The Ocean King: A Deep Sea Thriller

by Russ Watts

  Amanda began walking to the trawler and Sam jumped up into the cab.

  “Good luck. I’m outta here,” said Sam.

  “Appreciate it, Sam. See you soon, buddy,” said Don. He turned to Amanda as Sam pulled the truck away. “Well, it’s too late to study Diablo now. If its mother is in the city somewhere, she’s going to be pissed. We’ve got her baby tied up again, and I’m not giving it back.”

  “We should make a move before someone sees what we’re up to,” said Amanda. “And I don’t like the look of that sky. I just want to get this over with.” She walked down onto the deck, carefully avoiding Diablo who was curled up on board. His tail was squashed up against the port side and his head against the starboard. It was difficult to get past without getting worryingly close to its huge jaws. Jay stood guard over it with one of the ASM-DT Amphibious Rifles they had brought from the park.

  “I just need to make a quick call,” said Don. “I’ve got an idea.”

  Amanda watched Don sidestep Diablo and then put his phone to his ear.

  “Hey, yeah, it’s Don. Ryan, I’m on a boat and heading your way if you fancy a lift. Listen, you said you were making an inventory of what was still on the island. Think you could get your hands on some explosives?”

  Shortly after Don had hung up, the Mary-Jane sailed out into the Pacific for her final voyage.

  CHAPTER 14

  OCTOBER SATURDAY 18TH 12:02

  The Mary-Jane idled in the calm water, and they waited. Hamish killed the engine when they were far enough away from shore, and joined the others down in the cabin. It was over three hours since they’d left San Diego, and whilst the storm had never materialised, the weather had not really cleared either. A dark sky loomed over the ocean and mist wrapped itself around the trawler. Amanda, Don, Hamish, Jay, and Ryan, were cooped up in the cabin around the small table listening to the radio. They wanted to keep abreast of what was happening in the city, in case the Ocean King resurfaced. Most of the music stations had kept the airwaves clear for updates and announcements, so there was little else to listen to except what was going on in the city. They were currently hearing from a reporter in a news chopper.

  “From my vantage point, nearly a thousand feet above the city, I can see the downtown area and I have to report that it does not make for comfortable viewing. So many structures have fallen down since the Ocean King’s attack last night that the whole area is now cordoned off. Palm trees and vehicles were flattened, whole buildings came down, and I can see a small boat on the top of the Electra building. The mayor of course was one of the casualties of last night, and the city is now under martial law.

  “The US Army is trying to contain the collateral damage, but they are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to find the monster. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of troops deployed on the ground in the last two hours, and any civilians not requiring medical attention, are advised to stay in their homes. San Diego has officially been declared a major disaster area and perimeters are being set up all around the city to stop anyone from leaving or entering the city unnecessarily. I have heard of sporadic reports of looting, but with such a huge loss of life, it seems the people of California are rallying around in this time of need.”

  “Turn it off,” said Don. “It’s not there. We’re not going to learn anything we don’t already know. The Ocean King is not hiding beneath the Hilton, it’s gone.”

  Amanda turned the radio down, but not off completely. She wasn’t convinced the animal wasn’t still in the city somewhere. “We can’t predict their behaviour. This is not an animal that’s been studied; this is a fossil, a dinosaur. Trying to guess what it’ll do next, would be like trying to predict next week’s lottery numbers. If it stayed close to shore, we would’ve known about it by now. It must have sought refuge somewhere, perhaps in one of the caves nearby, or a lake. Who knows? It might have been so badly hurt that it crawled into a hole somewhere and died.”

  “That’s wishful thinking,” said Don. “No, she’s out there. She’s just picking her moment.”

  “Where did it come from? It’s weird, don’t you think, how it just came out of nowhere? It was like a Hollywood movie. I was there on the cliff top, then all of a sudden, this fucking monster appeared. It was nuts, seriously nuts,” said Ryan.

  “My guess is they were living out in the deep sea somewhere, possibly near the Bering Sea. Could be that’s why it seems to have disappeared, that it’s gone home.” Amanda looked over at Jay. “If the Ocean King thinks its infant, Diablo, is dead, it might have left. You think it’s gone back to where it came from?”

  “No, if we let it, I think it will be here to stay. It definitely took some hits last night, okay, not lethal or hard enough to stop it, but we hit it and it kept going. You know as well as I do that when a predator finds a healthy food supply, it doesn’t retreat. There are shallow waters, caves, canyons, kelp forests, shipwrecks - plenty of places it could go. Plus, if it associates this place with its young, maybe it just doesn’t want to leave. It’ll find somewhere to call home, somewhere deep, safe…hidden.”

  Don noticed that Jay spoke without looking at anyone. He was a quiet man, and without Zola to back him up, probably didn’t think anyone would take notice of him. Don was suspicious of Jay’s motives for coming along, but he had encountered worse than Jay before and could handle him. Was Jay feeling guilty? Or did he just not want to miss out on all the drama?

  “Well, the ocean’s a big place. Where do we start looking?” asked Hamish. “I could have a look at some maps, see if I can’t figure something out? Amanda, you want to help me? I know the area, but you know these creatures better than anyone.”

  “I guess Hamish came upon Diablo by chance, and its mother tracked it down,” said Jay. “It was just a fluke really. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “A fluke,” said Don absently. He glanced over to the wall and noticed a map of the western seaboard stuck up crudely by sticky tape.

  “I suppose the park is beyond saving?” asked Ryan. “I never got to go, but I was hoping to one day. Did any of the animals make it? How bad is it?”

  “I got a text from Sam,” said Jay. “They’re gone: the seals, otters, manta rays, the penguins, everything. They’re all gone. He said they found a couple of penguins alive, but they were badly injured and were put down. Even Poppy and Pete, that’s our resident dolphins, were dead, crushed in their tanks.” Jay balled up his hands into fists. “Damn it, why did I listen to her? I was so stupid.”

  “Good question,” Amanda said accusingly. “Why did you listen to her, Jay? I told you not to do it, but you ignored me. Don’t you think…”

  “This is not all my fault,” said Jay. He angrily looked over at Hamish. “Your boyfriend dragged that fucking thing back here. Why don’t you have a go at him?”

  “You want to try to pin this on me?” Hamish looked at Jay incredulous. “My father died this morning with a crushed spine and I never even got to say goodbye, you little shit. Maybe you should rethink your career options, now that you’ve killed all the animals you worked with.”

  As Amanda, Hamish and Jay started arguing, Don ignored them. He kept staring at the map on the wall. “We should’ve seen it coming.”

  Don got up and pulled a large map from the cabin’s wall. The corners ripped and stayed behind on the wall with the sticky tape, and he laid out the main body of the map over the cabin table. It was faded and curling up, having hung on the wall for several years, so he asked Amanda, Hamish and Jay, to take a corner each and hold it down. As they debated whose fault it was that things had gone so badly wrong, they didn’t hear him and he tried again, without success. Eventually, Don climbed up onto his seat and hollered as loudly as he could. “Shut up! Everyone; just shut it!”

  All three of them stopped arguing and yelling immediately, shocked at Don’s manner. He composed himself and then coolly got down. Again, he asked them to take a corner of the map each and hold it
in place.

  “I’m sorry, but come on guys, let’s keep it together. If you want to blame anyone, you can drop it on me. I’m in charge of security, so ultimately, the buck stops with me. Normally, I would vote for Zola, but as she’s not with us anymore, it would be a bit unfair of me to put it on her.” Don looked around the room stony-faced. His friends and colleagues were glum; their anger was forgotten, replaced by misery, shame, and mourning. Don didn’t want to see any more evidence that they had all helped in some way to create this mess. Zola was a part of it too, but as she was in the stomach of the beast now, her body being digested, it seemed ungracious to talk about her. He had to take charge. He knew he had to take responsibility and try to figure out a way of sorting things out.

  “Amanda, where was that seal colony? You know the one that was wiped out, somewhere up the coast of British Columbia, right?” Don flattened the map with his palms and studied the map closely.

  “Err, it was somewhere near Ucluelet I think. Yeah, just over there.” She pointed it out and Don grabbed a red marker pen. He put a big cross through the point on the map.

  “What about that ocean liner? That was found approximately a thousand miles east of Hawaii, right? So that would place it about…here.” Don drew another large X on the map.

  Ryan got up to examine the map. “Look, Don, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but…”

  “Ryan, you asked where it came from. I think I know. This is us right, and this is San Clemente.” Don drew two more large crosses on the map.

  “Yeah, but what’s that got to do with anything?” asked Ryan.

  “I think I see it,” said Hamish. His furrowed brow relaxed, and he let out a quiet expletive.

  Don had aroused their curiosity, and the heated argument from earlier had been forgotten. He drew a line with the marker from the cross at the top of the map by Ucluelet, down through where the liner had been roughly found, through San Clemente, and finally stopping at Wild Seas. The line formed a perfect arc.

  “The seal colony was wiped out a week ago. The cruise ship was found earlier yesterday, and San Clemente was hit yesterday evening. We all know what happened later,” said Don.

  “It followed us,” said Hamish in a muted voice.

  “What?” asked Amanda. “What did you say?”

  “It followed us back. This wasn’t a fluke or an accident. This monster didn’t just appear out of nowhere. The Ocean King followed us all the way here. I brought this.” Hamish let go of the map and it slowly began to curl up into the centre of the table. He sat down and stared at Amanda blankly.

  “Somehow, it was able to track down its infant,” said Jay. “I mean that’s what it is, isn’t it? We had the young here all this time. Somehow, it was like a honing beacon. Maybe it left pheromones, maybe it was able to communicate to its mother, who knows? I think it’s apparent that we inadvertently caught the infant of the species, and now we have an adult, the Ocean King, rampaging across California.”

  “And mommy’s pissed.” Don sat down too, letting go of the map. It began to wrinkle and he watched the red line he had drawn out slowly disappear as the paper wrapped itself up.

  “You’re telling me that monster tracked her child all the way here?” asked Amanda.

  “It’s possible, you know it is,” said Jay.

  “It fits.” Don looked at Amanda, searching her eyes for clues. “It all fits. We’ve seen what that thing can do. It stands to reason, if it could wipe out Wild Seas, then a small island of seals would stand no chance. I think the Ocean King made its way down here and it was just unfortunate that the cruise ship got in its path. Let’s face it, that monster could take down a ship in seconds if it wanted to.”

  “I need some air,” said Amanda. She left the cabin and went out onto the deck. Cold wind bustled into the cabin as she went through the door.

  “Hamish, you mind looking over those maps with Ryan? I need some air too,” said Don.

  “What can I do?” asked Jay.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty. Perhaps you can ask Hamish where he keeps the beer.”

  Don left the warmth of the cabin behind and found Amanda up on the deck looking over Diablo. The creature was perfectly still and quiet, and its breathing was laboured.

  “He’s lost both his eyes, you know. Even if we did release it back into the ocean, I’m not sure it would last long without vision,” said Amanda.

  “True,” said Don. “I guess it was more injured than we realised.” Amanda didn’t need to know the details of how Diablo had lost his sight. Don knew she had her suspicions, but she said nothing. He wasn’t about to lie if she asked him the truth, but he wasn’t about to tell her when it was irrelevant anyway. He had no more intention of letting Diablo go than of sprouting wings and flying to the moon.

  “He asked me to marry him,” said Amanda. She pushed her hair over her ears and looked at Don. “This morning, at the hospital. He told me he was planning on proposing at some restaurant he’d booked for Sunday lunch. He wanted his parents there too, but with Curtis… So he proposed in the hospital room.”

  “What did you say?” Don felt like smiling. He knew this was for the best, that Hamish would look after her. They were the perfect couple, and yet, Amanda wasn’t smiling back. Her eyes, so usually vivacious, were dull.

  “I said I’d have to think about it. I mean, his father has only just died, and his mother was in pieces. What could I say? I don’t think he was thinking straight. He’s grieving, he shouldn’t be thinking about me, not now.”

  “Don’t confuse guilt with love, Amanda. You said he was going to propose anyway, so it’s not like his father’s death clouded his judgement or anything. It might not be the most romantic proposal I’ve heard, but it’s the most honest. He wanted his father there when he asked you to marry him. Do you know how much guts that takes? Hamish is stronger than you think. How did his mother take it?”

  “She was happy for a while, when he asked I mean. When I said I had to think about it though…” Amanda lent over the side of the boat. “I feel sick.”

  Don put a hand on her shoulder and lent beside her. The murky water was quiet as the mist slowly evaporated, shifting silently across the ocean. Tendrils of low cloud snaked across the surface like dancing shadows, flitting in and out of existence, waiting for inevitable death. Don saw his reflection in the water, his face shifting in and out of focus. For a moment, his face flowed with the current, and he felt like he was being swept out to sea, to swim at the bottom of the ocean with the hundreds who had died on the cruise ship.

  As he rubbed Amanda’s back, it felt as if this was the final time they would be together alone. There was no logic to the way his mind was working, but everything was telling him to talk to her. He needed to tell her. “When you find someone, Amanda, don’t let them go. Don’t try to second guess them, or over-think it. If someone you love asks you to marry them, you say yes. You don’t want a lifetime of regrets and wondering what if you had done something else. I’ll never have that. I’m not saying I wasted my life, but I definitely missed out on a few things. I don’t know what would’ve happened with Meghan, but I know I’ll never get the chance to find out. She didn’t make it. I found out last night, but I wasn’t sure of when to tell you. Grief can be overwhelming. It can take a grip on your heart and not let go. Trust me, I know. When you feel it squeeze, you have to fight it.”

  Amanda looked at Don with red eyes. “Meghan? Oh no, Don, I’m so sorry.”

  Don continued to rub her back. He knew it would help to alleviate the nausea, and he also understood it wasn’t from sea-sickness. He had to get it out, while he could, while they had this moment of peace. The storm could be on them at any moment. He didn’t need Amanda grieving Meghan for him.

  “It gets harder every year. I can’t let it go, as much as I try to. Fuck, I can’t lie to you, Amanda. I don’t try to let it go at all. I just hide from it. I’ve spent my whole life hiding. My father died when I was young a
nd my mother didn’t cope so well after I found him. I was the eldest, so I guess I bore the brunt of her frustrations. I talked to her a couple of days ago, at the graveside. It wasn’t good.”

  “I thought your mother was…”

  “No, I just let you think that. I let everyone think that she was dead. It’s easier that way. It means I don’t have to explain why she hates me.”

  “Your mother might have issues with you, Don, but I’m sure she doesn’t hate you.”

  Do it, do it now.

  Don removed his hand from Amanda’s back and absently traced a finger over the scar on his head. “We don’t see each other, apart from awkward conversations once a year in the cemetery. I put money in her account every month so she has enough to get by. She doesn’t know. I tried offering her money, but she said she wouldn’t take blood money from me, so I have to keep it secret. I don’t like it, but I don’t want her living in poverty either. I check on her from time to time, and she seems all right for the most part. She has her church group and she can still drive, so…”

  “What else are you hiding from, Don? It’s not just your mother is it?” Amanda asked him.

  Just then, Hamish appeared with two cold beers. “I thought you might want these.”

  Amanda took them both. “Thanks, honey, can you just give us a minute. I’ll be inside shortly.”

  They kissed and Hamish went back into the cabin. Amanda passed Don a beer and he drank it down without pausing.

  “I didn’t tell you about my brother, did I?”

  “No,” said Amanda. “I know you were close, but you never said what happened to him. All I know is you visit his grave once a year on the sixteenth. You don’t have to tell me, Don, it’s up to you.”

  Don took in a large lungful of sea air. It was so fresh and clean, he couldn’t remember the last time the air had felt so good. “We joined up together. He was a year behind me, but he kept up, and we were admitted at the same time. We went through training together and even got into the same unit. Being in the SEALS was our dream. I don’t think you could say either one of us wanted it more. We were equals. Some people found it odd that two brothers could be so close, but my father’s death made us closer. It drove a wedge between my mother and me, but I loved my brother more than anything. We were inseparable until…