Megalodon Lives

by Flash Rex

  May 29, 1992

  TGIF it wasn't when the alarm went off. Actually I woke a minute before my alarm went off. I looked at the clock and expected a few more hours of sleep and I was crushed when they were denied me. I didn't know what I was dreading, but it came to me as I turned on the morning news and saw riot footage from last night. I was at the center of a public debate, a sometimes-violent public debate. I wasn't afraid of the violence affecting me personally. It was a nagging feeling that I caused all of the trouble this week. Sure there were underlying tensions but if I'd acted differently the situation would not be as volatile as it was today. I was afraid that the tension would peak today because of the shark display and the funeral. I wish Burns had listened to me and delayed the opening until tomorrow. The emotions would not be as high tomorrow. Perhaps there was still time to change his mind. The answering machine kicked on just as I reached for the phone. I didn't remember turning the ringer off last night but I must have because the switch was set to off. I waited to screen the call but the tape kept fast-forwarding. The tape was full even though I erased all the messages last night. I picked up the phone. "Hello."

  "Hey, it's Dad! Where have you been? We've been trying to reach you!"

  "I had the ringer off! I've been getting some unwanted calls. What's wrong?"

  "The phone was ringing all night here. We also had some trouble."

  "What kind of trouble?"

  "We had a couple of broken windows, but everyone's OK."

  "What happened?"

  "Somebody threw some rocks, but we called the police and they've been stationed outside and nothing has happened since. Do you remember Chris Duffy? Your old buddy from school? He's a cop in town now. He's very nice. He told us not to worry. He even said there would be cops around your apartment." I peeked out my window and sure enough there was a police car parked in the street.

  "I assume this is about the shark," I said. "I'm sorry this happened Dad. I didn't have any idea this would happen."

  "Forget it. It's not your fault. You're doing great. I'm telling you, I was so proud when I saw the news conferences on TV. This is the biggest story of the year and you're right in there. This is so exciting!"

  "I know Dad. It's too exciting. I've got to get over to the Aquarium, but I want you to be careful. I heard there are busloads of protesters coming up from the City after the kid's funeral. Supposedly they're going to meet at the Aquarium, close it down and then march through town. Maybe you should think about getting away," I said.

  "That won't be necessary. It's going to rain this afternoon. There's a severe thunderstorm watch already set for this afternoon. Who the hell's going to march through River Valley in a thunderstorm?" Asked Dad.

  "Nobody," I answered.

  "Exactly! I'll let you go now. Enjoy today. You'll remember it for the rest of your life."

  "I'm sure I will, Dad."

  The sun had barely risen and there was such a crowd at the Aquarium that I gave up on the main parking lot and went directly to the service entrance down near the town golf course. If there was anyway to tell this service entrance was part of the Aquarium, I'm sure it would have been crowded too. Because of the half-mile of woods between the main entrance and the service entrance, everybody thought this was part of the town's public golf course.

  "Big day today, Mr. Bolding," said the security guard watching the service entrance.

  "Sure is," I replied. It felt awkward to be addressed as 'Mr.' by a man at least twice my age. It was also odd to have strangers address me by name. "It might be a big day back here too. Check everyone very closely because we've canceled all deliveries for today. I expect somebody will try to get in back here."

  "No problem, Mr. Bolding."

  I parked next to the truck we used to transport the shark on Monday. It was going to be another scorcher and I was glad I wouldn't be spending it in the back of that truck again. I walked by the maintenance buildings and past the security guard watching the back gate. I knew this guy and I passed with a wave. I went past the former penguin habitat without so much as a glance. Burns, Grimshaw and Zaller were waiting for me by the entrance.

  "It's not the same place without them," Zaller said gesturing towards the penguins former home. Burns and Grimshaw looked at me and shook their heads.

  "Sure it is," I replied.

  "Today's the big day!" Burns shook my hand. "You should be proud of yourself."

  "Oh yeah," I said.

  "Let's get through today before we start congratulating ourselves," said Zaller.

  "Who's congratulating you? You had nothing to do with this," I said.

  "We're all on the same team now," said Burns. "Why don't we go through the tunnel and try it out?"

  The four of us walked to the entrance of the Shark Pavilion. A maze of walkways was roped off and ready for the line of people that would form to enter the acrylic tunnel that ran underneath the main tank. We walked inside the tunnel and onto the moving sidewalk that brought us through the tunnel at a crawl. The first thing that struck me was how dark the tank was. I could barely make out the black megalodon in the darkness. "Why is it so dark in here? People aren't even going to be able to get a good look at it."

  "Grimshaw figured if we left it dark, people wouldn't get a good look at it and would keep coming back to get a better look. I happen to agree. If people leave fully satisfied they won't come back. Frankly, we need the repeat business," explained Burns. I shrugged my shoulders but I doubt anyone noticed in the dark.

  "That makes sense but we don't want to piss anyone off," I said.

  "I think we should speed up the sidewalk too. There's going to be a long line out there and I think we'd better make sure the line keeps moving," said Grimshaw.

  "You're probably right. In fact, I think we'll speed it up as fast as we can safely. We have to make sure the attendants keep reminding people to hold on to the railings and watch their step when they get off. They have to say it loudly once every ten people and if they don't I'll personally come down here and fire them. We don't need any personal injury lawsuits filed against us. Why don't you explain it to them, Grimshaw? Make sure they know how important those warnings are legally. Okay?" Asked Burns.

  "Okay, I'll do it as soon as we get off."

  "Wait a minute. You can't keep it this dark and speed up the sidewalk. People are going to feel ripped off. They'll think we cheated them. This isn't some ridiculous sideshow freak we have here. It's not like we put a giant horn on a goat and called it a unicorn! We don't have to hide this shark. People will be fascinated by it and will keep coming back to see it because it's cool and unique. This is the only one people have ever seen and it's probably the only one they'll ever see," I said. The moving sidewalk came to an end and we stepped off.

  "I don't care how fast the sidewalk moves but I think we should keep it dark. The natural environment of this shark is dark anyway and we might as well try to keep the tank as close to the shark's natural environment as possible," said Zaller.

  "How do you know what this shark's natural environment is? You never even saw one until yesterday! You have no idea what you're talking about! You're just guessing! Admit it!" I yelled.

  "Looks like someone's mad because he can't play marine biologist anymore. I've forgotten more about marine biology than you'll ever know in your entire life. So why don't you keep you're amateur opinions to yourself?" Said Zaller.

  "Zaller's right Brian. Besides we can always change things later if there are complaints," said Burns.

  The crowd waiting outside had grown substantially by the time the gates were finally opened. There were hundreds if not thousands of people waiting to come in. The first people ran in but they didn't know where to go. People were screaming and yelling as they started down the wrong path only to realize their mistake. Eventually the crowd streamed directly towards the Shark Pavilion.

  "You notice anything strange about the crowd?" Grimshaw asked me.

  "Not particularly. It's a big
ger crowd than I thought it would be considering this is a weekday morning," I answered.

  "No. There's something else."

  "Well, I've lived in this town my whole life except for school and I haven't recognized a soul yet," I said.

  "There's no blacks," said Grimshaw and he was right.

  "I haven't seen a single black person yet. How can that be? I realize there's a racial controversy with the shark but not even a single black person is here. I find it hard to believe that not a single black person is curious about the shark. Is there a boycott we didn’t hear about?"

  "Nobody's out protesting though, so that's good. I don't think we'll have the trouble you predicted," Zaller said.

  "I didn't predict trouble. I said we'd better be prepared for it, just in case. Besides the kid's funeral just started and most of the troublemakers, like the good Reverend, are attending that. They'll be here as soon as the funeral's over. You can count on that." The phone rang and the secretary said it was for Grimshaw. "I'm going to head over to the Pavilion to see how it's going," I said.

  I put on a baseball hat and tried to slip into the crowd on the way to the pavilion but I was virtually the only one wearing long pants so I felt I was sticking out like a sore thumb. I didn't want anyone to recognize me because I didn't know what the public reaction to the display was. I didn't want to be beaten up if people started to feel they were being ripped off. On the way over I heard quite a few people bitching about the ticket prices.

  "It's double what the prices were a week ago. I wouldn't have let my dog take a crap in this place a week ago," said one voice from behind me.

  "It figures. They get one interesting fish in this damn place and they start gouging people," responded a woman.

  Wait until they see how fast the sidewalk moves through the tunnel, I thought. And if they didn't bring their night vision goggles, there was no chance of getting a good look at the shark. So much for satisfying the customer. The customer is always wrong. I couldn't believe Burns actually doubled the ticket prices. Well, actually I could since I know Burns will do anything for money. I should have talked him out of it but it didn't even occur to me until I overheard that couple's conversation. It was such a blatant example of price gouging. I didn't think it was illegal though, since there was no community-wide crisis. It wasn't like we doubled the price of gasoline after a hurricane or something. People were willing to pay it. I guess that was the free market at work.

  Once the line began to form, I split from the crowd and headed for the back entrance where Zaller and Burns were. I glanced back and was unnerved to see people pointing at me. I felt like a spy.

  I entered the back of the building and saw Zaller and Burns leaning over the railing and looking in the water. "You guys look like you're seasick," I said.

  "Come here," said Burns. "Do you see anything down there?"

  "Like a megalodon? No, and I doubt the customers can see it either. I think we'd better turn on some lights in here before people get pissed off. They're already pissed about the ticket prices. I guess the sidewalk's speed is okay, just so we can keep the line moving..."

  "Forget about all that for now," Burns interrupted me. "Do you see anything down there?"

  "Like what?'' Burns was serious so I leaned over the railing and looked in water. I saw it.

  "Like a little greenish light," said Zaller.

  "I see it, all right," I said. "What is it?"

  "We don't know. Why don't you go through the tunnel and see if you can see it down there?" Burns didn't ask me. He told me. I didn't want to sound like a wuss by saying the people might recognize me and hurt me in that order. So I went.

  Nobody even glanced at me until I asked the attendant to let me into the tunnel. Some old woman went out of her way to get in my way, but I managed to avoid her. I must have looked strange going through the tunnel because I was staring at the bottom of the tank instead of looking up and pointing like everyone else.

  I finally saw the greenish light and I pressed my face as close to the glass as possible to get as good a look as I could. It was a watch.

  "Look! It's the kid's watch!" Yelled someone behind me in the tunnel. As the sidewalk continued on, I could hear more and more people yelling and pointing at the watch.

  Once off the sidewalk, I ran around the building and stopped in front of Burns and Zaller. I tried to catch my breath before I spoke.

  "What is it?" Yelled Burns as he grabbed my arm.

  "It's the watch. It's the kid's watch," I gasped. Burns looked at Zaller. "And everyone going through the tunnel knows about it now."

  "What the hell do we do?" Asked Burns.

  "We close. At least until we can get the watch out of there," I said.

  "We can't close! People want to see this! People have paid to see this!" Yelled Zaller.

  "We have no choice! We have to get that watch out of there!" I said.

  "What the hell for? The kid doesn't need it anymore! He's dead! Remember?"

  "So what? Under the law his estate owns the watch. That means his parents own the watch. That means they can sue us to get it back," I said.

  "Let them sue us then! How much can the watch be worth?" Asked Zaller.

  "They could sue us for intentional infliction of emotional distress. If we knowingly left their dead son's watch on the bottom of the tank of the shark that killed him, while we charged people to view it, any lawyer they get will eat us alive. Who knows how much they could win from us?"

  "We found the watch. Isn't there some sort of finder's keeper's rule?" Asked Burns.

  "Probably. I'm not exactly sure. I don't think it applies when we know who the owner is. In this case we know who the owner is so we can't just keep it. Under New York law, I believe we have ten days to return it. I don't know if the ten days run from when we actually find it. Today. Or from when we should have found it, like Tuesday."

  "Either way, we have a few days to work with. We'll stay open until we decide what to do," said Burns.

  "You don't get it," I said. "The lawsuits won't matter if people become so outraged about this whole situation. We've already pissed off every black person in the free world. If we leave the watch in there it won't be long before we piss off the rest of the world's population too. We can't operate a business if every potential customer hates us. Of course we could hold Skinhead or Klan days but how long would that last?"

  "Okay, okay! I get it! How do we get the watch out?" Asked Burns.

  "I say we lift the shark out in the net and have someone jump and go get it," I suggested.

  "Oh, no way! That could kill it! Then we'd have nothing!" Said Zaller. "I realize that's how you caught it but you were more lucky than smart. I don't want to risk that again."

  "You have a better way?" I asked.

  "Yeah. I'll just put on my gear and swim down and get it."

  "You're going to swim down there and get it while the shark is swimming around?" I asked.

  "Yes," answered Zaller.

  "That's ridiculous! That shark will eat you alive! You weren't here when it devoured two sand tigers and a herd of penguins but if you were, you wouldn't even go in the building with that shark, mush less the water. Right, Mr. Burns."

  "I'm afraid he's right, Zaller," said Burns. "It's too dangerous."

  "I'm the marine biologist around here. Nobody knows sharks better than I do. I'll get in and get out before the shark even knows I'm there. It's not dangerous if you know what you're doing and you know what to look for."

  "You don't know this shark. You've never seen one..." I said, but Zaller cut me off.

  "The alternative is to yank that shark back out of the water. I won't let you do that. I'm not some martyr here. I really don't give a damn about the rest of this aquarium. I do want to be the first marine biologist on my block to study a carcharodon megalodon. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm not going to let it slip away," said Zaller. He looked at Burns, who was scowling back at Zaller. "Besides, I know how you
love money. How would you like to tell all those people who came in this morning this exhibit is closed? They'd all expect their money back. It's not like you can send them over to look at the penguins anymore, can you?"

  "You can go in if you want, Zaller. I'm not going to force you. Bolding, I want you to draw up a little waiver for Zaller to sign indicating neither I nor the Aquarium is responsible for any injuries he incurs."

  Zaller went to get his gear. Burns got some attendants to shut down the exhibit and explain to people that it was only temporary. I hustled up to my office and banged out a waiver for Zaller to sign. On my way out of the office, I stopped to check Zaller's personnel file. It turns out he never filled out an emergency notification card. I grabbed one and headed to the Shark Pavilion.

  "Read it and sign it," I said to Zaller as he put on his scuba gear. He glanced at the sheet I held out to him and signed with the pen I provided.

  "You didn't write it in legalese. I didn't see any 'heretofores' or 'party of the first part' in there. Are you sure you're a lawyer?"

  "They taught us not to write that crap in law school. Here fill this out," I said.

  "Now? What the hell is it that it can't wait until I'm done?"

  "It's an emergency notification card. I want to know who to call when the shark tears you apart," I said.

  "You're a funny guy, Bolding." Zaller took the card out of my hand, crumpled it up and blew his nose on it. He handed it back to me and I absentmindedly accepted it. "They can get my DNA off that."

  "I'll be sure to let the lab boys take a look at it," I said and dropped the card. "I don't think I'll miss you when you're dead." I wiped my hand on my pants.

  "Shut up," Zaller said.

  "One last time I'll ask you to reconsider. This is not a great white. This shark is much more aggressive than any shark I've ever seen..."

  "I know what I'm doing," said Zaller. “Here’s my video camera. Film me going in. Nobody has ever done this before.

  "I won't get a chance to say I told you so."

  "You won't need one."

  Burns came back in and the two of us watched as Zaller finished getting ready. I turned the lights on as bright as they would go. We could clearly see the shark making his rounds. As he swam past us, Zaller made his move. In he went. The shark didn't even slow down but he had to know Zaller was there. Zaller made his way towards the watch, moving deeper and deeper. He never took his eyes off the shark.