The police patrol boats looked impressive. They were identical flat-fronted landing crafts, with the front panel able to swing down to become a ramp. Each boat was thirty-two feet in length, with a catamaran-style hull constructed of welded aluminum. Bigger than Mason’s twenty-five-foot patrol cruiser, these craft would easily hold enough troopers to get everybody to their destination.
“Mornin’, Sheriff,” said Captain Moody. “Good to see you. We were just starting to load up our gear.”
“Mornin’,” Mason echoed. He watched the troopers transport cases of weaponry and ammunition from their SUVs to the waiting ships.
“How do you do, Sheriff?” said the man leaning on the boat. “I’m Sergeant Lamar Billings, from Charleston. I’ll be piloting this craft, and Ty over there will drive the other one.” He pointed to a stout fellow on the bow of the second boat, and the man offered a curt wave.
“Nice to meet you both,” Mason responded. “And thank you for coming down to help.”
“Ready to rock,” Ty stated.
“Looks like a sharp ride,” said Mason, complimenting the vessel.
“Hop on in,” the trooper invited. “Come check it out.”
Mason was eager to see what the patrol boat had to offer. “Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” He climbed aboard the catamaran to have a look. The craft had dual outboard motors, plenty of seating, a partially-enclosed center console, a Garmin radar/plotter/sounder with a twelve-inch display, a FLIR night vision camera, and a Humminbird side scan sonar unit. Mason was pretty impressed. “Very cool,” he said.
“Aren’t you in the wrong boat?” asked Denise.
Mason followed her voice and spotted her on the other side of the pier, staying out of the troopers’ way. “I didn’t think so until now,” he joked. “Now I want to trade.” The sheriff vacated the patrol boat and stepped onto the pier. “How are you feeling, Denise?”
The marine biologist was nervous, and it showed. “I’m jittery. And a little numb. But excited… is that weird?”
Mason smiled. “A little.”
“Are any of your deputies coming to join us today?” she asked.
“No, I want to keep them here in case anything happens while I’m gone. The town needs some of us here to take care of the residents.”
Before long everything was loaded onto the boats. It was time to head out. Knowing it was time, Mason started the motor of his cruiser.
“Give me a minute to get moved out first,” said Mason. “You’re gonna need me to lead the way.”
Sergeant Billings shook his head. “Naw, I’m just gonna punch the destination into the chartplotter. Piece of cake.”
“It’ll be tricky getting onto the island. There’s a group of shallow reefs surrounding it.”
“No worries,” Billings assured. “We’ve got side imaging to see our way through the water.”
“Well, in that case,” said Mason, “y’all go right on ahead. I’d just as soon follow you guys in so I don’t have to worry about the reefs.”
“We got ya.” The sergeant turned to the rest of the troops. “All aboard, let’s get this party started!”
Captain Moody chuckled, approving of his colleague’s enthusiasm. “You heard the man,” he said, “let’s load up and head out. I’ll ride with the sheriff.”
“Me too,” said Denise. She lined up behind Josh and they boarded the Sweetboro Police boat. Mason untied the mooring lines and pushed away from the pier. Josh took a seat at the rear of the boat and watched his fellow troopers pull away from the dock.
“Ready?” asked Mason, and his passengers nodded. “Here we go. Next stop: Wrecker Island.” The sheriff eased the throttle forward, and his cruiser began moving. He followed the troopers out to the open ocean, toward the morning sun.
It would take them an hour to arrive, based on their current speed of thirty knots. That was a long time to endure while trying to keep their nerves from getting the best of them. Denise figured talking would keep them mentally focused.
“What did Miss Eaver say about you coming today?” she asked, sitting next to Mason at the console.
Mason winced. “She wasn’t happy, that’s for sure. Neither was her momma. But she knows it’s what I have to do. I’d hate myself if I sent others in to clean up something as dangerous as this while I stayed safe at home.”
Denise could see that. “You’re a brave young man, to be sure.”
Mason scoffed. “No braver than you! There was no obligation for you to be here, but here you are.”
“I’m scared to death, don’t be fooled,” said Denise. “But I don’t trust anybody else to properly collect the samples I need.”
“There ya go.”
Josh overheard the conversation. “What’re you two saying?” he said teasingly. “You only came along because you had to make sure we did this thing right?”
Playing along, Denise dropped her jaw and looked at Mason for his response.
“Of course not,” Mason said, “I just think it’s better to have more than you need than to need more than you have.”
The captain chuckled. “Amen,” was all he could say to that. “The more, the merrier.”
“Absolutely. The more of us watching each other’s backs, the better chances we have of getting back to our loved ones safely.”
Denise could tell by his tone that he truly loved that young woman Eaver. “You two really love each other, don’t you?”
“We do,” said Mason.
“How long have you been together?”
“Technically, only a year. At least romantically. But I’ve known her all my life. We grew up together; she’s my best friend.”
The statement was touching, and Denise felt warmth in her heart. “Aww, that’s so sweet.” She suddenly appreciated and respected their love for one another. At that moment she no longer saw Mason as a conquest. “You two are so cute together,” she praised. “And happy. Good for you.”
“What about you, Miss Denise?” asked Josh. “Are you married?”
The marine biologist shook her head. “Nope. Single workaholic, I’m afraid.”
The trooper nodded, identifying with her. “Same here.”
After traveling thirty miles across the heaving ocean, Wrecker Island was right in front of them. Mason felt chills as he approached the familiar, terrible place. The large, rocky peak loomed menacingly before him. The boats slowed to a crawl and navigated the maze of reefs surrounding the island.
Mason got on the radio and addressed the other boats. “Okay, guys, stay on the north end here. There’s a small beach straight ahead. That’s where we’ll land.”
“Copy,” the sergeant’s voice crackled back.
Captain Moody studied the island terrain. He focused on the high hillside, then scanned the long, flat lowland area to the south. There must have been half a mile of woods and wetlands in there. “So this is it,” he mumbled.
The boats weaved their way to the beach on the north shore. The three craft landed next to each other, crowding the shoreline. Then the front panels of the troopers’ catamarans dropped down, and the state police disembarked.
The short beach was soon filled with people and weaponry. Captain Moody and Sergeant Billings distributed flashlights and the AR-15s, handing the semi-automatic rifles to everybody but Denise. Then the party made sure to pocket every last magazine of ammunition. Armed with the rifles and ammo, plus the handguns each officer carried, the team was ready to kill.
Denise’s pulse was quick. She was not prepared for the fear that being on the island actually brought her. But she was here for a reason, and she had to do her part no matter how frightened she was.
Captain Moody looked past the sand, above the grassy border, and to the steep mount. “We get in somewhere up there, I take it?” he said.
Mason nodded. “Yeah. There’s a small fissure where we can all get through.”
“Everybody got earplugs?” asked Tanisha.
“I’d recommend no earplug
s,” the sheriff warned, knowing they would need to fully rely on their eyes and ears. “We’re gonna want to be able to hear every little sound when we’re in there.”
“Alright then,” the captain acknowledged.
“Ready?” said Mason, facing the team. They nodded in the affirmative. Mason turned to face the rocky hillside, took a sturdy breath, and began walking toward the opening to the underground cavern.
CHAPTER 27
The group stood next to the stony face of the hill, gawking at the opening in the rock. The exposed fissure was dark, foreboding. Air flowed out from the chamber within, and it sounded like a whispery warning. It gave the group chills.
The opening was only five feet high and about a foot and a half wide. “Looks awful snug in there,” said Josh.
“It’s just a few feet deep,” Mason offered, “and then we’re inside.”
“You mind if I take lead?” the trooper asked, making sure he was not taking anything away from the sheriff.
Mason had no objection. “Be my guest.”
“Now remember, everyone,” Captain Moody directed, “we don’t know how many of them are in there. So fire only when you need to, and watch the extra shots. I don’t want us taking any chances of running out of ammo.”
The captain entered the tight opening, keeping his flashlight aimed ahead of him. He had to crouch to get through the fissure. Fortunately, the limestone wall was only a couple of feet thick before it presented the enormous cavern beyond.
“Holy shit,” Josh muttered, taking it in. The cavern was vast, hundreds of feet long and around seventy feet high. The captain’s eyes were drawn to a small opening in the ceiling where a sparse amount of light was coming in. He shined his flashlight beam on the domed ceiling and slowly brought it down, seeing limestone stalactites, calcium ribbons, and white flowstone meeting the seawater. Then he saw the silhouette of the German U-boat against the sunlight coming from the opposite mouth of the cavern. He could not help but grin.
Mason was the next one in. Immediately noticing the hint of sulfur in the air, he scanned the cavern nervously. There was no movement anywhere inside. He tapped Josh’s arm and pointed to the water’s perimeter. “There’s a narrow walkway along the left side of the water that takes us right up to the sub,” he whispered.
The captain moved forward to allow the rest of the team to enter behind them. The group followed closely after, with Denise bringing up the rear. She lugged one of the two gasoline cans, while the boat pilot, Ty, carried the other one. Moving single file, the group made their way down the rock to the shoreline. Josh saw the walkway to the left, and was curious about what lay in the other direction. “What’s off to the right?” he asked, keeping his voice down.
Mason shrugged. “I don’t know. We didn’t go that way. I suppose we’d better check it out to be sure.”
“Agreed,” said the trooper. He faced the others. “Billy, Don, Tim, Bradley, Laura, Frank, and Ty, you all take the right side. See if there’s anything over there. The rest of us will go this way. Stay alert. And keep your radios on, volume just low enough to hear.”
“Affirmative,” Billy saluted. He led his unit around the dark pool to search the right side of the cavern.
Josh advanced to the left with the rest of the group. He held his weapon ready, resting the rifle’s handguard atop his flashlight hand. He kept his eyes on the slippery path before him despite wanting to look around at everything else.
The group walked the water’s edge, making their way toward the U-boat and the tunnel that opened to the sea. Keeping sharp eyes on their surroundings, they were prepared to engage the enemy at any moment. Their eyes darted back and forth between the murky, green seawater and the shadowy crevices in the rock walls.
Denise’s heart was pounding from her anticipation of being attacked. Her imagination was actively providing images of cold, wet tentacles squeezing her and taking her into the black depths to die. She stayed as close to the others as possible.
Forty feet later, they had reached the U-boat. It was large, roughly a hundred and fifty feet long and fifteen feet wide. The dormant behemoth lay slightly tilted against the rock shoreline. Josh studied the rusted craft with awe and admiration. “This is incredible,” he stated. “It looks like a Type IIB, but it’s shaped a little different. Like it’s been modified. Maybe one of several undiscovered prototypes that were rumored to be out there. I have no idea what type of U-boat this is.”
“It’s a bad one,” Mason smirked.
The captain chuckled. “I suppose so,” he admitted. “Still, it’s fascinating to see it up close.”
“Come on,” said Mason, turning his head to the cavern. “What we’re after is over here.” He brought the others farther along the shore until they were near the U-boat’s tail. The stench of sulfur was stronger here. Mason’s body tensed as he led them to the egg pool.
The crater in the rock was five feet in diameter. It contained just over a foot of water. In the light from their flashlights the group could see the eggs resting under the water. They looked exactly as Denise had heard them described. Greenish-yellow, oval, bumpy surface, and the size of a football.
“Okay,” said Mason, “let’s pour the gas and burn ‘em.”
Josh frowned. “That’s not gonna work,” he announced.
“Why not?”
Miguel answered for the captain. “They’re underwater. The gas on top would just burn out and do nothing to the eggs beneath.”
“Pull ‘em all out,” Josh directed. “We need to get them on dry land.” There was a flat pocket of flowstone against the cavern wall, five feet behind the egg pool. “Put ‘em over there, and then we can burn ‘em.”
Just then Billy’s voice was heard on the two-way radio. “We got a little pool over here with a bunch of eggs in it.”
Captain Moody replied. “Roger. Us too. We’ve got about a dozen eggs in ours,” the captain announced.
“There’s about twenty in this one,” said Billy.
“Jesus,” Mason whispered. “It’s a good thing we checked over there.”
“We have to pull them out of the water,” Josh informed via radio. “Set them down on the rock where they can’t roll anywhere, then douse ‘em and burn ‘em up.”
“Ten-four.”
Captain Moody addressed his team. “Okay, a few of us need to reach in and get ‘em. Everyone else, keep us covered. Guns ready.”
Keeping his finger close to the trigger, Mason stood watch while Josh, Miguel, and Vince plunged their hands into the pool.
On the other side of the cavern, the same thing was happening. Billy, Frank, Don, and Bradley were grasping the underwater eggs. Touching the thick, leathery coat of the eggs gave the men goosebumps. They also had some considerable weight. The troopers were cautious when pulling them out of the water, as if they feared something inside would awaken.
Bradley extracted one from the pool and carried it to the designated collection area. Suddenly something inside convulsed, jutting the soft shell against Bradley’s hand. He instinctively dropped the egg. “Shit!” he exclaimed. “This one’s moving!”
“That’s alright,” said Billy. “They won’t be moving for long. Hurry up and get all of ‘em over there.”
The crew emptied the pool, stacking the slick, soft eggs in a pile. They scanned the crater one more time with their flashlights to make sure they had not missed any that might still be in the water. Then they stepped back while Ty drained his gas container onto the eggs.
“Ready to burn,” said Ty, setting down the empty container.
“We’re ready,” Billy repeated into the two-way radio.
“Copy that,” Captain Moody’s voice acknowledged. “We’re a go over here too. Light it up. And then get ready… the sliggers will definitely know we’re here at that point.”
“Roger, here we go.” Billy nodded to Ty, who produced a lighter and ignited the trail of gasoline.
Mason had just set his half-empty gas can a s
afe distance away when Josh started the other fire. The cavern lit up brightly as the opposite bonfires each flashed with a simultaneous whoosh. The blazing piles of eggs were quickly seared, scorched, destroyed.
Suddenly there was activity in the water.
Just off the shore, next to Billy’s unit, the surface rumbled excitedly. It looked like a pool of piranha in a frenzy. Then a number of tentacles erupted from the water, thrashing wildly.
“Guns up!” yelled Billy. “Here they come!”
The creatures went for the intruders, quickly and angrily. A hellish stench accompanied them as they attacked the unit. The group braced themselves and opened fire. The cavern was filled with the sound of gunfire and the flashes bursting from the muzzles.
Mason and Josh spotted movement in the water near them, just past the tail of the U-boat. A heavy sulfuric odor – one that was all too familiar to Mason – indicated that the monsters were coming.
“This is it!” said Mason. He solidified his stance and prepared to open fire. Denise scampered behind the crew, out of the way.
The beasts exploded from the water, hissing and flailing. There seemed to be ten of them. The group of hunters pulled their triggers and began punching bullets into the shiny flesh of their targets. It took several hits to drop each creature. More of them immediately followed, climbing over the fallen.
As the horde advanced around the Nazi craft and toward the group, Josh felt his body start to go numb. His brain could barely process the nightmare he was seeing. Lean, wet, dark-green bodies were rushing straight for him, with their terrifying teeth and demonic, black-glass eyes. And now there were about twenty of them.
No fear, Captain Moody commanded himself. They’re just animals, he insisted, refusing to let the numbness take over his body. No fear, dammit! He continued pulling the trigger and dropping as many targets as he could.
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