Behemoth

by Michael Cole

  “Oh shit!” he gagged. The wind had been knocked out of him. He coughed almost uncontrollably, spitting up saliva and a little bit of blood. His nose also began to bleed from the elbow to the face. At this moment, he didn’t bother to try and get back up. He didn’t have the energy, and besides, there was no purpose. He could hear the motor of the raft spinning as his friends made their escape. Red scooped up his assault rifle and rushed to the starboard side of the deck to fire upon them, but the effort was futile. The escaped hostages had already disappeared into the darkness. He threw the weapon to the floor in anger. His enraged, pained eyes turned back toward Napier, and he stomped back towards him.

  “You think you’re pretty clever don’t you, you little piece of shit!” He snarled.

  “Well we outsmarted you, didn’t we? Huh, Red?” Napier wheezed. He continued to lie flat, catching his breath, unsure of what his fate would be. He looked to his foe, who stood at his feet.

  “Blood Red!” The mercenary corrected him, pulling his Smith & Wesson M&P .40 from its holster on his right hip. Napier had never looked down the barrel of a gun before. He watched Red put his finger on the trigger, ready to squeeze. He closed his eyes and made his peace, praying for a good future for Jane and Lisa.

  “What the hell happened?!” Wallack shouted from the upper deck, interrupting Red.

  “This weasel’s friends made a miraculous escape,” Red said. His voice was a mixture of anger and sarcasm. He looked back down to Napier. “What’s their bright idea? Go back to the island and bring reinforcements?”

  Napier felt a great sense of relief that he did not mention the Coast Guard Cutter, proving that he was unaware of it.

  “That’s the idea,” he lied.

  “It doesn’t matter!” Dr. Wallack called down. “By the time they manage to get anyone here, we’ll be gone. Plus, most of the police force is voluntary, and Bondy will have to take time to get in touch with everybody since communications are still out on the island.” He paused. “Mr. Napier, I can’t really blame you for rescuing your friends. But if you try anything else, I’ll personally feed your daughter to my experiments. Do you understand?”

  “No more tricks,” he replied in compliance. He watched Red hastily holster his weapon, bloodthirsty to use it. He sat up and listened to Red stomp back over to his monitor and speak on his radio.

  “Hurry up, assholes! We haven’t got all night!”

  CHAPTER

  19

  Napier’s chest still felt as if an anvil had been dropped on it. He stood at his assigned post at the winch, wanting nothing more than to go down the hatch and check on his daughter. He looked to the dark distance, hoping Thompson and Bondy were doing okay on their quest to reach the Coast Guard Cutter. It had been nearly an hour since they departed, and he was reasonably confident that the raft’s little motor would have just enough fuel in it to get them there. He hoped they would get there in time, because the mercenaries were wrapping up their operation with the creature. Doctor Wallack had explained that they were injecting gas into its outer sacks, which would help it to float to the surface. It would certainly put less pressure on the winch.

  “They’re just about ready,” Wallack said. He was on the main deck with Red and Napier. Red stood at his post, still appearing exasperated from the earlier incident. Wallack looked into the water on the port side, while Red watched the monitor. The spotlights had been turned back on, with one aimed into the portside water.

  “Morgan’s on his way up,” the mercenary announced. “It appears that the other two are wrapping things up.” After nearly a minute, air bubbles began popping up in the lit up section of water, followed shortly by Morgan himself. He spit out his mouth piece and yanked off his uncomfortable goggles, tossing them up to the boat.

  “The other two about to come up anytime soon?” Red called down to him.

  “They will in a minute,” he said while swimming to the ladder. “They’re just finishing up gassing up that thing’s sacks, or whatever you call them. I don’t know if it’s gonna work.”

  “It’ll work just fine,” Wallack said. “Once we start pulling it up, the gas will be able to expand when there’s less pressure on it, bringing it to the surface.” As Morgan climbed back aboard the deck, Red looked up from the monitor toward the doctor.

  “They’re coming up now, as a matter of fact,” he said. A few seconds later, as if on cue, both divers emerged in the same location as Morgan, performing the same actions by yanking off their gear. The brute carried a large empty tank, which was used for the injections.

  “It’s all done,” Goliath said, trying not to inhale any water. “The net’s hooked up, and the gas is injected. You can start the winch.” Napier stood silent for a moment, until both Red and Wallack shot him a look.

  “What are you waiting for?” Red said, giving him another deathly glare. Napier had gotten used to receiving his instructions from either him or the doctor, and hadn’t realized that what Goliath said was actually an instruction. He took a deep breath, and prayed that the cable would stand the weight, as well as the equipment. He pressed the lever, pulling in the cable at full power. The circular winch rolled regularly while it took in the extra slack in the cable, but quickly after it creaked and whistled, indicating its struggle to lift the tremendous weight of the unconscious beast. Each whine of the unit caused Napier to tense up, fearing that it might snap away. Slowly but truly it turned, reeling in the cable and its heavy cargo. The vessel began to tilt slightly to port, worsening Napier’s worries. The mercenaries even began to appear worried.

  “Relax,” Wallack said. “It’ll hold. The specimen just needs to ascend a little more.” His words were of little comfort. Even Red appeared slightly unnerved. The boat tilted a little bit more. But the winch kept cranking the cable upward, creaking all the way.

  Finally, after several tense minutes, the creaking slowly began to cease, and the reeling speed steadily began to increase in more fluid motion. The gas was finally expanding, helping to lift the creature to the water’s surface. The Catcher steadily began to level out from its tilt, calming the nerves of everyone on board, save for Napier’s. Being anywhere near this creature was no picnic for him, and being stuck on a boat full of armed killers did not help the situation. The winch reeled in faster, and finally the water along the portside began to splash as it made way for the enormous mass taking its place. Appearing like a shelled atoll, the sedated creature emerged, coiled up in an enormous net that covered its entire body. Napier shut off the winch to avoid bringing the beast too close to the vessel.

  “We finally have it!” Wallack exclaimed. “Now,” he took a breath, “I’d say it’s time for us to leave this godforsaken place. Napier!” He pointed to Rick, “Let’s go upstairs! You’re guiding us out of here!”

  “Doctor,” Napier said, struggling to search for words while staring at the net, which tightly constricted the objective. “Are you sure that this net is enough to hold it? What if the thing wakes up?”

  “It won’t,” Wallack’s voice trailed from excitement to frustration. “Now get up to the cabin and get us out of here.” Napier paused briefly, looking to the beast. He grew more uncomfortable by the moment. Reluctantly, he followed his instructions and climbed the ladder behind the doctor. Once inside the cabin, he started the engine.

  “Where to?” he asked.

  “Once we clear the area we’ll head northeast,” Wallack said. Napier scanned the surrounding area. The rocks had the Catcher nearly boxed in.

  “This is gonna take a while,” he said.

  “Just shut up and get us moving!” Napier ignored the doctor’s impatience and panned the spotlights. To the starboard side appeared to be an area spacious enough for the vessel to squeeze through with the precious cargo, which should hopefully trail behind. He slowly throttled the vessel forward, spinning the wheel to the right. The propellers rotated, pushing the vessel steadily forward. Napier approached the open space, which appeared to be guarded by
several rigid rocky structures on both sides. The vessel nearly stalled for a second when the slack of the cable had run out, adding extra weight for the engine to drag. However, the vessel was able to push forward steadily, slowly passing through the open space. Napier’s nerves finally began to relax.

  “See?” Wallack remarked. “Told you this would be easy.” He barely finished that statement when the Catcher suddenly bumped upward, followed by a sharp grinding sound originating from the belly of the vessel.

  “Oh shit!” Napier cursed, steering the vessel clear of the space before bringing it to another stop.

  “What the hell was that?” Wallack asked. Napier switched off the engine and started out the cabin.

  “We hit a rock!” he said.

  “I didn’t see any rock…”

  “That’s because it was just beneath the surface! That’s why this area is a disaster zone for boats!” He climbed the ladder down, and the scientist followed him. Waiting for them on the main deck were the mercenaries, who were as stunned as Wallack.

  “Now what’s the problem?” Red asked, his tone sounding as frustrated as ever.

  “According to the captain,” Wallack pointed to Napier, “we have made a collision with a rock that was just under the water.”

  “A rock?” Red snapped. “You little bastard! This is another one of your tricks isn’t it!”

  “Yep, you’re exactly right,” Napier mockingly said, throwing his hands up into the air. “I happen to know the exact layout of this island, which is why I’m choosing to strand myself out here with a group of psychotics who want to capture an oversized squid/crab hybrid, which would love nothing more than to bring down this boat, which it could easily do, and have us for a midnight snack.”

  “We don’t have time for this nonsense,” Wallack yelled over the group. He looked at Goliath, who was getting ready to get out of his gear. “You!” he pointed at him. “Don’t be in such a hurry! Get yourself a fresh tank and some tools. You get to assess the damage and make repairs.” Goliath groaned in displeasure.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Get down there,” Red said. His voice was softer, but still conveyed the message. He looked to the other mercenaries. “I’d suggest one of you guys go down after him. He’ll probably need some sort of help.”

  “And hurry the hell up,” Napier said. “Because, even though I can’t get a visual, there’s a good chance we’re taking in water.”

  CHAPTER

  20

  Commander Tracy was in the abyss of a deep sleep in his quarters when the sudden knock on his door snapped him awake. It was times like these when he hated being a high ranking officer of the Coast Guard. Whenever any issue should arise, he had to be notified of it, no matter what time of day. He rolled to his right side and looked at his clock. 2:30 a.m. it read.

  “Come on in,” the commander called out. His door opened and a uniformed young Coast Guard cadet stepped in, wearing his white fatigues and buttoned shirt. The light from the bright hallway illuminated the room, highlighting the Commander’s sleepy features. His right eyelid was still nearly clenched shut, and his left eye drooped heavily. “What is it?”

  “Sir,” the young man said. “We’re going to need you on deck.”

  “And…why?” Tracy said with little patience.

  “We have two people on deck that approached the ship in a raft. They claim that there’s a hostage situation nearby.” This news helped the commander wake up completely. He stepped out of bed, wearing only a t-shirt and black shorts.

  “Hostage situation? Where?”

  “Mako’s Edge, on board a large fishing vessel.”

  “Did you identify the people on deck? You have their names?”

  “Yes sir,” the cadet said. “There’s Lt. Lisa Thompson and Steven Bondy, Chief of Mako’s Center Police Department.” The commander’s senses grew alert.

  “Give me a moment to get dressed and I’ll be on my way down.” The cadet left the room and closed the door. Tracy switched on the light and fumbled for his uniform. Although Thompson was in trouble due to her incident resulting in the death of Officer Denning, the commander knew she would not lie, or mistake rather, a hostage situation. And since Chief Bondy was with her, the odds were likely that there was a serious scenario that he would have to take care of. He just prayed that there would be no mention of any sea monster.

  ********

  “Officer on deck!” one of the personnel called out when Tracy arrived from his cabin. The steel deck was well lit, allowing the Commander to see every face in the area. There were several Coast Guard personnel dressed in white and blue on the deck, forming a circle around the two guests that had arrived on board the Ryback. Bondy and Thompson were both dripping wet from diving off the Catcher into the water. The raft had been left in the water, secured by a line. An officer walked up to both of them, and wrapped them in a warm towel. The Coast Guard personnel opened a path for the commander, who walked in a beeline toward the Lieutenant and Police Chief.

  “Okay, be to the point,” Tracy said to them. “What’s going on?”

  “We’ve got a problem?” Thompson said. “There’s a group of armed men occupying a fishing vessel, named the Catcher, over at Mako’s Edge.”

  “How many men and how many hostages?”

  “There are five suspects, four of which are armed mercenaries. The fifth is a scientist who had done some biological work for the government.” Thompson answered.

  “There are three hostages,” Bondy added. “There’s Rick Napier, who you met a couple days ago at East Port. And there are two seventeen year olds. They disarmed me of my sidearm and took us all aboard his boat to accomplish an objective over at Mako’s Edge.”

  “Whoa,” Tracy said. “Why didn’t you radio anything in? We’re you not able to?”

  “They installed a device somewhere on Mako’s Center that is currently blocking any frequency from leaving the island. Radios and phones won’t work, and the mercenaries disabled the radio on the vessel.”

  “We need to act fast,” Thompson said. “At any minute, they will be leaving.”

  “What is it they want?” The Commander said. Thompson stood silent, hesitant to mention the creature in fear that Tracy wouldn’t believe her.

  “She wasn’t wrong about there being something in the water,” Bondy spoke for her. Tracy’s gritted his teeth and looked down, putting his hands at his hips, clearly expressing his disbelief. “I know it sounds crazy but it attacked the island and killed several tourists, and a few of my deputies. Because of that damned device that the mercenaries installed on the island, we couldn’t get in touch with you.”

  “The scientist’s name is Doctor Isaac Wallack,” Thompson said. “You can call Washington and ask about him, because he’s acting rogue now. He’s attempting to capture the creature, which he bred in some laboratory, and take it to some sort of facility.” Tracy gave her and Bondy an intense glare.

  “You two better not be pulling my leg,” he said. “I have no patience for horseshit like this.”

  “Sir,” Bondy said. “You think I don’t have better things to do than to screw with you?” His tone was borderline angry. “Regardless of that huge thing out there, there’s still the case that our friend is being held hostage over there, and will probably be killed if you don’t help us intervene.”

  “Alright, you’re right,” Tracy said. He turned to another uniformed officer who stood beside him. “Send the order. Set course to Mako’s Edge. It’s close enough that we’ll get there very soon. I want our helicopter pilot to get a visual and get any possible update on the situation. Get some men geared up and ready to board the Catcher.” The officer saluted and immediately rushed off to the control room. Tracy looked back to Thompson. “So how big is this creature?”

  “With its tentacles and pincers, nearly sixty feet,” she said. “If you ready the naval gun, you’ll be able to kill it.”

  “You guys realize, that even with the hostage
situation, that by agreeing to go along with this monster theory, I’m risking my reputation, along with that of my men.”

  “Just call Washington,” Bondy said. “This was government funded, and if they know this creature is on the loose, they’ll want to know. Mention the doctor’s name.” Tracy breathed a heavy sigh.

  “Okay,” he complied.

  CHAPTER

  21

  The rain had completely subsided and the wind was reduced to a light, occasional breeze. The night sky was still covered by a thick layer of clouds, and every few seconds a crackle of thunder would roll into the horizon. A light fog was beginning to build up around the shores of Mako’s Edge, dimming any view of the rocky obstacles that guarded the island itself. On board the upper deck of the Catcher, Rick Napier watched this slowly thickening build up. The night sky already made his vision bad enough, but if they did not get moving soon, he wouldn’t even be able to use the spotlights to light the way for him without the fog reflecting it right back. The Catcher was still at a halt, anchored just past the point where it had grazed the top of a rock just slightly submerged beneath the water’s surface. Morgan and Goliath had geared up and dived once again to assess the damage. The decks remained quiet. Roketto and Red were clearly on edge, as well as Napier. He couldn’t help but watch the unconscious body of the enormous beast they had defeated earlier in the night. All ten of its joints were curled up to its huge rigid, bulky body, giving it the appearance of a massive bowling ball. A bowling ball that everyone on board was afraid would spring out and crush them. Everyone except Doctor Wallack, who sat alone in the cabin. He continued to hold on to the belief that he could control his creation. A belief that Napier, and now even the mercenaries doubted.