Then — there it was again. A streak. Darker, sharper. Not the lazy drift of a ray, not a grouper. Quick. Deliberate. Watching. Marcus froze, letting himself hover. His pulse thudded in his ears. The reef was still, the water stretching into empty blue. Yet something was there. He felt it. The camera’s blinking light felt suddenly less like a tool, more like a target.
His instincts prickled, a warning whisper carried through the water itself. Marcus pushed gently upward, fins slicing through the water as he rose toward the shimmer of daylight above. The reef faded beneath him, its chorus of colors receding into shadow, and soon his head broke the surface with a rush of air and spray.