So, a few years back, a police report was filed about a diving trip gone awry. Decorated life science professor, Dr. Moor, and two of his colleagues were on this trip, along with a student and his diving instructor. Dr. Moor was on the trip on Lake Placid, trying to discover the origins of the mysterious deaths of the marine life there. He got more information than he bargained for. A year or so ago, I contacted Dr. Moor to see if he would share his side of the events of that fateful dive. You see, as the only survivor, he was questioned and placed in a psychiatric ward. They let me in only when I showed my journalism credentials. At first, the former doctor was reluctant to share his recollections, but then broke down and let his story flow out. I had a hard time keeping up with the poor man, as he rambled on and on. Here is what I wrote down: "The day was beautiful, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. Me and the men were having fun, actually. The water was especially refreshing that day, and we were eager to strap on our self-contained underwater breathing apparatus and dive deep down. The diving instructor jumped first, then the student, followed by my colleagues Mr. Mack and Dr. Leon. Then, I embraced the darkness as I hit the ice cold water. We swam lower. Fish bones and corpses were littered on the lakes floor surrounded by huge amounts of lengthy seaweed. The unusual lack of life contrasted with the cool water that wet my suit. Soon, we came across a underwater cave. Of course, we were led to believe there was a "monstrous fish" in the cave. I wish we were right. I, armed with my small harpoon gun, entered the cave first. It got darker as we descended. It was quite eerie, really. And then, we hit a dead end. No monster fish. No inhabitants at all. The floor was barren, except for fish corpses and clumps of seaweed. We swam back to the main part of the lake to decide what to do next. As we sat in the cool water talking about what to do about the issue hanging over the poor marine life in this lake, Mr. Mack cried out, "Ah! My- My leg!" I'll never forget that cry. We looked down to find that the seaweed was wrapped around his leg. He swam upwards but the wretched... Thing... Was holding him down. Then, the seaweed lashed out. The clumps grabbed whatever it could in the most animalistic manner I've ever seen. Everyone was grabbed, and ripped. They bled everywhere. The seaweed seemingly absorbed the blood straight from the water, leaving my friends and co-workers dry. As I made a mad swim to the surface, one grabbed me and twisted around my ankle. It had to be barbed; I could feel it cutting through my flesh, giving it more blood to feed on. Using all my strength, I broke free, barely escaping to the surface." He showed me a scar on his leg, which looked like a pattern of cuts. Organized. "Then... They put me here. "I'm lucky I'm not in jail," I'm told. But I have to live knowing that at the bottom of Lake Placid, there's a creature. It mimics seaweed, but all is not as it seems." That's all I got out of him before he broke down crying. To this day, I've wanted to search Lake Placid, which has been documented as "void of life". I'm going to investigate the Lake. I might not make it back. Take this story, and heed its warning. Goodbye, everybody... The plants are alive, too... So, a few years back, a police report was filed about a diving trip gone awry. Decorated life science professor, Dr. Moor, and two of his colleagues were on this trip, along with a student and his diving instructor. Dr. Moor was on the trip on Lake Placid, trying to discover the origins of the mysterious deaths of the marine life there. He got more information than he bargained for. A year or so ago, I contacted Dr. Moor to see if he would share his side of the events of that fateful dive. You see, as the only survivor, he was questioned and placed in a psychiatric ward. They let me in only when I showed my journalism credentials. At first, the former doctor was reluctant to share his recollections, but then broke down and let his story flow out. I had a hard time keeping up with the poor man, as he rambled on and on. Here is what I wrote down: "The day was beautiful, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. Me and the men were having fun, actually. The water was especially refreshing that day, and we were eager to strap on our self-contained underwater breathing apparatus and dive deep down. The diving instructor jumped first, then the student, followed by my colleagues Mr. Mack and Dr. Leon. Then, I embraced the darkness as I hit the ice cold water. We swam lower. Fish bones and corpses were littered on the lakes floor surrounded by huge amounts of lengthy seaweed. The unusual lack of life contrasted with the cool water that wet my suit. Soon, we came across a underwater cave. Of course, we were led to believe there was a "monstrous fish" in the cave. I wish we were right. I, armed with my small harpoon gun, entered the cave first. It got darker as we descended. It was quite eerie, really. And then, we hit a dead end. No monster fish. No inhabitants at all. The floor was barren, except for fish corpses and clumps of seaweed. We swam back to the main part of the lake to decide what to do next. As we sat in the cool water talking about what to do about the issue hanging over the poor marine life in this lake, Mr. Mack cried out, "Ah! My- My leg!" I'll never forget that cry. We looked down to find that the seaweed was wrapped around his leg. He swam upwards but the wretched... Thing... Was holding him down. Then, the seaweed lashed out. The clumps grabbed whatever it could in the most animalistic manner I've ever seen. Everyone was grabbed, and ripped. They bled everywhere. The seaweed seemingly absorbed the blood straight from the water, leaving my friends and co-workers dry. As I made a mad swim to the surface, one grabbed me and twisted around my ankle. It had to be barbed; I could feel it cutting through my flesh, giving it more blood to feed on. Using all my strength, I broke free, barely escaping to the surface." He showed me a scar on his leg, which looked like a pattern of cuts. Organized. "Then... They put me here. "I'm lucky I'm not in jail," I'm told. But I have to live knowing that at the bottom of Lake Placid, there's a creature. It mimics seaweed, but all is not as it seems." That's all I got out of him before he broke down crying. To this day, I've wanted to search Lake Placid, which has been documented as "void of life". I'm going to investigate the Lake. I might not make it back. Take this story, and heed its warning. Goodbye, everybody... The plants are alive, too... |