“No, quite the opposite,” Lenny said. “We need to go in the water if we have any chance of escaping.”
“Are you insane as well as an asshole?” Travis punctuated his question with a thrust of his handgun.
“Perhaps,” Lenny shrugged, showing no offense from the Agent’s question. “But my point is, that any craft that is possibly fast enough will be too small and any one that is large enough will be too slow. The creature will catch us either way.”
“So what are you saying?” Tyde demanded. “That we swim?”
“At first,” Lenny answered. “We’ll have to trap or at least slow the creature down so we can escape.”
“How exactly do you propose we do that?” Travis asked.
“We’ll need to split up,” Lenny said. “Some of us go to the police station to get weapons and keys for a boat. The rest of us will need to return to Dean’s and attempt to trap the monster.” Lenny did not like using the word ‘monster’ to describe the magnificent creature that swam through the waters surrounding Long Island, but he needed to get the peons to go along with his plan.
“You want us to go diving?” Wendy scoffed. “In Dean’s, with the monster and the giant crabs?”
“Well, I do believe that the crabs are somewhat preoccupied right now,” Lenny chuckled. His humor sent acidic knots roiling through the guts of the occupants inside the van.
“Who goes?” Travis asked.
“I’ll do the dive,” Milo offered.
“No,” Travis answered. “You’re the only one with any knowledge of the police station. You know where they keep the keys and weapons.”
“I’ll do it,” Tyde offered. “I don’t know how to shoot a gun, so I’m no help at the police station.”
“Tyde?” Wendy asked.
“It’s okay,” he added and squeezed her hand.
“Then I’m going too,” Wendy said.
“No.” Tyde was firm in his resolve, even though he knew his wife had already made up her mind.
“I guess that settles it,” Lenny said. “I’ll go with our tourist friends. Cal, you should accompany Travis and our deadlocked friend to the police station. Perhaps you can make yourself useful by carrying something.”
“Hey, Doc?” Cal asked. “Remember how you used to make me pack your things when we’d leave a research site?”
“And?” Lenny asked. “Is this really the time to discuss the banal nature of being an assistant because genetics rendered you incapable of becoming a lead researcher?”
“Nope,” Cal grinned. “But in case something happens to me and I don’t come back, I wanted to be sure to tell you that every time I packed your toothbrush, I would dip it in the toilet. That’s all.”
“Classy until the end,” Lenny said.
“Enough. Let’s go,” Travis said. “Drop us off at the police station and then haul ass back to Dean’s.”
-51-
Milo stopped just inside of the double glass doors that fronted the RBDF station. He had been through those doors more times than he could remember, sometimes in handcuffs, but it had never struck him as hard as it currently did. He never realized that all of the other times he had expected, no counted on, one thing – Stan. His brother. Who was now gone. Eaten by that fucking monster.
The station was empty. The neon lights were still on, though a few blinked as if they too were considering abandoning their post. The lights went out. Darkness spilled through the station.
“Sorry,” Travis said, seeing the surprise on Milo and Cal’s faces. “Thought it might not be a good idea to leave the lights on. It might attract the crabs.”
“Right,” Milo nodded. “Good thinking.”
Cal shuffled towards the back of the station. A row of cells lined the far wall.
“They’re all empty,” Cal reported.
“I’m sure one the officers figured out what was going on that they let people go,” Travis said.
“They’re empty most of the time anyway,” Milo clarified. “Most of the time it’s just a couple of drunks or a tourist that got in a fist fight. Not much happens around here…or at least it didn’t used to.” Milo walked over towards the captain’s office. He tried the doorknob. It was locked.
“Here, let me try,” Travis said. He pulled a knife from his pocket and flicked the blade open. Kneeling down, Travis wedged the blade between the door and the jamb.
A gunshot cracked. The frosted glass of the door webbed and shattered above Travis’ head. A second shot tore a chunk of wood out of the door.
“Stop shooting,” Milo called.
“Go away,” a voice called.
“We’re just here for the keys,” Milo said. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
Travis had his gun out and motioned towards the door.
“Not going to happen,” the voice answered. “No one is coming in and I’m not coming out. Go away.”
“Just open the door,” Milo began.
Travis crouched and angled his gun towards the cracked glass. He fired two quick shots into the office before throwing his shoulder against the door.
The wood splintered and tore away from the jamb.
“On the floor,” Travis shouted as came out of a roll to a kneeling position.
Someone moved behind the desk.
“Push your gun out,” Travis commanded.
“I’m an officer,” the voice said. “I’m not giving up my weapon.”
“Well, I’m a government agent.” Travis said. “So how about we stop shooting at each other? Stand up slowly and keep your arms raised. Officer or not, you do anything squirrelly and I’ll drop you.”
“Okay, okay,” the voice said. Someone slowly climbed out from behind the desk.
“Captain?” Milo asked, peering around the ruined door. “Why the hell were you shooting at us?”
“Milo?” the captain asked. “Where’s Stan?”
“Gone,” Milo said. His eyes drifted towards the floor.
“Like everyone else,” the captain said. “The other officers were helping get people to safety, but those things climbed out of the water and…and…well, no one is left. Just me.” The captain paused. “I ran. I’m not proud of that, but screw it. Why should I lie now? I was scared.”
“I’m sure everyone was,” Cal added, not intending to rub salt in the captain’s wounds. “Sorry.”
“Here, Milo.” The captain tossed a ring of keys across the room. “The large brass one opens the weapons locker. You’ll find keys for the vehicles on the pegboard outside the locker. Take whatever you want.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Cal asked when he saw the captain was still behind the desk.
“I’m not going back out there,” the captain said. “Not after what I saw. I can’t. I know you probably think I’m a coward. I guess that I am, but I’m not going out there again.”
“It doesn’t matter what we think,” Milo said. “Stop being stupid and let’s go.”
“No,” the captain said firmly.
“He’s made up his mind,” Travis said. There were times when you could negotiate, try to save people from themselves. This was no one of them.
Travis led the other two out of the captain’s office.
“Hey, Milo,” the captain called. “Your brother, he was a good officer – a great one. He tried to warn me. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. Maybe he’d still be here if I had.”
“It’s not your fault,” Milo said. “But thanks for saying the other stuff. Be safe, okay?”
“You too,” the captain said.
-52-
Tyde tried to ignore the clotted, cold lumps scattered across the camp. These mangled things had once been living, breathing humans. Probably just some interns looking to pad their resumes and score a few bonus credits by working for Lenny over the summer.
Meat. Now that’s all they were. There was nothing human about the mangled piles of stringy flesh and bone. Expect there was.
A finger pointed from the end o
f a ragged length of sand-coated meat. To where, Tyde could only guess. Certainly not to safety. More likely the finger pointed towards Tyde and Lenny. Pointed towards people that shouldn’t have been alive. Pointed towards people who were guilty.
“This is too much,” Wendy gagged as she made her way towards the beach. She had an experimental diving rig slung over her shoulder. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again…you said this was over, Tyde. You promised me.”
“I know,” Tyde protested. His words were weak and fell apart the minute they passed his lips. He watched Wendy walk further away, unsure of how to make her stop. “This was supposed to save our marriage,” Tyde muttered.
“Save it?” Lenny snorted. “Good luck with that one, especially if you’re asking her to dive back into Dean’s.”
“It’s not about that,” Tyde snapped.
“Then what is it?” Lenny asked, though he really didn’t care.
Tyde examined the man before him. Lenny was guilty of countless deaths. He had been responsible for so much of what happened over the last few days. He could have stopped the monsters or at least warned people. He was a terrible person, which was why Tyde felt compelled to spill the skeletons from his closet and scatter their dusty bones before Lenny. He was just as bad, maybe worse and in no position to judge Tyde for his sins.
“Wendy had an affair a few years ago with one our friends, Tim,” Tyde said. “Tim was always kind of a dick, but that never bothered me too much. We were really only friends because the three of us used to dive together all the time. Who cares if you’re an ass if that’s all it’s really about, right?”
“Well, you know humans aren’t really suited for marriage,” Lenny waved dismissively. “Few animals are programmed for monogamy. I still don’t see where her anger would come from, but then again, I never really understood marriage, love or any other made up silliness.”
“She’s not mad about the affair,” Tyde continued. “I was mad about it. She’s mad about what happened the last time the three of us went diving.”
“And that would be?” Lenny asked. He didn’t care about the stains splotched across some tourists’ love life, but having them angry and upset might prove beneficial.
“We were doing a cave dive,” Tyde added. “They thought I didn’t know, but I did. I had suspected for a while and then caught them, but they never saw me, never knew what I saw. It killed me, just ate at me until all I could see was Tim and my wife…you need to understand how much I love her.”
“Of course,” Lenny nodded, pretending to have even the slightest notion of what Tyde called ‘love.’
“We were almost done with the dive. Wendy swam ahead of us,” Tyde said. “She wanted to explore an offshoot that was a little closer to the surface. I motioned to Tim because I had dropped my camera somewhere back in the cave. I left it there. He swam back with me to find it. When he went to grab the camera, I swam up behind him and pulled his regulator free. I just wanted to scare him, to let him know to stop messing around with my wife. He panicked, tried to attack me. I pushed him into one of walls, maybe too hard. I don’t know. There were bubbles everywhere. When I got to the surface, I asked Wendy where Tim was, told her that he swam ahead of me because his air was low. She freaked out, started crying and screaming, so I went back under to find. I knew where he was.”
Tyde toed a small pile of sand, recoiling when a tattered chunk of meat rolled out from underneath. “She never wanted to go diving again after the ‘accident,’ but I convinced her to come here to dive Dean’s. We had always wanted to. It was going to save our marriage.”
“See,” Lenny nodded. “Now that I can understand. Humans, like most animals may not be programmed for marriage, but murder on the other hand, well we excel at that like no other. You shouldn’t be ashamed for doing what nature has created you to do.”
Lenny patted Tyde on the shoulder as he walked past him towards the water. He would never judge this man or ask him to explain his actions because Lenny certainly had no intentions of justifying what he was about to do.
-53-
Cal could hear the crabs in the distance. He waited in the front of the station, ensuring that the route was clear while Travis and Milo finished searching the station for anything of use. They scavenged two shotguns, an Uzi and a couple of handguns, but nothing like the rocket launcher Cal had hoped for. They had plenty of rounds; plenty of rounds and nothing that would stop a dinosaur, sea monster or whatever the hell waited for them in the water.
“Let’s go,” Travis slipped past Cal and walked towards a patrol car in the lot.
“Did you find keys to a boat?” Cal asked. He nervously swung a shotgun across the parking lot. Guns were never something he was comfortable with and his experience hitting a target was limited to video games, which was exactly why Travis had passed him a shotgun with the directions, ‘pump, point and pull.’ Cal thought about making a dirty joke, but somehow he got the feeling no one was in the mood.
“Right here,” Milo said, twirling a ring of keys around his index finger. “This is to one of the large speed boats. I think it was something for chasing smugglers or drug runners or something. I figured it was our best bet.” A large black duffle bag was thrown over his left shoulder.
“Too bad there isn’t a plane or something,” Cal groaned.
“Not too many of those around here and I’m sure if someone had one, that they’ve already left,” Milo said. “Besides, there’s no reason to waste time wishing on some shit that isn’t going to happen.”
“I guess,” Cal muttered and trailed behind Milo as they made their way to patrol car. Travis was in the front seat with the engine running.
A click and then a thud shook the pavement behind Milo and Cal. A massive crab, its shell covered with clusters of jagged blue spikes, leapt from the roof. Claws flexed and clashed. Two beady black eyes caught the dying glow of the broken streetlights that tilted dangerously towards the street. They didn’t need to turn around to know that they needed to run.
The crab scuttled forward on thin legs with a speed that seemed to defy its massive body. Cal swung the shotgun and fired wildly, tearing chunks of macadam free from the lot and scattering them uselessly under the advancing creature.
Travis steadied his arms on the roof of the patrol car and fired. His shots hit, momentarily stunning the crab, but doing little to cause it actual harm.
“Get back in the damn car,” Milo shouted as he and Cal sprinted forward.
Cal could feel the claws closing around his stomach, slicing his flesh and crushing bones. He could feel death’s icy fingers on the back of his neck. Oddly enough, all Cal could hear was thunder. The sky in front of him looked clear, stars shone, oblivious or uncaring of the violence that raged beneath them.
A second thunderclap sounded. The crab stumbled, one leg hung uselessly from a tattered thread of meat. The other legs scrambled to right the crab’s tank-like body. It scuttled forward before a third bang stopped its progress.
The captain stood in the doorway of the station, a shotgun smoking in his hands.
Cal stared, unsure of what to do.
“Run, you moron.” Milo grabbed Cal’s arm and pulled him towards the patrol car.
The crab hesitated, deciding where the easier meal could be found. It turned and stumbled back towards the station, towards the captain.
The shotgun released a hollow chunk as the final shell was ejected. The captain turned the gun and swung the stock like a baseball bat. The swing went wide, spinning the captain.
Claws closed in from both sides, pinching together around his legs and ribs. Screams echoed over the dull crunch of bone. The captain refused to scream, his cowardice having run dry.
“We need to help him,” Cal said, looking over his shoulder.
“He was helping us,” Milo answered. “That kind of decision is one sided. There is no helping him. Let’s go.”
-54-
Beams of light sliced through the inky interior
of the chamber leading down into Dean’s Blue Hole. In magazines and online, it looked magical, like something from another planet. Painted in shades of blue and filled with creatures that existed nowhere else on Earth. The magic had disappeared, having been replaced with something heavy, something awful and not of this world or time. Now it just terrified Wendy.
Darkness leaked from behind the craggy outcroppings, like blood from between the teeth of a predator. Wendy tried to force the image from her mind. Her breathing became rapid and panicked. Mercurial bubbles streamed from the strange respirator in her mouth. Something tugged her arm and Wendy had to fight the urge to scream, to suck in a mouthful of water. To die.
Tim’s cadaverous fingers, trailing bits of stringy flesh, bone exposed from the picking of small fish, wrapped around Wendy’s arm. The waxen digits pulled at Wendy’s soft flesh, found purchase and dug deeper. Tried to drag her down. Take her to some dark corner of the cave and tug the respirator from her mouth. Tim wanted her to understand what Tyde had done, wanted her to know firsthand. He wanted the same for her. Wendy squeezed her eyes
Tyde held her by the elbow. His eyes were shot with concern. He motioned with his hand. A simple thumbs up. The motion asked countless questions, spoke volumes.
Wendy nodded.
What was there to say? Was she okay? Far from it, but saying otherwise served no purpose. This was no longer about being okay or saving a marriage. It was only about surviving. Everything else could wait.
Tyde let go of Wendy’s arm. He waited for her to begin swimming again, to follow Lenny deeper into Dean’s. Their plan, if it could really be called that, was to set charges in the deeper sections of the cave. Once they were clear they would detonate the explosives, hopefully killing the creature or at the very least, trapping it.
Lenny seemed convinced that the plan would work. Tyde was unsure. How could they hope to trap something that had shattered the fetters of time? The heavy bag strapped to the strange doctor’s side provided no solace.
The floor of Dean’s came into view. Clouds of sandy bloomed with each flippered kick, rising like specters from unmarked graves. Lenny spun in the water, turning to this side and dropping the heavy bag to the seafloor.
RIP Tyde Page 13