“We just have to hold on till the coast guard gets here,” Conrad urged, looking into her eyes and managing to keep her calm. “We just have to hold on, Natalie.”
-3-
They held on for dear life. The creature continued assaulting the yacht; crashing into it from both sides and even rising up directly below. The deck tilted wildly, but it never flipped upside down. The creature tried with everything it had but just could not tip the boat over.
That didn’t mean they weren’t sinking.
Every collision sent more water onto the deck. The fibreglass hull cracked loudly and splintered. With every second, the water seemed to rise.
“So,” Conrad said as they clung onto the railings. “If we survive this, I probably owe you dinner.”
“Two of my best friends have died,” she replied curtly, then saw that he was only trying to stave off panic. “But that would be nice,” she added.
“I’m not too old?”
“You just about make the cut off. Plus you’re rich, which helps.”
Conrad chuckled. “Money does have its advantages. If it gets me a beautiful women like you then I’m all for it. Forget what I said earlier about it being evil.”
“You think I’m beautiful?”
“I don’t sleep with everybody, you know? I liked you. Tate said I would.”
Nat swallowed a lump in her throat. “Tate, really?”
“Yes, I was telling him at work how long since I had dated and he told me about you. He thought highly of you, Nat, told me you were the only person who could keep Ellie from becoming a complete nightmare.”
Nat began to cry.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not sad. I’m angry. That fucking thing ate my friends.”
Another crash against the boat.
The hull groaned. The deck titled.
Conrad moaned, almost lost his grip on the railings. “Starting to wish you’d gone to a bar instead?”
“Hell, I would have preferred bowling to this,” Nat said.
“You don’t bowl?”
Nat frowned. “You do?”
“I have my own lane at home.”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll have to change my opinion of it.”
Conrad shook his head. “No, screw it. I’ll install a swimming pool instead. I won’t be swimming in the ocean again after this, I can tell you.”
“Amen to that.”
The hull continued to splinter until the yacht began to list to one side, the deck angling towards the water. The monster waited for them, its giant jaws wide open. Nat saw its eyes – two truck tyres buried in its slimy grey flesh. It stared into her own eyes with nothing but malice. It was not doing this because of hunger. It was enjoying seeing them suffer.
The monster was evil.
Hoooooonk!
Nat flinched. “What’s that?”
Conrad dared to lift himself from the deck and looked out across the water. “It’s the coast guard,” he cried.
“Thank God,” Nat said.
The creature was still visible above the water, but it stopped its assault on the yacht and seemed to head towards the large Coast Guard vessel.
Conrad got to his feet and helped Nat up. They both had to hold onto the railing as the deck settled at an awkward angle. In anticipation, they watched as the creature cut through the surface of the water towards the incoming Coast Guard vessel.
When Nat saw that the Coast Guard ship was not unlike a small Navy boat she grinned. Here were a group of men and women equipped to deal with the menace that had made short work of the yacht. It would have no chance against the long steel hull of the patrol cutter.
And what came to pass was exactly what Nat had hoped for. The creature shot towards the Coast Guard like a torpedo, striking the ship’s hull at speed. The ship rocked and swayed but the creature seemed more stunned. It lolled in the water for a couple of moments before rising up out of the water and roaring. Its jaws opened furiously in a show of defiance.
The Coast Guard opened fire.
The sailors hooked the creature with harpoons and riddled it with automatic gunfire. A black oil slick appeared on the water, leaking from a hundred different holes in the creature’s body. It raged and thrashed in the water, but could not tear free of the harpoon spears, trapped above the surface of the water where it was being ripped apart.
Its defiance gradually weakened, its struggles faltering.
Eventually the oil slick on the water stretched for a hundred metres in all directions.
The creature went still. Its body turned sideways and floated on the water.
“We’re saved!” Nat threw herself into Conrad’s arms. “They killed it.”
***
The Coast Guard pulled up alongside the ruined yacht and threw across a harness, which Conrad attached to the moorings on both the fore and aft of his ruined yacht. Then the Coast Guard began to reel them in, securing the yacht safely against the side of their own vessel. Part of the hull had come apart, but it didn’t matter anymore. They were safe. The creature was dead and being towed along behind them.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” the Captain of the Guard shouted over to them. “You’re safe now, but this time tomorrow you’ll be in front of every news camera in Florida. No creature like this has ever been discovered before.”
Nat didn’t care about being on the news. Her friends were dead and she just wanted to get back on land where it was safe. She wanted that dinner with Conrad.
“We’re going to send over a causeway,” the Captain explained. “Once it’s secure I’ll have someone walk you across. Does that sound okay?”
“That sounds amazing,” Nat shouted back. “Get me off this yacht.”
“I’m sorry about all this,” Conrad said to her.
“Don’t be silly. None of this is your fault. We’re safe now. Let’s just focus on that.”
There was a deep rumbling. The deck beneath their feet trembled. The Coast Guard cutter rocked and the men onboard glanced around in confusion.
Nat looked at Conrad, who had gone deathly pale. “What is that?” she asked.
Conrad shook his head. “I-”
There was an almighty crash as something struck the far side of the Coast Guard cutter. The yacht, attached to the side of the other vessel, was shunted too. Conrad lost his grip on the railing and tumbled backwards along the deck. Before Nat could react, he had slid along on his back and fallen head first into the churning water.
There was an almighty roar and Nat flinched, terror seizing her chest. Something rose out of the water behind the Coast Guard cutter. Something huge.
The creature they had killed was large enough to smash a yacht to pieces, but the dark grey boulder that launched out of the water now was ten times the size. It dwarfed the Coast Guard’s ship as it crashed down onto the deck, its cave-sized maw sweeping up frightened sailors and swallowing them whole. The ship’s rear sunk beneath the waves as the creature thrashed about aboard its decks. The nose of the ship pointed into the air like a flagpole and the entire crew fell into the water.
The ship split apart in the middle.
What was left of Conrad’s yacht was being pulled beneath the waves by the harness still attached to the Coast Guard’s cutter.
Before Nat fell beneath the waves and drowned, she looked at the giant creature in horror. “We killed its baby,” she cried. “It was only a baby.”
END.
About The Author
Iain Rob Wright is one of the UK's most successful horror and suspense writers, with novels including the critically acclaimed, THE FINAL WINTER; the disturbing bestsEllier, ASBO; and the wicked screamfest, THE HOUSEMATES.
His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He is an active member of the Horror Writer Association and a massive animal lover.
Check out Iain's official website or add him on Facebook where he would lov
e to meet you.
www.iainrobwright.com
FEAR ON EVERY PAGE
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Copyright
* * *AN SG HORROR RELEASE* * *
Part of the SALGAD PUBLISHING GROUP
Redditch
UK, Worcestershire
www.SALGADPUBLISHING.com
J is for Jaws copyright 2015 by Iain Rob Wright
www.IAINROBWRIGHT.com
Cover Art Copyright 2015 Iain Rob Wright
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the consent of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Table of Contents
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About The Author
More Books by Iain Rob Wright
Copyright
Table of Contents
J is for Jaws (A-Z of Horror Book 10) Page 2