Liopleurodon King of the Carnivores

by Michael Zucker

  No one says a word. Luke is shocked at how well Ben has been keeping his secrets. Finally, Will breaks the silence with, “Damn.”

  Luke decides that he needs to get everyone refocused. He asks Hawkins, “I think we should see if anyone has any concerns about what I am suggesting happened because of Shawn’s actions.”

  Hawkins thinks for a moment. “This isn’t an official inquiry of the Navy, but I suppose clearing the air is a good idea.”

  With that, Ben immediately stands and says, “I for one feel that Shawn is guilty of Luke’s accusations.”

  Luke smiles. If we can just get Kelsey to see the truth, then I will be satisfied.

  Will raises his hand, signaling that he wants to speak next. Luke nods, so Will says, “I’m sorry, Luke, but I just cannot see Shawn doing those things. He’s been my friend for so many years, I just…”

  Luke nods. He turns to Hawkins, who says, “I’m afraid that I don’t feel that we have enough evidence. You barely have enough information to establish a motive.”

  “Captain!” Luke exclaims.

  “I’m sorry, kid, but the saying is innocent until proven guilty.”

  “Fine.”

  Everyone turns to Kelsey, who is thinking about what she has just heard. Luke has been so considerate and protective of everyone and Shawn has been acting like a jerk lately. But I’ve been dating Shawn for the past two years… he couldn’t have… could he? I mean, he did propose to me. He wouldn’t have done that unless he truly loved me… unless he just did it to take me away from Luke.

  “Well?” Hawkins asks, growing impatient.

  Frowning, Kelsey turns to Shawn and says, “Shawn, I don’t understand what has been going on…..”

  In shock, Shawn stands up and lunges towards his girlfriend. He grabs her around the throat, but before he can begin squeezing, Luke grabs him by the arms and pulls him back. Hawkins then lunges forward and pins Shawn against the wall.

  Furious, Shawn screams at Kelsey, “I’ll kill you!” Kelsey begins crying. Shawn looks towards everyone else and screams, “I’ll kill all of you! I swear to God, I’ll kill you all!”

  A security officer who Luke arranged to wait close by grabs Shawn and pulls him away. Hawkins nods to him, and he pulls the yelling paleontologist away. Hawkins turns to Luke and says, “We have a room on board that we can keep him in for the time being. After we kill the Liopleurodon, we’ll turn him over to the appropriate authority.”

  Hawkins leaves the room. Luke walks over to Kelsey, who is still crying. He hugs her and whispers, “It will be alright. He won’t hurt you, I promise.”

  Kelsey nods gently and says, “I’m not upset about that, I’m upset that I was so stupid! I’ve been dating him for two years and I never saw that he’s insane?”

  “He hid it well. We’ll deal with him after we’ve dealt with the Liopleurodon.”

  Luke thinks, Now we are getting somewhere. As he hears Shawn screaming, he thinks, One villain down, one to go.

  Chapter 34

  Orcas

  It is two-thirty in the morning, and the pod of orcas is hunting for a potential meal. While it is too dark for the mammals to see with their eyes, they are able to map out their way through the ocean using echo location. The orcas simply release sound waves into the water and wait for them to bounce back; allowing them to sense what is nearby. Led by the dominant male, the orcas are unaware that they are being followed.

  Fifty feet below them, the Liopleurodon waits to strike. She and the orcas have clashed twice before, and the Liopleurodon always won by killing a member of their pod. This time, however, the Liopleurodon is deliberately stalking them. She will attempt to remove the competition for food and territory.

  Using its powerful sense of smell, the Liopleurodon is able to follow the orcas’ movements without having to see them. Attacking from the depths, the Liopleurodon propels herself upwards using her powerful flippers, her jaws open. The pliosaur targets a female and her calf. Not detecting the attacker soon enough, the orcas never see the Liopleurodon coming as she slams into the calf, its three-hundred-thousand-pound girth breaking the infants spine in three places.

  The Liopleurodon shakes its head back and forth, thrashing the juvenile orca around like a rattle. Once it makes sure that it is dead, the Liopleurodon releases its victim. The other orcas acknowledge the loss of the young dolphin, and immediately attack.

  While an adolescent bull bites down on the Liopleurodon’s flipper, an elderly female bites the reptile’s tail. The female refuses to let go, and the Liopleurodon begins to dive deep. Once the waters become pitch black, the orca releases the tail and swims towards the surface. The orca begins whistling to her

  pod, but the Liopleurodon is not finished with her yet. The pliosaur bites down on the orca’s tail, and crushes it with its powerful bite.

  The orca whale is in pain, and the Liopleurodon releases her. With its tail no longer in use, the orca begins to sink, and the Liopleurodon circles its enemy. With speed and power, the near invisible Liopleurodon lunges forward, using its sense of smell to guide it through the darkness. Colliding with the orca, the Liopleurodon bites.

  The orcas ribs are broken, its lungs flattened. The force of the impact causes blood to shoot from the mammal’s mouth. What little remains of the orca’s life slips away, and it dies quietly.

  The Liopleurodon swims upwards, its black back serving as camouflage. The dominant male uses echolocation picking up movement. Bull-rushing the pliosaur, the orca attempts to fight the larger titan. The Liopleurodon dodges the orca’s attack, but the giant dolphin is agile, and uses its speed to bite down on the monster’s rear right flipper.

  While the orca’s bite is not devastating, it is painful, and the Liopleurodon rolls like a crocodile. The orca is forcefully removed, and just barely escapes death by spinning out of the way of the Liopleurodon’s bite. Signaling to the other members in its pod, the orcas attack, and use their numbers to try and overwhelm the Liopleurodon.

  The Liopleurodon has had nothing to fear for most of its life, and is not threatened by the smaller predators. Swinging its massive head the Liopleurodon bites down on a male orca’s dorsal fin. The enormous teeth cause the orca to thrash its body, but the Liopleurodon shows no mercy as it tears the dorsal fin off. With such a large part of its back missing, the orca will soon bleed to death.

  Having already lost three members of its pod, the dominant male orca attacks again, trying to grab a hold of the Liopleurodon’s neck. The Liopleurodon moves out of the way, and lunges forward. The massive pliosaur bites into the orcas stomach and clamps down.

  The orca struggles, but its fate is already written. The Liopleurodon rips away many vital organs, and the orca begins to sink. It sings a death song to its pod as it dies. The other orcas panic and retreat from the battle.

  Having defeated another enemy, the Liopleurodon goes up to the surface to breathe. She looks up at the moon and roars, asserting her dominance over the entire ocean.

  Chapter 35

  Preparations

  It is three-thirty in the afternoon, and the bright sun is shining down upon the USS Jupiter. Tired of being cramped up in his room for the past day, Luke decides to venture out onto the deck. Seeing Kelsey standing near the railing, he walks over to join her.

  “Hi,” he says. She doesn’t even glance in his direction. She simply stares at the waves. “Are you okay?”

  Kelsey shakes her head. “No. I just can’t stop thinking about Shawn. It’s like, I can’t even find the words to express how I feel right now. The only one that comes close is –”

  “Horrified?” Luke asks.

  “Yes,” Kelsey says. “I just didn’t think that he had this evil in him. He didn’t propose because he loved me, it was because he wanted to make sure that you and I will never be together.”

  The words shock Luke. “Wait, do you want for us to be together?”

  Kelsey shrugs. “I don’t know. I can barely think at all.” Suddenly
, noise erupts on the other side of the deck. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m not sure,” Luke says as he leads her to where a dozen crewmen circle a small area. Luke turns to Kelsey and orders, “Stay here.” He pushes his way through the crowd, until he sees what all of the commotion is about. Hawkins and one of the Navy Seals are arguing. Next to them is a small, oval-shaped vehicle. It is seven feet long and yellow with green markings. Whoa, a mini sub. The mini sub has been especially designed for a mission like this one. It is a class one SMH Attack Submersible.

  Hawkins shouts, “I don’t understand what the problem is, John, you’ve dived in these things dozens of times. Why won’t you do it now?”

  “I’ve used the mini sub to spy on enemies and map out isolated environments, but never to fight an eighty-foot-long sea monster!” John shouts.

  “You’re the best pilot I have!” Hawkins exclaims. “You have the best chance of defeating the Liopleurodon once and

  for all!”

  “I don’t care about killing the Liopleurodon! I have a family to think about!” John argues.

  “Fine, if you won’t do it, then I will find someone else,” Hawkins says angrily.

  “I’ll do it,” Luke offers.

  Everyone turns to face Luke. Kelsey whispers in his ear, “Are you crazy?”

  Luke shakes his head. He is not intimidated. “If you need someone to fight the Liopleurodon, I’m your guy.”

  Hawkins shakes his and says, “Don’t be stupid, Luke. You don’t know the first thing about piloting a mini sub.”

  Luke shrugs and says, “So what? Maybe this man knows how to work the controls, but no one knows more about the Liopleurodon than I do. I know its behaviors, and I can predict its next move. Please, I am your best chance of defeating this prehistoric nightmare once and for all.”

  Hawkins shakes his head. Luke continues, “It’s said that to win a fight, you must know you’re enemy, inside and out. I know the Liopleurodon. I can do this… if you’ll let me.”

  Hawkins nods; Luke’s speech has moved him. “Fine, you can pilot the mini sub. I will let John teach you how to use it.”

  Luke nods as he walks over to the mini sub. The hatch is already open, and Luke looks inside. There are more controls than I thought.

  “Okay,” John begins. He points to a large black stick in front of the control panel. “This is your joystick. You use this to change direction. To go up, pull back. To go down, pull down. If you want to turn left, move your joystick to the left, and if you want to turn right, move it to the right.”

  He points to a green screen and says, “This is your sonar. If you cannot see the Liopleurodon, use this to find it relative to the sub. The small yellow light will be the sub. The slightly larger red dot will be the Liopleurodon, and the big blue dot will be the USS Jupiter.” John then points to a small box shaped device clipped onto the instrument panel. “This here is your radio. Press down on this side button to communicate with

  the ship.”

  John then gestures to an orange screen slightly to the right of the joy stick and says, “This is the control panel and it will tell you what is functional and what is no longer operational. Always keep an eye on this; it may save your life.” He walks to a small triangular wing on the right side of the sub and says, “These wings allow you to be extremely agile. You will be able to turn very quickly. Use this to your advantage. If you outmaneuver the Liopleurodon, you may be able to kill it quickly and avoid damaging the sub.”

  John points to the two cylinder shaped objects sticking out of the mini sub’s rear. “These are your engines. They will propel you forward at a very fast speed. If they fail, use the propeller. It is all you will have, but it’s better than not moving at all.

  Luke interrupts, “Do I have any weapons?”

  “I was just getting to that.” John leads Luke back to the cockpit and points to a large blue button. “This is a sonar weapon. It will make a sound so devastatingly loud, it will cause extreme pain to the Liopleurodon.” He points to a switch and says, “If the fight takes place in the dark, this will turn on your lights. They are very bright and will agitate the Liopleurodon. Your primary offensive weapon, however, is here,” he flips open the top of the joy stick, revealing a large red button. “You have five missiles, below your wings. Each will trigger a blast radius of about fifteen feet. The missiles do not have sonar lock, so aim carefully. If you waste your five shots, they’re gone.”

  “Is that everything?” Luke asks.

  John nods, “It took me years of training to be able to pilot a mini sub. Good luck.”

  Luke nods. “Thanks, I’m going to need it.”

  …

  Half an hour later, Luke is sitting in a chair in the corner of Will’s room. “They’re really making you pilot the mini sub?” Will asks.

  “I volunteered,” Luke responds.

  Will shakes his head, “This is honestly the dumbest thing that you have ever done.”

  Luke stands up and says, “Look, if I don’t come back, take care of Kelsey for me.”

  …

  Several hours later, Shawn still sits on a small bench within his room. Large iron bars surround him, locking him within. Depressed, his head is lowered, and his arms rest on his knees. Shawn is wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt and white sweat pants. His blonde hair dangling in front of his eyes, he thinks about what has happened: I failed. How could I have failed? I was so close! I can’t believe that Kelsey betrayed me. She’ll die for what she has done.

  “Ryan!” a guard shouts, calling him by his last name. Shawn lifts his head and wipes hair away from his face. “You’re lucky tonight! The chef is giving you some leftover macaroni and cheese!” The small green bowl is in the guard’s hand, and he balances it on his arm as he pulls out keys from his pocket. Inserting it within the lock, he turns the silver key ninety degrees.

  Opening the door, he steps inside and hands the bowl to Shawn. Shawn doesn’t move; he just stares at the guard. “Stop acting like a freak and take the damn macaroni!”

  Shawn pulls back his sleeve, revealing a small razor-sharp knife in his hand. Lunging forward before the guard can react; Shawn stabs him in the stomach region. The guard drops the bowl and macaroni pours all over the floor. Shawn pulls back the knife, and pushes the guard down.

  The guard reaches for the gun in his holster, but Shawn grabs it first. He points it to the guard’s head and pulls the trigger.

  Chapter 36

  Attack!

  With amphetamine still flowing through her veins, the Liopleurodon is on the hunt, looking for anything in its territory to kill. Suddenly, it picks up the scent of a large metal object. It is larger than any that it has encountered before. The Liopleurodon thrusts its powerful flippers, moving at a rapid pace to battle its enemy.

  …

  It is eleven thirty-five at night, and Hawkins is sitting in the bridge, watching the sonar screen. It has been hours since it identified any large life-forms. The last blip on the screen occurred five hours ago, when Hawkins reacted, he was disappointed to find that the disturbance was only a large school of fish. Finally, a large blue haze appears. It is moving towards the USS Jupiter. Knowing in his gut that the image is the Liopleurodon, Captain Hawkins thinks, finally, we have

  you now.

  …

  Luke is sleeping soundly in his small room when the PA system beeps and Hawkins says, “Luke Jones, please report to the bridge immediately.” The sound awakens Luke, who went to bed early to get extra rest. While the message woke him up, he didn’t really hear it. Luckily, Hawkins repeats himself, “Luke Jones, please report to the bridge immediately.”

  Luke sits up and rubs his eyes. Knowing what Hawkins is going to say, Luke thinks, Okay, it’s time to end this.

  …

  Luke opens the door to the bridge to find Hawkins waiting for him. Hawkins, who was sitting, stands up and points to the blue haze on the sonar screen. “We found it.”

  Luke nods and
says, “Okay, I’m going.”

  “Wait!” Hawkins exclaims.

  Luke turns around. “What?”

  Hawkins points to the radio and says, “Don’t forget, I can communicate with you down there. You’re not alone.”

  Luke smiles and says, “Thanks, Hawkins.”

  “No problem, kid,” Hawkins says as he slaps his friend on the arm. “Go kick ass!”

  Luke gives a small, friendly nod as he leaves the bridge and heads to the deck.

  …

  Luke finds Kelsey and Ben waiting for him by the mini sub. They are the only three people on the deck. Luke smiles at his friends. Kelsey is the first to move; she jumps forward and gives Luke a hug. She then kisses him on the cheek and says, “Promise me that you’ll be back.”

  “Kelsey, you don’t have to worry about me. I know that I will be back.” Kelsey begins to cry and releases him.

  Luke walks up to Ben, who says, “Good luck, Luke.”

  “Thanks,” Luke says, “I hope that we’re still friends after this is all over.”

  “You can bet on it,” Ben says as he shakes Luke’s hand. “Go finish this.”

  Luke nods as he walks around Ben and steps on the mini sub’s wing, giving him access into the cockpit. He presses a button on the instrument board, and the hatch closes. He turns and gives them thumbs up as a winch comes down and grabs a hold of the mini sub. It pulls him and the mini sub into the air and swings him over the side of the deck. Luke looks down at the black ocean and thinks, From the frying pan… and into