Three knocks came through the hull.
Petty Officer Evan Cole stopped breathing.
Nobody else reacted.
The submarine was running silent.
No machinery beyond essential systems.
No unnecessary conversation.
Then it happened again.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Evan turned toward Chief Lawson.
“Did you hear that?”
Lawson frowned.
“Hear what?”
“Knocking.”
A sailor nearby smirked.
“From outside?”
Evan ignored him.
They were deep enough that the idea sounded ridiculous.
The submarine had completed a training maneuver hours earlier and was holding position.
Hull noises were normal.
Metal expanded.
Equipment shifted.
Water pressure produced strange sounds.
Evan knew all of that.
This wasn’t random.
Three.
Pause.
Three.
Pause.
