WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:17.559
Caloroga Shark Media.
2
00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:14.880
Welcome to the Sirens Call a special Romance Weekly and
3
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:21.280
Ghost Scary Stories crossover event. This is episode five Breaking Point.
4
00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:28.440
The atmospheric diving suit feels like a fragile bubble around
5
00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:32.240
me as I step through the submersible's airlock into the
6
00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:37.079
alien world of the underwater cathedral. The water here is warm,
7
00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:43.119
almost tropical, heated by geothermal vents that feed the bioluminescent
8
00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.479
organisms covering every surface. But it's not the temperature that
9
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:53.200
makes me shiver. It's the dozens of predatory eyes watching
10
00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:57.799
my every movement. Through my suit's communication system, I can
11
00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:03.759
hear Kai's voice, Maria, stay close to the submersible. If
12
00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:09.239
anything goes wrong, get back inside immediately, But Nerada glides
13
00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:13.280
between us before I can respond. Her form graceful and
14
00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:19.400
terrifying in equal measure. In the water, unrestrained by human limitations,
15
00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:24.319
She's revealed herself as something beyond beautiful, something that makes
16
00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:29.000
my mind struggle to process what I'm seeing. Welcome to
17
00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:33.760
our domain, little human, she says, her voice transmitted directly
18
00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:37.439
through the water to my suit's receivers. Are you ready
19
00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.920
to witness the true power of the depths around us,
20
00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.280
The other sirens have arranged themselves in a complex formation,
21
00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:50.280
some rising toward the cavern's ceiling, others spreading out along
22
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:53.879
the walls, all of them focused on the sonar readings
23
00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:58.439
that track the northern Star's approach far above. The ship
24
00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:03.680
will pass directly overhead in twenty minutes. Nearada continues close
25
00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:07.640
enough to hear our call, close enough to be persuaded
26
00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:11.840
to join us in the depths. And if I can
27
00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:16.800
convince you they're worth sparing, I ask, my voice artificially
28
00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:22.360
steady through the suits speakers. Ne Reada's smile is sharp, predatory.
29
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:26.159
Then you'll have accomplished something no human has ever done,
30
00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:31.159
changed the mind of a hunting pod. Her expression grows serious.
31
00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:35.800
But understand, doctor Torres, what you're about to witness is
32
00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:40.240
not cruelty. It's nature. We are what we are, just
33
00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:45.520
as sharks are sharks, just as storms are storms. Storms
34
00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:50.800
don't choose their victims, I reply, you do, do we?
35
00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:55.879
Or do we simply follow currents that have flowed for millennia.
36
00:02:56.479 --> 00:02:59.960
Before I can answer, the formation of sirens begins to move.
37
00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:05.560
They rise through the water in perfect synchronization, their voices
38
00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.879
joining together in harmonies that make my suit's systems vibrate.
39
00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:16.479
Even filtered through my environmental protection, the sound is compelling, beautiful,
40
00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:22.319
impossible to ignore. We ascend through layers of increasing light.
41
00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:27.360
As we approach the surface, the water here is different, cleaner,
42
00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:31.680
charged with energy that seems to come from the sirens themselves.
43
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:36.240
Through my suit's cameras, I can see Kai swimming nearby,
44
00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:41.400
his expression conflicted as he's pulled along by forces both
45
00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:47.560
social and supernatural. Two hundred feet to surface, narrator announces
46
00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.240
perfect depth for our purposes, deep enough to ensure our
47
00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:57.520
prey drowns quickly, shallow enough that their final moments aren't prolonged.
48
00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.319
The clinical name of her description makes my stomach turn.
49
00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:06.520
These aren't anonymous victims to her, They're a food source,
50
00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:10.319
no different from schools of fish. We level off in
51
00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.400
the dark water, the sirens spreading out in a wide circle,
52
00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:19.199
with Narida at the center above us, still invisible but
53
00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:24.240
growing closer. The Northern Star continues its innocent journey across
54
00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:28.639
the surface. Now you'll see what your species truly faces
55
00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:33.839
when it ventures into our domain, Nerador says. Around the circle,
56
00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:38.399
the other sirens begin to sing, the sound that emerges
57
00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:43.759
from them. Is unlike anything I've ever experienced, not just music,
58
00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.839
but something that bypasses rational thought and speaks directly to
59
00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:53.399
the deepest parts of consciousness. Even through my suit's protection,
60
00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:58.639
I feel its pull, a desire to surrender, to let
61
00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:03.879
go of all resistance and follow the melody wherever it leads. Stop.
62
00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:09.160
I gasp, recognizing the terrible beauty of what's happening. You
63
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:16.839
can't do this, can't. Narida's voice rises above the collective song. Watch,
64
00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:23.279
little human, watch and understand the futility of resistance. The
65
00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:26.759
singing intensifies, and suddenly I can see its effect on
66
00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:31.720
the surface above. Through my suit's instruments, I detect the
67
00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:35.560
ship beginning to change course, a subtle shift at first,
68
00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:39.519
then more pronounced as the crew responds to the irresistible
69
00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:44.920
call from below. The ship is turning. Kai's voice comes
70
00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:49.920
through my communicator, tight with anguish. Marina, They're going to
71
00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.439
beach it on the rocks near the island standard hunting pattern.
72
00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.040
I watch in horror as the Northern Star alters its heading,
73
00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:02.920
drawn by the sirens toward the jagged coastline of Blackrock Island.
74
00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:08.319
Somewhere above forty seven people are walking toward the rails,
75
00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.959
compelled by harmonies that promise peace, understanding, and release from
76
00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:20.839
all earthly concerns. Please, I say, desperation, making my voice crack.
77
00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:28.399
These are innocent people, scientists, researchers, crew members with families.
78
00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.720
All humans have families. Nerida interrupts, her voice, never wavering
79
00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:39.959
from the collective song. All humans believe themselves innocent. Yet
80
00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.560
still they poison our waters, Still they strip our depths.
81
00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:49.240
Spare not these people. The Northern Star is a research vessel.
82
00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:53.959
They're studying ocean conservation, trying to understand how to protect
83
00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:59.759
marine ecosystems. Prove it. The simple challenge cuts through my panic.
84
00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:07.000
How Neareda's form glides closer, her alien beauty terrible to behold.
85
00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:11.160
Join your voice to ours. Experience what it means to
86
00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.720
call prey to its fate. If after feeling that power,
87
00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:28.959
you still believe they should be spared, will listen. The
88
00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:34.920
suggestion is monstrous, unthinkable. She's asking me to participate in
89
00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.600
mass murder, to become complicit in the very thing I'm
90
00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:44.519
trying to prevent. I can't, I whisper. Then they die,
91
00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.680
and you return to the surface, knowing you could have
92
00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:53.800
saved them, but chose your own moral purity instead. Through
93
00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:57.279
my suit's displays, I can see the ship drawing closer
94
00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:01.560
to the rocks. Soon it will be too late. The
95
00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:04.839
crew will beach the vessel and walk into the waiting sea,
96
00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:10.519
drawn by songs older than human civilization. There has to
97
00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:15.800
be another way, I say, desperately. Show me Narrador challenges,
98
00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:21.600
and suddenly I understand. She's not just testing my resolve.
99
00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:25.600
She's testing my understanding of her people, of the forces
100
00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:29.680
that drive them. The Sirens song isn't just about hunting.
101
00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.919
It's about communication, about harmony, about the collective consciousness that
102
00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:40.279
binds these creatures together. Kai, I call through my communicator
103
00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:44.480
the acoustic research you've been doing. Can you create interference,
104
00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.960
something that would disrupt their song without harming them? His
105
00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:54.519
response comes immediately, the submersible sonar array. If I recalibrate
106
00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.159
it to the right frequency, I might be able to
107
00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:00.840
create enough acoustic interference to break their hold. The ship's crew,
108
00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:06.000
do it, I command, but Nerada has heard our exchange.
109
00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:10.559
Her eyes flash with anger, and the collective song takes
110
00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:14.519
on a harsher tone. You would use technology against us,
111
00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:19.919
turn our own element against us. I would save innocent lives,
112
00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:23.559
I reply, just as you would protect your people if
113
00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:28.440
humans threatened them. Around the circle, the other sirens begin
114
00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:32.720
to close in, their voices, growing more aggressive, more demanding.
115
00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:39.279
The water itself seems to pulse with their displeasure. Interference initiated,
116
00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:44.799
Kai reports through my communicator, but Marina, you need to
117
00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.240
get out of there. They're not going to let this
118
00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:52.440
challenge go unanswered. Through my suit's instruments, I can see
119
00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:56.279
the effect of Kai's intervention. The ship above has stopped
120
00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:59.919
its deadly turn toward the rocks, its crew presumably freed
121
00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:04.200
from the sirens song's compulsion. But I can also see
122
00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:08.600
the rage building in the creatures around me. You dare
123
00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:13.960
interfere with a sanctioned hunt Nearroda's voice carries harmonics that
124
00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:18.679
make my suits hull grown under impossible pressure. You use
125
00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:23.000
our own brother against us. The other sirens have formed
126
00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:27.440
a tight circle around me, now, their eyes reflecting bioluminescent fury.
127
00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:33.039
I realize with growing terror that my atmospheric suit, protective
128
00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:35.720
as it is, won't save me if they decide to
129
00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:41.080
tear me apart. Nerida stop. Kay's voice cuts through the
130
00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:44.840
water and suddenly he's between me and the hostile sirens.
131
00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:48.679
She acted to save lives, the same thing any of
132
00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:52.200
us would do to protect our pod. She is not
133
00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:58.039
pod Nerida snarls. She is prey, clever prey perhaps, but
134
00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:00.519
still just a human who has forgotten her place in
135
00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:06.600
the natural order. The natural order is changing, Kai says firmly,
136
00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.759
has been changing for centuries. Humans aren't just pray anymore.
137
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:16.240
Some of them are allies, partners in protecting the oceans.
138
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:22.360
We both love. Sentiment narrator dismisses you've spent too long
139
00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.879
among them, forgotten what you really are. I know exactly
140
00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.919
what I am. Kai replies, his voice carrying new authority.
141
00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:34.679
I'm a siren who chooses to use his gifts to
142
00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:38.840
protect rather than destroy, who understands that the future of
143
00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:43.679
our people depends on coexistence, not eternal war. The water
144
00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:47.080
around us falls silent, except for the distant sounds of
145
00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:52.519
the ocean depths above us. The Northern Star continues its journey,
146
00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.960
its crew unaware of how close they came to disaster.
147
00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:01.399
You choose them over us, Nareda says, quiet, and for
148
00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:04.559
the first time, I hear genuine pain in her voice.
149
00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:09.559
Your own sister your own people. I choose a future
150
00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:13.759
where both our species can thrive. Chai corrects, where the
151
00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:17.240
oceans are protected not through fear and death, but through
152
00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:22.279
understanding and cooperation. Nerida stares at her brother for a
153
00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:26.960
long moment, emotions too complex for human understanding playing across
154
00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:32.200
her alien features. Finally, she speaks, you have saved them
155
00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:35.679
this time, but others of our kind will not be
156
00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:41.240
so flexible. The humans continue to damage our domain, and
157
00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:46.919
eventually someone will demand payment. Then we find other ways
158
00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:51.279
to make them pay. Kai says, ways that don't require
159
00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:58.600
innocent blood, such as education, pressure, consequences that hurt their
160
00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:03.519
industries without killing their people. His gaze meets mine through
161
00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:08.679
my suit's face plate. Doctor Torres has dedicated her life
162
00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:12.960
to marine conservation. She could be an ally in that effort.
163
00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:18.759
Neareda considers this her expression thoughtful. The human who can
164
00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:22.759
resist our songs, she would be useful for communicating with
165
00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:28.159
her kind without the complications of mental influence. I find
166
00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:32.080
my voice at last. I want to help the oceans
167
00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:36.120
are dying. I've seen the data, the pollution, the damage
168
00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:40.519
being done, but mass murder isn't the answer. Let me
169
00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:45.360
work with marine conservation groups. With government agencies. Let me
170
00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:49.639
help them understand what's at stake, and if they don't listen,
171
00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:54.320
Neareda asks, if they continue to poison our waters despite
172
00:13:54.360 --> 00:14:00.960
your warnings, then we find other solutions economic pressure, sabotage
173
00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:06.399
of polluting operations, targeted strikes against the worst offenders. I
174
00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.360
meet her alien Gaye steadily, but we target the guilty,
175
00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:16.240
not the innocent. Around us, the other sirens have begun
176
00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:20.440
to disperse, their interest waning as the immediate hunt is abandoned,
177
00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:25.240
but Neriida remains studying me with an intensity that makes
178
00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:31.440
my skin crawl. Very well, she says, finally, we will
179
00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:36.679
try your approach for now, But understand, little human, you
180
00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.799
have made yourself responsible for your species behavior. If they
181
00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:45.960
continue to destroy our domain despite your efforts. I understand,
182
00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:50.240
I say, though the weight of that responsibility is almost crushing.
183
00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:57.000
Nerda nods once, then turns to her brother Kai. You
184
00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:02.559
are choosing exile from our people for this human if necessary,
185
00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:07.879
he replies, without hesitation. It may be she looks between
186
00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.559
us one final time, but perhaps perhaps there is wisdom
187
00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:18.240
in your choice. Time will tell with that She's gone,
188
00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.919
vanishing into the dark water with the fluid grace of
189
00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:27.200
something born to the depths. The other sirens follow their forms,
190
00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.360
disappearing one by one until only Kai and I remain
191
00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:34.799
in the glowing water. Is it over, i ask through
192
00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:41.600
my suit's communicator. For now, Kai confirms, swimming closer. But
193
00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:44.960
this is just the beginning, Marina. There will be other pods,
194
00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:48.159
other hunts, and not all of my people will be
195
00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:53.240
as reasonable as Narda. Then we better get to work,
196
00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:58.320
I say, surprised by my own determination. I have contacts
197
00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:03.159
in marine conservation organizations, researchers who've been trying to document
198
00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:07.279
the ocean's decline. If we can provide them with proof
199
00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.799
of what's really at stake. It won't be easy, Ki
200
00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:16.240
WARN's My people are secretive by nature. They won't welcome
201
00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:22.240
human attention, even well intentioned attention. But some of them might,
202
00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:27.480
I suggest, sirens like you who understand that cooperation is
203
00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:31.919
the only path forward. Through my suit's face plate, I
204
00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:35.799
can see him smile, the first genuine smile I've seen
205
00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:41.240
from him since this nightmare began. Yes, there are others
206
00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:44.440
who think as I do, others who've grown tired of
207
00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:57.399
the old ways. We begin our ascent toward the submersible
208
00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:02.519
leaving the cathedral of the depths behind. As we rise
209
00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:06.839
through layers of increasingly bright water, I find myself thinking
210
00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:12.440
about the future, about the impossible alliance we're proposing, about
211
00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:17.279
the work that lies ahead, Kai, I say, as we
212
00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:21.200
approach the submersible's airlock. When this is over, when we
213
00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:25.759
return to the surface, what then do you go back
214
00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:29.920
to hiding among humans? Do I pretend none of this happened.
215
00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:34.440
He's quiet for a long moment, swimming alongside my bulky
216
00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:39.799
suit with effortless grace. I don't know, he admits, I've
217
00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:43.440
spent so long living between worlds, belonging fully to neither.
218
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:49.319
But with you, he pauses, with you, I feel like
219
00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:53.599
I could find a place to truly belong. The words
220
00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.519
send warmth through me that has nothing to do with
221
00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:01.839
my suit's environmental systems. Research station will need a permanent
222
00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:07.720
marine acoustics specialist, I say, carefully, someone with unique expertise
223
00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:12.079
in ocean phenomena. Are you offering me a job, doctor,
224
00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.759
I'm offering you a future, I reply, one where you
225
00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.920
don't have to choose between your heritage and your conscience.
226
00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:25.119
As we reach the submersible, Kai helps guide me through
227
00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:29.400
the airlock. Once I'm safely inside and beginning the process
228
00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.359
of removing the atmospheric suit, he swims up to the viewport,
229
00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:38.319
his form visible through the reinforced glass. There's something else,
230
00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:42.759
he says through the communication system, something I need to
231
00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:45.920
tell you about what happened between us in the caves.
232
00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:51.559
I pause in removing my helmet. What about it when
233
00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.599
I kissed you, when my voice influenced you. I need
234
00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:59.880
you to know that what you've felt afterward, the attraction then,
235
00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.240
that was real. My influence can make someone more receptive
236
00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:09.359
to suggestion, more willing to trust, but it can't create
237
00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:14.319
emotions that don't already exist. The admission makes my heart race.
238
00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:19.720
So when I wanted to kiss you again, that was
239
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:25.440
entirely your choice, your feeling. His eyes meet mine through
240
00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.279
the glass, as is whatever you choose to feel.
241
00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:29.599
Now.
242
00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.519
I set down the helmet and move closer to the viewport,
243
00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:37.920
placing my palm against the glass on the other side.