“Two for me,” Splinter said.
“Yes, please,” said Lenah.
Will took a long pull on his beer and dug out cans for Lenah and Splinter. He gave them their beers and for a couple of minutes nobody spoke as they focused on drinking.
Will said, “It wasn’t my choice.”
“Do tell,” Splinter said.
“I have high blood pressure, type-two diabetes, and I’m on blood thinners because some of my veins are so clogged the thinner blood is hardly getting through. You guys know that?” Will said.
“I do. What happened?” Lenah said.
Splinter said nothing. He’d known Will for a couple of years and Splinter considered him a close friend. Will had helped him so many times, what had he ever done for Will? He wasn’t even aware of his serious medical conditions.
“I take drugs to control all these things, and some of these drugs don’t mix well with certain foods, or alcohol, and I had a small… incident.”
“Incident?”
“I went down in my apartment. Passed out like a drunk on a three-day binge,” Will said.
Now Splinter was concerned. “Are you OK? Were you hurt? I—”
Will lifted his hand. “I’m fine. I took my meds, then had a couple of drinks, not thinking that I’d just taken my pills. I got dizzy and lightheaded, and I passed out. Thankfully I didn’t hit my head on anything on the way to the floor.”
“How long were you out?” Splinter said.
“Overnight. My neighbor Toby found me because he heard Nereus barking. Toby said Nereus and Galatia were standing over me and wouldn’t let him come near me. Toby called an ambulance and I ended up in the hospital for two days and Nereus and Galatia got to spend some time with Toby. I think he treated them pretty good because when I went to collect them, they wanted to stay with him, so I left them. Figured they’d be better off until all this craziness is settled.”
“And you’re sure you’re alright?” Lenah said.
“Sure,” Will said. “Just a nasty drug cocktail mix, which wasn’t helped by the alcohol.”
“Live and learn,” Splinter said.
“You’d think,” Will said.
“So my guys are doing well?” Splinter said. He missed his other cat and his dog. Poseidon was a good cat, but she wasn’t the cuddling type.
“They’re great. I got them groomed and cleaned up.”
“Great,” Splinter said. “Now they’re gonna expect all kinds of fancy treatment.”
“They came through for me when I needed them. You ever get short on food, I’ll buy a few bags,” Will said.
Splinter said nothing, but his gaze shifted back to the sea and the monster trailing behind them.
In the west, lightning lit the sky like a camera flash, and thunder rumbled like concussion bombs. The swell picked up, and the wind out of the west stood up the rolling waves, making them four feet tall. The Day After cut through them like they weren’t there, the V-hull throwing spray fifty feet on both sides of the boat. Cables that ran along the outriggers and up the tuna-tower pinged and clanged as they tapped against the metal supports in the howling wind.
Splinter braced himself on the transom, staring out into the dusk, searching for the beast’s caudal fin. It scythed back and forth, cutting through the sea, but Splinter couldn’t see the beast beneath the dark surface. They planned to lead the creature closer to shore and call the Boat Scouts.
The rain came cold and hard, pelting The Day After, and forcing the group inside the cabin. Donny put on his rainslicker and stayed above deck in the pilothouse, which was enclosed on three sides.
Once seated around the galley table, Will said, “Before I took my short sabbatical, I did a little research. Didn’t find anything really useful, but I did find two pieces of information that might interest you.” Will dug in his pocket and brought out two sheets of paper. He unfolded them and spread them out on the table, using the palm of his hand to flatten and straighten them. “The first is an article from the Fortean Times.”
“What’s that?” Lenah said.
“It’s a magazine that publishes stories about all kinds of strange stuff. Cryptozoology, mutants, both animal and human, conspiracy theories, UFOs, you name it. If it’s strange they publish articles about it,” Splinter said.
“They’re out of England. It’s based on the ideas of a guy named Charles Fort. He was a conspiracy-type guy long before there were conspiracies,” Will said.
“What the hell did you find in there? I always thought they were like the Inquirer or the Sun Times?” Splinter said.
“Not at all. While you may not agree with what they print, they take a more scientific based approach then those you mentioned. They require some form of evidence or science, no matter how far-fetched,” Will said.
The article was a blurry library printout dated March 22, 1981, titled, “Carcharodon Megalodon: Prehistoric Creature of the Sea.” There were two pictures interposed with the text, one of the author standing within a huge jawbone at a museum, and an animation showing a standard fifteen-foot great white shark next to megalodon.
The boat rocked, and rain pounded the deck. The cabin light flickered, went out, then snapped back on as Splinter pictured a fifty-foot shark with eight-inch teeth and jaws that could crush a car. Apex predators from another time, another place. But fiction was fiction and there were no fifty-foot sharks anymore, but were there? After what he’d recently seen, it was plausible.
Splinter scanned the page and looked up at Will. “A shark? We’re not dealing with a shark here, but you know that, so what’s this mean?”
“The article talks about how megalodon could still be alive, way down in the Atlantic rift valley or the Mariana Trench. Since our theory is croczilla was dragged from the rift valley by the tsunami, I figured it might be relevant.”
“But this is fiction, right? These huge sharks don’t exist. Nobody has ever seen one alive, there aren’t even fossils because shark skeletons are mostly made of cartilage and they deteriorate. Samples of the creature’s teeth are the only reason we know they even existed,” Lenah said.
“Yes and no. Some scientists feel that it’s possible, however unlikely, that megs live miles below the surface, well below the thermal layer where they eat tube worms and subsist off the minerals spewed from the vents and smokers at the deepest parts of the world’s oceans,” Will said. “Sound like our monster?”
Splinter harrumphed.
“Didn’t say I believed it, it just made sense given what we know about the creature,” Will said.
“I did see gills, and crocs don’t have gills,” Splinter said.
“Mutant,” Lenah said.
Splinter got up and stared out the forward porthole. The sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving a purple sky that was quickly fading to black. He walked to the rear of the cabin and stared out at the monster that still trailed after them, but had fallen further behind. Donny had The Day After going at thirty knots, and Splinter thought the beast might be tiring.
Splinter rejoined his friends, and said, “It’s still back there. It’s slowing, but showing no signs of begging off. This weather sucks.”
“You think it will attack?” Will said.
“No clue at this point. It must be getting tired, though, and it hasn’t eaten since it snacked on the bloody shirt and lifejacket, which I can’t imagine was very filling,” Splinter said.
The rain came on harder, and rivulets spilled into the cabin through the open door and slipped down the floor drain. Splinter heard the bilge pump kick on, and the cadence of the motor lessened.
“OK, you think we’re dealing with a prehistoric fish that has mutated with a croc, or some shit, and has managed to stay hidden for millions of years?” Splinter said.
“Well, when you say it like that,” Will said.
“Anything else?” Lenah said.
Will looked sheepish and he glanced at the deck.
“What?” Splinter said.
&
nbsp; “I did a little research on you, Captain Woods,” Will said.
Off in the back of Splinter’s mind the fog rose, and his face got hot and his stomach churned. “Why would you do that?” Splinter said, his voice restrained fury.
“Nothing sinister. I was just trying to get a handle on what was out there, so we wouldn’t be surprised and could do damage control,” Will said.
“Annnnddddd,” Splinter said.
“Nothing we don’t already know, except this,” he said as he slid another piece of paper across the table. “It’s an article from Naval History Magazine about a guy named Captain Johnston Blakeley. Recognize the name?”
Splinter rubbed his chin, the fog fading, his anger dissipating. So much for new trauma pushing out the old.
Splinter said, “He’s a distant relative on my mother’s side. A legendary captain of the famous Wasp, which disappeared in the mid-Atlantic in 1814 under mysterious circumstances.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Will said.
“There’s another way?” Splinter said.
“When you have time, read the article. The author speculates that the ship wasn’t destroyed by cannon fire as many believed, but that it was sunk by an unnamed creature,” Will said.
“He bases this on?” Lenah said.
“Sightings of what sailors called sea serpents,” Will said.
Splinter chuckled.
“Don’t laugh, there are many such sightings in the record and nobody laid claim to sinking the Wasp. If it had been the Royal Navy or one of their allies they would have crowed about it,” Will said.
“My mom says her great grandfather thought the Wasp went under from a rogue wave,” Splinter said. “A huge wave…”
“I thought it was interesting that you of all people had this connection,” Will said.
“Yeah, me of all people.”
The hum of the motor eased, and the boat slowed. Donny stuck his head into the cabin. “I think we lost it, or it gave up, or it didn’t like going into the inlet,” Donny said.
“Damn,” Splinter said. “How far out from the inlet are we?”
“Mile or so. We’re almost in,” Donny said.
Splinter said, “Almost like it knows it shouldn’t come close to shore.”
“Where do you want me to drop you guys off? Will’s car?” Donny said.
Splinter looked at Lenah, and they both turned to Will. “You mind?” Splinter said.
Will said, “What? Giving you a ride? Depends on where you’re going. I think it’s time.”
“Yeah. It is,” Splinter said.
“Mind telling me what you’re talking about?” Donny said.
“It’s time to go see the coasties,” Splinter said.
Poseidon meowed.
26
Donny dropped Splinter, Will, Lenah and Poseidon off on Lenny’s dock by the gas pump. Will said it would be a good idea to leave Poseidon at Lenny’s until after they met with the coasties. Splinter was forced to agree, though the cat didn’t. If Poseidon was with them and things went bad, and they somehow ended up in custody, Poseidon would go to a holding kennel. Not on Splinter’s watch.
The three companions walked to Will’s 2001 white Ford Taurus. It was the most unnoticeable car imaginable and exactly what you’d expect a retired cop on a pension to drive. Old, reliable, and it still looked pretty good, like Will. They piled into the car, Will driving and Lenah and Splinter in the back. The engine started, and Will drove through the boatyard, and out onto A1A.
Marsh land and Indian River ran by to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Splinter cracked a window and fresh air pushed into the vehicle. Will said, “Fort Pierce Coast Guard Station?”
“That’s as good a place as any,” Splinter said.
“Shouldn’t we be going to the police?” Lenah said.
“The police do have some jurisdiction, but they’re a land-based operation with limited resources when it comes to harbor patrol, and said resources are nonexistent out on the Atlantic,” Will said.
“Plus, if things go the way I expect, the coasties will bring the local cheese in,” Splinter said. His mind flashed back to the day of the tsunami, and the harassment he’d endured from the lady with the sombrero hat. She was gone, and most likely so was the cop. The idea brought Splinter no pleasure.
They hit the inlet and Will made a left onto Seaway Drive. The road curved and bent and Splinter saw a pizza joint, a diner and a supermarket. His stomach rumbled. The road turned around a cove and Will slowed and made a right into the Coast Guard station. He pulled around a circle and stopped at an airconditioned guardhouse where a coastie in a cleanly pressed light blue uniform shirt and dark blue slacks greeted them with a smile. Like a perfume huckster at a department store.
The coastie was an attractive young woman with golden eyes and light brown hair. A newbie, that was clear from the solitary basic training completion ribbon tacked above her breast pocket. She wore her lid straight, and everything about her said eager. “Seaman Apprentice Frazier at your service, sir, how may I assist you today?”
“We need to see the base commander,” Will said.
“Oh, no, that’s a problem. She’s not here. Do you have an appointment?” Frazier said, a little rattled like a cashier being asked to handle a complicated return on her first day.
“Where is she?” Will asked.
“I’m sure I don’t know. Surprisingly I don’t have access to her calendar,” she said. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No. Who’s in charge in her absence?” Will said.
“Commander Peel, the duty officer is in charge today, but I doubt he’ll have time to see you. He’s very busy you know.”
Will made a show of looking around. The base looked dead. A cutter sat docked in the small marina, and several SAFE boats with orange pontoons were moored next to it, but there were no groups of seamen walking about. No drills or calisthenics, nobody marching and singing those crazy songs. The base looked deserted. The Coast Guard had recently downsized, and Splinter figured most of the base personnel were either out patrolling and dealing with problems, or sleeping.
Will said, “Yes, I can see it’s very busy today.”
Frazier sighed and picked up a phone, but before she called ahead she asked, “And what is the matter in reference to?”
“Godzilla,” Splinter muttered. He was losing his patience.
“I’m sorry? Come again?” the coastie said.
“Ignore my friend, he’s an ass,” Will said, and he looked over his shoulder at Splinter and mouthed, “Shut up.”
Turning back to the coastie, he said, “We have important information concerning the recent shark attacks and we want to report what we’ve seen.”
“I see, so you don’t really need to see the base commander then, do you?” she said.
“I guess that’s your call, but—”
“Great. One moment.” It was clear she wanted them gone. Away from her booth and away from her. She dialed the old phone and said, “Yes, hi Marty. I’ve got three civvies here who claim to have information about the recent shark attacks.”
Silence as she listened. Seagulls cried as they circled above, and a gentle breeze pushed through the mangrove trees that lined the base’s property. “I think that would be fine. Send them through,” Frazier said. “OK, good.”
She hung up the phone and turned back to Will. “You’ll be meeting with Petty Officer Child. He’ll take a report. Head down the driveway until you get to the flat blue building. Go in and ask for him. He’ll be waiting.”
The gate blocking the road didn’t lift.
“But first, I’ll need you each to sign in and issue you temporary IDs,” she said.
Twelve minutes later they were all stickered and named, and the gate went up and Will drove through with a mock salute.
Splinter said, “I notice you didn’t mention Lenah and I are wanted for questioning by the police.”
“Some information is be
st held until the appropriate moment,” Will said.
“Which is?” Lenah said.
“Don’t know yet. Let’s see what this guy Child is like,” Will said.
They made their way down the drive and parked where instructed, and they got out and walked through the early morning heat across the parking lot to the entrance. Inside, a man in the same uniform as Frazier greeted them in a similar fashion, and before Splinter could sit down, they were met by Child who guided them into a conference room.
The room was white, the long table was white, and the chairs around it were blue. Child fit his namesake. He looked twelve, with his freckled face and his buzz cut blonde hair. He held out his hand and everyone shook and greeted each other and sat down.
“So I see they’ve brought in the big guns,” Splinter said.
Child chuckled and fiddled with his pen which hung over a form of some kind. “You’d like to make a statement?”
“We do.”
And they did.
Will started, but soon Lenah and Splinter were adding details, and by the time they got to seeing the creature a second time, Child said, “Will you excuse me for a moment?”
Child left the conference room.
“Going to get the duty officer, Peel, I assume,” Splinter said.
Will was nodding when Child returned with a tall lanky man that looked about fifty. He was all gray around the edges and his uniform was a bit wrinkled and worn. It was clear this guy normally lived on the sea and was stuck on land because the boss was off someplace being the boss. He said, “Pleased to meet you. I’m Commander Peel.”
Greetings all around. Peel sat and took the stack of papers from in front of Child. He looked through what the Petty Officer had written, and his eyes flicked to Lenah and Splinter. “So before we start, I recognize your names. You ran from our cutter and several people said you drove the shark at the boat.”
Splinter blurted, “That’s not true.”
“Two kids died and Ms. Brisbee’s boat was seen fleeing the scene and ignored our hail.” He pointed at Splinter and Lenah. “And the police want a word with you both. Shall I get them?”
Shadow Of The Abyss Page 16
