by Michael Cole
He waited for a few minutes, keeping track of his position between the cave, nearly sixty feet ahead of him, and Old Hooper’s vessel, which remained a little over a hundred feet behind him. His instincts screamed at him to head into the cave and continue his hunt, while his conscience urged him to leave the scientists to their work.
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Damn, this is unbelievable! Nic thought as he paddled his way through the mysterious dark cave. If he was above water, he’d be shouting at the top of his lungs in pure excitement. There is no doubt that this cave runs through the whole island. And I’m the first one to explore it! That’ll look good on a resume. He had taken numerous pictures of the rocky structures within the tunnel, the flash of the camera briefly giving form to the cave’s interiors. The wall was composed of countless jagged forms of rocks compressed into one lengthy structure. Several pointed cone-shaped formations were aimed upward from the bottom, while others hung from the cave’s ‘ceiling’, pointing downward. Nic snapped a photo per every few meters he moved inward. His flashlight barely provided enough light for him to see where he was going. Looking to his right, he could see the shimmer of David’s flashlight, as well as the quick light flashes from his camera as he moved parallel on the opposite side of the cave.
David checked his waterproof watch. They had been in the cave for nearly fifteen minutes. He clutched a bulging rock on the ‘wall’ to maintain his depth while he did the math in his mind to determine how far within the cave they had traveled. He figured three feet per paddle, one paddle per second-and-a-half, pausing every ten seconds to position for taking pictures, possibly an average of fifteen seconds to complete that task… approximately one thousand-twelve feet into the cave. Not too bad. He figured he’d continue for another fifteen minutes before attempting to meet up with Nic. As he attempted to kick off the wall of the cave, his grip on the rock slipped, sinking him suddenly into the dark abyss. His reflexes immediately kicked in, and he leveled himself out. But he quickly realized something was wrong: the camera was no longer in his possession. Shit! He attempted to verbalize his anger, but the profanity was stifled by the watery gurgle of air bubbles. He frantically shined his flashlight through the darkness surrounding him, seeing nothing. He then aimed it downward. There it is! His light barely caught the image of the camera sinking to the bottom before darkness consumed it. Great! I better go get it, or else Nic’ll freakin kill me. Continuing to point the light downward, he steadily descended to the floor of the tunnel.
On the left side of the tunnel, Nic continued moving forward after having just taken a few pictures along the side of the cave. He paused after glancing in David’s direction, seeing his light aiming downward. It appeared that he was descending, rather than moving inward. Perhaps he’s gonna try and get a few pictures of the bottom? He wondered. He decided not to think about it and kept moving forward. He paddled forward for a few moments, keeping his light aimed forward. The glow of the wall was captured by his light’s radiance, while the middle area of the tunnel continued to be empty darkness. He paddled a few more strokes and distanced himself from the side of the tunnel by a few feet. Suddenly he stopped, as his light began to capture the image of a large structure in the middle of the tunnel. What the heck is this? It looked like a bizarre rock formation, nearly forty feet long. Other than an estimate of the size and basic oval shape of the object, Nic was not entirely sure what it was. Logic directed him to assume it was just another rock formation, being as that was what the whole island was composed of. Whatever it is, it should make a good photograph. Getting his camera ready, he moved toward the strange object.
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The creature remained motionless, successfully luring the prey closer. Its sensory receptors continued picking up the electrical signals in the water, alerting the creature that there were two small life forms intruding upon its habitat. In addition, it picked up other signals coming from outside the cave: one coming from a smaller organism the same size as the approaching prey, and another signal coming from a larger intruder. All four didn’t match its size and strength, nor could they compare to its ferocity. The creature tightened the muscles within its multiple appendages as it prepared to capture its prey.
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Nic paddled closer to the large object, closing the distance by another ten yards. He secured his flashlight to a strap on his belt in order to hold on to the expensive camera with both hands. He allowed himself to sink a few feet to get a better angle of the strange formation. He took a breath through his regulator and held the sights of his camera up to his goggled eyes. After steadying the camera, he pressed his thumb on a round button on the right side of the square shaped device, releasing a series of bright flashes.
The brief flashes from the camera momentarily provided more than three times the span of illumination as his flashlight, and it brought the object into form. His mouth nearly gaped open from a combination of shock, amazement, and fear, the last of the three to be the dominating sensation. This ‘rock’ had a main body with a shape Nic’s mind could only describe as similar as to the head of a goblin. It was clearly hard and rigid, with several curled appendages extending from its sides. These snake-like ‘legs’ did not appear to have a solid exterior, rather they appeared leathery. Towards the front, it had two larger, bulkier appendages with the same rocky exterior as the main body. At the ends of these two ‘arms’ were two scissor-shaped structures. Between these two arms were two bulbs, each the size of a bowling ball…eyes. And they were focused on him.
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The small prey had positioned itself directly in front of the creature, settling a few meters above its position. As the creature tensed to strike, its sensitive eyes were pained by a strange series of flashing lights coming from the intruder. Its brain sparked electrical signals throughout its body, which acted as adrenaline, as instinct declared that this activity was an offensive action. The tense muscles immediately went loose, springing from their tight positions toward the prey like a praying mantis.
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Even if he hadn’t been underwater, there’d be no time to scream or run away. One of the slimy, leathery appendages wrapped around his waist like an anaconda. Nic grunted and gagged under his face mask, losing his regulator in the process. His right hand, which still held the camera, flailed, while his left armed was pinned to his body by the constricting tentacle. The camera flashed almost non-stop, creating a visual rendering of his own demise. He felt his ribs and hipbones begin to crack from the increasing pressure. Fluid from that portion of his body was squeezed into his upper torso, bursting blood vessels. As a result, his nose and mouth begun to bleed. In addition to the immense pressure, he suddenly experienced several intense stabbing pains. Something…many something’s…were piercing deep into his abdomen. With the camera still flashing, the tentacle pulled him closer the creature’s main body like a fishing line. The flashing of the camera captured the last bloody moments of Nic’s life, and illuminated the giant mandibles peel open like pedals on a flower, exposing a massive beak-like object. The rigid ‘mouth’ of the creature opened, and in a single moment, Nic’s existence was torn to bloody shreds as the beak clamped down on his body.
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From several meters back, David didn’t know exactly what it was he was watching. He had located his camera at the floor of the cave and had intended to pick up where he left off when he saw his colleague taking a few pictures of something deeper in the tunnel. The next thing David saw was a continuous, uncoordinated series of flashes which for several brief moments brought a bizarre object into view. From his position, all David could see was a huge mass in the middle of the tunnel, with several snake-like objects protruding from it. One of these huge limbs had a hold of Nic and was pulling him closer.
David didn’t stick around to watch the creature to consume his friend. He quickly turned around and kicked for the mouth of the cave. Air bubbles burst from his regulator as he hyperventilated from the sudden panic he
was experiencing. He didn’t have a clue what it was that killed his colleague, but knowing what it was wasn’t a concern at the moment. The concern was escape.
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The quarry which it had just swallowed did almost nothing to satisfy its now intense hunger. The vibrations coming from the other intruder within the cave had suddenly increased, signaling that it was on the retreat. The creature pumped its sacks, lined along the joints where its tentacles attached to the body, with water. As soon as these balloon-like sacks were full, all at once they contracted with tremendous force, spewing water behind the creature. This force launched its massive body forward. Within seconds it had already closed the distance on the distressed prey, and reached one of its enormous pincers at it, guided by a haze of tentacles.
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David kicked and stroked as hard and as fast as his muscles would allow. He had been an excellent swimmer all of his life, but in this moment he couldn’t possibly be good enough for his liking. He believed he maintained a meter per kick speed, and he strained to make it faster. He could see the opening of the cave, and the sunlight that crept through. Sunshine never looked so good.
Suddenly he felt a strange vibration from within the tunnel, like a jet propulsion. He didn’t think about it, nor did he look to see what it was. He kept his eyes on the target. However, just a few moments after the strange echo, he suddenly felt the presence of an enormous mass coming up from behind him. He clenched his teeth, nearly biting through his mouthpiece in the process. His body tensed as the dark tunnel suddenly became darker, as the shadow of the monster overtook him.
Still, he didn’t look back. He kept stroking and kicking. Another stroke; a few feet. Another kick; nothing. He kicked again; no further distance. He suddenly felt very light headed, and began to experience a bizarre, indescribable pain beneath his stomach. Quickly experiencing a lack of energy, he looked down to examine himself, only to find that his lower half was missing, replaced by a haze of blood that freely leaked along with entrails from his open wound. Before the life left his eyes, he caught one final sight: His dangling legs, still perfectly attached to the hip, clutched in a huge pincer. It was illuminated by the flashlight, which was still strapped to his belt.
One of the tentacles grabbed a hold of David’s lifeless upper body, and pulled it in towards its huge bird-like beak. The creature fed while it approached the mouth of the cave for further kills.
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Rein sensed a pulsation rippling through the water, seemingly originating from the mouth of the cave. He recognized these sensations from past underwater hunts, when larger animals created vicious moments. However, these sensations were stronger than what he was used to. An amateur would be able to detect them, and for the first time in several years, Rein felt himself getting nervous. Stronger pulsations meant a bigger predator. He pointed his spear gun and flashlight toward the cave, and steadily back paddled toward Hooper’s vessel. He kept his eyes forward, and felt his own pulse nearly go haywire as the darkness in the cave took formation; a formation he wouldn’t be able to comprehend until now. It had an enormous body, slightly narrow and pointed to the back like a tusk, while in the front it was more rounded. What shocked him as much as the immense shape and size were the snake-like tentacles, four protruding from each side of the creature's body. They acted like legs, guiding it in whichever direction it moved. In the front were two large knobs, which Rein determined to be shoulder joints, which attached to two large thick, arms. Each of these arms could bend at elbow joints, and each contained a jagged set of ten foot long pincers, which could easily sever a man in half. And the worst realization Rein had: they already had. On the left claw were bits of swimsuit and some other bloody material…or tissue. Between the two shoulder joints were the creature’s eyes, which appeared like light bulbs, impossible to know what they were looking at. He allowed himself to kick back a little faster, but keeping himself steady.
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It emerged from the dark tunnel into the vastness of the ocean. It stopped moving for a moment, allowing its eyes to adjust to the change in illumination. As it paused, its sensory receptors detected the heartbeats and movements of another small organism nearby. The sting in its eyes vanished, and finally the creature’s vision was as clear as crystal. The prey’s color made it very easy to spot in the murky water. Its body demanded more sustenance, driving the creature forward.
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Son of a bitch! Rein cursed in his mind as the creature moved in his direction. And it was moving fast! For the first time in his life, he wished he wasn’t wearing his bright red wetsuit. He’d only created another twenty feet worth of space from back paddling, and the vessel was still fifty feet away, resting on the surface. He didn’t have time to think; just act. He pointed the spear gun and squeezed the trigger. A sharp hissing sound seeped through the water as the large arrow shot from the gun with the speed of a bullet, quickly making its way to the creature, where it bounced off the thick rigid shell on the left shoulder. Rein didn’t wait to see whether it did any good as he slid the straps of his air tank off his shoulders. Freeing it, he held the tank upside down in front of him. He looked forward. The creature had gone into a wild spasm, springing all eight tentacles at him. The spear didn’t do any damage, but it clearly threatened it. Rein pried his flashlight from the spear gun, which then freely sank to the ocean bottom. With the flashlight, he slammed it against a valve on the end of the tank, and then quickly held on tight. The pressurized air exploded out of the open valve, turning the tank into an underwater rocket. As if it were the thruster for a NASA space vessel, it quickly shot Rein to the surface of the water, just as the mass of the creature engulfed his previous position, attacking the empty section of water. Rein looked up to the surface. Forty feet; twenty feet, five feet. He let go of the tank, which continued to rise out of the air, before curving like a cruise missile and landing back in the water. Mild decompression symptoms immediately began setting in as nitrogen bubbled in his blood vessels. His nose and ears began bleeding as he quickly paddled to the Thunderhead. The ride along the air tank had lifted him at an angle, bringing him up only fifteen feet from the vessel. After a few desperate strokes, he grabbed a firm hold of the ladder and pulled himself clear of the water, landing on his back as he collapsed onto the deck. He rolled himself to his hands and knees and saw his brown case, as Old Hooper stepped out of his cabin.
“Boy, what in the hell’s wrong with you?”
“Get us the fuck out of here!” Rein called out in a cracking voice. With quivering hands, he pried his case open, revealing the large 30.06 caliber rifle. Old Hooper looked out into the sea.
“Where are the two science boys?” He asked.
“They’re dead! Now get us out of here?” Old Hooper’s eyes went bloodshot. He pulled his whiskey bottle from a dirty pocket in his vest and took a long slug while Rein pulled the bolt open in his rifle, pushed in a large cartridge, and slammed it into the chamber.
“Have you gone apeshit!” he yelled. “What the hell happened down there?!”
“I don’t have time to expl…” Both men’s eyes went to the stern, where the water churned violently. Old Hooper nearly went limp, letting the bottle slip from his hand and shatter on the wood deck upon seeing the multiple leathery tentacles splashing about in the water, surrounding an unrecognizable form that began to bulge from the surface. He turned and reached for the wheel.
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The creature grew furious. Its own prey had attacked it, and had nearly escaped by climbing onto the strange inedible life form on the surface. It filled its sacks with seawater and propelled itself to the surface, reaching up with its tentacles. While it still intended to devour the smaller creatures, its primary mission was to eliminate any intruder from its claimed territory.
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With quivering hands, Rein raised the butt of the rifle to his shoulder and pointed the barrel at the creature’s center mass. A metallic squeal pierced his
eardrums, as Hooper reeled the anchor back into the boat. As he did that, he started the Thunderhead’s engine. It made a few dry revs, sounding like long V’s, until finally it ignited and roared. Rein attempted to steady the rifle as best he could, through the excessive bleeding, pulsing headache, and the rocking of the boat. He squeezed off a shot, sending a bullet to hit the monster in the back, only for it to be stopped cold by the solid shell.
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The smaller life form had attacked it once again. The creature felt no pain, but recognized the offensive actions taken against it. What little consciousness it had now turned into a spiraling rage. In the frame of its limited mind, the prey had no right to defend itself. The creature had no awareness to the rights, sanctity, or worth of any single thing on the planet, other than its own self. It felt an outrage, and its newly evolved instinct dictated that it destroy any other life form that dare come near it.