by Michael Cole
Forster cupped her hands over her face. She couldn’t take anymore.
“Will…Mr. Felt…please, go home,” she said. She spoke each word softly. Felt sighed again, this time defeated. He started toward the door. He opened it, stopped, and looked back at her.
“If you catch the thing, you can study it all you want,” he said. “After all, it’d be your discovery. I seem to recall that’s why you became a scientist. Just sayin’.” He stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
Relieved at his departure, Forster collapsed back onto the couch. After fumbling around the cushions for the TV remote, she turned the volume back up. The program she was previously watching had ended during Felt’s visit, which added to her frustration. Having no interest in the following film, she flipped through a few channels. With no movies of interest, she switched to the Discovery Channel.
She watched a program on underwater caves. It initiated with explaining caves in reefs and near kelp forests. With much of her education in geology, she couldn’t help but nitpick the film’s accuracy. It displayed two divers preparing to enter a limestone cave off the coast of Alaska, and the narration described a deep dive as any depth below fifty meters.
“It’s forty. How do they get that wrong?” she said to herself. She continued to watch and nitpick, until she eventually grew bored. She was about to switch the TV off when suddenly the show went to commercial break. The first commercial was an advertisement for another show, due to air the next day. It showed dark, deep trenches, and mysterious looking creatures. It was a program about life in the deepest reaches of the ocean.
To anyone else, it would have been nothing other than simply an interesting show. To Forster, it was another dreaded reminder of the life she pursued, and ultimately ruined.
Felt’s use of the word ‘discovery’ rang through her mind repeatedly. It was exactly what she wanted to do with her career: to explore and discover new species and geology. When she lost her position with the BRIZO program, she knew she lost any hope of achieving those dreams. To make it worse, they weren’t just her dreams, but her father’s as well.
The mental barriers came down, and she allowed herself to ponder the possibility of capturing the strange creature. She intended it to be a fantasy; just another nice escape from her daily misery, but it quickly escalated from that. Now, she wondered if it could become a reality. It would be a nightmarish mission, and she knew she would want to wait until the Neptune was repaired. The results, however, would be worthwhile if it was successful.
A rush of optimism swept over her. Forster suddenly believed there was yet the possibility she could make a contribution to the world of science; an opportunity she previously feared she would never see again. With this opportunity came the incessant need to take another look at the footage. She went into her office and turned on her computer.
She uploaded the images and video from her email account, and first looked at the stills. Once again, she examined the strange features; the strange antennae, rigid exterior and segmentation, the red color, and the numerous spiny formations on its body. They weren’t like that of barnacles, as they more closely resembled the features of an exoskeleton from a crustacean.
She wondered if there had been any other sightings. She browsed the internet, and typed the description of the creature in the GOOGLE search bar. Nothing of relevance came up. She then typed in strange sightings near Florida Keys and East Coast. Even after adjusting the search engine for most recent articles, it appeared nobody had reported sighting this particular creature. However, other articles caught her attention. She read of the mysterious disappearances of private fishing vessels north of the Florida Keys within the past few weeks. A dreadful chill crept down her spine. She considered the odds that these vessels disappeared around the approximate arrival of this creature, which had displayed destructive capabilities. It was an odd coincidence indeed.
She returned to the uploads. She switched on the video feed and watched as the creature tore into the great white. Analyzing the encounter, she tried to think of a method of capture. If it really had a rigid exoskeleton, penetrating the hide with a tranquilizer would be impossible. It would have to be inserted in the mouth. Such a task would be considered daunting for any normal large shark, but this was even worse. Already, Forster ruled out the idea of using a shark cage.
She continued watching, seeing the Great White become entangled in the anchor cable. Then the hybrid came down and chomped on it. It was then she noticed something, other than the obvious carnage. The hybrid had bitten off the dorsal fin and continued feeding. She instantly remembered the White’s tracking device, which was pinned to the dorsal fin.
She stood to her feet, “Oh my God, we can track it!” It seemed to solve another problem she was dreading: finding the creature again. It was unknown if it staked a claim on the waters near the island, or it happened to be passing through, and finding it in the open ocean could be like finding a needle in a haystack. However, another problem quickly arose in place. Forster would have to act quickly, as she knew the tracking device, if still functional, would not be in its system for too long.
She took her seat again and leaned back. Staring at the ceiling, she pondered the situation. Wait until the Neptune’s fixed, and go out more prepared, and just hope that you can find it again…or go out tomorrow in the Fairbanks and be able to track it quickly. Sounds great, as long as the thing doesn’t sink me.
She felt the need for a stiff drink. She helped herself to one in the kitchen, all the while thinking about the situation. There was the realization that if she was caught, she could get in far worse trouble. She downed the freshly mixed margarita.
Well…no pain no gain, she thought. She grabbed her iPhone and selected Felt from the contact list. As she expected, he answered on the first ring.
“Felt,” she said. There was a brief pause, as she absorbed the awareness of what she was getting herself into. “I’m going to need a lot of supplies by morning. You’ve got a long night ahead of you. Now grab a pen…”
CHAPTER
16
Freshly released from the hospital, Marco sank into the backseat of a taxi cab. A fractured collarbone left his right arm in a sling, and his bruised ribs felt as if they were compressing on his lungs.
“Take me to Felt’s Paradise, please,” he told the driver. “And give the bill to the owner.” Even talking caused him to ache. Luckily, the doctor instructed him to stay home and rest for a few days. First, he would need to pick up his car, and inform Felt of the situation.
The trip brought them to a stretch of road over a hill. That hill gave a clear view of the ocean, and the east port. The morning sunrise cast a beautiful golden glow over the water. The harbor was full of boats, an unusual sight for this time of day. Word of the chief’s order on fishing spread like wildfire, and that fire grew hotter with the anger of the fishing community. As beautiful as it was, it was odd to see the ocean free of watercraft.
Except there was one. Leaving the harbor was a large tugboat, with another large vessel in tow. Marco leaned in toward the window, recognizing the Neptune. The portside damage was visible even from his viewpoint.
“Holy…” he said. He thought immediately of Forster, wondering what could’ve happened. “What in the hell?” The driver glanced to the boats and chuckled.
“Oh? You didn’t hear?”
“Hear about what?”
“That fish-doctor lady, who works at the aquarium, went out to do some sort of work on that big boat. Not sure what the story is, but the police chief went to help her. Ha, Stud.” The driver chuckled again. “He claims that some big shark attacked the boat and put that lady in the hospital.”
“Dr. Forster? What happened to her?” Marco asked.
“Word is she got a little banged up…”
“But she’s alright?” Marco asked. The driver chuckled again.
“What, you in love with her or something? I think you’ve got serious competition, bud!
” He glanced back at Marco, then stopped his giggling. Even with the sling and visible bruises, Marco still looked plenty intimidating. Especially when staring with considerable irritation. The driver cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, I think she’s fine. Word would’ve spread pretty quick if it was anything more serious. Like with Old Hal and Bob Whisker, you hear about that?” Marco nodded. “Don’t know what to say, except there’s a lot of strange stuff going on. And something busted that science boat, but not a shark. They probably just pissed off a whale, or something. Same for Hal and Bob.” He made the sign of the cross. “A lot of fishermen have said they’ve seen a lot of them lately. More than usual, and acting aggressive. Like there’s a devil in the water. But hell, I’ve been out there, and seen everything there is. No shark could do that much damage to a boat like that. Either way, no residents are allowed out on the water. No fishing, skiing, boating, nothing.”
The road curved, and the harbor disappeared from view. Marco was now feeling a new pain, this time in his stomach. Rarely did he feel the physical manifestation of anxiety, but the sight of the Neptune was immediately haunting. With the bizarre turn of events, such as watching the news reports of Old Hal going missing, to finding the dead whale, to the damaged Neptune, and the Chief’s report, however extraordinary, only one thing was certain; something was definitely wrong.
********
“Come on, let’s hurry it up,” Forster said to Felt, who helped load up supplies onto the Fairbanks. After being up nearly all night, he was still wearing the same business clothes as the previous day. He had discarded the jacket, and his tie was loosened to the point where it was hanging around his neck. His white shirt was ragged and covered in filth from dragging the dead juvenile blue shark for bait. His fingers and palms were taped up with Band-Aids after attempting to drag the shark without gloves.
Getting the shark overnight was not an easy task. He had to contact a fisherman from the mainland and pay nearly triple to have the fish delivered by dawn. In addition, he had to get more tranquilizer supplies and a large fishing hook.
The sun had just broken over the horizon, which increased the urgency for Forster to get out on the water before people started coming out. The morning staff would soon be arriving, and the visitors would be up and moving shortly. She switched on the tracking monitor. The blip appeared, nearly two miles to the northeast.
“God only knows how much time I have left,” she said. “I’ve got to get out there. I’ll organize the rest of this when I get there.”
“What, are you afraid he’ll crap the tag out or something?” Felt asked.
“No. Assuming his digestive system functions like a normal shark, he’ll regurgitate it,” she said. “That’s how they get rid of non-digestible items. He ate a fair amount yesterday, so he wouldn’t spew it immediately without losing the actual sustenance. But now, he’s had time to digest, and who knows how fast he can do that.”
Felt looked down at the blue shark laying on the deck, which had been ‘operated’ on by Forster. Needles protruded from its head and back like a porcupine. During the last hour, Forster had carefully installed syringes loaded with tranquilizer into the body of the fish, pointing outward, and secured them in place with careful use of sewing and taping. It almost resembled something he would see in a horror film.
“Is this a common practice? Or…” he asked.
“Nope, completely improvised,” Forster said. “If the guy bites down on this shark, hopefully one of the needles can get the soft skin in his mouth. It should take effect immediately. Hopefully, in the same bite, he’ll get caught on the hook, because there’s no way I’m getting into the water to strap a towing harness on that thing. If he does, I can tow him right in.” Hearing herself speak, the realism of the situation was setting in. The plan would have to work perfectly in order to work at all. And the sense of danger suddenly seemed real. She forced the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the grand prize: discovery.
There wasn’t any more time to waste. Felt watched from deck while Forster drove the boat out into the bay. He checked his watch. A quarter to 7:00. Luckily, she would be out of sight by the time staff started arriving. Of course, they would likely see her come back in. However, if she succeeded in catching the creature, he figured people would be too fixated on the new discovery than Forster being out during the boat grounding.
Felt backed away from the dock after watching the Fairbanks become smaller with distance. He turned around, intending to go to his vehicle. He stopped, surprised to see Marco standing before him. He watched past Felt, as the boat disappeared into the distance. His eyes then went to his boss.
“What’s going on here?” he asked. Felt quickly tried thinking of something to say. “I saw it was Julie on that thing. You guys do realize there’s an order out for all boats to be grounded?”
“Yes, but Marco…” Felt went to put a hand on his shoulder, but stopped when he noticed the injury. His mind scrambled, unsure whether to tell the truth or come up with a makeshift lie.
“Why is she going out? Is it something to do with what happened to the Neptune?” Marco said. Felt gulped. “Yeah, I saw it. Chief Nelson apparently reported that he saw something out in the water. Everyone thinks he’s full of it, but now I’m starting to think different. What’s out there, and why is Julie heading out there in a maintenance boat?”
Felt could feel beads of sweat starting to form. All there was to say was the truth. Hopefully, a promise of extra money would be enough to keep Marco quiet.
********
Chief Nelson nearly slammed his phone to his desk, finishing a phone call from the Mayor’s office. Local residents had been calling in nonstop to both the Mayor and police station, making their displeasure vastly known. Thus, the Mayor demanded to know if Nelson had made any progress on his investigation. He dreaded giving the answer.
After leaving Felt’s Paradise, he had spent the rest of the day trying to get in contact with various universities for a consultant. First it was the University of Miami, who declined to send someone out. Though they were polite, he could tell that they thought he was a lunatic. The representative at the University of Florida was more straightforward, telling him that the creature he described could not possibly exist. The senior ichthyologist from South Caroline Marine Institute simply laughed in his face.
A long, tiresome phone conversation lagged between Nelson and the Mayor. The Chief endured prolonged criticisms of his lack of progress, and the insistent demand to allow people back onto the water. Nelson stood his ground, informing the Mayor he needed more time. More ranting followed before Nelson was told he needed to arrive at a press conference. It was a sudden thing that the office arranged for the public. Nelson suspected it was a way to put him on the spot, and hopefully back down from the pressure and allow everyone back onto the water. It was due to begin within the next half hour.
Finally, the conversation came to a close, but not soon enough. Nelson’s blood pressure was on the rise. After putting his phone down on his desk, he sat in his seat, taking advantage of the few minutes of peace and quiet before going to deal with the public.
The desk phone rang. Nelson glared at it with disgust, as if the phone was deliberately interrupting his relaxation. He picked it up.
“Nelson here,” he answered.
“Yeah, Chief, we got somebody up front wanting to speak with you,” the front desk officer said.
“Is the guy willing to have somebody else help him? I’ve got to get ready to leave shortly,” Nelson said.
“He says it’s urgent,” the officer said. Nelson held the phone away from his face as he groaned.
“Alright, I’ll be up there,” he said and hung up. He looked at his watch, doing an approximate drive time to Town Hall. Without notes, he was just going to have to wing the press meeting. He put it out of his mind and went to the front check-in. It was a separate entry from intake, where visitors could come in and express a concern. He located the desk officer. “Okay, wh
at’s going on?”
The officer pointed at a tall, muscular individual seated in the lobby, with his arm in a sling. Nelson quickly recognized him.
“Marco!” he said. His voice was a combination of surprise and joy. He was happy to see him out of the hospital in relatively good condition. Nelson’s enthusiasm faded when he saw Marco’s subdued expression. “You okay, bud? What can I do for you?” Marco stared at him, feeling slightly conflicted. He knew he would be getting his friend in trouble. However, the feeling of her out in the water alone, looking for the strange whatever-it-was, made him feel sick inside.
“It’s about Julie,” he said. Nelson suddenly grew anxious.
“What’s the matter? Is she in trouble?” Marco took a breath, and finally began to tell everything he knew.
CHAPTER
17
The Fairbanks drifted with the current after Forster brought it to a stop. Keeping track of the monitor, she had followed the creature toward a kelp forest located directly off the point of the East Peninsula. She kept enough distance in order to not draw it in too quickly. She still needed to get the bait into the water.
The blue shark dangled over the water by its tail, attached by a small crane at the stern. It was a simple hook design, intended for lifting and lowering metallic parts. She preferred the crane on the Neptune, but it worked for her needs. The shark had a line tied to its tail, which was strung up to the cleats at the transom. The plan was to create a chum trail, draw the creature in, then drop the bait from the crane and drag it along the water. If all went well, the creature would bite it and be pierced within the mouth by the syringes and the hook. Then she’d be able to tow it to the pen. She wished she had more help and resources, which would allow her to come up with a more elaborate plan. She forced herself not to think of that and focused on the situation at hand.
It didn’t take long for the chum trail to start reaching far out. Forster could see the red line extending from the boat. The day had blessed her with good, clear weather, and great visibility. She could only hope the rest of the mission would be so bright.
