from something that was in all likelihood a figment of his imagination.
Not that it seemed pleased with that.
Simon.
Simon, I know you can hear me.
You're being disrespectful.
Human, stop playing with her and listen to me.
SIMON. ENOUGH.
Eventually, his companion cried out, back arching as her body tensed. Her fingers tight in his hair. Once she released him, the man trailed kisses along her stomach until he finds her lips once more.
If you don't stop, I'll give her an aneurysm.
That was like biting down on tinfoil. Simon breaks away quickly. He was breathing hard, eyes flickering. The light flaring with anger, he thinks. "I, uh…I need to go."
"Are you sure? I can help you-"
"You were wonderful, miss. Don't worry, you go have more fun. Put a drink on my tab." Simon shook his head, getting dressed. "You gave me your number, I'll call you later?"
She looked a little disappointed. But she nodded all the same. "Sure. Chat to you soon."
After that, the man left in a hurry. He braced against the brisk breeze that howled down the quiet streets. The logical part of his mind knew nothing could happen to her. Really, he was far more concerned with himself-…
He…he's not where he should be.
Simon was standing on the seawall. The ocean crashing less than ten feet down. Inky blackness that felt like it was calling him. It was always pretty, but now it looked outright stunning.
Come in, Simon. The temperature is much nicer here. I have something to show you. You'll love it.
He shook his head. That tore it. He was going to schedule a check up in the morning. There was something terribly wrong. Maybe it was just the stress, but hey. Stress kills people. Because as far as he can tell, ignoring something like this was playing with fire.
Fire isn't the word I'd use. Besides. You are ignoring me.
The man turned on his heel, glaring at the ground. He was bound and determined to ignore the starlight seared into his vision. He's a scientist. A doctor! He knows this is all in his head, and he wouldn't let it lead him off the ledge.
Oh, Simon…you'll come around eventually.