"What about it?"
"The key was used. Somewhere out there, or maybe inside the mine, we have a live nuke on our hands. I'm afraid our priorities have shifted. For reasons we don't know, someone was out to destroy this place. As much as the kids, if they're alive, need to be found, we now have an active nuclear weapon on our hands."
She didn't know if she liked knowing that little bit of information.
"Yeah, I see your point."
* * *
On the upper deck, Virginia joined Danielle and the master chief as they watched the stars come out directly above them. The night sounds had finally returned after the assault of the air horn. Insects and animal life allowed themselves to be heard again, which made the crew outside feel better. There was nothing worse than silence.
"Beautiful," Virginia said as she looked up into the void of space that the center of the lagoon afforded them.
"No smog or city lights to obscure them," Jenks said as he looked from the heavens to Virginia. He had shaved and put on a clean denim shirt for his night watch.
"I think I'll see what Sergeant Mendenhall is up to at the stern," Danielle said, excusing herself.
Jenks caught himself as he began instinctively to watch Danielle's tightly fitted shorts while she moved away. He turned instead toward Virginia and removed his stub of cigar.
"Well, Doctor, I got you here—"
Virginia cut off his comment.
"I like you, too, Chief. And we'll take this up when we get home."
Jenks's eyes opened wide as he reappraised the tallish woman.
"I'll be goddamned and go to hell," he mumbled.
* * *
Corporal Sanchez had the tower watch and was lulled by the gentle movement of the boat. He rested his elbows on the railing just above the radar platform that extended outward from the sail. The gentle electrical hum also helped to induce the sleepiness he was feeling as he watched the white sands of the shoreline two hundred yards off in the distance. He slowly turned and examined the other side of the lagoon; it was still and quiet. He took a deep breath of air and was grateful for the cooling breeze that hit him. How it could penetrate such a thick canopy of trees, he didn't know. But it was nice nonetheless. He turned back toward the shore they had visited this afternoon and watched. He raised the night-vision scope to his eyes and scanned first the beach, then the tree line beyond. The laser fence they had placed was operating and glowed brightly in the scope. A light noise caught his attention. He swung the glasses around and looked to the immediate left of where they had landed the Zodiac. He saw nothing. Sanchez looked down at the early-warning alarm box that was linked via radio to the laser line. Of the thirty sensors, all the green lights were ablaze in a semicircle. Nothing had crossed the line from the jungle. But as he looked through the scope again, he failed to notice a large line of bubbles as something moved away from the waterfall side of the lagoon. It was rising from the deep and almost bottomless waters, and coming right at Teacher.
* * *
Jack and Carl left Sarah and went aft to make ready the remote probes that would be used tomorrow for the mine excursion. Jack wanted to launch the probes tonight because of the pressure to find any surviving members of Zachary's team. But Jenks was right, daylight was best. No sense in losing whatever probes they had left by attempting a nighttime search.
Upon entering the engineering spaces they saw Professor Ellenshaw and Nathan filling the emergency air tanks of the three-man diving bell, which sat motionless in its steel cradle next to the submersible. Its cable and air hoses were on a large steel drum above it. Tools were spread on a large cloth on the deck, as they had been in the process of working on the broken mounts of the engine. The boat's PA came to life.
"Major, this is Jackson in sonar. I have a target coming toward us at about three knots, seems to be about twenty, twenty-five feet in depth. Just came on the scope, and according to my reading, it's pretty big."
Jack was about to reach for the intercom when Teacher was rocked to her starboard side. Carl lost his footing and fell to the deck, and Ellenshaw was almost crushed by the diving bell as it broke loose from its steel cradle and swung outward into the walkway. Jack lunged and pushed the professor clear just as the bell struck the aft bulkhead with a loud clang. Teacher finally righted herself as the frantic calls started coming from the upper deck.
"Jesus!" Carl exclaimed as he looked out of the aft window.
Jack gained his footing and looked at what Carl was staring wide-eyed at. Almost blocking the entire five-foot-wide window was a dark undulating mass that was grayish white in color and appeared to have thinly placed fur covering a rough leathery skin. The window below water level was dark, meaning that the width of whatever had struck Teacher was enormous.
The boat rocked from side to side in a frenzy of motion.
"There's another over here — no, wait, two of them!" Ellenshaw gasped from his position on the deck where Jack had knocked him. "My god, this cannot be!"
"Hang on, it's going to hit us!" Carl shouted.
Jack braced himself as best he could and opened the double rear hatch. As the door swung open, water rushed in as Teacher was again rocked. This time, the hull came completely clear of the water on its stern end as the animal struck the bottom of the huge boat. Once again, everyone on deck was sent sprawling. Jack fell through the hatchway to the outer deck of the fantail as the angle of the boat became so extreme that he found himself suddenly underwater. The boat again calmed for a moment and he righted himself, taking a deep breath just as the stern of Teacher sprang out of the water after the impact.
"Secure that damned bell," Carl called out to Nathan and Ellenshaw.
As Jack turned back he could hear screams and several loud popping noises that could only be gunfire coming from the upper deck. The boat was slammed and rocked again. As he turned and secured the glass doors to limit the flooding in the engine room, he saw a tail, pointy and swift, slice by his face as it rammed into the deck of the fantail, smashing the aluminum railing that lined it. Then the tail vanished as it splashed back down into the water. He fought to reach the ladder that led to the deck above. Several shots more rang out on deck among the screams. Jack finally gained hold of the first rung and pulled himself upward as more shots and more yelling sounded.
Finally, Jack was able to see what was happening on the upper deck. The sight that greeted him was one taken from a nightmare. Mendenhall was standing erect and firing his M-16 over the gunnels, but the swiftness of the animals in the water afforded a terrible target. Danielle was on the deck at the staff sergeant's feet, trying to stand erect, as Jack gained the deck and drew his nine-millimeter from its holster.
An animal that resembled a presumably extinct plesiosaur moved its elongated neck quickly back and forth, snapping vicious-looking jaws at the people on the upper deck. The beast was small, at least compared with the fossils enshrined in museums. In Jack's hurried estimation, it looked to be no more than twenty feet long — most of that being neck. The body thrashed and the tail slammed into Teacher in an attempt to kill the large object in front of it. Jack saw smaller animals swimming and diving around the larger one. The obvious difference between these creatures and similar ones seen by people in most museums was the fact that it appeared to have a hardened shell on its torso. The shiny green shell glistened as water poured freely off it.
The fur-covered plesiosaur darted forward in the water with incredible speed. Jack heard another scream and more shots from somewhere in the bow.
"It's got the chief and Dr. Pollock cornered," Mendenhall yelled as he saw an open shot and took it. The sergeant's bullet grazed the dark skin of the beast and it hissed, its yellow eyes glancing away from its prey and toward the stern of the boat. Again it crashed its glistening body into Teacher, almost rolling her onto her side. They didn't think she would right herself after that heavy blow, but slowly she started leaning the right way.
"Look out!" Jack shouted as he pulled M
endenhall down and on top of Danielle. The thick, powerful tail of the animal had risen from the water and lashed out at the antagonists from behind.
Jack braced himself but he knew it was too late. The tail hit him across the chest and threw him six feet into the air and over the side.
* * *
Sarah was still in the galley and yelped when the overhead light shattered. She looked up as the lights were lost but could still see the hull as it buckled inward from the pressure the monster outside was forcing on it. The upper window buckled and cracked. Then she smelled fire as the interior of Teacher went black.
* * *
Carl finally reached the upper deck from amidships after fighting his way through the darkness and flooding. When he first saw the beast his eyes widened, but it didn't stop him from firing his handgun at the swinging head of the plesiosaur. He was only two sections back of Jenks and Virginia as he heard her scream and the master chief curse. He saw the flash of three shots as Jenks fired from where he covered Virginia below the gunwale. High above, an M-16 opened fire with a three-round burst that caught one of the freshwater animals along the curvature of its body where its skin met Teacher, just above the waterline. Sanchez had opened fire from the crow's nest. The sergeant fired again, this time stitching a pattern in the water as he missed, and then guided the rounds across the body of one of the four smaller, shelled creatures.
The plesiosaur shook its massive head and slammed it into the section that Jenks was in, crushing the composite hull, causing the master chief to lose his weapon as he threw himself onto Virginia to protect her.
Suddenly Carl heard shots coming from the water. He saw the flashes about twenty yards from the boat. Several of the rounds struck the nightmarish beast just behind its head, jerking it violently. The dinosaur and its smaller companions turned their attention to their new antagonist as Carl turned on the battery-powered spotlight to see who had fired. It was Jack, treading water. Carl watched as the major fire twice more into the thick body of the creature. Its yellow eyes glowed with pure rage. It bowed its long neck and head, and immediately slammed its giant foreflippers into the water. Carl was astonished to see what looked like stubby fingers protruding from the flipper-like apertures as it dove away from the boat. The beast was going for Jack. Carl hurriedly fired several times, as did every armed hand on the upper deck. Even Jenks was now standing and fired wildly at the massive shape as it thrashed in the water.
"Goddammit!" Carl yelled. Sarah finally made it to the top deck as he emptied his nine-millimeter toward the prehistoric animal. "Swim for it, Jack!" he cried even though he saw Jack would never make it.
Sarah gasped when she saw one of the smaller animals had made it to Jack first. He disappeared from sight as he was jerked under the water. Carl threw down his weapon, jumped clear of the upper rail, and dove headfirst into the roiling lagoon. Mendenhall did the same at the stern. Sarah couldn't help it, her legs gave out and she collapsed against the gunwale. Professor Keating came through the hatch and went to her side. The others watched in horrible dreamlike slowness as the water crashed and swirled around the small beast. They saw Carl surface and look around, and Mendenhall dive again. But as both men both went under, the thrashing stopped. The larger animal was now at the spot where Jack had been dragged down. As Jenks shined the large spotlight on the water, he saw a few bubbles and four long wakes leading away from an expanding circle of blood.
As the night became quiet all they could hear were the loud splashes of Carl and Mendenhall. Then even that sound ceased as the two men realized as one that Jack and the animals were gone. And then total silence swept across the water except for the gentle lapping of the lagoon at Teacher's waterline.
* * *
In less than twelve hours onsite, Teacher had sustained damage twice. The pounding she had endured from the family of plesiosaurs was substantial, but Jenks announced that it was not beyond repair. The report fell on deaf ears as the crew was laid low by the news that they had lost Jack. In the science lab, Virginia and Dr. Waltrip tried to convince Sarah that taking a sedative would by no means make her a lesser woman in anyone's eyes. Still, she refused and angrily left the lab.
She walked by everyone as if she were in a daze, to the spiral staircase amidships. Jenks headed her off and held her arm at the bottom step, then released it just as quickly when he saw her eyes.
"You watch yourself out there, young lady," he said, and handed her an M-16.
She took it and went up the stairs, then pushed open the acrylic hatch bubble and stepped out into the night. She saw Mendenhall leaning against the gunwale and walked over. He was taken aback when he saw who had joined him. The black man studied her for a minute and then turned away to stare at the water.
"What you and Carl did, going into the water after Jack like that, I want…I want to say thank you for trying," she said as she steeled herself against the tears that threatened to form.
"I only did what he would have done if it were me in the water," he said without looking at her. "He trained us to react without thinking, but he never taught us how to act if we failed…" he said, trailing off.
Sarah placed her hand on Mendenhall's, suddenly realizing it was not only she who would be grieving for Jack. She knew the sergeant looked at Jack more as a father; and Carl, as his best friend. The lieutenant commander had buried himself in the task of repairing the ship, to take his mind away from what had happened. Sarah knew she needed to do her job, as well, and decided that it was time to get on with it. She patted Mendenhall on the shoulder and turned away.
* * *
It was near dawn when Carl was shaken awake by Shaw, who had pulled a double shift abovedecks on watch while the others repaired the boat. Carl saw the wide look of fear on the corporal's face and immediately rose from his bunk.
"What's wrong?"
"Sir, I think one of those animals has surfaced and is just floating around the boat. I felt something hit us a minute ago and when I looked down, there it was, big as life. We may have a chance at killing the bastard. I also repaired the laser warning system. Something set off the fence at some point during the night."
Carl leapt from the bunk, not bothering with his shoes, as he trotted for the arms locker. Jenks, who had been awake all night repairing the hull from the inside, saw him dash by and followed. Carl quickly removed a.50-caliber Barrett rifle from the locker and handed it to Jenks. Then he tossed two hand grenades to Shaw, and when he noticed Mendenhall come sleepily down the companionway he tossed him two grenades. He grabbed a white phosphorous canister and then ran for the amidships hatch. The rest of the boat was coming alive with the noise the men made as they ran up the steps.
Carl ran to the gunwale and was surprised to see the thick body of the large plesiosaur lounging up against the hull. It bobbed easily in the movement of the lagoon. His eyes followed the entire length of the beast. It disappeared into the darkness of the water toward the aft of Teacher.
"Fuck a preacher's daughter, she's one big son of a bitch," Jenks whispered.
Carl didn't answer. He was looking at something strange that seemed to be wrapped around the midsection of the long-necked animal. As he looked forward he saw the same thing toward the bow, where the head disappeared from view into the depths of the lagoon.
"It's dead." He handed Mendenhall the two grenades he was holding. Then with no explanation he jumped over the side, as all on board to a man reached out to try to stop him.
"Are you crazy, Toad, you fuckin' officer piece of shit!" Jenks said loudly.
As they watched in stunned horror, Carl surfaced and made his way toward the floating plesiosaur. His breaststrokes were slow and deliberate and although he suspected the giant beast was dead, he still looked up and made a gun motion with his hand. Jenks aimed the rifle down at the thickest part of the animal as Carl approached.
"You have company, Commander," Mendenhall shouted.
Carl pulled up short of the hull and watched as four of the smal
ler animals shot away from the corpse of the larger one. It had looked as though they had been intentionally staying close to it. Ellenshaw had explained earlier why he had thought the green-shelled animals were the larger one's off-spring, and that not recognizing the boat for what it was, she had targeted Teacher as a threat to them. Thus, as he had lectured at them like a schoolmaster, why she had attacked the vessel.
Carl watched for a moment, but the smaller plesiosaurs didn't reappear. He resumed his approach toward the floating body. Slowly, he brought his hand up and touched the rough hide of the wondrous animal, then he slapped at it. It didn't move. Then he saw what had caught his attention from the deck above. The beast had been impaled onto the maneuvering water jets of Teacher, effectively holding it in place. He turned and swam toward the cockpit area, where it had been brutally attached at the forward thruster, as well.
"What in the hell, Toad?" Jenks asked. Other crew members had now come on deck to watch.
"It's been slammed so hard into the maneuvering jets that it's been impaled."
The conditions just under Teacher had deteriorated as revealed in the early morning's diffused light. The water was now murky. At last Carl found the long neck of the beast where it sank below the water. His hand traveled along it until it suddenly slid off. The head of the animal had been completely ripped off. Strings of meat protruded from the stump and long gouges deeply marred the plesiosaur's dark, lightly haired skin. Carl looked around him and suddenly felt as if he wasn't alone. He kicked upward toward the lagoon's surface. When he did so, he immediately swam for the ladder.
"What in the hell's going on, Toad?" Jenks repeated.
"Something wanted us to know this animal was dead. The head has been ripped off the body."
The others started speaking at once, but Sarah just looked away toward the falls and wondered who — or what — had avenged Jack's death.
* * *
The small hands worked and the jabbering was nonstop. Sand was thrown and even a few berries were forced into his mouth. The fruit was followed by cool water that not only splashed his face but started a choking reaction, as the water slid past the berries and into his throat. Jack sputtered and coughed as he fought his way back to consciousness. As he spat out the last of the overly sweet fruit and threw up about a glass of brackish water, he slowly looked around him. The forest surrounded him with darkness and it was loud with the noises he had come to be accustomed to. The screeching of monkeys and cries of the many different species of birds threatened to overwhelm his awakening senses.
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