Spawn Of The Deep

by Michael Bray

  “I already told you,” Decker said, standing slowly. He made a half-hearted attempt to tuck his shirt back into his pants, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort. “The entire structure is at risk. We need to evacuate, all of us. If the lower section is breached and the core compromised, this entire upper portion will sink.”

  “We can’t do that. Not without the eggs. Going back empty handed isn’t an option.”

  “Fuck the eggs,” Decker said, his shrill cry echoing around the room and startling his staff. “We need to get off this facility and back to the mainland.”

  “In this storm?” Johnson replied, motioning to the charcoal skies and driving rain outside. “It’s a suicide mission.”

  “If we stay here, we all die anyway. At least if we go we stand half a chance.”

  “You saw them down there, didn’t you?” Jade glared at Decker, struggling to contain her anger. “The ones that are out in the wild. They’re here.”

  Decker nodded.

  “Even though you were told what you were dealing with, you still didn’t listen.”

  “Look,” Johnson cut in. “Whatever he thinks he saw down there doesn’t change anything. We don’t leave without those eggs.”

  “It’s not safe here anymore,” Decker said, his voice high-pitched and desperate.

  Johnson levelled the weapon at him. “It will be a lot less safe if you don’t do as I tell you.”

  Everyone was focused on the exchange between Johnson and Decker, which gave Mackay the distraction he had been looking for. He launched at Johnson, wrestling the gun from him as they fell to the floor. Mackay head butted Johnson, then rolled clear just as Simons was realizing what was going on and started to swing his weapon towards Mackay. There was no time to think. Mackay fired off in short controlled bursts, and cut Simons down before he could open fire. The staff screamed and scrambled away from the confrontation as Mackay aimed the gun at Johnson. He glanced at Simons, his body on the floor, blood seeping out onto the marble tiles. Despite this, there was no fear in Johnson. He glared at Mackay, then turned and ran, heading for the exit. Mackay gave chase, trying not to think too much about what he had just done. Outside the storm raged, rocking the structure. Out on the dock, the two boats moored there swayed against the jetty, saved by their floatation buoys from destroying themselves against the dock.

  “Stop there, lad,” Mackay said, Johnson freezing just as he reached the door to the outer dock area.

  Johnson turned, still bloody and grinning. Mackay didn’t like the look in his eye. It was the look of someone who had seen too many movies, played too many video games. It was the look of someone who thought they were immortal.

  “You can’t stop me, old man,” Johnson said, the defiant look growing stronger.“I’ll come back again, this time with more men.”

  “Ye can’t leave, lad. Not yet. It’s not safe.”

  “Safe? You just killed Simons. He was a good guy.”

  “Aye, and I’m not proud. I did what I had to, and I’ll do it again.”

  Johnson smiled. “You think I’m scared of guns? I’m not scared of anything.”

  “Good for you. Get on the ground.”

  “I don’t think you have the balls to shoot me. Back there, you just reacted because you had to. Here, I’m looking you in the eye. Trust me, that’s a completely different ball game.”

  “Ye might be right. Then again ye might not. Depends if you want to take that risk.”

  “Maybe I do.” He reached out behind him and activated the controls for the outer door. It slid aside, letting in the elements. Wind howled around the rec room, sending newspapers and plastic cups swirling around in lazy circles.

  “Don’t move, lad. Ye got nowhere to go,” Mackay said, forcing himself to sound calm even if he was terrified inside at the thought that he might have to kill another human being.

  “If you want to stop me, you’ll have to shoot me.” Johnson backed away, still grinning as he moved outside the main structure and onto the dock. Mackay followed, both of them ignoring the wind and driving rain, even able to block out the terrifying crash as huge waves slammed into the structure, throwing huge walls of spray into the air.

  “Ye have nowhere left to go, lad. It’s over,” Mackay shouted, trying to make himself heard above the din of the storm.

  “I’m getting on the boat, and I’m going to leave. Like I said, if you want to stop me, then shoot me.”

  Mackay wasn’t sure if it was bravado or a genuine lack of fear. Either way, he realized the gun was useless as Johnson didn’t care that it was pointed at him.

  “I can’t let ye leave. Don’t make me hurt ya, lad.”

  “You won’t do it. You’re just a civilian.” He turned his back, walking towards the boat.

  “Stop, I’m warning ye.”

  Johnson complied, half turning his head. “For your sake, you better be gone when I get back.”

  “Stop. Ah said stop!”

  Johnson ignored him and started up the ramp to the boat. For Mackay, everything seemed to play out in slow motion. The sting of the rain on his skin, the icy bite of the wind as it cut through his wet clothes. The way Johnson seemed all so calm, so unconcerned.

  He’s so young.

  Mackay wondered what kind of life he had led to be mixed up with a band of mercenaries. He had heard the old wives tales about life flashing before the eyes of someone who was close to death; however, for him, it was quite the opposite. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl, everything happening with deliberate, slow pace. He mumbled a prayer under his breath as he squeezed the trigger.

  There was no scream.

  Johnson’s body was cut to pieces by the bullets fired by Mackay. It was launched through the air, twisting in a bloody, rag doll arc as it plunged into the broiling ocean. Mackay stood there, staring at the empty space that Johnson had occupied seconds earlier, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he dropped the weapon on the dock and went back inside, wondering if the fact that he felt nothing about what he had just been forced to do meant that he was in some kind of shock or just utterly broken. He blinked and looked around the rec room. There were people there. Members of staff. Jade. Decker and his investors. Mackay sat heavily on one of the sofas as his actions finally started to hit home.

  Jade approached and put a hand on his shoulder. “You had no choice. We could all see that.”

  “He was just a lad. He wouldn’t bloody listen. Both of them just babies.”

  “There was nothing else you could have done. They would have killed you.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Too late now.”

  “What do we do now?” she asked, staring out at the storm.

  “Now, we get everyone out of here. Load up both boats.”

  “Thank god, someone speaking sense,” Decker said, his voice still too shrill. “We need to get moving.”

  “Not you,” Mackay said, standing and striding towards Decker. “You’re coming with me.”

  “What do you mean? Coming where?”

  “You left my friend down below. We’re goin’ to get him back.”

  “Are you insane? Didn’t you hear what I just told you? It’s not safe down there. I won’t do it.”

  Mackay grabbed him by the shirt, tearing the expensive Italian material. “You listen to me. I don’ give a flyin’ fuck about yer money, or yer creatures or whatever yer tryin te do here. I want mah friend back, and ah need you to do it. Now move yer arse back to the lift.”

  “I won’t do it. You can’t make me.” Decker sounded desperate, trying to catch the eye of one of his members of staff who might be able to help. The only one who would meet his gaze was his assistant.

  “Styles, tell them. Tell them it’s not safe.”

  Styles squirmed, in that place where all staff of rich men find themselves. Torn between telling their employer to stick it, but not daring to because the pay is too good. “Well sir, I haven’t been down there myself since the incident so…”


  “Damn it, Styles. I pay you to be my assistant, so assist me.” Decker was sweating, eyes bulging. He was a man on the edge, who was only one incident away from losing it altogether. Mackay took a step closer to Decker and folded his arms, making sure to push his chest out and flex his arms for maximum intimidation. “Now you listen and listen well. Ye goin doon there. Ye can either go yersel on yer own two feet, or I can put ye on yer arse and drag ye. It’s up te you.”

  “It’s not safe. Are you even listening to me?”

  “Then we best be hurryin’ up then, eh?”

  “Him too,” Decker said, pointing at Styles. “If I have to go, he can come with me.”

  “Mr. Decker sir…”

  “Don’t give me that. You got me into this, you can get me out.”

  “I didn’t get you into anything, sir, I had nothing to do with this.”

  “Enough,” Mackay said, bringing the discussion to an end. “No more standin’ talkin aboot it. Let’s go.”

  Left with no choice, Decker led them back the way they had come towards the elevator. He wasn’t sure he would be able to step into it when it came, but he supposed that much like men waiting on death row, the final walk is easier when their fate is already written. He waited for them to enter the elevator, then he, Styles, Jade and Mackay descended once more into the lower reaches of the Triton Spire.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Johnson’s body sank into the Pacific, flesh torn apart by the rain of bullets, weighed down by his heavy boots; the corpse began to sink, leaving a floating, claret cloud in its wake.

  A mile beneath the surface, the circling creatures sensed the stimulus, able to detect the familiar scent of blood as it entered the water. Their uncertainty about the Triton Spire as a potential prey was dispelled, and they raced towards what they assumed to be their injured prey in order to finish the job.

  II

  The elevator descended back towards the lower levels of the Triton Spire, its occupants unsure what to expect when they arrived. Decker was quiet, and had pressed himself into the corner of the elevator. Mackay tried his best to ignore him, and the occasional glances in Jade’s direction told him she was doing the same. Even Styles seemed to be ignoring his employer, his expression a mixture of anger, frustration and concern. The elevator moved into the Lexan portion of the shaft, giving them another view of the ocean and the lower levels of the Triton Spire.

  “Jesus,” Mackay muttered as he saw the dome, the crack now stretching almost around the entire upper portion.

  “I told you, they can’t be saved. We need to get back to the surface, now,” Decker muttered.

  “Is that where he is? In the dome?” Jade said, forcing Decker to engage.

  He nodded, then wiped his arm across his forehead. “It’s too late. We can’t risk opening the blast doors. If the dome breaks, we will all die.”

  “Then we better hope yer construction crews did a proper job, eh?”

  Decker was about to answer when he saw it streaking towards the shaft above them, a sliver of green against the black ocean. “Oh my god, no,” he muttered.

  Before anyone else could react, the twenty-ton creature clamped its jaws onto the outer elevator shaft, buckling the titanium plates. Inside the elevator, alarm bells rang, and the soft lighting was replaced with a harsh red glow as the elevator began to judder and vibrate.

  “What the hell is happening?” Mackay said, clinging on to the rail.

  “It’s attacking us. If it penetrates the shaft with us still in here, we’re dead,” Decker screamed.

  “How close to the bottom?” Jade asked, shouting above the roar of the warning siren.

  “Deep enough to cost us our lives. I told you. I told you it wasn’t safe.” Decker was trembling, his shirt almost transparent due to how much he was sweating. They looked out of the window, watching as the largest of the three creatures circled away, and one of its smaller kin repeated its actions, charging at the elevator shaft and trying to wrap its jaws around the circumference, resulting in another series of creaks and groans.

  “It won’t be able to take many more attacks like that. We need to get out of the elevator and seal the shaft.”

  The elevator lurched, and the lights flickered and went out, leaving them for a moment in absolute darkness before the backup power kicked in and returned them to the light. The elevator moved out of the Lexan portion of the shaft, hiding the view of the creatures. Decker was pacing now, and everyone had subconsciously moved away from him. He was slowly unravelling in front of them. He might have gone on that way, pacing and muttering had the elevator not reached its destination. Instead, the chime signalling their safe arrival in the lower section of the facility seemed to kick his survival instincts into gear. He hurried off the elevator, ushering the others out too. Decker accessed the panel by its side, punching in a series of codes then pressing his thumb to the console for verification. The elevator doors slid closed, as the console flashed ‘Emergency Lockdown’ in red.

  “I’ve had to seal off the shaft, but that now means we can’t get back topside,” Decker whispered, talking more to himself.

  “How safe is it? If those things break through the shaft, how safe are we?” Jade asked, but Decker wasn’t answering. He was staring through the wall, perhaps realizing the magnitude of the situation.

  “It should be quite safe,” Styles said, answering on Decker’s behalf. “The emergency lockdown seals the shaft completely in twenty meter intervals. Each segment is then flooded to maintain pressure integrity. Even if there is a breach, we should be quite safe even if elevator access is now impossible until the shaft is verified safe and drained.”

  “Great, so we’re stuck here.”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “We don’t have time for this.” Decker cut in, pushing past them. “You have already put us in enough danger, now let’s get your friend and try to survive to see the sunrise, shall we?”

  Without letting anyone respond, Decker started to walk through the deserted structure towards the dome.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Rainwater sat back on the floor and rested his arms across his knees. He looked over at Greg, and saw the same look of resignation he too felt. They had looked for a way out, hoping to find some kind of release mechanism which would allow them to get into the main bulk of the concept; however, Decker’s comments about the skill level of his crew were valid, and they had done a superb job, taking into account every measure to ensure that if there was a structural failure within the dome, the rest of the facility wouldn’t be compromised as long as the airtight doors were sealed.

  Boom

  Boom

  Boom

  They glanced at the water as the captive creatures continued their rhythmic assault on the outer wall of the facility. It had been incessant, and was clear to both Rainwater and Michaels that they were calling for help. From their position inside the dome, they could see the other, larger creatures as they attacked the elevator shaft.

  “We’re done for, aren’t we?” Greg said, resting his head against the wall.

  Ordinarily, Rainwater would have disagreed, maybe looked for a positive spin on the situation. However, the crack in the dome was continuing to grow and he knew it would only be a matter of time before it gave way and snuffed out their existence. Instead, he said nothing, and watched as the trio of wakes raced across the lagoon, each impacting the wall within seconds of each other.

  Boom

  Boom

  Boom

  Greg sighed and took a crushed pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and popped it in his mouth, then offered the pack to Rainwater.

  “Smoke?”

  “No, thanks.”

  Greg shrugged and tossed the pack aside, then lit the cigarette, orange ember glowing as he inhaled. “I really was trying to help her you know. That girlfriend of yours who died.”

  Rainwater looked across at Greg. “You choose to bring this up now?”
r />   “What other chance am I likely to get?”

  “Well, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I do. Seems under the circumstances, I should get to say my piece.”

  Rainwater sighed, and lowered his head again, staring at the corrugated grilled floor underneath him.

  “One thing I always wanted to know, was why you blamed me?” he exhaled, blue smoke drifting away. “I mean, she made the decision to go out there. She decided to dive down into that cave knowing that animal was down there.”

  “Don’t try to make excuses,” Rainwater snapped.

  “I’m not. But the point is still valid. She made those decisions, not me. Granted, my involvement didn’t help, but I was right there doing everything I could to help her. Can you even know how it felt to know that thing was so close to taking you? Can you imagine how it was to wonder if it would hurt as those teeth crushed you like kindling?”

  “No, I suppose not,” Rainwater muttered.

  Boom

  Boom

  Boom

  “I blamed you because you were there and I wasn’t,” Rainwater said, making eye contact with Greg. “I was so screwed up. All I could think about was getting drunk again as a means to take away the pain.”

  “I get it. It’s a dark place.”

  “What do you know about it?”

  Greg held up his stump. “More than you think. When that first creature took my arm, the original one, the big one, I mean, it changed everything. Took everything away from me. You and me, we’re not too different. You’re doing to me what I did to it. All I wanted was revenge, payback. That’s why I was out there when Thompson was killed.”

  Rainwater wanted to call him out on it, tell him they were in no way alike, but he had a point. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “See, you blame me, and I get it, I do, but it’s them. Those things in the water that are to blame.”