Depths of Paradise

by Vance Albright

  “Max, I need you to keep an eye on the cable gage,” Ashly said in a tense voice.

  “Sure. What am I looking out for?”

  “That display shows the cable tension. If it starts to flash red, tell me. It means the cable’s getting caught on something.” Ashly turned to him and smiled a nervous smile. “The last thing we need is to lose this drone because it got snagged on a rock.” She turned back to the controls and moved the MSR-2 through the underwater cave opening. The wide opening quickly started to become a narrow tube. A feeling of claustrophobia came over Ashly. She started wishing more than anything this drone had a sonar system. Max and Samuel’s eyes were glued to the screen looking for anything that could be the water panther. Max, of course, kept one eye on the cable screen. The drone’s light was only illuminating about ten feet in front of it, showing nothing but uneven shapes of the rock tunnel that surrounded it.

  “This is very odd,” Max said.

  “What?” Ashly asked, feeling her body jolt. She may have been safely aboard the ship, but focusing on controlling the drone made her feel like she was the one inside the tunnel system. Max’s words were unintentionally creepy when he said, “No fish. No marine life of any kind.” As Ashly listened, the MSR-2 drifted to the cave bottom. The twin propellers started stirring up sediment from the bottom floor, creating a thick cloud of mud and sediment.

  “Ashly, move the drone towards the top of the cave,” Samuel said, giving unwanted advice.

  “I’m trying,” Ashly replied. The screen in front of her was showing nothing but a brown cloud. After a moment of tense driving, the MSR-2 screen became clear again.

  “No wonder they call this place five graves,” Liz said, thinking about how terrifying it would have been to be a diver trapped in those conditions. For several minutes, the MSR-2 traveled through the tunnel, the seemingly endless darkness and unnatural lack of marine life making the situation unnaturally eerie.

  “What’s that?” Ashly asked, noticing a small circle of light in the distance.

  “The light at the end of the tunnel?” Liz replied as if it were obvious.

  “You always find a way to get your puns in,” Max said.

  “Isn’t that why you love me?” Liz asked.

  “Only sometimes,” Okada replied. Focus was returned to the screens when the MSR-2 went through the opening, which the team guessed was around thirty-five feet high.

  “How much free cable do we have?” Ashly asked.

  “A little over one hundred feet,” Max answered. This new opening was easily as big as the mouth of the cave they entered in.

  “We must have entered another cave system,” Samuel stated.

  Yeah, you think? Ashly thought, rolling her eyes at the comment. Max noticed something strange at the edge of the light beams.

  “Ashly, I just saw something stop,” he said, feeling his heart ponding in his chest. Ashly adjusted the light beam so the distance was shortened but brightened a larger area in front of them. The light beam caught the end of a large log.

  “What’s a log doing in a cave system?” Max remarked. He was asking himself the question as much as anyone else. Ashly moved the MSR-2’s light upward, revealing a large wooden structure. As the light moved across the structure, its size and shape came into view. The structure had no uniform shape. It looked like someone had been crudely throwing large logs, bits of steel, and what looked to be pieces of ship wreckages on top of each other.

  “Is that the creature’s lair?” Okada asked Max.

  “No way. Too small,” Max replied, wondering himself what he was looking at. He guessed the structure was fifteen feet high and twenty feet long, with thirty separate pieces, many of them wooden, making up the structure.

  “Anyone know what it is?” Liz asked.

  A disturbed look formed on Samuel’s face; then he said, “It’s a food cache.”

  “A what?” Ashly said, horrified.

  “He’s right,” Max agreed. He looked at Ashly and said in a disturbed tone, “Well, there’s only one way to confirm this.” Reluctantly, she moved the MSR-2 closer to the structure until it was close enough to see between two of the logs. The drone’s light shined into of one of the spaces, revealing what they thought could have been an arm. Ashly tried adjusting the light beam, but it did not present anything new. The MSR-2 moved to the space above it. This time the light shined upon a man’s head and upper body. The right side of his face was nearly gone. His left eye was hanging by threads. Small crabs were walking inside the open areas of his face. Ashly felt vomit moving from her stomach to her throat. She started coughing and ran down the stairs.

  “Weak stomach,” Liz commented, taking Ashly’s seat. She turned to Max and Okada and said, “Knowing the two of you, I’m guessing you want me to get a count of how many bodies are in here?”

  “Yes, as unpleasant as it may be, the task must be completed,” Okada confirmed. After taking a moment to figure out the controls, Liz started moving the MSR-2 upward. Suddenly a stream of bubbles briefly filled half the screen, followed by the end of a large tail. Before Liz could react, the MSR-2 was shoved into the wooden structure. The screen started flickering on and off as the MSR-2 was jerked around. The final image showed what looked to be the cave floor; then the video feed went completely dead. Samuel bolted from his chair, grabbed the bolt cutters, and ran for the cable. Seconds later, a loud snap filled the air as he cut the cable.

  “Let’s get out of here before he decides to come up. Ashly, we’re leaving!” Liz shouted.

  “Why? What happened?” Ashly asked, coming up the stairs.

  “The water panther got the MSR-2… Again,” Liz replied. Ashly frantically turned to the cable spool. Samuel was standing near it, holding the wire cutters up in victory.

  “Already on it,” he yelled proudly.

  “Everyone get in and sit down,” Okada ordered. Ashly and Samuel quickly got into the empty seats. Liz slowly moved the speed level forward.

  “We going home or what?” Liz asked.

  “Let’s leave the immediate area and regroup,” Okada ordered.

  Fifteen minutes later, the Barracuda drifted in the ocean around ten miles from the Five Caves Five Graves sight. The team was going through the final moments of video transmission from the MSR-2, hoping to spot details missed in the heat of the moment. Ashly was checking the ship’s engines, which everyone knew was an excuse to get out of looking at the dead bodies.

  Max had a still image of the water panther’s food cache up when Okada asked, “Have you seen this type of behavior before?”

  Max thought for a moment and said, “I know a few species of animals store food. For example, alligators will let food rot so it’s easier to eat. Or jaguars will hide a kill in a tree and slowly eating it over a period of a few days.” Max then forwarded the recording to when the MSR-2 got attacked. In the heat of the moment, he thought nothing of it, but now the sight of bubbles was bothering him. He went through the video frame by frame until the MSR-2’s camera was pointing towards the surface. “This could be bad,” he said out loud.

  “What now?” Liz asked. It seemed the more they learned about this creature, the worse things got.

  “The camera’s currently pointed towards the surface. It’s faint, but do you notice a slight ripple pattern at the top of the screen?”

  “Kinda. Why, is it important?” Liz asked.

  “It means this cave might have an air pocket. The ripple pattern and air bubbles formed when the water panther entered the water from the land above.”

  Samuel had heard enough and chimed in.

  “I want to end this rabbit trail before it starts. Like I said before, the water panther cannot go on land.” Everyone was looking at him skeptically, so he tried to explain his reasoning. “The rippling effect was caused by a malfunctioning camera. The air bubbles were caused by drone’s propellers.”

  “Still doesn’t prove it can’t go on land,” Liz stated, mainly to see how he would respond.


  “Look, if the water panther could go on land, don’t you think it would have taken a stroll down Main Street by now, or attacked a local beach?” Samuel countered in an uptight critical voice. Okada spoke before Liz could get a snappy comeback in.

  “We also have to acknowledge that the creature could not have entered the cave system the same way the drone did. There has to be another entrance to that cave.”

  “What I’m wondering is how did the water panther manage to carry fifty people twenty-seven miles in under an hour?” Liz brought up.

  “I don’t know if the people we just saw are all victims of the Alexandra wreckage,” Max said.

  “Give us your theory on what happened, professor,” Liz said, leaning back in the chair. Max softly punched her on the shoulder. Liz made a sad face and rubbed it.

  “My guess would be when the water panther finishes eating, he creates a temporary hiding place near the kill site for any extra bodies, then returns to eat them later,” Max replied. He grunted in frustration and said, “The question now is does he have other lairs or food caches other than the Five Cave Five Graves sight?”

  Samuel snapped his fingers and said, “Okada, do you happen to know if the Coast Guard divers searched the wreckage of the Carthaginian II?”

  Okada recalled the memory of that conversation and replied, “Captain Pierce stated the divers only worked on recovering the Alexandra.” Hearing that caused everyone in the room to think the same thing. Liz pulled up the GPS unit and found where the Carthaginian II was located.

  “It’s on the way home. Let’s go check it out,” Liz suggested.

  “I hate to point out the obvious, but the drone got destroyed,” Samuel commented. Max and Liz looked at each other and sighed.

  “Ugh, we’re going to have to dive down there and take a look,” Liz said.

  “Yep,” Max agreed, not liking the idea any more than she did. They both looked to Okada for his thoughts. He had the usual blank expression that he used when he was thinking over his options. If possible, he knew Governor Fatu would want the bodies recovered. He also had a good idea of where the water panther was now, and the sonar would give his teammates plenty of time to escape if needed.

  “Do you believe it is worth the risk?” Okada asked.

  “I do,” Max replied. Liz took her turn to punch him.

  “Very well; we will go,” Okada said, hoping he was making the right call.

  Chapter 34

  3:48 PM 04/18/2021 HST

  On route, Ashly learned about the plan and did not like it at all. She questioned why they couldn’t wait a day for her to get another drone. The response was the water panther was more active at night and may move any remaining bodies from the location. Max and Liz sat on the back end of the Barracuda. Max was holding the underwater camera, and Liz had an extra bag of twenty spears slung over her shoulder. Both had spear guns.

  “How far down is the wreckage, anyway?” Ashly asked, concerned.

  “I thought you would be telling us. You always have the answers,” Liz replied.

  “I didn’t have time to research the area,” Ashly replied softy. Her hands were cupped, and she was moving the top hand back and forth—a clear sign she was nervous.

  “It’s ninety-seven feet. A pretty easy dive,” Liz continued.

  “Ashly, relax; we’ll be fine down there,” Max added, noticing her nervousness.

  “Guys, are you two sure about this?” Ashly asked in a final attempt to stop the dive.

  “Of course not, but today’s as good of a day as any to die,” Liz replied sarcastically. Liz’s lackluster attitude on the situation was driving Ashly crazy.

  She shot back with, “If that thing is storing food down there, what if it’s mad about what happened with the MSR-2 and comes back to check on it?”

  “You’d be on the sonar. I trust you’d give us a heads up if anything happens,” Max said. Samuel wished them good luck. Liz and Okada held hands for a moment; then her and Max fell backwards into the water. Visibility was bright and clear to about fifty feet. Minutes later, they approached the wreckage of the Carthaginian II.

  “Local marine life is around the wreckage. That’s a good sign,” Max said, noticing the many species of fish and a green sea turtle swimming around the wreck.

  “Let’s search around the Carthaginian II, then we can work our way inside,” Liz suggested.

  “Doubt we’ll find anything on the outside, but it’s worth a look,” Max agreed. Max and Liz split up at the front of the wreckage. Liz went left. Max went right. Liz turned on her flashlight to clearly see areas blocked by shadows created by the ship’s hull. She was sure to stick close to the wall of rusting metal that was the Carthaginian II hull. Above Ashly’s eyes were glued to the sonar. So far, everything was clear, but she hated the fact that the water panther could show up any second with her teammates in the water.

  “Jeez!” Liz suddenly screamed in alarm.

  “Liz! Max!” Ashly yelled in a worried voice. A few moment later, Max’s laugher filled the intercom.

  “Guys, what’s going on?” Okada asked.

  “A white tip spooked Liz, that’s all,” Max replied.

  “A what?” Ashly asked.

  “A white tipped reef shark. It’s a small species of shark.” Liz pointed her spear gun at the shark resting peacefully on the ocean floor. Max quickly pulled it down with his hand. “No reason to shoot the shark. He’s not doing anything to us. Find anything interesting besides this?”

  “No, what about you?”

  “Several pieces of the ships mast are laying on the ocean floor. I don’t know if that occurred naturally or if the water panther did it,” Max answered.

  “Well, let’s head to the top of the ship and find out,” Liz suggested. The two of them swam to the top of the Carthaginian II. The first thing they noticed was the large hole that stretched across most of the ship’s hull. A few feet of the ship’s bow and stern were all that remained of the main deck.

  “Did that thing rip the hull apart?” Liz asked. Hearing that sent a chill down Ashly’s spine.

  “No, this was done before the ship was sunk, to create hiding places for marine life,” Max replied. He looked at the hole more closely and noticed several large logs and other pieces of debris inside. “But I know logs were not stored inside.”

  “Might as well go in,” Liz said reluctantly. The thought of seeing dead bodies did not bother her, but the idea of going into an enclosed area that a sea monster was using to store food did. Max and Liz swam though the hole that led to the ship’s insides. The debris field was located at the left end of the ship. Max and Liz immediately noticed it looked very similar to the structure in the cave.

  Liz looked up at the space above them and said, “This hole is too small for that creature to fit into. How’d he get the logs inside?” Liz commented.

  “My guess would be he dropped the debris and bodies in from above,” Max replied. Liz noticed a small area with a seven-foot-tall doorway directly behind them. She pointed to it.

  “That will be a good hiding spot if the water panther does show up.” After removing a few logs, they could tell dead bodies were indeed under them. After a few more logs were removed, the bodies became visible.

  “Okada, we found bodies,” Max said. “We’re taking a few photos, then heading up.”

  Okada looked at Ashly and said, “I’m going to report our findings to Governor Fatu. I’m sure the families will want those bodies recovered.”

  “Please tell me we’re not bringing a dead body aboard?” Ashly asked, worried.

  “The Coast Guard will handle that,” Okada answered.

  “Okada, before you make the call, I have an idea,” Samuel added.

  “I’ll count. You photograph,” Liz stated. Max agreed and they started working. Liz pointed her finger at each body, mentally counting as she did.

  “This thing might be dangerous, but he sure has a sense of humor,” Liz said.

&n
bsp; “What do you mean?” Max replied. Liz tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to a row of bodies piled on top of each other.

  “He stashed the Alexandrea’s crew together.”

  “Very funny. Did you finish the count?”

  “Yep, seventeen bodies. Far less than what I was expecting to find.”

  “Max, you and Liz have GPS locators on your dive watches, right?” Samuel’s voice crackled in their ear pieces. Max was about to reply when Samuel said, “Over.”

  “Yes, both our watches have them; why?” Max replied.

  “Place your watches on two of the bodies that way…” Liz cut him off excitedly.

  “We can track the water panther when he eats them.” Max and Liz took off their watches and placed them on two of the bodies.

  “Let’s head back up and go home,” Max said. When they emerged from the wreckage, Max noticed Liz freeze. He turned to see a large object sitting on the ocean floor.

  “Max, move!” Liz cried, aiming her spear gun.

  “My god,” he said out loud. Liz fired and jetted upward.

  “Guys, what’s happening? There’s nothing on the sonar,” Ashly asked, starting to panic herself.

  “Liz, stop. That’s not the water panther; it’s a dead colossal squid.” Liz stopped ascending when she saw Max swimming towards the object.

  “Max where are you going? Get back here,” Liz said, wanting him to come up.

  “Guys, what’s happening down there? Someone please tell me something,” Ashly’s nervous voice said over the intercom.

  “Ashly, we’re fine,” Max replied. “I’m going to examine a carcass. It will just take a minute.”

  “That’s what people say right before they die,” Liz said, reluctantly joining him. Max hovered above the half-eaten carcass. The entire top portion of the trunk was eaten away, and inside the squid’s body scavenging marine life gorged themselves on the free meal.