“Some animals didn’t use speed as a defense. Some used size. Leedsichthys is a good example of this. It was the largest fish to have ever lived. It was ninety feet long, and a filter feeder. They preyed upon plankton, like whales do today. Leedsichthys was probably the preferred prey of Liopleurodon, since eating one adult could satisfy her for days. As another defense, these fish would travel in large groups. You can just imagine what it would look like, seeing over a dozen ninety-foot-long fish traveling together.”
“And Liopleurodon would attack these fish?” Shawn asks.
Luke nods and says, “Yes, they were attacked on a regular basis. I’ve personally examined a spinal cord from a Leedsichthys that was bitten in half. Only an enormous pliosaur could cause such damage. However, the attacks were not always successful. I’ve seen a fin that had healed bite marks. That means that the fish had escaped. Probably forty to fifty percent of attacks were a success.”
“That’s pretty good,” says Kelsey, “Only about twenty to thirty percent of lion attacks on zebra are a success.”
“Liopleurodon had an arsenal of weapons and abilities. It had its jaws, its speed, its agility, and of course, it’s never-ending aggression.”
“What about plesiosaurs?” Shawn asks.
“Plesiosaurs were plentiful. I’ve dug up several fossils of the Jurassic plesiosaur known as Cryptoclidus. They were about twenty-six feet long and very agile. They were the seals of the sea. They hunted fish, shells, crabs, and ammonites. They also ate rocks to lessen their buoyancy. Like all of the long-necked plesiosaurs, Cryptoclidus looked like a snake stuck in the body of a turtle. They had a way of escape, however. Cryptoclidus was able to pull itself onto dry land with its flippers. Liopleurodon was far too large to follow.
“Of course, there were other predators that Liopleurodon had to compete with. A main enemy was the marine crocodile known as Metriorhynchus. At ten feet long, it wasn’t able to fight an adult Liopleurodon, but it was able to attack small ichthyosaurs like Ophthalmosaurus. Metriorhynchus didn’t look anything like modern crocodilians. It had no bony armor. It had given up all defenses for speed. I’ve actually calculated that a Metriorhynchus could leap clear out of the water to grab a passing pterosaur.”
“What about sharks?” Hawkins asks. “I heard that they evolved before the dinosaurs. How big were they during the Jurassic?”
Luke pauses for a moment before saying, “With monster reptiles like Liopleurodon around as top predator, the ocean was not able to support large sharks as well. Most sharks were less than fifteen feet long. A commonly known Jurassic shark is Hybodus. No one knows how it got its name. Hybodus had two devil-like horns on the top of its head.”
“Wait a second. Horns? You mean like a buffalo?” Hawkins asks.
“Not exactly. Like the modern horn shark in Mexico, Hybodus grew spike like horns out of its head for defense. If a pliosaur like Liopleurodon tried to attack a Hybodus, the horns would stab the top of the predator’s mouth, and it would be forced to regurgitate it.”
“And how big was this Hybodus?” Kelsey asks.
“Just over six feet long.” Luke straightens up and adds, “They went extinct during the K-T event. While the horns did help, they didn’t protect the Hybodus entirely. Liopleurodon would kill and devour them.
“Liopleurodon ate sharks like how we eat shrimp. That’s how it got the nickname the Shark Killer.”
“What about other pliosaurs?” Ben asks.
“The only animal in Liopleurodon’s environment that could threaten it was the pliosaur recently discovered. At fifty feet long, and fifty tons in weight, Predator X was roughly the same size of Megalodon. Predator X looked like a smaller version of Liopleurodon. Until Liopleurodon reached maturity, it was a threat. After it began growing at a faster rate, however, Liopleurodon would treat Predator X as a food source.
“Every living thing in the ocean was on the menu for Liopleurodon ferox. That’s why this one has to die.” He looks to his friends, directly in the eyes, and says, “I’d love to study a living Liopleurodon. I really would. But, I can’t. First of all, there is no place to put it. The Liopleurodon would die in a tank. There is no reason to spend the Navy’s resources to capture it if it is simply going to die.”
Captain Hawkins gives a small nod. Luke continues, “We must kill the Liopleurodon. It will kill innocent people. Anyone who enters the water is in danger. We can’t close the beaches, not in this economy. But, if we can kill the Liopleurodon before disaster strikes, then everything will go back to the way that things were.
“The other reason why we must kill the Liopleurodon is that nature isn’t ready for a predator of that size to return. It will drastically change the food chain, the environment, and the marine ecosystem. Say the Liopleurodon somehow gives birth… hell would be unleashed on the oceans. Liopleurodon would change the ocean in a similar way that the human race changed the land. It would take resources from other animals, kill off species, and replace the top predators.
“It’s not as if the entire species had survived extinction. This is one individual who has returned, and in doing so, will cause massive environmental change if it stays for too long.”
“Amen,” says Will, jokingly.
Luke nods and finishes, “Liopleurodon ferox was the apex predator of all time. If it is allowed to remain in our oceans, then it will cause tremendous devastation. It was the top predator of its time… and it is again now.”
“It won’t be for long,” Hawkins says. “I was looking through some of your files last night, and imagine my surprise to find out that a certain Will Harris used to fly helicopters for the military before going to college.”
Shocked, Luke turns to his friend and asks, “You did?”
“Only for a year, I tried not to tell anyone, though.”
Hawkins says, “once I discovered this, I decided to borrow a copter and I’m going to let Will fly you guys over the ocean and hunt for the Liopleurodon.”
Ben shakes his head and says, “you’ve got to be kidding.”
Will shrugs when Luke adds on, “I’m not sure how comfortable I am going to be with you flying.”
Offended, Will says, “Hey, I was one of the best pilots that they had! It wasn’t until I left the military that I began drinking.”
Hawkins says, “Well you had better stop, since I expect you to be in the air within two hours.”
Chapter 17
The First Fight
The Sea Monster Hunters are all in a small helicopter. Will is in the pilot seat, with Luke sitting to his right. In Luke’s hands is a shot gun. One of the men on the USS Jupiter showed him how to use it properly this morning. Personally, Luke would prefer to use larger force on the super-predator, but three hours ago, the President of the United States gave the Navy an order: kill the Liopleurodon with minimum force. That way, the greatest scientific discovery in human history can be studied after it is no longer a threat. The plan is to locate the Liopleurodon and use the shotgun to weaken it. Luke’s stomach is upset, he has never been this nervous in his life. Behind Luke and Will, Ben and Kelsey sit next to the windows with Shawn sitting in between them.
“This is the dumbest plan I have ever heard,” says Ben. “I mean, you plan to kill the mightiest predator in history with a shotgun? It’s crazy.”
“No one said that you have to come,” Luke states.
“If I didn’t come then you would get the rest of this group killed!”
“Are you sure that you want to talk to the guy who’s holding a shotgun like that? Probably not the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“Oh, are you threatening me now?” Ben asks.
“No, I’m just –”
“Would the two of you just shut up? Christ…” Kelsey ends the argument before looking out the window.
Luke and Ben’s eyes meet for several seconds, before Luke turns around. He takes several deep breathes. He knows that Ben is right. This is a stupid plan. Hawkins has been a Navy captain
for over a decade and this is the best that he could come up with?
Suddenly, the infrared heat sensing device situated between Luke and Will begins to beep. A large object appears on the screen. “Is it the Liopleurodon?” Kelsey asks.
“I’m not sure,” Luke responds. “Will, can you bring us closer?”
“Sure,” Will says as he descends twenty feet. “Can you see it now?”
Luke looks out his window again. He can’t tell what type of animal it is. The creature’s back is black, but Luke can’t see the red stripes that he remembers seeing in the Naval Base. When he sees water being sprayed out of the creatures blow hole, he realizes the animal’s identity.
Luke shakes his head and says, “It’s only a whale. Let’s keep searching.”
…
After another ninety minutes, Will says, “Luke, we’re running low on gas. We need to head back.”
Luke nods, and Will begins to turn the helicopter around. Kelsey, who is bored of sitting, looks out the window. As she looks down at the ocean, she sees a large, triangular object come out of the water for a moment before submerging. What the heck? Kelsey thinks as she points towards the ocean. “Hey guys, I think that I just saw something.”
Luke turns to look at the infrared heat sensing device. It does not show anything on screen. “Kelsey, I don’t think anything is there.”
Annoyed, Kelsey says, “I’m telling you, I saw a big black object come out of the water for a couple of seconds. It had to have been it.”
Luke shakes his head slowly. Little does he know, that being cold-blooded, the Liopleurodon’s body temperature is the same as the temperature as the surrounding ocean, so it will not appear on the device.
…
The Liopleurodon is swimming slowly beneath the helicopter. It can sense the flying object’s presence, but refuses to attack. She plans to let the helicopter make the first move.
…
Ben looks down at the ocean, finally noticing the Liopleurodon’s black back just below the surface. “Luke, I think that Kelsey’s right, I definitely see something down there… and it’s pretty big.”
Luke looks out the window, and finally sees the Liopleurodon. “Okay, I see it. Will, can you just hover here?”
Will nods as he slows down. Luke opens his door, and looks down at the ocean. He picks up the shotgun and cocks it. He points the shotgun down at the water and pulls the trigger.
An explosion of lead bullets flies from the shotgun and hits the ocean.
…
The large mass of molten metal strikes about five feet from where the Liopleurodon is swimming. Enraged, the Liopleurodon prepares to strike its attacker and dives deep. Turning around, The Liopleurodon uses its powerful front flippers to propel it through the sea as it launches its three hundred and thirty thousand pound bulk out of the water…
…
While Luke reloads his shot gun, he notices that the black Liopleurodon is accelerating quickly towards the surface. Crap, it’s attacking. “Will, its coming up… move!”
Will nods as he begins to pull on the joy stick, spinning out of the way as the Liopleurodon explodes from the ocean’s blue surface. Luke curses as he closes his door as quickly as possible. Kelsey screams when she sees the monstrous creature jumping up, its ten-foot-long jaws reaching towards them. Luke fires the shotgun again, but is off by twenty feet.
“Come on!” Will shouts as he finishes his 180 degree turn. The Liopleurodon snaps its powerful jaw at the helicopter… but misses!
The Liopleurodon falls back into the ocean and submerges once again. While Will steadies out the helicopter’s angle of flight, everyone else tries to understand what just happened. Ben is beginning to hyperventilate. Kelsey cries and Shawn turns to try and help her. Luke can’t help but shake his head and say, “She was bigger than I thought.”
Finally, Ben asks, “Wait a second, how did it miss? Is its aim really that bad?”
Luke shakes his head and says, “No, it had no intension of hitting us. That was just a warning shot. If it intended to kill us, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”
Ben wipes his fogging glasses, “Hawkins is not going to be happy about failing like this. Killing the Liopleurodon is going to be much harder than we thought.”
For the rest of the trip back, no one says a word. They all accept their defeat, except for Shawn, who is barely able to hold back a wicked smile.
Chapter 18
Documentary of Death
The SS Spyglass is a research vessel, and is about one hundred feet long. It is the ship that Nathan’s producer has allowed him to use to take footage of the Liopleurodon. Nathan walks onto the deck wearing a wet suit. He straps on his BCD vest, his weight belt, and his fins before having someone put the scuba tank on his back. He breathes into the regulator to make sure it works, and then he firmly straps on his face mask.
The captain of the boat slows down to five knots before stopping completely. He turns to Nathan and says, “Okay, Mr. Noodie, we’ve reached the location. Are you still sure that you want to go through with this?
Nathan furiously rips off his mask and shouts, “Are you kidding? I’m the one who discovered the Liopleurodon in the Arctic last month, and I want some profit for finding it. Besides, there has been very little footage of it, and being in the water with it will look incredible on screen.”
The captain nods and says, “I’m aware of that, sir, but you saw what it did to that poor girl on the Jet Ski, this isn’t a shark that you’re diving with, this is an enormous prehistoric monster!”
Nathan takes a few steps to the captain, “That’s why we spent the fifty thousand dollars on a cage.”
…
Nathan’s cage stands ten feet tall and twelve feet wide. It is made out of titanium and has two steel cables connecting it to the ship. Nathan designed the cage so when the Liopleurodon bites it, the pliosaur’s massive jaws will slide off the bars. Nathan smiles as he sees his enormous cage. He then turns to a member of the crew and orders, “Begin dumping chum into the water.”
While chum is usually used for attracting sharks, Nathan figures that it should just as easily attract the Liopleurodon.
...
Finally, after three hours of waiting, the captain notices that the sonar has picked up signals of an enormous animal moving towards their direction. Unlike the heat-seeking sensor on the Sea Monster Hunters helicopter, which was unable to detect the Liopleurodon because it was designed to pick up animals with a different temperature than the ocean, the SS Spyglass’s sonar detects any object that its sound waves bounce off of.
“Hey Nathan, I think that you should have a look at this.”
Nathan walks towards the captain, who points towards his sonar. Seeing the giant animal, Nathan says, “yeah, that’s definitely it.” He turns to the crew and shouts, “ready the cage!”
The crew pushes the cage into the water, the top still open. Putting on his mask, Nathan takes a mighty leap and lands inside of the enormous cage. Once he closes the top, it immediately locks itself shut. Nathan feels as if something is boiling inside of his stomach as his cage sinks.
He sees the chum in the water, and wonders if the captain was right. The radio in his mask suddenly beeps. The captain’s voice asks, “Can you see is yet, Nathan?”
Nathan presses a button on his mask and says, “No, I can’t see it. Where is it?”
“It should be directly under you.”
Under me? Nathan asks himself as he looks down. Below him, he sees the red stripes running down the enormous creature’s black back. Oh my god! The Liopleurodon begins to turn upward, revealing its foot-long razor-sharp fangs! Holy crap! Nathan thinks as he swims away from the front of the cage.
The Liopleurodon rises elegantly through the water until it is eye level with Nathan. Its enormous green eye seems to stare directly at him, the reptile’s slit-like pupil sizing him up. Nathan has never felt such terror in his life. He shudders at his insignifi
cance.
Finally, the Liopleurodon continues swimming. Nathan finally releases his breath after what feels like hours. The bubbles that rise out of his regulator stop once they hit the top of the cage.
…
From atop the deck, the captain sees the Liopleurodon’s black back under the surface as it circles the boat, looking for food. It finishes its 360 degree circle, ending up exactly where it started. The captain grabs his radio and says, “Get ready, Nathan, its coming back towards you.”
…
“What did you say?” Nathan asks.
“I said get ready, its coming back!” the captain shouts.
No, Nathan thinks as he sees the Liopleurodon once again. The smell of blood has made the Liopleurodon hungry, but there is no food to eat. The pliosaur sees the cage as the boat’s wounded child. The Liopleurodon looks for a way to attack the cage… and then sees the two steel cables. Not realizing what the Liopleurodon is about to do, Nathan thinks, This footage is going to be incredible!
The Liopleurodon opens its massive jaws and bites down on the first steel cable. Powered by seventy thousand pounds of force, the Liopleurodon’s razor-sharp teeth slice through the cable. With one cable gone, the cage rolls to its side, and the side that is still supported becomes the top. Being in the very center in the cage, Nathan is not affected, but watches in horror as the Liopleurodon bites down on the second cable.
No, I’m going to sink! Nathan thinks. And he does just that. The top of the cage lands on Nathan, forcing him downward with it. I’m going to hit the bottom. If we can get rid of the Liopleurodon, then maybe the crew can rescue me.
Suddenly, Nathan hears the captain’s voice again, “I told you that this was a bad idea.”
Nathan presses the button on his mask and exclaims, “This is not the time for that!” The Liopleurodon comes into view again, and bites down on the cage. The pliosaur’s tusk-like teeth grip the bars and its powerful neck allow the Liopleurodon to lift and throw the cage out of the water! “Crap!” Nathan shouts as his cage begins to fall back towards the water. The flooding water slams his body against the back of the cage, breaking several of his ribs. Nathan screams in agony.
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