A dark shape passed under the boat, causing the craft to rise and fall with the swells of the water. Blood, black and cloudy, bloomed beneath the boat. The lower half of the dead whale broke the surface. The tail looked unscathed, but the remaining section had been chewed and shredded.
Large bubbles popped and frothed on the surface of the water. Stan trained his weapon on the bubbles waiting for the Lusca to break the surface. The bulbous head of the Lusca, larger than the boat, emerged from beneath the water. Its massive yellow eyes focused black, diamond-shaped irises on Stan and Milo. The remaining tentacles fanned out across the water. Two were missing, leaving behind ragged stumps.
The monster’s eyes followed Milo’s motion as he rushed back to the engines, but the yellow globes held no malice. Instead, Milo found himself feeling a strange mix of sympathy and fear for the Lusca.
Stan lowered his gun and moved to the rear of the boat. “Are the engines working yet? I don’t want to wait around to see what did that to the Lusca.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to,” Milo pointed towards the mangled remains of the giant octopus.
A head that resembled the hellish marriage between a crocodile and shark rose from the water. The head alone was easily over twenty feet in length. The remainder of the monster and true scope of its size remained hidden under the waves. Two eyes shown like polished obsidian from where they sat in deep boney orbits, dotted with small outcroppings of spikes. A tangled nest of long fangs jutted from the creature’s mouth as its jaws stretched and closed around the dying Lusca. The monster twisted and thrashed, not unlike an alligator’s death roll, revealing a massive body shaped like an old submarine with four broad paddles and blunted tail. The bluish skin covering the creature shone and glistened as it tore into the Lusca, which weakly fought to escape before accepting its impending death and allowing itself to be pulled beneath the water.
The monster’s back rose from the water like some long forgotten Atlantean nightmare before disappearing. Milo and Stan watched in stun silence as the creature’s tail, stubby in comparison to its massive size, gently slipped beneath the now silent water.
“Was that a dinosaur?” Milo mumbled. It was the only logical question he could think to ask in such an illogical situation.
“Engines. Now.” Were the only words Stan was prepared to offer in way of a response to his brother’s question.
-28-
“What the hell happened?” Wendy gasped as she knelt to examine Jefferson’s wounds. Blood pooled on the flat rocky ledge, mingling with the salty water to create a sickly, dark stew. Wendy appeared not to notice or did not care as she knelt in the mixture to help Jefferson.
Tyde surveyed the area. It was small, all angles easily visible, but he took his time to ensure he did not miss some small, but important detail. His eyes fell upon a huddled form on the edge of the stone outcropping.
A man wheezed and rolled towards Tyde and Wendy. He was bloodied and wet from the dive, but recognizable as the man who stopped Jefferson’s jeep as they tried to drive to Dean’s. Had this man been warning them? If that was the case, then why was he now here, slick with blood and gasping like a fish?
“Careful,” Jefferson said to Wendy, his voice thin and weak. “Tell Tyde to be careful.”
“Tyde,” Wendy said, her voice coming out louder than she intended and echoing off the walls. “Be careful. Jefferson says to be careful.”
“Got it,” Tyde answered. As he crept towards the man, he noticed that his and Wendy’s air tanks were missing.
“Help me,” the man coughed.
Tyde kept his distance. “What are you doing down here? Where are our air tanks?”
“Just help me,” the man implored. He was refusing to answer the questions. An alarm sounded within Tyde’s head.
“I can’t help you if I don’t have my air tank,” Tyde said honestly. “Without that, we’re both screwed. So tell me where it went.”
“It’s gone,” the man answered. “It sunk.”
“Well then, like I said, we’re both screwed,” Tyde said.
“Take my tank,” the man offered. “It’s better than yours anyway. Just swallow instead of breathing. Just like a drink.”
“Swallow?” Tyde inched forward. “Is that one of those experimental tanks that Lenny told us about?”
“Lenny?” the man laughed before falling into a fit of coughing. “You mean Doctor Borges. Yes, it’s one of his tanks. He’s the fucking reason we’re down here.”
“What are you talking about?” Tyde demanded.
Jefferson whispered the story of what transpired to Wendy as she kept pressure on his wounds and tried to slow the bleeding.
“They attacked Jefferson,” Wendy shouted to her husband. “Tyde, be careful.”
“Start talking,” Tyde demanded. He had never been the tough guy, the one to start bar fights or intimidate others. No, Tyde was more comfortable getting by on humor and avoidance. There had only been one time he allowed his anger to get the best of him and it had almost cost him his marriage. He would not make that mistake again.
“Fine. Whatever,” the man coughed. “It’s not like it matters. The longer we’re here, the more blood there is going to be in the water, which is exactly why Doctor Borges sent us down here. He wants to attract whatever is living down here, whatever has been eating people around the island.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Tyde snapped. “You were going to use us for chum to get some shark or something to come around?”
“Shark?” the man laughed. “Kid, you have no idea what’s down here, no idea what has been hiding in these caves.”
“What?” Tyde asked, his nerve faltering.
The man slipped out of his diving gear and pushed it towards Tyde revealing a series of large wounds. He was never getting out of here, Tyde saw it and the man saw it in Tyde’s face. “Shit, I guess it’s worse than I thought. Have you ever heard of Sunset Island?”
“Yeah,” Tyde said. “Some island that was destroyed by a hurricane about two years ago. And then there were all sorts of wild conspiracy theories. So what?”
“It wasn’t a hurricane and some of those theories aren’t conspiracies,” the man continued. “The hurricane damaged a lot of the island, but whatever was in the water near Sunset Island is what killed most of those people. Something woke up near Sunset, something hungry.”
“And that’s here?” Tyde snapped. “That’s what you came down here to feed us to?”
“No, it’s probably not the same creature,” the man clarified. “The government believes that that organism was destroyed by one of the Sunset locals.”
“Great. That’s terribly reassuring,” Tyde said. “Tell me how this damn thing works so we can get out of here.”
The man went over the basics. The set up was similar to what Tyde was used to, but it was still unsettling to harness the experimental equipment to his back.
“What about us?” Wendy asked. “We’re still short a tank.”
“Leave me,” Jefferson said. “It’s too late anyway.”
“No,” Wendy said. “I’ll wear your rig and you use the buddy breather. Just hang on to me and I’ll swim for both of us. Tyde will lead us back out and make sure we’re safe.”
“What about that asshole?” Jefferson asked, pointing to the man who had attacked him. He was angry, felt no remorse for having stabbed the man and killed the other, but the idea of leaving him here to be eaten still didn’t sit right with Jefferson.
“We can leave him,” Tyde said.
“Tyde?” Wendy asked. She looked shocked by her husband’s callous response.
“He’s dead,” Tyde clarified. “Get Jefferson’s air tanks on and let’s go. I’m not sure what that Doctor thinks is down here, but I don’t think we should wait around to find out.”
Jefferson groaned as Wendy shifted the straps off his shoulders and moved the air tanks onto her back. She adjusted the set up. It was heavier than what she was used t
o, but it would work.
“Come on,” Tyde said, helping Jefferson off the ground. Wendy passed him the secondary respirator.
The three slipped into the dark water, unsure of what waited beneath its glassy surface, but certain that they did not want to wait around long enough to find out.
-29-
The docks were empty. Milo pulled his boat up alongside the small shack that he and Jefferson called their business. The jeep was still missing, so was Jefferson. He should have been back by now.
Stan grabbed the slippery length of tentacle from where it was coiled in the bottom of the boat and leapt onto the dock. His injuries were painful, but not serious.
“We need to go to the station,” Stan said as he started down the dock.
“Wait,” Milo called to his brother. “Jefferson is still missing. He took two tourists out on a jeep tour this morning.”
“Jeep tour?” Stan sighed.
“Shit,” Milo groaned and headed for the dive locker. He slipped his key into the padlock and opened the doors. Jefferson’s dive gear was missing.
“Where’d he go?” Stan demanded. “Where did he take those tourists diving?”
“I’ve got no idea,” Milo said honestly, “but I think I know someone who might.”
Stan tossed the length of coiled tentacle into the trunk of his cruiser as Milo climbed into the front seat and began dialing. Slime leaked from the revolting appendage and a rank, fishy smell began to permeate the vehicle. A creature of habit and training, Stan checked all of his mirrors before buckling his seat belt.
A small black dot crested the horizon and headed towards the island. At first Stan wrote it off as a large bird or maybe a small plane, but as the second and then third and fourth dot emerged he knew it was none of those things.
“Seat belt,” Stan barked. Milo tucked his cell phone between his cheek and his shoulder as he fumbled the buckle into place.
The rotors of the helicopters frantically beat against the sky as they flew towards the island. More trailed behind, flying above a flotilla of unmarked black ships.
-30-
Eddie’s cell phone rang for the sixth time. It was Milo again. Normally Eddie would have picked up after the first or second call, but his manager was watching him and had already chewed him out once this week for using his cell phone during work hours.
“Gotta drop a deuce boss man,” Eddie grinned as he headed for the bathroom in the main lobby.
“I don’t need details,” his manager replied and went back to checking reservations on the computer located at the main desk.
“Details?” Eddie laughed. “Sure, I’ll take a picture for you. Maybe we can post it to the hotel’s site.”
His manager mumbled something about being docked a day’s pay, but Eddie paid it no mind. They were always threatening something, but never following through. Eddie was far from the perfect employee, but he was likable and that went a lot further than work ethic when your bottom line was based on making tourists smile and post good reviews online.
Once he was safely inside the bathroom, Eddie pulled his cell phone free from the front pocket of his pants. He was about to call Milo back, but a seventh call was already coming through.
“Milo? Hello?” Eddie answered his phone. “What’s going on, man?”
“Where the hell have you been?” Milo snapped.
“It’s nice to hear from you as well,” Eddie said. “My day has been nice, thank you for asking.”
“Eddie shut up and tell me where Jefferson went this morning,” Milo demanded.
“Come on, Milo,” Eddie stalled. “You know I can’t rat out my brother.”
“Tell me now or I’m sending Stan to the hotel in full uniform to ask you there,” Milo said. “I’m sure that will go over well.”
Eddie sighed. Milo could be as big a hard ass as his brother. “Man, look he took two tourists out on a day trip, okay?”
“Yeah, I know,” Milo cut in. “He took them on a jeep tour, but they should have been back and his tanks are missing out of the dive locker.”
“Jeep tour?” Eddie asked. “I don’t know what he told you, but it wasn’t a jeep tour. He took them diving at Dean’s Blue Hole. Aren’t they back yet?”
“No,” Milo answered. “Get your shit together and meet us out front in ten minutes.”
“Dude, I’m working a double today,” Eddie protested.
“Find some way to get out of it,” Milo said. “Jefferson’s life might depend on it.”
“Alright,” Eddie said. “I’ll see you in ten.”
After hanging up his cell phone, Eddie strode back into the lobby, a hand gingerly clutching his gut.
“Diarrhea,” Eddie announced. “I’ve got diarrhea, boss man. I gotta go home and deal with my explosive diarrhea.”
-31-
The magic of Dean’s had vanished. The rock formations and strange life forms no longer inspired wonder and awe within Tyde. Every shadow and flicker of movement spoke of unknown dangers, whispered of things that should not exist. These things were here because no man was ever supposed to be. This was a hostile alien landscape and Tyde was an intruder.
Wendy and Jefferson swam slowly behind Tyde as he led them back into the main chamber of Dean’s Blue Hole. Every so often he would have to swim back and help Jefferson so Wendy could swim a little faster. Blood spiraled in dark tendrils from the wounds that crisscrossed Jefferson’s body. Tyde didn’t know what this monster looked like or ate, but he knew sharks could smell blood in the water and figured it wasn’t too far of a leap to assume the creature could too.
Thoughts of more human attackers and inhuman monsters flooded his mind, but Tyde tried to remain focused on Wendy and his need to get her to safety. This trip, and more specifically, this dive, was supposed to save his marriage. This was supposed to reset the clock and point them towards happier days. All he had succeeded in doing thus far was almost getting them killed.
The liquid oxygen was cold. No matter how warm the water was, Tyde constantly felt the need to shiver. Maybe it was nerves and not the liquid oxygen. Either way, Tyde felt as if his bones were encrusted with ice. He imagined tiny icebergs crashing through his veins, getting smashed by the frantic thump – thump, thump – thump of his heart.
Sunlight trickled through the opening of Dean’s, calling to Tyde, beckoning him to swim faster, but as soon as the sunlight had come into view it vanished.
A massive form glided over the mouth of Dean’s, blocking both the sunlight and their escape. The shape silently hovered over the cave. It was sleek, a blunt, tapered tail and head with elongated jaws. Four broad flippers, easily as big as Tyde, gently moved the water, keeping the creature suspended over Dean’s.
Wendy and Jefferson swam next to Tyde, their eyes asking why he stopped. Tyde pointed upwards and shook his head ‘no.’ Wendy pointed to the air gauge attached to the strap on her left shoulder. It was in the yellow range and soon would be red. Sharing the air supply with anyone, let alone someone injured and taking numerous shallow breaths, would quickly empty the tanks.
The creature turned, its shadow seemingly collapsing in on itself. Tyde worried that the liquid oxygen was playing tricks on him, perhaps causing hallucinations. The shadow, easily twenty feet or more, transitioned into black point. Tyde watched the point expand and grow, now secure in the knowledge that the combination of fear and experimental diving gear was causing him to lose his already tenuous grip with reality.
Bubbles erupted from Wendy’s respirator. She pointed towards the rapidly expanding point of darkness. An errant beam of sunlight slanted through the water like a frozen bolt of lightning. The creature’s snout, a molted smattering of blue and black scales, shone in the lost beam of sunlight. A crooked line of jagged white teeth jutted from tar black gums as the monster’s mouth snapped around a nearby fish, leaving no trace of the animal.
The bubbles from Wendy’s respirator continued their frantic ascent towards the surface, as desperate to e
scape as their source. As the bubbles passed the creature, Tyde watched in horror as two black eyes followed the path of the bubbles.
Before Wendy or Jefferson could protest, Tyde pushed them back into a smaller side tunnel. He didn’t know what his plan was beyond keeping Wendy safe. Tyde motioned for them to swim back for the rocky ledge Jefferson had shown them. Wendy pulled on his wrist, tried to argue in the limited form available. Tyde wanted to go with them, but knew the creature would just wait them out. He needed to draw it away from Wendy. He needed to keep her safe.
Tyde leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Wendy’s. He wanted to kiss her, to tell her that he loved her, but this would have to do. He turned and swam out to meet the creature.
-32-
Eddie hesitated before getting into Stan’s cruiser. He leaned forward, but his feet seemed unwilling to move. Stan waved him closer.
“Let’s go,” Milo shouted through Stan’s open window. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s just that, uh, well…I’m not really in the habit of getting into these types of cars willingly,” Eddie answered.
Before Milo could answer, Stan hopped out of the car and twisted Eddie’s right arm behind his back.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch,” Eddie howled as Stan guided him towards the rear of the cruiser. Stan opened the door with his free hand and pushed Eddie into the back of the car.
“Better?” Stan asked and slammed the door.
Eddie looked around the rear of the cruiser. He adjusted himself on the plastic bench that served as the rear seat. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Just like old times.”
“Wonderful,” Stan said as he climbed back into the driver’s seat. “Now where the hell did your brother take those tourists diving?”
“Dean’s,” Eddie answered through the steel cage that divided the vehicle.
“Shit,” Stan growled and shifted the cruiser into drive.
-33-
Lenny watched the three soldiers strap the dive rigs to their backs. He watched them silently swim out to the center of Dean’s and disappear beneath its sapphire waters. The soldiers were following those tourists and their guide, though they had not been invited and would hopefully remain hidden until it became necessary to reveal themselves. Lenny knew all of these things because he had ordered them to happen. He did not relish the idea of injuring these people, most likely killing them, but he needed to bait the creature. No great scientific find had ever been made without sacrifice – that was simply the price one had to pay for knowledge.
RIP Tyde Page 8