Behemoth

by Michael Cole

  Moments after flying clear of the coast, Brad traded his communication headset for a MP3 player and had been bobbing his head to a heavy-metal beat ever since.

  Brad’s demeanor was almost unnerving with his fatigue pants and sleeveless shirt that emphasized the size of his arms. He appeared more like a crazed commando psyching himself up for battle rather than someone escorting an archeologist on a peaceful expedition. John turned his attention to the drawing in his lap. For the hundredth time, his eyes wandered over the fish’s three-pronged tail. He could only imagine how it would feel to bring one back alive.

  Yes, the professor was right. Bringing back one of these would certainly impress his colleagues—all those moderately renowned archeologists who stared down their noses at him at fundraisers. News of this magnitude would also reach his family, raising an eyebrow or two from his stuffy older brothers. Heck, such a discovery would have the entire world talking.

  It had always been John’s dream to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a surgeon, a career path both of his brothers had taken. But for the youngest of the Paxtons, it seemed fate had other plans. John studied diligently, made better grades than either of his siblings. But to be a surgeon, it took something else—something John learned early on that he didn’t have.

  And how his brothers had scoffed at him . . . the laughs the day he announced his chosen profession. “Archeology is a career not worthy of a sound mind. Little more than menial labor,” they’d said. In the early going, those very words fueled John’s passion on every expedition. Redemption was always one great find away.

  Now, after two decades of unearthing bones and fragments of creatures already discovered a hundred times over, his enthusiasm had stalled. In the back of John’s mind, he wondered if maybe his brothers were right; he certainly had little to show for his efforts.

  He ran his finger along the illustration, tracing the three-pronged tail. He felt a thrill that rumbled in his bones. Everything is about to change.

  John’s thoughts were disrupted by a thunderous belch from Brad, so loud that it drowned out the sound of the chopping blades.

  “Ooww, mate! I’ve needed to do that ever since we flew over Skoen!” Brad finally clicked off the MP3 player and looked away from the windshield. He glanced at the drawing in John’s hand. “I can’t wait to get one of those in my cooler,” he shouted. “Just imagine, by this time tomorrow we could both be famous, ay?”

  John smiled and asked, “How far are we now?”

  “About fifteen minutes away. If you check straight ahead, you can see the island.”

  John looked at the approaching small green patch amid the endless blue sea, and said, “Remember what the professor said about flying over the southeastern side.”

  “Oh yeah, their sacred ground. It’s a little late in the day to be dodging spears. I’ll find a clearing about a mile from the village so we can land without spookin’ ‘em.”

  “I hope we have better luck than the professor did,” John said absentmindedly as he looked at the lush tropical coastline. He then felt a tingling sensation deep in his stomach—a biological warning signal that, over the years, had never been wrong!

  ~~~

  Finding the professor’s office empty, Kate crept in and took a seat behind the desk. She studied the desk calendar. Again, she ran her finger along every date. “I knew it!” she gasped.

  Just then, Professor Atkins appeared in the doorway, surprised to see her daughter rummaging around on her desk.

  “I know you mark everything on your calendar,” said Kate, not hiding the anger in her voice. “For the next two weeks, there’s nothing marked in for me. So where is this important booking that kept me from flying John Paxton to the island? This is huge. You knew how much I wanted to be a part of it.”

  “It was canceled!” The professor’s tone was as firm as her expression.

  “Who canceled, Mom? Who?”

  The professor didn’t say a word. Kate recognized the look on her mother’s face and knew not to ask again.

  Vengeance From The Deep is available from Amazon here.