Part 1 · Chapter 16A Submarine Forest

A Submarine Forest. We’d finally arrived at the edge of this forest, definitely one of Captain Nemo’s huge domains. He considered it his own, like the first humans had a right to the world in its early days. And, honestly, who would argue with him about owning this underwater property?

What other brave pioneer would come along, ready to chop down the dark thickets?

This forest was made up of giant plants; and the moment we went under its massive archways, I was struck by how their branches were positioned - a position I hadn’t noticed before.

Not a single plant covered the ground, and not a branch on the trees was broken or bent, and they didn't stretch out sideways; everything pointed straight up towards the ocean’s surface. Not a single strand, no matter how thin, stayed as straight as an iron rod.

The seaweed and vines grew in straight, vertical lines because of the water that created them. They were completely still, but when I bent one, it immediately popped back to its original shape. It was truly a place of straight lines!

I quickly got used to this crazy position, and the dimness all around us. The ground in the forest seemed covered in sharp rocks, hard to avoid.

The underwater plants were incredibly perfect, and even richer than they would have been in the arctic or tropical zones, where these plants aren’t as common. But for a few minutes, I accidentally mixed up the different types of plants and animals; it's easy to get confused in this underwater world.

These plants reproduce on their own, and their existence depends on the water that supports and nourishes them. Instead of leaves, many of them shot out blades of all shapes, in a range of colors - pink, red, green, olive, tan, and brown.

I saw peacocks spread out like fans, as if trying to catch a breeze; bright red corals with thin, flat layers that sent out edible shoots of fern-shaped plants that grew up to fifteen feet tall; clusters of cup-shaped plants with stems that got bigger as they went up; and tons of other underwater plants, all without flowers!

"What a weird and amazing place!" said a smart scientist.

"It’s like the animal kingdom is blooming, but the plant kingdom isn’t!"

Under these many bushes (as big as trees in more temperate climates), and under their damp shade, were real bushes of living flowers, hedges of plant-animals, with some zig-zagged corals, some yellow star corals; and to complete the picture, fish-flies buzzed from branch to branch like hummingbirds, while yellow fish with bristling jaws, wing-like fish, and fish with one fin rose at our feet like a flock of snipes.

About an hour later, Captain Nemo gave the signal to stop. I was glad for the break, and we relaxed under a shelter made of seaweed, the long, thin blades standing up like arrows.

That short rest felt amazing. All that was missing was a good conversation, but it was impossible to talk or answer. I just pressed my big copper helmet against Conseil’s.

I saw the good guy’s eyes sparkling with excitement, and to show how happy he was, he shook himself in his air-filled suit in the funniest way ever.

After about four hours of walking, I was surprised I wasn’t starving. I had no idea why my stomach wasn’t screaming for food. But instead, I felt totally wiped out and just needed to sleep - that’s just how it is for divers.

My eyes slammed shut behind my glasses, and I drifted into a deep sleep, something the constant movement had been keeping at bay. Captain Nemo and his strong friend were already stretched out, relaxing in the clear water.

I couldn’t tell how long I’d been out, but when I woke up, the sun looked like it was sinking towards the horizon. Captain Nemo was already up, and I was starting to stretch when a crazy sight jolted me awake.

Just a few steps away, a gigantic sea spider, about three feet tall, was staring at me with beady eyes, ready to pounce. My diving suit was thick enough to protect me from its bite, but I still shuddered with fear. Conseil and the sailor from the Nautilus woke up at that moment.

Captain Nemo pointed to the creepy crustacean, and a whack from the butt of his gun knocked it over. I watched its horrible claws twitch in awful convulsions.

This whole thing reminded me that there could be even scarier animals lurking in these deep waters, and my suit might not protect me from them. I hadn't thought about it before, but I decided to be extra careful. I figured this would be the end of our walk, but I was wrong.

Instead of heading back to the Nautilus, Captain Nemo kept going. The ground was still sloping downwards, and it looked like we were going deeper and deeper.

It must have been around three o’clock when we reached a narrow valley, with huge, sheer walls rising up on either side, about seven-hundred-fifty feet below the surface.

Thanks to our amazing gear, we were five-hundred-fifty feet below the limit that nature seems to have set for how deep humans can go underwater.

I’m saying seven-hundred-fifty feet, even though I didn’t have anything to measure the distance. But I knew that even in the clearest water, sunlight couldn’t reach that far. So, it got really dark. After about ten steps, I couldn't see anything.

I was feeling my way along when I suddenly saw a super bright white light. Captain Nemo had just switched on his electric lamp; his friend did the same, and Conseil and I followed suit.

I turned a screw to connect the wire to the glass spiral, and the sea, lit by our four lamps, glowed for about thirty-six yards.

Captain Nemo was still pushing into the dark depths of the forest, where the trees were getting fewer and fewer. I noticed that plants disappeared faster than animals.

The jellyfish had already left the dry ground, from which a ton of animals - zoophytes, creatures with segmented bodies, shellfish, and fish - still got their food.

As we walked, I figured the light from our lamps couldn’t fail to attract something from the shadows. But if anything did approach, they kept a respectful distance from us. Several times, I saw Captain Nemo stop, raise his gun, and then lower it and keep walking.

Finally, after about four hours, this incredible adventure ended. A wall of stunning rocks, piled up in a massive formation, rose up before us - a jumble of gigantic blocks, a huge, steep granite cliff, forming dark caves, but with no way to climb. It was the support for the Island of Crespo.

It was the earth! Captain Nemo stopped suddenly. A gesture from him brought us all to a halt, and even though I really wanted to climb the wall, I had to stop. Here ended Captain Nemo’s territory. And he wasn’t going beyond it. Further on was a part of the world he wouldn’t trample on.

Captain Nemo headed back to his small group, guiding them without any hesitation. I thought we weren’t taking the same route back to the Nautilus. The new path was really steep, and honestly, pretty painful. We were rising toward the surface of the ocean quickly.

But this trip back up wasn’t so sudden that it would shock our bodies and cause serious problems - like internal injuries that could be deadly for divers. Soon, light started to reappear and got brighter. With the sun low on the horizon, everything had a kind of ghostly glow around it.

About thirty feet down, we were walking through a huge school of little fish of all kinds - way more than you'd see birds in the air, and just as quick. We hadn't seen anything worth shooting yet when I saw the Captain quickly grab his gun and follow something into the bushes.

He fired - I heard a quiet hiss, and a creature fell, stunned, a little ways from us. It was a magnificent sea otter, a kind of marine mammal. This otter was five feet long and must have been really valuable.

Its fur, chestnut-brown on top and silvery underneath, would have been one of those gorgeous furs they’re always looking for in Russia and China; the quality and shine would have easily fetched around $one hundred and ten.

I was totally impressed by this unique animal, with its rounded head and short ears, round eyes, and white whiskers like a cat, webbed feet with claws, and a fluffy tail.

This precious animal is hunted and tracked by fishermen, and now it’s super rare, mostly hiding out in the northern parts of the Pacific - otherwise, it’s probably going extinct.

Captain Nemo’s friend grabbed the otter, tossed it over his shoulder, and we kept going. For about an hour, a sandy area stretched out before us. Sometimes it was only a few feet from the surface of the water. Then I saw our reflections clearly - drawn backward, like a mirror image.

Above us was an identical group mirroring our movements and actions; basically, it was us, except they were walking with their heads down and their feet in the air.

Another thing I noticed was thick clouds that seemed to form and disappear quickly. But then I realized these weren’t really clouds - they were just the varying thickness of the reeds on the ocean floor.

I could even see the fluffy foam their tops created on the water, and the shadows of big birds flying overhead, whose quick flight I could see on the surface of the sea.

On this trip, I saw one of the most incredible shots I’ve ever witnessed. A large bird with huge wings, clearly visible, flew over us. Captain Nemo’s friend shouldered his gun and fired - it was only a few yards above the waves.

The bird fell stunned, and the force of its fall brought it within reach of the skilled hunter’s grasp. It was an albatross, a really impressive one.

Our journey hadn't been interrupted by this. For two hours, we followed these sandy plains, then through fields of seaweed - a real pain to get through. Honestly, I was relieved when I saw a glimmer of light, which broke the darkness of the water for about half a mile.

It was the lantern of the Nautilus. In less than twenty minutes, we’d be on board, and I’d be able to breathe easily - it seemed my tank was supplying air that was seriously lacking oxygen. But then we had an unexpected encounter that delayed our arrival for a bit.

I'd been hanging back a bit when I suddenly saw Captain Nemo heading straight for me, moving really fast. He used his strong hand to practically throw me to the ground, and his buddy did the same to Conseil.

At first, I was totally confused by this sudden attack, but I relaxed a little when I saw the Captain lying down next to me and just staying put.

I was sprawled on the ground, right under a bush of seaweed, when I looked up and saw this huge thing swim by, glowing with phosphorescent light. It was moving super fast.

My blood went cold when I realized what it was - two seriously scary sharks. They were tintoreas, these crazy creatures with giant tails and this weird, glassy stare, spraying phosphorescent stuff from holes around their snouts. Seriously monstrous! They could crush a person in their iron jaws.

I don’t know if Conseil was busy trying to identify them, but I was just checking out their silver bellies and huge mouths full of teeth - you know, from the perspective of a possible snack, not a scientist.

Luckily, these hungry guys don't have great eyesight. They swam right past us, brushing against us with their brown fins, and we dodged a danger that was definitely worse than running into a tiger in the woods. About half an hour later, using the electric light, we finally made it to the Nautilus.

The outside hatch was open, and Captain Nemo slammed it shut as soon as we were inside the first room. Then he pushed a button. I heard the pumps working deep inside the vessel, I felt the water draining away, and in just a few minutes, the room was completely dry.

The inside hatch opened, and we went into the changing room.

They took off our diving gear, which was a bit of a struggle. I was totally exhausted from not eating or sleeping. I went back to my room, still amazed by this crazy trip to the bottom of the sea.