Project U.L.F.

by Stuart Clark

  * * * * *

  Kate spun to face the others on the shore. “Where is he?” she yelled.

  Par shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in a gesture of mute ignorance.

  “We don’t know,” Byron called back to her. “Did he make it off the ship?”

  “Yes, he was behind me when the ship went down.” She turned back to look for Wyatt. Still nothing.

  She reached out, to begin to swim back to the place where she had last seen him but stopped herself. Her conscience told her she should not give up on him and yet logic told her it would be a wasted effort. She could not even see her hand six inches below the surface of the murky water.

  As she clung to the float, in two minds about her course of action, another thought crept into her head. What if Wyatt had been snatched from the surface by a creature of some kind? There was no telling what creations of nature moved below the shimmering surface. What if, even as she thought this, whatever had taken Wyatt was now advancing on her position? Still twenty-five yards from the shore, Kate suddenly felt very afraid.

  * * * * *

  Although Wyatt’s only thought was for a mouthful of air, something in his head told him he was rising through the water. The currents that had buffeted him for what seemed like an eternity had now receded.

  He lifted his head to where his body told him the surface should be and began to pull himself through the water with his hands.

  * * * * *

  The vibrations had started again, but they were behind her now. A different source. Without a second’s hesitation, the creature turned towards the new commotion.

  * * * * *

  Among the floating debris there was still no sign of movement. Kate shifted her head in an attempt to see around some of the flotsam that bobbed on the surface, but from her vantage point the effort was futile. Then suddenly Wyatt was there, breaking the surface and rising out of the water to his waist. He seemed to hang there for a while before splashing back into the water.

  * * * * *

  Wyatt gasped. A single huge breath. It seemed he felt the cool, crisp air pass down every inch of his windpipe and fill every branch of his lungs. Such a contrast to the stale breath which he had held for so long. So long, in fact, that he could almost imagine that the air had gone rotten inside him and it was this that made his insides burn. He felt like his chest was on fire.

  He lay there for a moment, floating on his back on the surface, waiting for the giddiness the sudden rush of oxygen had caused to pass, feeling the cold water around his head. It was the first time he had noticed the temperature of the water since they had abandoned the sinking Santa Maria.

  He lay there staring up at the purple clouds as a flock of highflying creatures passed by. It was an incredibly peaceful moment compared with what he had endured that day, and for an instant, even though he had survived the crash, he wanted it all to end right here. He wanted to stay here forever. He closed his eyes but already someone was calling him.

  * * * * *

  In the water somewhere between Wyatt and Kate the creature shook its head again. Again the noises so characteristic of prey in the water had stopped. Again she executed her lazy turn in an attempt to relocate the prey.

  * * * * *

  “Wyatt! Wyatt! Are you okay?” the distant voice came.

  “I’m fine,” Wyatt said under his breath, “Just fine.”

  “Wyatt? Can you hear me? Are you all right?”

  He sighed. He was going to have to move. He let his legs fall and adopted an upright position in the water. “I’m okay,” he called back to the worried party, who he could now see was Kate.

  “Do you need any help?” she asked, “Shall I come back to you?”

  “No, I’m fine really. You go on,” he said, gesturing with his hand. “I just need to catch my breath.”

  Kate nodded and turned away, striking out once more for the shore.

  * * * * *

  The noise started to come from the original source again. The creature, now halfway through its turn, picked it up immediately. The source was directly in front of her.

  * * * * *

  Wyatt collected himself and then looked about for his pack before remembering that it had been lost and was now somewhere far below him. Annoyed at its loss but also semi-grateful for the lack of a burden, he struck out for the shore, purposefully swimming arm over arm.

  * * * * *

  The creature slowed in the water. What it had not registered before, its brain told it now. There were two signals. Two sources. One in front, the second directly behind her. The first was stronger. Closer. So she began to swim again. Forward and into shallower water.

  * * * * *

  “I’d appreciate a little help, if it’s not too much trouble,” Kate could just about muster as she frantically kicked to speed herself to the shore.

  The going was slow through the water, especially since she was still wearing the U.L.F. issue boots which now felt like weights on the ends of her legs. She had thought about kicking them off as soon as she had got into the water but had then remembered that they were the only footwear she had and the thought of going barefoot indefinitely did not appeal.

  Spurred into action, Byron and Par both ran to her aid, Par falling in with a splash when his legs, slowed by the water, could no longer match the speed of his body.

  Byron reached her first and relieved her of her float with her pack, the weapons and Furball all balanced precariously on top. With his free hand he clasped her arm and guided her back with him. Par then took her free arm to let Byron concentrate on getting the float and its precious cargo safely onto dry land.

  “You should be able to touch bottom now,” Par said to her.

  She turned to face him and could see that he was clearly standing on the bottom, his broad shoulders clearing the surface by inches. She looked up at his face. The dirty water had done nothing to tarnish the brilliant blonde of his short hair, and his eyes, normally so piercingly blue, seemed somehow cooler. Less intense. She wished the water she found herself chest deep in now were the same color.

  “You’re okay now,” he said, accompanying the statement with a disarming smile and she believed him. She would have believed anything he had said at that moment. She liked Par, she concluded.

  * * * * *

  The animal stopped again. The vibrations coming from in front of her had suddenly intensified. She was wary. She could be being led into a trap by a pack of animals, some of which had already given away their presence. She would also make an easy target if she became stranded in the shallow water. Her survival instinct presided over her curiosity and she turned away. There was a second signal to investigate, and that was in deeper water.

  * * * * *

  On the shore, Chris stood holding the bag of synthetic blood high, using gravity as an ally to get the red liquid into Bobby’s body in the shortest possible time. He had to admit, she was looking better than when Byron had first helped her out of the water. She was unconscious but stable and Chris was less concerned with her current status than with the fever that she would undoubtedly contract in the next few days. He had no idea as to the nature of the infection and only hoped the cocktail of antibiotics he had given her could at least reduce the severity of her symptoms.

  He was relieved to see that Kate was safe. Byron was already hauling the float up the slight incline of the shore, dragging it through the mud so that it left a slight track in its wake. Par and Kate were now waist deep in water, Kate with one arm around Par’s shoulders and Par with one arm around Kate’s waist. They seemed to be holding each other up as they splashed their way towards the mud flat. As he watched them, Chris’ attention was suddenly caught by a disturbance in the water about ten yards behind the pair. A slight ripple and then a large swirl as something shifted and a vast amount of water moved. He didn’t know whether to call out to alert Par and Kate or to stay quiet. They were almost home and there was probably no danger to them. He didn’t want to pan
ic anyone unnecessarily. Besides, it was probably his eyes playing tricks on him. They had all been through a lot and he’d taken a knock on the head. He still had the lump to prove it. He reached up to remind himself of it. Yes, it was still quite tender. Regardless, Chris looked across at Kit for verification. He was surprised to see the big man looking back at him with the same question in his eyes. Did you see that? Yes. Kit had seen it too. The big man smiled and looked away and Chris returned his attention to the lake. Wyatt was still out there. Shit! Wyatt was still out there. He realized now why Kit had smiled. Kit was not going to alert anyone to the danger. He could not care less what happened to Wyatt. Wyatt was the only person keeping Kit in line at the moment and there was no love lost between the pair of them.

  “Byron,” Chris said quietly.

  Byron lay on his back breathing heavily, the container dumped between his spread-eagled legs, exactly as it had fallen. The back of his hand covered most of his face.

  “What?” he said without even looking up.

  “Ahem. Byron,” Chris said again.

  Byron took his hand away and craned his head around to look at Chris.

  “What?” he said again, only louder.

  Chris looked at him and then gestured with his head that Byron should come and join him. When Byron didn’t move, Chris glared at him and gestured with his head again.

  “This had better be good, kid,” Byron moaned as he picked himself up off the ground. “There’s only so much I can deal with in one day.” He sidled round to where Chris was standing. Chris didn’t even look at him, just stared out at Wyatt.

  “You have to get Wyatt out of the water,” he said, mechanically.

  Byron looked at him and frowned, not understanding him. He looked out to where Wyatt was swimming. “He seems to be doing all right by himself.”

  “No,” Chris said, with the same air of detachment. “You have to get him out of the water.”

  Byron looked back at Chris. “You’re not making sense, son. What’s this all about?”

  Chris looked at him. He was visibly shaken and the color had drained from his face.

  “Are you all right, kid?” Byron asked, placing a hand on Chris’ arm.

  “There’s something in the water,” Chris said, his voice finally breaking with emotion, and then the rest of the story spilled from his lips. “Something big, Byron. It followed Kate and now it’s somewhere between Wyatt and the shore. You’ve got to get him out of there.”

  Byron looked back out to Wyatt. He could see nothing in the water except for his colleague. He turned back to question Chris further and then stopped himself. Chris was trembling beneath his hand.

  Byron walked down the muddy bank and motioned to Par who, after checking on Kate one final time, walked over to him. The pair exchanged whispered comments and Par looked out at Wyatt, then behind him at Chris, before nodding curtly.

  Across from him, Kit shot Chris a disapproving glance. Like someone who had been betrayed. Chris tried his best to ignore him.

  * * * * *

  As he windmilled his arms through the water, Wyatt caught a glimpse of Byron and Par walking down to the water’s edge. There was nothing particularly odd about that, but then the two men split to take positions on either side of where his current heading would take him.

  “Come on, Wyatt,” Byron shouted to him. “We haven’t got all day, you know.” If the comment was meant to be a joke, then it was not a funny one. In fact the opposite was true. They had all the time in the world and more. Wyatt did not understand the statement, nor did he think that Byron was trying to be funny. His old friend very rarely put on displays of humor outside the safety of an expedition craft. Coupled with the fact that there was not a hint of sarcasm in Byron’s voice, Wyatt got his first inkling that something was wrong.

  * * * * *

  The animal turned its head slightly to get a final lock on the source. It was fifty feet in front of her and on the surface. As she began to accelerate to strike, she was suddenly hit by a huge pressure wave from beyond the source of the vibrations. Instantly she associated it with another of her kind, surging up from the depths to attack whatever was on the surface. Quickly she altered course to see off her competition.

  * * * * *

  On the surface Wyatt felt a slight swell lift him gently in the water. He stopped. He had definitely not imagined it. Something big had moved and that something was directly below him.

  The fear that rose inside him brought with it a new energy and he began to swim again. Much, much faster than before.

  * * * * *

  The smaller animal sensed her huge bulk and turned quickly, deterred by its older relative. It swam quickly back into the depths with its nemesis close in pursuit. There was still a chance that it might get a meal out of the situation.

  * * * * *

  She chased the creature into deeper water but knew that the fight was not yet over. If she stayed close on the other animal’s tail it could turn quickly and she could find herself the wrong side of it. She could effectively be chasing it back towards the prey item. It was a tactic she herself had used when smaller and more agile. She slowed. She would have to stay between her competitor and the food source until the other animal admitted defeat and skulked away into the inky blackness.

  * * * * *

  Wyatt could not hear Byron encouraging him to swim faster, he could only see his friend beckoning him to the shore every time he raised his head out of the water for a breath. He was now forty yards from the others, but given the urgency of the situation the distance seemed like a gulf and even though he was swimming as fast as he could, it seemed he was making very slow progress through the water. With each passing second he had a horrible feeling that something evil was plotting against him and that just when he was going to make it to safety, some dark form would emerge from the water and snatch that safety away from him. Try as he might to dismiss the thought and concentrate on his strokes, it lurked there in the back of his mind.

  * * * * *

  The vibrations became weaker and, satisfied that the unseen adversary had given up on the prize, she turned back to finally finish whatever it was that had disturbed her from her resting place.

  * * * * *

  Kate lay on her back on the mud flat, exhausted. Her eyes were closed to the bright sky and now that the thumping of her heart in her chest had slowed, she was becoming more aware of the sounds around her. She heard Par call Wyatt and then Byron do the same. She could not help but hear the tone of urgency in Byron’s voice, simply because it was so uncharacteristic.

  She lifted her head off the mud and shielded her eyes with a hand to see what was going on. Byron and Par stood at the water’s edge calling and beckoning Wyatt to join them. Beyond them Wyatt was about thirty yards from the shore. He would soon be approaching the place where Byron and Par reached her and yet they were making no move to repeat their entry into the water.

  She looked across to Chris who was standing watching the three men too. He looked anxious, the hand holding the bag of synthetic blood had fallen to his side and his free hand was at his mouth. He was biting his nails feverishly. Kit stood to her left, his body language conveying the same apprehension. She could not help but notice that his hand played lightly over the weapon strapped at his side. She picked herself up, standing to get a better look at what was going on.

  * * * * *

  As the creature headed back towards the shallower water, the vibrations started getting stronger again. She was close but she was in dangerously shallow water for an animal of her size.

  * * * * *

  From his higher vantage point, Chris saw the first swirl of water about forty yards behind Wyatt; ten yards behind that there was another swirl and ten yards behind that again, another.

  “Fuck me,” he said under his breath. He knew he was looking at the movements of either three large animals or one massive…He did not even stop to contemplate the possibilities.

  “Get him the
hell out of there!” he shouted. “It’s coming back!” Chris pointed out to the lake and to the swirls, which were now disappearing without trace. Kate saw them and took a sharp intake of breath. Her stomach knotted. She brought a hand up to her mouth.

  * * * * *

  Wyatt heard Chris’ shout and put on a spurt. He did not turn around to take a look at whatever “it” was. It would waste him valuable seconds and that could be the difference between making it or meeting “it.” He did not feel exhaustion, only fear.

  * * * * *

  Byron and Par looked once, quickly, at each other and knew instantly what the other was going to do. Without a word the pair of them ran into the water towards Wyatt.

  * * * * *

  The creature slowed again. Again the signal had intensified once the source had got close to the shallower water. There was more than one of whatever she was tracking. Any other time she may well have turned away, daunted by the prospect of being led into a trap, but she had expended a great deal of energy during this whole episode and that had to be replaced. She was eating for more than one. She had already let one meal escape her today, and was not going to let the second go so easily. With a flick of her long tail, she accelerated to strike.