“Pull,” he shouted, but Rocky seemed to lack the strength to heave. Jen kicked with her legs to assist, but she wasn’t moving very fast.
He hoped the shape in the water was just a piece of seaweed or driftwood, but when it moved counter to the waves, it dashed his hopes.
The creature was back.
In the beam of the boat’s searchlight, the creature’s head looked like a shiny black carapace and its two beady eyes glinted. It rose and fell in the waves, its attention fixed on Jen as she struggled to swim towards the boat.
Jack felt a pang of fear, but he had made Jen a promise, and he wasn’t about to break it. “Over here, you son of a bitch,” he screamed, waving his arms.
Whether it hadn’t heard or wasn’t interested, the creature continued towards Jen. She turned at the sound of Jack’s voice, and her eyes grew wide as she saw the creature gliding towards her.
She screamed.
“Pull faster,” Jack shouted, but Rocky was either oblivious or was feeling too sick to respond.
Seeing no other option, Jack plunged into the water. Despite being cold and wet already, the sea was freezing. He started to swim, fighting the overwhelming lethargy that invaded his body. The incessant waves rolled over him, submerging his head and he came up each time gasping for breath. White froth floated around him like the rabid salivations of the beast he was trying to attract.
What the hell was he doing out here, offering himself up as live bait? If the creature attacked, he knew he stood little to no chance of fighting it off. But he couldn’t let Jen die. He had felt a connection between them, and that was enough. Besides, he couldn’t stand by and let someone die while doing nothing to help.
Summoning all his strength, he ploughed through the waves, kicking furiously while his arms swept through the water. A powerful swimmer in the local pool, he found swimming fully clothed in the sea sapped his strength.
Caught in the swell, it was hard to see much, and he couldn’t see the creature anywhere.
Jen was now about ten feet away, hanging onto the lifebuoy, and Rocky looked as though he had given up on pulling her anymore as he hung with his head over the side of the boat.
He heard the engines turning over, saw Zander in the wheelhouse struggling to maintain the boat’s position – he knew Zander wasn’t going to wait around forever.
When he reached Jen’s side, Jack said, “You’ve got to swim.”
Jen looked at him with wide, fear-filled eyes. “We’re going to die,” she wailed.
A wave washed over Jack, filling his mouth with saltwater. He coughed and choked; bone weary, he struggled to tread water. “Don’t think like that. Just swim for the boat.”
He looked around for the creature. Where was the blasted thing? He tried not to think it could be directly under him, in the dark expanse of water, but it was hard not to when his legs were dangling below the surface. Something buffeted his side; he thought it was the creature and panic washed through him. Even when he realised it was only a wave, he couldn’t relax. They were sitting ducks out here – had to get aboard the boat as fast as they could.
“Rocky,” Jack shouted, “goddamn it, pull, you son of a bitch.”
Rocky raised his head, and despite his sickly demeanour, Jack could see his words had elicited a response, the set of his jaw now locked in anger. He looked about to respond, when his expression changed. His eyes grew wider, his jaw going slack, frown lines wrinkling his brow. He pointed, his hand shaking.
“There’s something in the water,” he shouted.
Jack didn’t think Rocky would win medals any time soon. He grimaced and battled to keep his and Jen’s heads above the rolling waves before turning to look where Rocky indicated. And there it was, less than eight feet away, its enormous jaw open to reveal the wicked curve of its long, pointed teeth. Water rolled from its head, following the course of the ridges that covered its surface. The light from the searchlight illuminated the creature; its dark shell gleamed in the light.
The next minute, the creature ducked below the surface. Absolute terror raced through Jack’s veins. He scanned the water, but there was no sign of it. Any minute he expected to feel its teeth attach themselves to his legs, to bite through skin, muscle, flesh and bone as it dragged him down into the depths. Thinking he was drawing his last few breaths, he embraced Jen, using the lifebuoy to keep him afloat.
Then, without warning, he was moving through the water. He looked up to see Zander pulling on the rope. The tendons on the skipper’s neck stood out, and the muscles in his forearms flexed. He appeared to have braced himself against the side of the boat, and he gritted his teeth and pulled for all he was worth, hauling hand over hand.
Jack and Jen helped by kicking with their feet, but Jack didn’t feel they were moving fast enough. He could see Zander was pulling as hard as he could, his face red with exertion, but he wasn’t strong enough.
Rocky then appeared beside Zander and grabbed the rope. With a brief nod of his head towards Jack and Jen, he started to help.
At the back of his mind, Jack knew there was no one at the helm, and that the boat was floating towards the rocks, but he tried to dismiss the thought, the more pressing matter of the creature paramount.
With Rocky’s help, they moved swiftly, slicing through the waves until they reached the boat. Water sluiced through wide gaps in the side of the boat, runoffs for the water on deck. The boat’s masts and booms swayed as the boat lurched to one side. Jack felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he thought the boat was about to capsize. Next moment, the vessel righted itself, and Zander called out, “Heave.”
But they were too heavy. He heard Zander cursing, but from his position in the water, he was unable to see him. Realizing if they were to stand any chance of surviving, he had to let go of the lifebuoy. Jack kissed Jen quickly on the cheek, tasting the saltwater on her skin, and then let go. He immediately sank down into the water, and without his added weight, he watched as Jen rose out of the sea.
Alone in the water, fear penetrated his body, and he wondered why the hell he had let go. It was crazy.
The cold water was making his body go numb, and he could no longer feel his fingers. He wondered if his mind would go the same way, numb to the pain that would surely follow, and he closed his eyes and waited.
“Grab hold, and be quick about it,” Zander said.
Jack opened his eyes and looked up to see the lifebuoy hanging above his head. He reached out and grabbed it, and a sense of relief washed through him as he slipped one arm and his head through the hole in the centre.
He heard a splash in the water behind him, and his heart missed a beat. The creature was coming. He could feel his temples pound, his breath coming in rapid little bursts. Then he was out of the water, his free arm slamming into the side of the boat and sending a nerve-jarring pain up to his shoulder.
Ignoring the pain, he lifted his legs clear of the water and walked up the side of the vessel as the others pulled.
Seconds later, he lay on the deck, panting. Sodden through to the skin, he felt cold and miserable. But at least he was still alive.
Zander crouched down and grabbed Jack by the scruff of his neck. “What the blazes was that thing, kid?”
Jack struggled to breathe. “I don’t know,” he gasped.
“How many of them are there?”
“One, we’ve only seen one.”
“Make that two,” Jen said, pointing out to sea. Zander dropped Jack on the deck.
“I count … three,” Rocky said as he fought not to be sick.
Jack jumped to his feet and stared out to sea. He counted quickly. “There’s four, no five. Hold on, there’s another one. Jesus, there are loads of them.”
Zander bounded towards the wheelhouse.
Jack watched Zander disappear inside, saw him buckle himself into the chair, and then he heard the engines roar and the whole boat seemed to vibrate as they reversed away from the rocks.
Jack looked towards th
e shore, only then realizing how close they were. Jagged rocks protruded a few feet from the bow. He heard something scrape across the hull, felt the boat judder, the engines splutter. They were going to run aground.
Jack clenched his teeth. Jen grabbed his hand and he squeezed her fingers.
Loose buoys and rope slid across the deck as the boat pitched to one side. Jack stumbled, just managing to stop himself falling by grabbing hold of a winch arm. He held on tight to Jen, who still had a hold of his other hand, and stopped her from falling, too. Rocky wasn’t so lucky. He rolled across the deck and collided with the side of the boat where he lay, unmoving.
The boat was still at a precarious angle, and a fresh wave washed over the side. Jack held on tight. For a brief moment, the wave was illuminated in the boat’s lights, made almost glass like. And in that instant, Jack saw something dark contained within the wave, something that rode the swell aboard the boat.
Next minute, the boat righted itself, and the engines grumbled as Zander opened up the throttle, steering them out to deeper water, away from the rocks.
Jack let go of the winch and stared back towards the wheelhouse, and his jaw dropped open.
One of the creatures was on the boat. It scuttled across the deck, snapping its jaws, eyes glinting with malevolence.
A hunter stalking its prey, the creature advanced towards Jack and Jen.
Chapter 28
Jen squealed. Without even thinking, Jack grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her out of the way so that all that lay between him and the creature was empty deck.
The creature bounded along on its stubby legs, its claw-tipped hands raking the air.
Jack knew he had to act quickly, so he crouched down and grabbed the nearest thing at hand, a small red buoy attached to a piece of rope. Standing up straight, he swung it around his head and released it at the creature. But he was no David, and this was no Goliath, and having misjudged the length of rope to let out, the buoy sailed past the creature. Jack cursed under his breath, but the buoy continued in a semi arc until the rope hit the creature’s body, wrapping around the creature’s torso, and entangling the beast in the rope.
A grin cracked Jack’s face as the entangled creature stumbled and fell to the deck.
But his joy was short-lived as the monster severed the rope with its sharp claws. The buoy rolled away and clattered into the side of the boat, next to where Rocky lay motionless. The creature pushed itself back to its feet, opened its mouth and produced a deep-throated roar.
The sound sent a shiver down Jack’s spine. He stood rooted to the spot, trembling. Was this nightmare never going to end?
Movement behind the creature caught Jack’s eye, and he stared wide-eyed as Zander appeared, carrying a shotgun.
“This is my boat, and I didn’t invite you on board,” Zander growled through gritted teeth. The creature turned, but before it could respond, Zander opened fire, a flower of flame bursting from the barrel. Lead shot pierced the creature’s abdomen, and it let out a high-pitched squeal that filled the air. It raked its claws in the air, and its feet skittered across the deck as it staggered back, tumbling over the side and into the water.
A door burst open beneath the wheelhouse and a giant ginger-haired man wearing blue overalls covered in oil rushed out onto the deck. “What’s all the shooting about?” he shouted.
Zander turned towards the man. “Brad, you’d better take a look for yourself.” He pointed towards the side of the boat.
Brad strode across, braced his hands on the rail and stared down. “Jesus H. Christ.”
Jack followed and looked down at the sea, shocked to see the water bubble as a score of creatures attacked the fallen creature. Bloodstained froth floated on the surface, giving some indication of the ghastly feasting taking place.
“That’s the freakiest shit I’ve ever seen,” Brad said. “What the hell are they?”
Sickened, Jack turned to see Jen staggering towards him. He shook his head and ushered her away. “Believe me, you don’t want to look,” he said as he led her to the steps to the wheelhouse, where he sat her down.
He heard gunfire and looked back to see Zander standing with his feet planted, firing indiscriminately into the water. When Zander turned, his expression was resolute.
“I’ve seen hundreds of things dredged up from the depths in my time, but what the blazes was that?” he bellowed.
Jack swallowed to clear his throat. “God knows,” he said, “but we should get out of here.”
“It’s the Devil’s work,” Brad said, making the sign of a cross across his broad chest.
Zander stood with the gun resting against his shoulder, seemingly oblivious to the movement of the boat. He glared at Jack. “And since when did you become skipper?”
Despite Zander’s threatening presence, Jack didn’t waver. “Didn’t you see what those things just did? Jesus Christ, we can’t stay here. There are hundreds of them in the water. We’ve got to warn people.”
“Yes,” Jen said, “we’ve got to get the hell out of here.”
Zander narrowed his eyes. “I’ve never run from anything in my life.”
“They have a point, Skipper,” Brad said.
“We can’t stay here,” Jen squealed.
“Listen, just drop us off, then you can do anything you like,” Jack said.
After a moment, Zander nodded. “Okay, but I think you’d better help him.” He pointed at Rocky who sat rubbing his head, then made his way towards the wheelhouse with Brad shadowing him.
Zander opened up the throttle, turned the wheel and set a course for the harbour. He watched the kids on deck as they helped Rocky to his feet. He had to give it to that lad, Jack, he had balls standing up to him like that.
In the glare of the spotlights above the wheelhouse, he saw movement in the water, the residual splash of things diving below the surface to hide in the depths.
“Whatever the hell they are, there’s loads of them,” Brad said.
Zander nodded. Like he had said to the kid, he had seen many strange things brought up in the nets from the deep, things with names just as horrific, such as black dragonfish, humpback black devil and hammerjaw, but these, whatever they were, they were like nothing he had seen before.
The vessel travelled along at an average speed of fifteen knots, the quickest Zander dared push it. He followed the coast, spotting the odd house light in the distance on the shore and the cliffs above, the people in their homes unaware of the threat lurking in the waters near their property.
The door to the wheelhouse banged open and Jen staggered in, followed by Rocky and Jack.
“Take a seat, but just make sure you don’t get in my way,” Zander said. “And whatever you do, don’t fucking touch anything!”
Although he felt sure of himself, Zander wasn’t stupid. He knew this state of affairs was bigger than he could handle on his own. As he grabbed the microphone to radio in the situation, he could tell this was going to be a long night.
Chapter 29
“So he’s safe,” Bruce said to the police officer standing before him.
The officer whose nametag identified him as Powell nodded, then after a moment, the lashes above his brown eyes bristled with confusion and his boyish face took on a look of anxiety. “There’s been a lot of strange reports coming from this area lately about things seen around the coast.”
Bruce looked across at Erin, who was sitting staring through the bar window. “Do you want to start?” he said, knowing she had more knowledge of the situation than he did.
“Don’t listen to them. It’s all poppycock,” Graham said before he took a swallow of his brandy.
“Miss?” Powell looked at Erin. “Do you have any information that might be relevant?”
Erin turned to face the officer. She rubbed her hands and folded her arms across her chest. “I can tell you what I believe, but whether you believe me is another matter.”
“Go on.”
Erin told Powell
about the creatures, and her assumptions about over fishing, pollution and chemicals.
When she finished, Powell laughed.
“I told you,” Graham said, grinning.
“You didn’t see those things,” Bruce spat. “If you had, then you might not be so quick to ridicule.”
“I can see all the monsters I want on late night television,” Graham said, chuckling.
“And I suppose you’re an authority on sea beasties?” Powell asked Erin.
“Actually, yes. I’m a marine biologist.”
Powell’s smirk faded and he licked his lips. “Well, erm, can you substantiate your claims? I mean, fish can’t breathe out of water.”
“Actually, there are some fish that can breathe out of water for short periods. Like Mudskippers and Snakeheads.”
Graham snorted and wiggled his hand to simulate downing an imaginary drink. “If you ask me, I think they’ve had one too many, officer.”
Sara sat next to the bar, nursing a glass of orange juice. Next to her sat Duncan. Both of them remained quiet throughout the exchange. Neither of them had seen the Fangtooth, but at least they had the good sense to listen.
Erin seemed oblivious to Graham’s ridicule. “I need to contact the research vessel I’m stationed on,” she said. “There’s equipment on there I might need, and I need to warn them of the situation.”
Powell scratched his chin. “To be quite honest, miss, I don’t know what to believe, but your story, well, it is a bit farfetched. Mutated fish!”
“Yeah, this isn’t Sellafield, you know.” Graham chortled.
“Believe me, I know how it sounds. But if you don’t do something, radio it through, then it’ll be too late.”
“Too late? Why?”
“Because these creatures, whatever they are, they’re hungry.” She exhaled slowly, as though composing herself. “If they are a mutated form of Fangtooth, they’ll live in small shoals. In the day, they stay in the depths, but at night, they rise to feed by starlight. They sense their prey by using contact chemoreception; basically they taste their prey in the water, relying on luck to bump into something edible. But I don’t know how they react on the surface. Perhaps their eyesight has evolved, too, because the one we saw certainly didn’t seem to have any problem locating us.”
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