Vengeance from the Deep - Book Two: Blood of the Necala

by Russ Elliott

  ~~~

  Flying off the coast of Hermanus, Kate’s eyes were drawn to the side window. She focused on a long, red trail leading to the stern of a fishing boat. “That’s about the tenth boat we’ve seen chumming the waters since we’ve been heading east.” She shook her head. “And all of them less than half the size of the pliosaur. They’d better hope they don’t find what they’re looking for.”

  She squinted and pointed in another direction. “And look at those buggers! On the news last night they show a pier less than five miles from here that was attacked by the pliosaur . . . and there you have it. Look at them. See that chum line? Maybe a hundred feet long there at the end of Pier 21, people lined up three rows deep along the rail. Unbelievable. And look at all those black dots in the water. I’ve never seen so many sharks this close to land. All this chummin’ is really bringing them in.”

  John gazed at the various areas Kate pointed out. He was silent, shaking his head, mouth drawn into an angry line.

  She picked up the binoculars from John’s seat and trained them on the end of the pier. Black dots, too numerous to count, took on the form of torpedo-shaped bodies gliding beneath a red haze. “Looks like everyone’s having a go at it,” she said. “I heard that one of the local newspapers put up a ten-thousand-dollar bounty for the first photograph of the pliosaur.” She grinned at a somber John, trying to lighten the mood. She nudged him. “Knew I should have brought my camera!”

  He rolled his eyes.

  As Kate veered away from the coastline and headed farther out to sea, she couldn’t believe the number of boats in the water. It almost looked like a regatta, except the vessels varied in size and lacked formation. She glanced at John as he continued to stare silently at the horizon. “I know what’s bouncing around in that head of yours.”

  “If we both know, then you don’t need to tell me.”

  “You’re thinking about last night . . . how the depth charge didn’t faze it. John, that beast has gotten inside your head. Now, you think it can’t be stopped because fate or some unseen justice is about to be served on that cruise ship.”

  John turned to her. “You saw what happened last night. Everything is lining up with the beginning of prophecy. His eyes shone with intensity. “Now the second part: ‘And then innocent blood will fill the sea.’ Can’t you see it yet? The cruise ship is the innocent blood. Kate, it all fits perfectly.”

  Kate threw a hand up in the air. “Why do I ever open my mouth?”

  “Why can’t you admit it?” he challenged. “You saw the way it waited to kill that girl in front of me, then how it took a depth charge square on its throat. There’s more to all this than ‘logic,’ Kate . . . can’t you feel it?”

  “Listen!” Kate spat. “Ever think that last night the depth charge didn’t explode as close to the beast as it appeared? The water and fog only made it look like a direct hit when it wasn’t.” She looked him in the eye and pointed to the cargo bay. “We’ve got four depth charges left. One dead-on shot, John. That’s all you need.”

  Kate looked back at the windshield before he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Although she would never admit it, when she first heard the ship’s distress call, it sent a chill up her spine. Immediately, she had thought of the prophecy. She didn’t know anymore. Were the parallels of the prophecy getting harder to dismiss, or was it all playing tricks on her mind too? In an attempt to change the subject, she said, “Would you mind checking the chum barrels? That smell is wretched.” She wrinkled her nose.

  John unbuckled his seat belt. “I’ll go back and crack the door.”

  “While you’re back there, you may as well pop the top off the crate of depth charges. We’re less than two miles from the ship.”

  ~~~

  Entering the cargo bay, John carefully stepped over the rope ladder coiled in front of the chum barrels. “She’s right. We could use an air freshener back here.” He reached to unlatch the door, but surprisingly found it already unlatched and slightly agape. His hair blew back from the wind as he slid the door all the way open. The sound of the main rotor thundered around him.

  Facing the breeze, John took a deep breath, allowing the salty sea air to clear his head. His thoughts turned to the cruise ship as he dared to imagine what they would find. He pictured hundreds of life jackets scattered across the water, women and children screaming in horror as the long frill turned their way. He prayed the image in his mind was wrong. Come on, Paxton. Keep it together. Slowly he took a step back from the doorway and steadied himself against the short divider wall. His thoughts remained on the cruise ship as he stared down at the passing water.

  The back of his boots were less than two feet from Kolegwa’s toes.

  ~~~

  Swimming up along the submerged port side of the ship, Joyce broke the surface near the port rail. She immediately looked around for Trish and Charmaine, whom she’d thankfully found once they’d fallen through the pool to the cabins below. She’d directed them through the water-filled rooms, keeping their eyes averted as much as possible from the dead bodies floating around them. She shuddered, freezing from the nightmare as much as the ocean water. Finally, the two girls popped up in front of her, gasping for air. “Oh, thank you, God.” She pulled them close as they, too, shivered. Suddenly, she saw both their eyes widen at something behind her. She didn’t have to turn to know. But she did anyway.

  Twenty yards away, she saw the back of the creature’s head drop as a series of chilling cries were suddenly muted.

  Swimming away from the sight, Joyce encouraged the girls to follow, pulling them close to her side. “Come,” she said. Then in a whisper meant only for herself and the Almighty, “Lord, help us.” She reached over and grabbed a nearby body by the wrist. Cringing from the feel of the ice-cold skin, she slowly pulled the floating corpse in front of them, careful not to disturb the seagulls feeding on its back.

  The pliosaur turned then, and Joyce saw the mound of gray-and-white striped flesh coming their way. “Girls, look down at the water,” she said urgently. The girls immediately complied, all of them now with heads down, chilled to the bone, holding onto a corpse even colder. Slowly, the gigantic head passed before them, sending out a wake that rocked the dead body. Wind brushed across Joyce’s face as the seagulls fluttered their wings to maintain balance. She lifted her feet as a paddle fin passed beneath her. An upward surge of displaced water rolled up the back of her legs.

  “Mommy!”

  “Shhh!”

  The seagulls settled as the creature slowly moved away from their location. Joyce looked up to glimpse its glowing red eye and the red stream that trailed from the side of its mouth. She said another silent prayer and held the trembling girls.

  ~~~

  Forty yards out from the ship a male steward continued to tread water. His shoes already off, he slipped his left arm out of his jacket and relinquished it to the sea. He saw how quickly the woman screaming behind him had been taken by the beast. The creature seemed to be less interested in the floating bodies, so he lay forward with his arms spread out. He turned his head just enough to keep his mouth above the water. Another glance at the sinking ship, and he decided to take his chances with the open sea.

  Slowly, he moved his cupped hands beneath the surface. Moments later, he felt the current taking over, and he no longer had to paddle with his hands. He glanced back slowly, careful not to make any sudden movement. He saw the black woman and two little girls hiding behind the corpse as the giant shadow slowly passed them. He could hardly breathe from fear. Despite being a retired Durban police officer, this was the most horrifying moment of his life.

  Again, he looked back at the woman and two girls. Although ashamed of the thought, he truly hoped the creature would soon discover them and be distracted long enough for him to slip away. “Come on, they’re just behind the corpse,” he muttered. “What are you . . . blind? How can you miss her? She’s as big as a bloody house!”

  The ship and the crea
ture drew farther into the distance as the current continued to move him in the opposite direction. Two more minutes passed as the man floated motionless, when suddenly he felt something land on his back. Without flinching, he noticed two more scratchy feet land beside his left shoulder.

  A beak full of flesh was ripped from his neck.

  “Hey! What the—?” The man twisted around, swatting at the birds. He missed and slapped the surface with his cupped hand. As the startled seagulls took flight, he looked up, realizing his mistake. The giant shadow slowly turned his way. Three sweeps of the powerful paddle fins, and the creature was on him before he could utter a sound.

  Kate looked back from the cockpit as John pried the top off the crate of depth charges. “Remember how to use those? You’ve only got four shots. Better make em’ count!”

  John looked down at the shiny tops of the depth charges as wind from the cargo doorway beat against his back. “Same as the others; just push the red button, then drop . . . right?”

  “That’s right,” Kate shouted over the sound of the helicopter’s chopping blades. “Make sure you push the button all the way in until it clicks, or it won’t discharge. And remember, if the target’s shallow, give it a three-second count . . .”

  John threw his hands up. “I know . . . or it’ll detonate too deep. Got that part.”

  Just as he unlatched the top of the first chum barrel, Kate yelled, “You’d better get ready. That’s it just ahead.”

  He walked toward the cockpit and stopped behind the passenger’s seat. Through the windshield, he saw the faint outline of a distant ship. The image of women and children screaming from the water again played in his mind. He knew the reality of that image was soon coming.

  He heard a noise behind him and whirled around. It was a light clank, like the sound of something hitting the floor. Looking through the cargo doorway, he saw a splash fifty feet below the chopper.

  “What’s the matter?” Kate asked. “You see something?”

  John walked back into the cargo bay and looked around the chum-stained floor. “I saw something splash below the chopper.” He stepped over the rope ladder lying beside the open doorway. When he looked at the crate in front of the chum barrels, he noticed that one of the depth charges was missing.

  “So what did you see?” Kate asked. “What kind of splash was it?”

  “I’m not sure . . . but it looks like one of the depth charges rolled out.”

  “Rolled out?” Kate shouted. “They’re in a bloody wooden crate. They can’t just roll out!”

  “I don’t know, but somehow it did.” John walked back toward the cockpit wondering how the depth charge managed to get outside the crate. When he reached the back of the passenger’s seat, his attention shifted again to the distant ship. Even at this distance, he could tell by the tilted silhouette that the distress call had not been a hoax.

  ~~~

  No sooner than John’s attention shifted away from the cargo bay, Kota stepped out from behind the divider wall. He lifted two more depth charges from the crate. Quietly, he laid the cylinder-shaped objects on their sides and rolled them toward the open door. Then Kota quickly slipped back behind the divider wall and sat down beside Kolegwa. His right hand lowered to his machete.

  ~~~

  Kate’s attention was drawn to her side window. “Hey, there goes another splash . . . and another one. Are those coming from our chopper? What’s going on back there?”

  “Nothing, I’m right here,” John spat as he walked back to the cargo bay and looked into the crate. “I don’t know how, but two more depth charges are gone.”

  “Well, you’d better keep an eye on that last one. We’re almost at the ship . . . and it doesn’t look good,” Kate said, squinting beneath her hand at her brow. “Look at that. What are those shiny things rising from the ship . . . some kind of signaling device?”

  John slid the crate with the last depth charge to the back of the cockpit and peered over the seat. For the entire flight, he had tried to imagine what they would find, but he was totally unprepared for the spectacle below. The sight of the ship’s portside rail even with the waterline took his breath. Leading up from the water was a large section of scarred deck that could have only come from one thing. In disbelief, his eyes followed the angled deck up to the opposite side of the ship where hundreds of passengers clung to the starboard rail.

  Kate gasped. “I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn’t expect this.”

  In front of the windshield, the strange twinkling in the sky revealed itself, taking on the form of silver balloons floating through the largest flock of seagulls John had ever seen. As the helicopter descended, his stomach tightened. He made out several bodies floating on the surface amid a series of red stains and scattered debris from the lifeboats. Overwhelmed by the amount of people still on the ship, he knew there was only one way to help any of them: he had to make that last depth charge count!

  He scanned the surface for the frill. “Where is it? Maybe . . . maybe it—”

  The question was soon answered as the seagulls swarmed in on an area above the port rail. The giant head emerged from beneath the ship. Shafts of sunlight penetrating the surface glittered along the neck and gray, tiger-striped back. Then, sprawling paddle fins in excess of thirty-five feet from tip to tip, slid slowly from beneath the hull.

  John looked at Kate in confusion. “What can we do? We can’t drop the last depth charge with it right there by the ship. And there are too many people still in the water,” John moaned.

  They looked at the nightmare in the ocean and weighed their options.

  ~~~

  Joyce and her two young daughters continued to float with the corpse near the ship. Desperately, she scanned the surface from behind the corpse covered with seagulls. The ghastly sight of beaks full of flesh being ripped from the pale back no longer fazed her. Her only interest was with what lay beneath the surface. She looked up to a wave of excitement on the ship. People along the starboard rail were screaming and pointing to the water in front of her. She pulled the girls close to her side as she saw the tall frill.

  This time, it didn’t glide by or veer back around and continue to patrol the ship. It’s seen us. It’s coming. Through trembling lips, she vocalized her prayer, increasing in volume as the frill picked up speed. “Dear Lord, protect these babies. I place them in your loving hands. Help us!”

  The head broke water, seeming to swell in size as it rose. Cannonball-sized eyes locked in on them from beneath a glistening mask of water. Joyce swam backward, away from the corpse, taking her children with her. “Hold on to me,” she gasped. The seagulls took flight, squawking at the sight of the approaching monster.

  Exhausted, she paused, treading water, and pulled the girls closer. She pushed their heads down. “Don’t look, babies.” Her trembling voice surprisingly strong as she shouted to the heavens, “Dear Lord, if this be your will, please don’t let them feel any pain. Help us, Jesus!”

  The blazing eyes rose high above the surface behind an enormous set of nostrils. The snout lifted, showing hideous pink gums above the water. Rows of giant spiked teeth skimmed the waves. The nose shot up and the water’s surface collapsed, spilling into the cavernous throat.

  A GURGLING ROAR!

  Joyce hurled herself backward, pulling her children. But the vacuum from the swelling mouth drew her forward. Small hands clawed at her arms, trying to hang on. The surface whipped around her. Joyce screamed as blood flew everywhere, splashing in her mouth and eyes. There was another splash off to the side, then another roar—both coming, not from the beast, but from the chopper above them. She looked up to see a waterfall of blood flowing from the side of the helicopter, falling between her and the enormous jaws.

  Joyce watched as the shower of blood moved behind the pliosaur’s head. The girls screamed, opening their eyes. Just in front of Joyce, the tremendous head rolled sideways and plunged into the sea. The sudden swell pushed her and the children back as a k
icking paddle fin spewed water thirty feet into the air.

  Joyce’s right hand thrust into the air. “Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Lord!”

  Trish and Charmaine looked at her with their big, beautiful eyes, and her heart swelled. Trish asked, “Mommy, what happened? Are we gonna be okay?”

  “Yes, baby. Don’t you two worry none, we’re gonna be just fine. We’ve got someone a whole lot bigger than he is on our side.”

  “Who do you mean, Mommy? The man in the helicopter?”

  “No, baby . . . the One who sent him!”

  ~~~

  Just inside the cargo doorway, John tilted the chum barrel even more. “That’s it, keep coming, you piece of crap. I’ve got something to feed you.” He watched the waterfall of blood slap the sea.

  Kate shouted excitedly from the cockpit, “Keep pouring, John. It’s working!”

  ~~~

  Through the small window in the cargo bay, Kolegwa continued to peer down at the water. His emotions were torn as he stared at a black woman and two children who had just escaped a horrible death. A woman and two girls, who from that distance, strongly resembled his family back at the island.

  He felt a tap on the shoulder. For the moment, he ignored Kota’s signal telling him to attack and allowed John to draw Kuta Keb-la farther from the woman and her children. Kolegwa turned his attention to the doorway. From his vantage point behind the divider wall, he could see the back of the white devil as he struggled to tilt the heavy barrel toward the open doorway. An easy kill.

  Yet, he hesitated in confusion. It made no sense to Kolegwa that John was risking his own life to save people, people who didn’t share his same color of skin. For the first time in his life, he questioned Kota’s motives, wondering if this white man really possessed the great evil that Kota claimed.

  Kolegwa turned back to the window. Looking down at the water, he thought maybe it was wrong to let Kuta-keb-la kill freely. He glanced along the starboard rail. Over half of the passengers looked like the people from his own village, except for the clothing. For the first time in his twenty-eight years of life, he questioned the teachings of Kota and the elders. Maybe his mother, who lost her life for disputing the teachings, had been right after all. Maybe the rest of the world outside the island wasn’t evil. His eyes narrowed as his new thoughts consumed him. This is not how it should be. He knew he was on the wrong path. He felt another tap on the shoulder.