Celer

Gems VI

DRM4173

January 2, 2026

Digital

“On the surface, we spoke about swimming in the same direction, at a depth no greater than 15 feet, to explore and photograph the reef, and any fish or creatures that appeared. It was a bright day, and the sun was high at 12 o’clock noon. With just one tank each, we could stay down, each of us photographing the reef decay, and keep each other in sight. Only a week ago there had been an incident with a stonefish, and at the swell of tide, the sharks would start to come in, so we kept this in mind.”

“How long after you began did the incident with Lieutenant Krasberg take place?”

“It was about 20 minutes.”

“And then? Where were you? Please descibe the area.”

“I had found an area with a long crack and crevasse leading to the edge of the reef, near the drop-off into deep water. This is what we had originally been looking for. I got Krasberg’s attention, and we each began exploring the crevasse, about 6 feet wide and increasing downwards towards the edge of the reef, for about 20 yards. Suddenly, we reached a spot about 20 feet from the edge of the reef that seemed to have been completely broken away, but in the very center was a giant boulder, which almost reached the surface, maybe about 15 yards in diameter and height. This rock was not on our maps, and we were both instantly puzzled by the sight of it. We hovered near one side, and Krasberg motioned for me to go around the left side, and he would go around the right, with us meeting on the opposite side.”

“Continue.”

“So, I went around the left. I stopped momentarily, as there was a strange blue light coming from a hole in the rock, about the size of my hand. But then, I found that it was just a very blue small fish, and not a light at all. I continued around. When I reached the other side, there was nothing there. Rather than step nearer to the ledge of the reef – into which almost nothing was visible but cloudy blues – I went back the way I had come, and started around the right side – the direction Krasberg had gone. I had barely turned the corner, when I suddenly was face to face with the mouth of a shark, the mouth which had to be about the size of a barrel, seemingly hovering there in the water next to the rock, with two feet and flippers sticking out of the corners of its mouth. I was so startled that I spit out my rebreather, and swallowed water, convulsing, and panicked trying to swim backwards as fast as I could. This startled the shark, and it was gone in a flash. I immediately went back to the peak of the crevasse, and back to the boat.”

“What about your camera?”

“I dropped it.”

– Will Long, 2025 

credits

releases January 2, 2026

All music recorded by Will Long in 2020.
Mastered By Lawrence English at Negative Space