“Michelle, as you can see, this is a dead orca orcinus, better known as the killer whale. This animal washed up onto the beach this morning, and obviously, we know what killed it.” Josh points to the bite mark. “This bite is nearly ten feet long. That is larger than the bite of any animal on Earth. Orcas are known to be the top predators of the sea. They hunt anything from stingrays to great white sharks, but obviously some sea creature was able to inflict terrible damage upon this orca.”
Josh goes to his knees and the camera zooms in as he becomes more specific about the bite, “As you can see, not only is the bite huge, but it was devastating. Everything within the bite has been removed. Flesh, bone, blood vessels, everything is gone. So whatever made this bite obviously had a tremendous amount of force.”
Michelle begins shivering as she says, “This is getting really scary.”
“Wait,” Josh says, “I’m not finished yet.” He pulls out a plastic bag with a large white object inside. Luke immediately realizes that it is a tooth. He turns around and grabs his eight inch Liopleurodon tooth from his coffee table. He looks at the tooth on the screen, and then back to his own tooth. They are frighteningly similar. “Michelle, this is a tooth that I pulled out of the bite mark. It obviously broke off of the attacker. The tooth is twelve inches long. That means the attacker must have been enormous, at least seventy to eighty feet long. There is no animal alive today that size. The closest is the Sperm Whale, and its tooth is nothing like this.”
Michelle, who is becoming more afraid by the second, turns back to the camera and quickly says, “That’s all here, back to you, Dalia.”
Luke turns the TV off, and sits down on his couch. The Liopleurodon, it must have been the one to kill the Orca… but how? I’ve got to call Will.
Luke reaches over and grabs his phone. He dials Will’s number. The phone rings once, then twice. “Come on, Will,
pick up!”
Finally, Will answers, “Hello?”
“Hi, Will, I was just wondering, have you seen the News this morning?”
“What, you mean the dead orca? Yeah, I saw that… it really sucks.”
He must have been drinking again last night, Luke thinks before saying, “Will, that bite was made by the Liopleurodon.”
“The Liopleurodon? How? Isn’t it still frozen in the base?” Will asks.
“I thought so… hold on, I’m getting another call.” Luke presses the talk button and asks, “Hello?”
“Mr. Jones, its Captain Hawkins.”
“Captain, I’m glad you called. I just saw on the news that…”
“I don’t care what you saw on the news, the Liopleurodon’s missing.”
“Missing, how?” Luke asks.
“I’m not sure, but obviously someone broke into the base last night, grabbed the Liopleurodon, and left with it.”
“I know, but who?” Luke asks.
“I’m not sure, but I’ve decided that I want you at a meeting that the Navy and Coast Guard are having to discuss this. I’ve already arranged for tickets so you and the other scientists in your group can come. I hope that you haven’t unpacked your bags yet, Mr. Jones! I would greatly appreciate it if you would come back to California!”
Chapter 11
Meeting
A Naval escort leads the team of scientists to where Captain Ryan Hawkins is waiting for them. “Hello everyone, thank you for coming back so soon. But as you probably already know, the Liopleurodon was somehow released and we believe has killed an orca. While the animal’s death isn’t a big deal, the Liopleurodon may become a threat to civilians, so we need a plan of how to stop it.”
“Maybe you should get better security,” Shawn says obnoxiously.
Hawkins glares at him as he says, “Anyways, Chief of Naval Operations Henry James and Admiral Johnson from the Coast Guard are already waiting for us. They are both members of a joint task force, and they want to discuss this situation with you.” Hawkins slides his key card and opens the door.
Kelsey gives Shawn an annoyed look, and he insists, “I was only kidding!” Kelsey rolls her eyes as she enters the meeting room. Shawn smiles to himself as he thinks. This is perfect! Let them plan to kill the Liopleurodon. They have no idea that I was the one who released it, and I plan to do whatever it takes to keep my pet safe. And it’ll be easy, I just have to sabotage every plan they make!
As the team enters the conference room, they see that there are ten chairs on each side of the long table. The room is grey with a map of United States hanging on the wall opposite of the door. Sitting on the farthest seat to the right is CNO Henry James and on the left is Admiral Johnson.
Luke notices that Henry James has four stars on his uniform. He must be very important.
James fakes a smile as he says, “Please, take a seat.”
Shawn sits next to James on the right side of the table. Kelsey sits next to Shawn, and Will sits next to Kelsey. On the left side of the table, Ben takes a seat next to Admiral Johnson. Luke sits next to Ben, and Hawkins sits next to Luke.
“Okay,” James says, “Before we get started, I just have one question.” James reaches into his pocket and pulls out the Liopleurodon tooth that was removed from the dead orca. “What the hell does this tooth belong to?”
Luke turns to Hawkins, who nods for him to answer the question. Luke turns to back to James and says, “First of all, let me just say that it is an honor to meet both of you.” James nods, so Luke continues, “My name is Luke Jones, and I am a paleontologist who specializes in ancient species of marine reptiles. That tooth belongs to an enormous predator from the Jurassic period known as Liopleurodon ferox. This is a subspecies of Liopleurodon, and it is the largest of the three subspecies.”
James smiles obnoxiously as he asks, “And what is this Liopleurodon exactly?”
Luke says, “To put it as simply as possible, Liopleurodon is a cross between a crocodile and a shark that’s the size of a whale.”
James says, “One night a monster goes missing, the next morning a dead whale washes up on shore. Now it doesn’t take a scientist to put two and two together.”
“Orcas are dolphins, actually,” Kelsey says, but stops talking when James gives her a harsh look.
James continues, “The question that I have is: how did it get to the Arctic in the first place?”
Luke answers, “Liopleurodon ferox was the subspecies of Liopleurodon that ruled waters near what is present day England. I told everyone yesterday that there were temperature changes near the end of the Jurassic. Some of the animals that Liopleurodon preyed upon probably couldn’t adapt to the cooler climate and died. Say a Liopleurodon migrates north in search of food, and ventures to close too the icebergs. The Liopleurodon was frozen alive. Over the course of 155 million years, the iceberg could have easily floated to the Arctic circle, where it was found by man.”
“That makes sense, but how did it get free?” James asks.
“I don’t know,” Luke admits.
“Our security cameras were cut before the Liopleurodon was released. That means that someone broke into the base and freed it into the sea,” Hawkins adds.
“Why didn’t you assign men to guard the Liopleurodon?” James asks.
What kind of stupid question is that? “We’re busy, and I didn’t suspect that someone would try to free the creature.”
James nods, understanding what Hawkins is trying to say.
“Wait a minute!” Johnson shouts, speaking for the first time. “This isn’t JAWS, and this Liopleurodon sounds like a big animal. Why would it waste its time eating people when it could go after massive animals like whales?”
Luke answers, “Due to its massive size and aggression, the Liopleurodon will see people in the water as a threat and attack them, even if it is not hungry.”
James stands up and declares, “I’ve heard enough, this monster is a threat and it is in American waters. I want it dead! Jones, you obviously know more about this animal than anyone else, so I want
you and your team of scientists working with Hawkins and his team of men aboard the USS Jupiter. Do whatever it takes to kill this creature, understand?”
Luke nods as he says, “Yes sir! But technically, none of these scientists work for me, so it’s their choice if they want to help or not.”
James turns to the other paleontologists and asks, “Well?”
Will smiles, “I’m in.”
Ben responds, “Me, too.”
Kelsey smiles as she nods and says, “Same here, count me in.”
Luke smiles as he turns to Shawn, “What about you?”
Shawn thinks about it. I can’t believe I have to work with these people. But it’s the only way that I can make sure that they fail at every attempt to kill the Liopleurodon. Nature’s deadliest creation must live on! Shawn smiles as he answers, “Anything to help out this great nation.”
Luke smiles as he turns back to James. He says, “Good, thank you all. I’ll have one of my men give you confidentiality agreements to sign. But for future reference, what do you want me to call your team?”
Ben shrugs. He has never been interested in team names. He says, “I don’t know, why not just the Paleontologist Team?”
“No!” Will exclaims as he states, “We need a catchy, cool name. A name like… like the Sea Monster Hunters!”
SECTION 2
EARLY TERRORS
“When life becomes chaotic, the threat to survival becomes increasingly severe.”-- BEN ROSS
Chapter 12
Jet Ski
The Liopleurodon glides through the ocean, its reinforced ribcage providing it with speed, its four flipper design giving it agility, and its sleek body allowing it to slice through the water. It has been two weeks since the Liopleurodon attacked and killed the orca that washed up on shore, and she has now completely adapted to the modern sea with its colder temperatures and new species. She is a confident apex hunter once again.
The Liopleurodon’s powerful nostrils sense a nearby potential meal. While it is not very large, it is slow moving and an animal that swam in the seas even before the Liopleurodon did: a sea turtle. Knowing that she can outpace her target, the Liopleurodon follows the turtle’s scent, and finds it easily. The turtle devours seaweed on the sea bed, but immediately senses danger.
The turtle tries to escape its enormous attacker, but it is hopeless. The turtle’s armored shell causes it to move very slowly, and the Liopleurodon jaws open wide and begin to pull the turtle in. The turtle struggles to escape the current made by the Liopleurodon’s jaws, but it is not strong enough. The turtle is pulled back into the Liopleurodon’s mouth and is crushed under the pliosaur’s bite. With every bone in its body being pulverized into dust, the turtle’s flesh rolls down the Liopleurodon’s throat.
The Liopleurodon’s appetite hasn’t been quelled at all, and it must continue her search for prey. Having little luck in the deeper waters, the Liopleurodon begins to hunt closer to shore. Within a few minutes, she has picked up the scent of two creatures on the surface. They are making an unusual sound, one that the giant reptile has never heard of before. But the noise causes the underwater beast to move in closer to investigate…
…
Cody Brown and Jessica Clancy have been dating for about two months. Both attend the University of Southern California, and met in one of their classes, immediately hitting it off. They enjoy doing fun and fast moving activities, so they decided to go jet skiing. Each Jet Ski is about six feet long, and has a blue and white stripe. It is a very agile machine. Jessica loses her grip on the throttle and is forced to slow down. Cody turns around and goes back for her.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
She nods as she says, “Yeah, fine. I just lost control for a second there.”
He shrugs as he hears the life guard blowing his whistle at them since they are out much farther than they are allowed. Cody laughs and ignores him. “That guy should just leave us alone. What’s going to happen, is a shark going to attack us?”
Jessica laughs as she regains her grip on the handles, “Okay, I think I got it.”
“Good, let’s go!” Cody says as he turns around, presses down the throttle quickly, and angles his Jet Ski so it shoots water at Jessica.
Jessica becomes soaked and gasps as the cold water hits her skin. “You did not just do that!”
“Oh, I think that I did!” Cody says as presses his throttle and begins to move quickly away from Jessica, who gives chase and follows her boyfriend jokingly.
Not aware that she is being watched, she shouts, “Come back here, I’m going to beat you for that!”
“You’ll have to catch me first!” Cody exclaims. “Maybe you’d feel better if you had some more water!” Having much more skill on his jet ski than his girlfriend has on hers, Cody goes back and sprays her again with water, then speeds away as Jessica goes faster.
“Stop running away like a baby and come back here!” Jessica shouts. She then looks down and realizes that she is running low on gas. “Stop, I think that I need to head back, I’m running low on fuel.”
Cody stops and says, “I am too.” With about fifty feet between them, the couple begins to slowly head back towards the shore. “You’re not actually mad about the water right?”
Jessica laughs as she shakes her head and says, “No, I knew you were kidding. Besides, it was kind of ”
At that moment, the Liopleurodon’s massive jaws explode from under Jessica’s Jet Ski. The pliosaur’s foot-long teeth surround her. The Liopleurodon’s head continues to raise out of the water as Jessica, who is still on her Jet Ski, slides to the back of the monster’s mouth.
“No!” Cody shouts as the Liopleurodon’s jaws close and seventy-thousand pounds of force press down on Jessica and her jet ski, crushing her into bloody oblivion. The jet ski is flattened as it and Jessica’s carcass roll down the Liopleurodon’s throat. “Jessica!” Cody screams. As the Liopleurodon’s mouth closes, its jaws begin to form into a smile. While it is not expressing any sort of joy, Cody looks at the pliosaur’s demonic grin, and then looks into the monster’s green eye, it’s slit-like pupil looking back at him.
Finally, the Liopleurodon’s sixteen-foot-long head submerges, and Cody turns his Jet Ski around and presses the throttle down as hard as he can. His Jet Ski is propelled forward, and gets out of the way at the last moment as the Liopleurodon’s jaws once again brakes the surface and attempts to bite Cody, but the college student is too fast. The Liopleurodon submerges again, and begins to chase after Cody and his jet ski. He knows that if he goes shallow enough, than the massive Liopleurodon won’t be able to follow. He looks back to see if he sees the Liopleurodon, but he cannot. Cody turns back to face forward, and then the Liopleurodon’s massive jaws surround him.
“Shoot!” Cody screams as he presses down even harder on the throttle, running into the Liopleurodon’s foot-long teeth. The razor-sharp teeth begin to puncture the Jet Ski as the Liopleurodon’s lower jaw pulls up to meet the top. Suddenly, the Jet Ski breaks free and lands on the surface of the water. Pressing down on his throttle, Cody speeds away from the Liopleurodon.
Cody is not a religious man, but he says a small prayer as he gets ever closer the shallows. “Come on! I am so close!” Cody exclaims as he suddenly realizes that water droplets are hitting him on the back of the neck. The Liopleurodon launches another attack as Cody thinks, I do not want to go through that hell again! He takes a quick turn to the left… and the Liopleurodon misses its target!
“Yes!” Cody shouts as he finally reaches the shallows. He turns back just to see the Liopleurodon submerging and swimming back out to sea. Thank you God, Cody thinks as he gets off of his jet ski and walks the short distance back to the beach. People begin to rush towards him as he collapses to his knees.
“Are you alright?” someone asks. Cody can hear a woman say, “What was that thing?”
Cody can only shake his head and think about Jessica and how he is lucky to be alive. “That grin… that
demonic grin,” is all that he can say as the life guard runs over to him and calls 911.
Chapter 13
Humpback
A pod of humpback whales has five members. There are two adult males, each measuring fifty feet in length and weighing sixty-four tons. There are two females, both considerably smaller than the males. One is forty feet long weighing fifty tons while the other is thirty feet long weighing forty tons. Lastly, there is a baby male, who is only fifteen feet long weighing three-thousand pounds.
The whales are making their annual migration in search of plankton and shrimp. Filter feeders, like humpbacks, only eat the smallest life in the sea. Being less than a year old, this is the baby’s first migration. Still being a baby, he only drinks milk from his mother. The two adult bulls lead the pod since they are the largest and most powerful. Suddenly, the whales sense an attacker closing in on their location.
The attacker is larger than any predator they have ever encountered, and is moving very fast despite its massive size. The humpbacks look down, but the Liopleurodon’s black back camouflages it with the sea bed. The pliosaur opens its mouth briefly, rubbing its enormous needle-like teeth against each other, sharpening them as she prepares to attack. Finally, the Liopleurodon launches its attack, and the sea monster has picked its victim: it wants the baby!
Hoping to protect the child, the females move closer to the baby as the two adult males dive down in the name of defense. With their powerful flukes propelling them forward, the males begin to close the gap between themselves and the giant reptile. But the Liopleurodon is as agile as a sea lion and uses its four flippers to easily dodge the whales’ attack. It does not slow down. With the males missing their target, nothing is protecting the baby when the Liopleurodon lunges and bites down on the whale’s tail. The Liopleurodon’s bite immediately breaks the baby’s tail in three different places. As the baby struggles, the Liopleurodon begins to thrash its neck from side to side. If it continues, it will rip the baby in half!
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