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It was a heavy glass cube, and a scorpion was frozen at its center The gold letters etched across it, some of them chipped away by time, spelled out: WIL E M KO RIN, SEPTEMB R 1941 And directly beneath, a portion of a swastika "Kip," he said quietly "Look at this"

Kip turned froht around the sht for a moment and then handed it back to the other man "I&039;d say this must have been the co hollow "You&039;d best keep that It&039;s probably all you&039;ll get to salvage off this goddamned crate" Moore slid it beneath his shirt It was like the touch of ice against his flesh

Kip focused his attention on the hatch again He slid his fingers into the crack and pulled at it; steel grated across steel, but the hatch ca the sweat froht inside

"David" Kip said, hoarsely, notfrom where he was He didn&039;t think Moore had heard, so he called again, more loudly this tih, following his bea into the control roo aThere were banks of controls, rows of gauges and dials The glass caught Kip&039;s light and glinted back In the center of the rooes, their needles frozen in place Equipment took up al in clusters, jale switches, levers, flywheels, blank-faced dials

And so else

The corpses

So-dead cos of uniforhost crew of a dead boat

And they had been mummified

One whose face was half-covered by a white veil of fungus had crossed his brown, shriveled ar, eyeless hts from the aft shadows; bone showed in a misshapen skull Here were empty brown eye sockets, here one with the nose rotted away and the facial features collapsed around a cavernous hole On the flooring, washed by less than an inch of water, a corpse stared directly at the More littered the rear of the control rooroups, some with facial features still distinct, others coated with yellow and gray fungus, which had covered theen had helped to preserve the bodies, hadSkin was stretched tight over bones and tendons, and the dark eye sockets were deep, fathomless pits in front of solidified brain matter In one corner a corpse held up both stiffened arhts

Kip released his breath fro his own body upright Kip&039;s stohed, the pain throbbing in his tissues What was it? Gas, vapors oozing frouts of the U-boat, froines lay? It was an airless crypt, an iron coffin that had taken theseat the far end of the death-chahts into it but they could see nothing except a h here," Kip heard hi they were the first words to be spoken in this terrible place for nearly half a century "Could be they were trapped in the aft section when this bastard headed down, and none of the his light from corner to corner The drawn, hideous faces stared back, as if watching the around hiht was a weapon of protection he held before hilinted across a bronze plaque mounted on a bulkhead: KIEL - 1941 As he stared at it the lettering faded out of focus, and every breath he took seemed to draw the stench of decay deeper within him He wiped his face, his skin cold and clammy He could barely move his hand froet the hell out of here," Kip said, but the words were distant, hed violently into his hand, and had to support hi in the aft section, beyond the range of their lights, clattered The sharp sound of iron against iron riveted thetheir hearts to pound with the fear of the unknown

"Jesus," Moore whispered "Jesus, as"

"Back away," Kip said, slurring his words "Back away fro of hellish noise, exploded through the aft opening and pounded at the twowildly past the the boat with more echoes, and more, a thousand others a hundred thousand others and no escape froet out

"GET OUT!" Kip shouted, his voice lost He couldn&039;t see; the black er ht Moore reached for hi theto pull hi The entire boat see like the shrieks of the daeway just above his head He twisted around, staring into the control roos stirred within, uncoiling the from the water A wave of cold, pure hatred hit the men like an icy blast Moore could see the inhuers, ruined faces gaping, black eyeholes now red and hungry Moore pulled Kip back, shouting out but not knowing if he actually had because he couldn&039;t hear hi it closed, and as he did he saw the greedy gering back down the passage, flailing at the unseen with his light Moore started after hi to his knees in the water, losing his flashlight He struggled up, dripping, trying to hold back the panic about to burst out of hihtmare, his feet thickened in the cement hold of the water God as it God as it MY GOD WHAT WAS IT! He opened his ed was a dry, dusty rattle, like the voice of so buried GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT

Kip, alainst a pipe He struck out with his arainst metal It flickered to a dim yellow

And in the shadows that lay beyond hi up, a skeletal thing with a half-consumed rat clutched in one clawlike hand Kip tried to warn Moore, but he was struck du&039;s other hand came up quickly, and an object flew at Kip&039;s face fro as it passed his head The hammer slammed into a bulkhead and bounced off even as Kip steeled hi corpse There was a sharp crash of shattering glass and then the darkness clai as rapidly as they could toward the bow section, still dazed and staggering The light was growing stronger, the noises of hatred andbehind The open deck hatch was ahead, and the ladder Moore grasped it and hurtled up into the rush of clean, pure air He fell across the deck, the strength drained fro like a ht, drawn mask, rocketed up and slid the heavy hatch lid back over the hole to seal it He threw hi and unable to stop He thought hehis mind "No," he protested in a raw, pained voice "NO!"

Moore reached the port railing and leaned over, vo his face Then he demanded in a choked whisper, "WHAT WAS THAT?"

Kip listened No sounds, no ; his body was out of control

"They&039;re dead" he spat out finally "They&039;re DEAD!"

And then the echo, co thee and terrible

And untrue