Creature From The Crevasse

by Michael Cole

  Marlow’s jaw dropped open, simultaneously as the Carnobass’s mouth shut. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He realized the nut on the johnboat wasn’t as crazy as he sounded. McMillan instinctively drew his Glock and pointed it toward the large fish. He placed his finger on the trigger, but did not yet shoot. Marlow grabbed the radio speaker.

  “Chief! Where are you? There’s a giant…FISH, in the water!” He eased his thumb off the transmitter.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Sydney’s voice clearly expressed his bewilderment.

  “I’m not making this up,” Marlow said. “This thing is bigger than our fucking boat! It’s swimming over to…oh SHIT!” The bass circled back along the surface, and made another attack run toward the cruiser. McMillan yelled as he fired off several rounds from his Glock. The bullets shattered against the solid armored scales. The fish didn’t even flinch. It rammed the port quarter, sending the cruiser into a brutal tailspin. The railing shattered into bits of metal, while the side of the boat caved inward. The deck splintered near the point of impact, and water slowly began to seep in at the breach. McMillan fell to the deck, accidentally firing off his last round. The bullet whizzed right by Marlow’s ear. Instinctively, he ducked, and then checked himself for any injuries.

  “Shit, man!” he yelled.

  Several yards back, the speedboat driver went from his catatonic state to sudden alert. With a racing pulse, he yelled out to the skiers to hurry in. Though still in shock, they could sense the alarm in his voice. Still crying, the female skier finally began to paddle, followed by the man.

  “Hurry! Hurry!” the driver yelled at them.

  Marlow could hear the boat’s engine still running, and could only hope the twin propellers weren’t too badly damaged. He engaged the throttle, and to his slight surprise, the boat moved forward.

  “What are you doing?” McMillan shouted as he shoved a fresh magazine into his Glock.

  “Drawing it away!” Marlow answered. “Don’t worry about what I’m doing and keep your eye on the damn thing! Where is it?” McMillan didn’t answer, but rather made a rush for the armory compartment. He pulled a loaded Remington Autoloader and chambered a round. Marlow looked back over his shoulder towards the stern. Suddenly, he had his answer. Less than thirty feet behind them was the creature. In the brief moment he looked at it, it had already shortened that distance by half. His muscles tensed as he braced for impact.

  The bass crashed into the stern. The bow lifted slightly, and the twin propellers detached, crushed from the impact. Marlow fell against the console as the bow came back down. Dead in the water, the boat bobbed and slowly turned in a clockwise motion. Marlow grabbed the second shotgun and ran to the starboard side, while McMillan took the portside. He looked over the railing to assess the damage.

  “Oh shit, Tim! We’re taking on water!”

  “Watch for the damn fish!” Marlow yelled.

  With the creature sidetracked, Wilkow sped his boat over to the pontoon. The three survivors gathered on the side closest to him.

  “Get in here!” he called to them. They started moving before he even spoke. The man jumped clear from the pontoon right into the johnboat, which rocked hard when he landed. The girls slipped into the water and pulled themselves over the side.

  “Come on, man, get us out of here!” one of them shouted.

  “Oh really? I figured, now that you guys were in my boat, we’d hang and cast a line!” Wilkow sarcastically remarked.

  “There!” Marlow yelled and pointed to the large fin circling around his side. He raised his shotgun and quickly fired off several deafening blasts. The water kicked up around the fish near the fish as the pellets tore through. Each one was stopped cold against the fish’s solid scales. McMillan joined Marlow and started firing. The fish turned toward them, appearing to be readying for another run. The head emerged. The enormous eyes seemed to stare right at them. Both Marlow and McMillan felt chills, and realized this next attack would certainly sink their boat, ultimately leaving them helpless. Marlow quickly started inserting more shells into his shotgun.

  The bass started moving forward, only to stop suddenly from the tiny stings of projectiles striking its face at the speed of sound. Marlow looked and saw Chief Sydney speeding in from the south. He kept on hand on the controls while he aimed his Beretta with the other. He lined up with the fish and squeezed off several more rounds. One struck the fish just below the eye. Although the bullet was crushed by the armor scales, the impact triggered a stinging nerve pain that drove the fish down. Sydney pulled up beside the boat.

  “Are you guys alright?”

  “We’re fine, but the boat’s busted,” Marlow said. “The propellers are gone and we’re taking on water.” The distant sound of sirens echoed through the air. McMillan suddenly rushed to the front of the boat, pushing past Marlow.

  “That’s Unit Five,” he said, pointing to the police vessel approaching from the northeast.

  “They’re coming fast enough!” Marlow said. He chambered a shell in his freshly reloaded shotgun. “Chief! Don’t stay put! This thing is fucking fast, and STRONG!”

  “What the hell is it?!” Sydney said.

  “Some sort of big ass fish!” Marlow said.

  A thunderous smashing sound filled the air, and the boat suddenly rolled to starboard. After ramming its enemy, the Carnobass dipped under the water, ready to pick off the two bite-sized prey that fell into the water.

  The breach widened into a massive gorge in the portside. Water rushed inside, causing the boat to quickly sink. Within seconds, water was up to the officer’s waists. Marlow ditched the shotgun as he felt the deck disappear beneath his feet. Sydney pulled up to him and reached out. Taking the chief’s hand, Marlow pulled up onto the jet ski and sat right behind Sidney. Despite the intense situation, both men couldn’t help but notice the awkward position.

  “We will never talk about this,” Sydney said to him. McMillan started swimming their way, and Sydney steered the jet ski closer to him. His eyes went further past him to the disturbance in the water. The fish was swiftly approaching. He quickly shoved a fresh magazine into his Beretta and started firing. He hit the approaching fish along its back, but to no effect. “FUCK!”

  The skiers boarded the speedboat. Shaking from adrenaline, the driver Aaron throttled the speedboat forward, intent on returning to the lodge. The motor moaned and the boat quickly sped up along a path that would pass by the police officers. Aaron suddenly recognized that the cruiser had sunk and one of the officers was in the water.

  His eyes then went to the bass’s dorsal fin…directly ahead. He shrieked as the boat passed over it. The hull grazed the fish just behind the head, driving it downward. The panicked driver didn’t look back, and continued pushing the throttle to its top speed.

  The fish felt the displacement from the fleeing vessel. Believing the impact to be a sign of aggression, the Carnobass lost interest in the prey in the water and turned to pursue.

  Wilkow steered his johnboat over to McMillan. The surviving vacationers, while still shouting and crying, reached over and helped him up. In this same moment, the other vessel arrived. The officers on board stared with baffled expressions, unsure of what had just occurred.

  “Alright, you’re getting on board with them,” Sydney said to Marlow. He lined up the jet ski with the cruiser.

  “Sir, what’s happening?” one of the officers said.

  “There’s a large animal in the water!” Sydney said. “It’s a big fish of sorts.”

  “It sunk our boat!” Marlow said as he climbed up the ladder to the cruiser. He looked at the distancing speedboat, and could just barely see the fin trailing behind it. “Oh hell, boss! It’s following the boat!”

  “Fuck! The idiots are leading it right to the damn lodge!” He then saw Wilkow, recognizing him as the doctor from the university. “You? What are…?” he stopped, as there was no time to waste. “Get out of the water now!” He then pointed at the officers
on the cruiser. “Come on! We gotta get to the lodge!”

  Sydney sped his jet ski forward, spraying up water in his path. He pulled his phone from his pocket and attempted to dial the lodge telephone number. In the upper corner of the screen read No signal.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  ********

  Aaron could see the busy shore by the lodge. Fright and adrenaline fried any rationale in his brain. He had no plan other than to blare the boat horn and speed on through.

  “Oh my God!” Jordan called out. Aaron glanced back at him briefly. He was looking back over the transom, watching the fish close in on them. Aaron turned his eyes back toward shore.

  “Come on… almost there…ALMOST THERE!” The beach area was getting closer and closer. He could see the rubber rafts floating about and people splashing as far as three hundred feet from shore.

  The Carnobass angled downward and thrust its black tail to generate extra speed. After diving several dozen feet, it hooked back upward. It then tilted back upward to line up for another ramming strike. With another strong thrust of its tail, the Carnobass rocketed upward right in the path of the speedboat. The strike made its mark directly in the middle of the hull with pulverizing force.

  All three boaters suddenly felt weightless as their boat went airborne. Lifted from the tremendous impact, the sixteen-foot boat twisted in mid-air in a corkscrew motion. Jordan and Rachel screamed for dear life as they were thrown from the deck. Aaron hugged the helm and held his breath while every muscle tensed. He heard the splashes as his friends hit the water. Gravity pulled the boat down, with the bow tilted at a downward angle. Aaron attempted to scream. With his muscles tensed, all he could get out was a low-pitched squeak.

  Twisting like a screw on a power drill, the boat hit the water upside down.

  Water splashed all around, and lifeless human figures bobbed all around the boat. The six-year-old boy on the beach yelled “Boom” to mimic an explosion as he crashed his toy navy boat into a group of action figures. Playing in a foot of water, he grabbed a second toy boat to pretend to fire make-believe bullets at his G.I. Joes.

  “Ahhh!” he mimicked screams of the “bad guys.” His make-believe yells were joined by the real-life screams all around him. Confused, he looked up around him as several adults stood up on the beach and looked far out into the lake. Screams echoed through the huge crowd as people witnessed the speedboat crash into the water and repeatedly flip forward in a summersault roll. The boat broke into pieces of wood, metal, and glass, most of which sank beneath the waves.

  Aaron drew a breath after his life vest pulled him up into the middle of remaining floating debris. Amazed to be alive, he patted himself for any obvious injuries. Nothing. Miraculously, he hardly suffered a scratch.

  His amazement and relief was so immense that he was shortly relieved of the terror that had stricken him. It was short lived. The greenish shape emerged from the side, and the jaws opened up to a dark throat. Aaron tensed and gave another squeaky scream before being sucked into the huge jaws.

  Widespread panic hit the beach. People shrieked at the sight of the giant bass as it devoured the man. The boy’s father rushed out into the water and picked him up, while much of the crowd started moving in from the lake in terror. Nearby fishermen dropped their poles and sped their boats to the dock.

  From the cleaning station window, Joel watched the large crowd running inland from the water. Standing beside him was Mr. Tindell, who watched the same event unfolding.

  “What the hell is this? The Normandy Invasion?” he said. Joel walked outside for a better view. He stood baffled when his eyes locked on the Carnobass swimming into the shallower waters. The green color of the fish contrasted strongly with the clear beach waters. Though several people had already come ashore, there were many stragglers far out in the water.

  Joel’s instinct for taking action took immediate effect. He ran to the dock where several anglers rode their boats ashore. He picked the first vacant johnboat and tossed out the gear left behind. He moved to the bow and pushed the boat back out into the water. Once knee-deep, he heaved himself over the side and started the motor.

  The bass could feel the multiple vibrations flowing through the water. Prey was in abundance in this area. Although its hunger had been temporarily satisfied, the fish did not want to pass up this opportunity for further sustenance. With so many targets to choose from, it jetted for the nearest one.

  Laying face down on his blue inflatable air sofa, the twenty-year-old vacationer paddled his hands in the water like oars. His girlfriend had previously accompanied him, but she departed in favor of the speedier escape of swimming to shore. He favored the watercraft. “Good luck,” he snorted as she dove off.

  He paddled as hard as he could. He thought to be home free, until he noticed a large shadow overtake him. He looked up, and there it was. The bass had jumped clear out of the water, momentarily blocking the sun. It angled down directly on him, jaws hyperextended. The sheer force of the creature coming down on him brought instant death, sparing him of the horrific experience of being swallowed alive. The inflatable air sofa made a popping sound like a giant birthday balloon as it escaped the Carnobass’s jaws.

  Immediately, the bass identified another target; a yellow rubber raft with three people on it. There was no rationale in its choosing. It just acted as a mindless killing machine. It launched itself, ignoring the swimmers between itself and the raft. Like a semi-truck speeding through a crowded area, its bulk pummeled many people in its path. Several of them were hit squarely by its head and knocked to the side, resulting in multiple fractures. One swimmer, a man in his thirties, ended up rolling over the top of the bass. Initially, he thought he’d roll along like a log. But then he came over the fins, just as they flared. A spine entered his abdomen, exiting his back. He hung along the top like a medieval trophy until the force of the waves shook him loose.

  The people on the raft stroked the water to steer inland, but hardly gained any distance. They noticed the fish coming right for them. Two of them quickly bailed and dove, while the third one suffered the deer-in-headlights effect. The bass lifted its head, and without slowing down, engulfed him in its mouth.

  Sydney cursed the fish as he watched it come down onto the vacationer. He raced into the beach area, followed by the patrol cruiser carrying Marlow and two other officers. All three of them had shotguns handy, although Marlow and Sydney were aware of how ineffective they were. For the first time in years, Sydney felt a deep fear strike him. He hated putting his officers at risk, especially after the creature had already ravaged one patrol vessel. The worst part was, there was no clear plan of action. Only an objective; drive the fish away from the populated area.

  “Holy crap, Chief, it’s going crazy! What are we going to do?” Marlow said. Before Sydney could answer, another officer yelled into the radio.

  “WHAT IS THAT!”

  “Listen!” Sydney said. “Whatever you do, don’t stop! This thing will smash that boat to bits like it did the other one. Empty your shotguns into it, but check for friendlies. Right now, we just want to draw it away!”

  The Carnobass banked left to go after a paddleboat. The married couple on board pedaled hard for shore, completely unaware they had been targeted by the rampaging fish. It hit the small boat from behind like a battering ram. The hit sent the paddleboat rolling over like a soccer ball. Both occupants found themselves under the water and separated by several yards.

  The Carnobass detected the rapid movements of the two struggling lifeforms. It caught sight of the nearest one, the husband, and moved in along the surface to scoop him up in its mouth. Sydney watched the dorsal fin curve as the fish adjusted its position. With his Beretta in hand, he rested his arm over the center of the controls to steady his sights. He aimed several feet ahead of the fin in hopes of hitting the creature’s head. He squeezed.

  Several rounds mushroomed against the thick scales near the gill slit. No damage was inflicted and the creatu
re felt no pain, but it was startled. It attempted a deep dive, only to smash along the shallow lakebed. It flapped its body in a fury, kicking up an immense cloud of muck.

  “It’s down there!” Sydney pointed to the brownish haze under the water. The cruiser aligned towards the designated zone like a battleship with its starboard side facing the underwater cloud. Marlow, still dripping wet, stood at the stern with a shotgun handy. The driver left the controls and snatched up his shotgun to join his partner at the railing. Sydney took quick notice and snatched radio speaker.

  “No! Get back on the console! You need to be ready to make a run…” The fish jumped clear up out of the water. Its body arched to the side and back in midair. It came down fiercely on the cruiser’s bow. The whole front of the boat dipped hard, causing the rear to lift up like a see-saw. Marlow was flung from the stern as if from a catapult, and landed several feet away in the water. The other officers fell to the deck and grabbed anything they could for dear life. Water flooded over the crushed bow railing and quickly spilled into the lower compartments.

  Sydney quickly hooked around the damaged boat to rescue Marlow. The rookie quickly emerged while fighting with his heavy gear to stay afloat. Sydney throttled up while keeping an eye out for the bass. The fish had swum under again, concealed by the now thrashing surface.

  “Hang on, kid! I’m coming!” He slowed as he neared him.

  “I hear ya, Chief!” Marlow called back, spitting water with each word. Sydney was mere feet away, and reached out. Marlow reached back. As he was about to grab Sydney’s wrist, another watery surge erupted around him.

  “NO!” Sydney yelled as he witnessed the young officer sucked down, out of his grasp, into the mouth of the Carnobass. Marlow, still reaching out to him, disappeared as the jaws clamped shut. The Carnobass quickly began to swim off. Its gigantic bulk passed closely by Sydney. The chief felt a unison of guilt, sorrow, and intense rage. This combination led to a raging madness. He gritted his teeth and fired off the remaining rounds in his magazine. Empty cartridges hit the water off to his right until the slid locked back.