Henry B. and Isaac G.

The Undersea Virus

Chapter 1: The Dive

“Ready to submerge, guys?” Thoros shouted to his friends, Rock and Cruncher. The trio sat at the edge of their sailboat, facing the uncharted sea.

“You mean, ready to dive into the dark ocean with a 99 percent chance of death?” Cruncher said sarcastically.

Thoros rolled his eyes. “Bottom’s up!”

The three friends swallowed the Water Breathing Potion half expecting to die. The crimson liquid tasted like rotten dragon flesh and made their body shudder for a whole minute.

“Risks are a part of life!” Rock sputtered.

“Then, let’s go,” roared Cruncher, as the three friends dove in.

Chapter 2: Murky Waters

Thoros looked around, expecting to find sea creatures staring him down. But, to his astonishment, he saw none. He saw some plants, but upon closer inspection, realized they were ordinary seaweed, emitting an eerie green haze. Thoros was puzzled, wondering why everything seemed so still.

Then he gasped. On the sea floor, laid dozens and dozens of fish, and only a few appeared to be alive. Rock and Cruncher saw the same sight, and motioned to Thoros that they should take a closer look.  As they approached the scene, the same green haze from the seaweed was oozing from the gills of the fish. Then Cruncher saw a colossal black shell tangled in the seaweed. The words “TURN BACK” glowed like a neon sign.

Cruncher pointed out the shell to Rock and Thoros, but they shrugged.  They were more interested in collecting one of the fish to study.  Thoros gently held the unnaturally white fish leaving a trail of green seeding from its gills. Was it his imagination or had the water turned colder? Was there a drastic change in the pressure or was his mind playing tricks on him?  Suddenly a cold chill ran through his body.  Rock signaled that they needed to return to their boat. But, when they surfaced, they saw a trail of white foam. Their ship was sailing away on its own, leaving them behind.

Expect more when the novel hits the New York Times best-seller list