Story Spotlight: “Above Us, Hell” by Alicia Cay
In Alicia Cay’s “Above Us, Hell,” a down-on-his-luck treasure hunter and his grandfather chase a salvage score in the Caribbean—and surface something from the deep that should have stayed buried. What begins as a desperate dive into the Cayman Trench becomes something far more dangerous than debt or drowning, as a World War II submarine rises from the dark carrying ghosts that have been waiting decades to be found.
He didn’t need whatever garbage was buried in this tuna can to make the haul worthwhile, he wanted the boat itself, but a little look-see inside couldn’t hurt.
The words ‘metal pirate’ tripped through his mind. It wasn’t the title he’d sought after his whole life, still, he couldn’t help a thrill of excitement, there was enough salvage here to set him up for a good long while and to show them all he was a treasure hunter worth his salt.
Owen wrenched and pulled on the hatch wheel. Sweat dripped from under his arms, searing the scratches along his sides. It wouldn’t budge.
Boom… boom… boom… Another set of deep, hollow, iron strikes pounded against the metal hull.
Owen froze.
Waves swept over the lower deck of the ship. The banging sound grew louder and sharper, out of pace with the ocean’s rhythm. Then …
It stopped.
Owen’s eyes swung up to meet his grandfather’s.
Grandpa made an uncomfortable growling sound in the back of his throat. “We need to get off this boat.”
About the Author
Alicia Cay is a writer of speculative and mystery stories. Her short fiction has appeared in Galaxy’s Edge magazine and in several anthologies including Unmasked from WordFire Press and The Wild Hunt from Air and Nothingness Press. She suffers from wanderlust, dreams of far-away places, crochets, collects quotes, and currently lives by the beach where she’s slowly unfurling and soaking in the sunshine.
Read the Story
You can find “Above Us, Hell” in the Haunted Waters anthology.
Buy the book from your favorite store
If you liked…
- The Abyss (1989 film)—for the haunting beauty and claustrophobic peril of deep-sea discovery
- Ghost Ship (2002 film)—for the collision of maritime salvage and spectral horror
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway—for the stubborn resilience of men who measure themselves against the ocean and find the ocean measuring them back
…then you’ll enjoy “Above Us, Hell,” a story that shows the most effective hauntings are the ones that mirror something already inside us—and that the ocean, vast and indifferent, is the perfect stage for that kind of reckoning.