by JE Gurley
“We have to help,” Josh said.
Germaine nodded. He yelled to the crew, “Man the hooks.”
Josh stared at him. “Hooks?”
“We don’t have time to drop sail. Besides, I don’t want to become a sitting target. I’ll steer as close as I can, and we’ll use boat hooks to snag them.”
“What if you miss?” the professor asked.
“If we have time, I’ll make a turn and try again.”
“If we don’t?” Hicks demanded.
Germaine didn’t bother looking at Hicks. “Then maybe they die. Look, I’ve seen a lot of people die lately. I’m getting used to it. I came along to capture or to kill this monster to keep it from destroying more cities or sinking more ships. Two more lives more or less don’t matter to me. I’m not stopping.”
Josh recognized the anger in the professor’s eyes and sympathized with his plight, but he also understood Germaine’s reasoning. He was trying to protect his boat. He realized the danger they all faced even by making this attempt at rescue. The creature was feeding. Presenting him with more targets proved nothing.
Bodden manned one boat hook and the Rastafarian crewman the other. Both survivors were flailing in the water off the port side of the boat twenty feet apart. They had spotted the Miss Lucy and they were frantic. They didn’t realize that their frenzied motions might attract the creature. Both men wore uniforms. The lone survivor from the lifeboat had met his fate miles away and days later than his fellow passengers, but the same creature had ended his life.
The gap between the Miss Lucy and the men in the water narrowed quickly. Germaine pushed the boat to almost 19 knots. At that speed, it would take precision piloting to pass close enough to reach them with the hooks without skewering them or running them down with the hull. Germaine kept his course true, missing the first person by less than three feet. Bodden’s hook snaked out and latched onto the first man’s uniform. The motion of the boat slammed him into the side with a dull thud, but Bodden reached down and grabbed the man’s arm, pulling him aboard. The second hook ripped the lifejacket from the other person, who quickly grabbed it and hung on for dear life. After a handful of harrowing seconds, this one was also lying on the deck coughing up water from their lungs.
To Josh’s astonishment, the second survivor was a woman, a coxswain. Her uniform shirt was torn open, revealing her breasts. She seemed unconcerned. She looked up at him, a smile on her oil-smudged face. “Thank you,” she gasped.
“Thank these men. They saved you. Are you all right?”
“What about the others … the chopper …?”
Josh shook his head. “No one else made it.”
She sat up, noticed her exposed breasts and crossed her arms. “What was that thing?”
The boat lurched to starboard as Germaine avoided a floating bit of debris. The coxswain grabbed Josh’s leg to keep from falling. He helped her up. She was unsteady and coughing sporadically. She clung to his arm. The other sailor they had rescued was doing better, having swallowed less oil and water. He came over to the coxswain and took her arm. Germaine leaned out of the cabin door.
“Bodden, get them below.”
Bodden and the other sailor escorted the coxswain into the cabin and below deck. Josh couldn’t see Germaine stopping to deliver them back to the Andrews. They would remain passengers until the creature was captured or killed.
“The creature’s making a run at the Andrews,” Germaine yelled.
The frigate was four hundred yards off the Miss Lucy’s starboard side. The creature’s head broke the surface two hundred yards from the ship, streaking toward the ship like a torpedo. This time, the captain of the Andrews was taking no chances. All thoughts of a live capture had vanished with the loss of the Seahawk and the deaths of his men. The frigate’s CIWS, Close-In-Weapons-System, opened up, stitching a line of splashes around the creature. The Phalanx consisted of a six-barrel rotary machine gun capable of firing seventy-five 20x102 mm armor-piercing tungsten rounds per second.
Unaware of what it was facing, but sensing danger, the creature submerged. It reappeared a few minutes later directly beside the frigate’s hull, too close for the Phalanx or the 76mm MK75 rapid-fire cannon to fire at. The ceresiosaurus lifted its massive, claw-tipped fins and raked the frigate’s side as it sped by, leaving three thirty-feet-long parallel gouges in the ship’s four-hundred-forty-five-foot steel hull just above the water line. The sound of rending metal chilled Josh’s blood. Almost immediately, the creature vanished in the frigate’s wake. The monster was sending another ship to its doom.
15
Oct. 30, Miss Lucy, Cayman Trench, Caribbean –
To Professor Hick’s dismay, the ceresiosaurus submerged after the attack on the frigate and did not reappear. Germaine didn’t share the old man’s disappointment. After witnessing the creature drag the helicopter into the water and almost sinking the Andrews, he was beginning to think he had made a big mistake. No amount of money was worth the risk. The creature was far more dangerous than they had anticipated.
For a while, it appeared that the frigate was in danger of sinking. With her two-hundred crewmembers in the water, the ceresiosaurus would have had a field day. The thirty-foot-long rip in the frigate’s hull was just above the waterline, but underway, water was forced through the breach, flooding several compartments. This forced the ship to come to a full stop while quick repairs were undertaken to seal the breach and make the ship seaworthy. Men scurried about on the decks as pumps were positioned to drain the water from the flooded compartments.
He could do nothing to help them, so Germaine concentrated on keeping an alert eye for the creature. Neither the frigate’s sonar nor the sonar buoy dropped by the Seahawk helicopter picked up anything. It seemed that Cere had left the area. In spite of this, the captain of the frigate kept the gun crews at their posts.
Germaine pulled alongside the frigate long enough to transfer the two surviving crewmembers, but Corporal Elansky chose to remain on board the boat, hoping for another opportunity at the creature. Germaine didn’t intend to give her a chance. He was through. He had witnessed enough death in the last few days to last a lifetime. He called a meeting to explain his decision. He opened the discussion.
“That was a cluster fuck of the first order.”
“Our initial premise is sound,” Professor Hicks said.
Germaine rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Did you see the size of that thing and how easily it brought down that helicopter? Even if we manage to dart it,” he glanced pointedly at Elansky, “it might roll over on us and crush us.”
“The MS-222 should work very …”
Germaine waved his hand dismissively. “Quickly? How quickly? Seconds? Minutes? Ten minutes? It’s too dangerous to capture. Let the Navy kill it.”
“We might never have such an opportunity as this again,” Hicks insisted.
Germaine slammed his open palm down on the table, startling everyone. “I won’t risk my ship and crew.”
Josh spoke up. Germaine detected a trace of bitterness in the young marine biologist’s voice. “You allowed us to charter you under the premise of capturing the creature.”
He jabbed a finger Josh. “I was a fool, and you encouraged me. I needed the money, but I don’t wish to die in the manner we just witnessed. You can board the frigate and coax them into helping you capture the creature, but I’m of a mind that her captain won’t listen. He almost lost his ship. Next time, he might not be as lucky. Next time, none of us might be.”
Germaine glared at Hicks, but his eyes pleaded with Josh to understand. The boy had seen more death than most. Of them all, he best understood the power of the creature. Josh refused to meet his gaze and glanced away. Elansky stared at him with a slight smile creasing her lips, as if sensing his fear and deriving pleasure from it. At that moment, he hated her. She wasn’t afraid, but he was, and his fear diminished him in her eyes. He didn’t care. He owed her nothing. His eyes searched his crewmembers for t
heir reaction. Bodden was unreadable as usual, but he would side with his captain no matter what. Clearly, the two new men were ready to leave. They were afraid and no amount of money would entice them to remain in the area with the creature. If he didn’t return to port, he might face a mutiny.
“Drop us off on the frigate,” Josh said. “We’ll convince the captain that capturing the creature is better than killing it.”
Germaine was disappointed in Josh’s decision. He understood that he thought he owed allegiance to his mentor, but he had hoped for better from him. He nodded. “Good luck with that.”
“What if I gave you a fifty-thousand dollar bonus?” Hicks blurted.
All eyes turned to him. Germaine swallowed hard and sank back in his seat. He cocked his head to one side and said, “Fifty thousand dollars? Are you insane?”
Hick’s cleared his throat. “Perhaps, but I have the money in the bank. We can do a wire transfer over the internet if you wish. The money means nothing to me.”
Germaine’s pulse quickened. Fifty thousand dollars would allow him to pay off the bank loan and leave a few thousand to make overdue repairs. He glanced at Bodden, who, after a moment’s hesitation, nodded his agreement. The other two crewmembers didn’t look as happy with the offer. He would have to sweeten the pot or lose them. “Five thousand more for each of the crew, and you’ve got a deal.”
Hicks smiled. “Done.”
Germaine understood that Hicks was probably dipping into his life’s savings. His reputation was at stake, and he was gambling his retirement on capturing the creature.
Josh didn’t appear as happy with the professor’s offer. “Don’t do it, Professor,” he advised. “It’s too risky. You’ve seen what the creature is capable of.”
“I must, my boy. Don’t you see? This creature represents a lifetime achievement if I can study it and publish my findings. Any knowledge we glean from it might be invaluable against any future encounters with its kind.”
Germaine knew Josh wouldn’t win the argument. Hicks’ mind was made up, and there was nothing more stubborn than an old man, especially one who believed himself right.
Josh must have realized it too. He hung his head and said, “Okay, I’ll stay.”
Hicks favored him with a smile. Elansky’s expression was more difficult to interpret. She looked dumbfounded, but slightly pleased with Hick’s decision. Germaine hoped he didn’t come to regret it. He had an idea that might save their asses.
“The Andrews has to return to port for repairs. We’ll be all alone out here. I suggest we rig a line to the sonar buoy the Seahawk dropped and tow it behind us at a safe distance, say fifty yards. The noise should attract the creature but keep him off our ass long enough for Dead-Eye here to make her shot.”
Elansky favored him with a smile.
Hicks pondered his proposition for a moment, and then nodded. “That should work. If it follows us, it will present its chest and neck as a target, the most vulnerable spots.”
As he listened to the conversation, Josh’s attention ping-ponged between Hicks and Germaine. “The captain’s right about one thing. If we miss or the tranquilizer doesn’t work, we’ll be sitting ducks. We can’t outrun it.” He turned to Germaine. “I don’t think we can fool it like we did with the fire boat.”
Elansky coughed softly to get their attention. She held a six-inch long shell in her hand. “Gentlemen, this is a .50 caliber explosive projectile. The tip contains enough high explosive to blow a hole the size of a dinner plate in that thing’s neck. I don’t care how big it is, everything dies.”
Hicks stared at her in horror. “You intended to kill it?” he exploded.
Elansky remained unperturbed by his outburst. “It’s my backup, Professor. I’ll dart your creature, but I won’t die for you.”
She glanced at Germaine and smiled. His respect for her doubled. “I like your attitude.” He turned to the professor. “I’ll try to capture Cere for you, but if we fail, don’t get in my way or I’ll toss you over the side to slow the creature down.”
He left the room, leaving Professor Hicks wondering if he was bluffing.
* * * *
Josh was of two minds about Professor Hick’s overly generous offer to Germaine. He understood the professor’s desire to continue the chase, but shared Germaine’s fear of the ceresiosaurus. The sinking of the Neptune could have been an accident, but the attack on the Andrews was not. A creature capable of inflicting such damage to a steel-hulled warship would have no problem turning the Miss Lucy into a stack of kindling.
Elansky producing an explosive-tipped bullet led him to wonder just where her loyalties lay. It didn’t seem the kind of thing she would normally carry on a mission. Was her mission to assist them in the creature’s capture or to destroy it? He wanted to trust her, but she was military and she would follow orders. Germaine, he understood. The Miss Lucy’s captain was in desperate need of cash to pay off his boat and he would risk his life to obtain it. Without his boat, he would be nothing, just another landlubber. With it, he was a sea captain, lord of his domain. Between Professor Hick’s desperate desire to capture Cere, and Germaine’s reckless need to collect his bonus, it would be an interesting voyage.
The wounded frigate made temporary repairs and left, limping back to Kingston for more permanent repairs. As he watched the frigate disappear over the horizon, Josh began to feel dangerously exposed. In the event of an emergency, they could expect no help. Before departing, the captain of the frigate reported a large underwater disturbance on the bottom. The sonar signature was that of a massive landslide, but the initial report was closer to that of an explosion. Josh wasn’t certain what to make of it, but suspected the black ship was somehow involved.
Germaine located the sonar buoy dropped by the Seahawk, secured it to the boat with fifty yards of nylon rope, and began sailing a zigzag pattern across the area, towing the buoy behind the schooner. The steady ping-ping-ping revealed nothing nearby except an empty ocean. Elansky took a seated lotus position atop the rear cargo hatch with her rifle across her lap and a pair of binoculars, intently watching the buoy as an eager fisherman watches his bobbing cork. Josh resisted the urge to start a conversation with her. Each time they spoke, he came away feeling as if he had been bested in a verbal jousting tournament. Instead, he chose Bodden.
The taciturn first mate was coiling a rope on the deck as Josh approached. He slid each section of nylon rope through his weathered hands as if familiarizing himself with its texture. In reality, he was looking for frayed rope.
“Do you agree with Germaine’s decision?”
Bodden didn’t look up from his task. “He’s cap’n.”
“But do you think it was a good idea?” Josh probed further. “Are you afraid?”
This time, Bodden stopped working and looked at Josh. His eyes were sad and weary. Crow’s feet in the corners of his eyes and crevasses in his dark skin spoke of many years in the sun and weather, aging him beyond his years. “We’ve been together ten years. He takes care of me, and I take care of him.” He pointed to the deck. “This is all he’s got, all I’ve got. A man does what he’s got to do to survive. Fear ain’t got nothing to do with it.”
He resumed coiling the rope, leaving Josh no clearer on Bodden’s opinion about the wisdom of continuing the chase. He went where Germaine directed.
Professor Hicks was elated at Germaine’s decision, practically dancing on the deck as he strolled from one side of the boat to the other searching the water, but Josh feared his intellectual curiosity overshadowed his common sense. Too often fame in academia didn’t come with fortune. Even publishing wouldn’t ensure a return of his squandered life savings. If capturing the creature failed, he would be looked upon as another Big Foot sighter, laughed at quietly behind his back by his peers. Josh would hate to see his friend and mentor reduced to the brunt of a joke.
His own feelings were a confused mixture of excitement, fear, and resignation. He couldn’t disregard the ominous
sense of dread that had descended on him since Germaine’s decision. He had eluded death four times in the last week. Was he tempting fate, pushing his guardian angel’s limits? At his age, death should be a distant thought, not a shadow lurking over him. He was young, not yet twenty-three. The professor was near the end of his life and wanted one last chance at fame. Germaine wanted to save his boat, and Elansky wanted her shot. What did he want?
For the rest of the day, they sailed back and forth in a lazy search pattern, each leg was ten miles in length, but the sonar picked up nothing. Their quarry had eluded them. He either had left the area or was too deep to detect. The professor’s frustration grew more evident as the fruitless day wore on. He clasped his hands behind his back, pacing the deck with quick angry steps, talking to himself and shaking his head. He refused lunch or any attempts at conversation.
Around five o’clock, a speck appeared on the horizon. At first, Josh thought it was the Andrews returning, and his heart raced madly with hope. They would no longer be alone on the vast ocean. As he watched, he saw that it was indeed a ship, but not the Andrews. He was puzzled when Germaine turned the boat and headed toward it. As they approached, he realized it was the mysterious black ship they had heard about. It was motionless in the water, flying no flag and showing no name on its hull. By the plethora of antennae and communication dishes sprouting from the forward cabin, it was no mere freighter. He had expected a totally black ship, like a shadow, so he was surprised that the upper structure was gray rather than black.
The man Josh took to be the captain stood on the bridge watching them through binoculars. His bearing was decidedly military, though he wore gray slacks and a short-sleeved shirt instead of a uniform. The ship made no move to hale them or to contact them by radio. Germaine sailed the schooner in a tight circle around the freighter, and in Josh’s opinion, coming dangerously close to the hull. Germaine’s grim expression told Josh this was no mere sightseeing trip.