The ocean was an eerie, unbroken mirror. For miles in any direction, the water was so flat it looked like polished glass, reflecting a hazy blue sky that offered no breeze. Leo clicked his pen, the sound sharp in the vast open silence. He sat on the bench of his small wooden fishing boat, tapping his pen against a tattered paper notebook.
Date: June 17, 2026
Location: Deep Water
Target: Cod
Notes: No bites. Completely dead.
He looked over the side of the boat. Usually, he could see small baitfish darting near the surface or the dark shapes of crabs moving along the bottom. Today, the water was empty and still. Not a single ripple broke the surface. No birds circled in the sky, and no fish jumped. The ocean felt entirely hollowed out, as if every living creature had fled the area hours ago, leaving him utterly alone in a desert of glass.