Megalodon In Paradise

by Hunter Shea

  “But why the hell would the military build a tank that tall that leads directly to the ocean underneath it?”

  Knowing that also kept him up last night worrying about the structural integrity of the entire area around the decaying lab. Images of everything plunging into the ocean kept running through his head, the sinkhole marching outward, heading toward them like an unstoppable, unquenchable beast.

  “You’d have to ask them. God only knows what was going on at the time. It was the Cold War. Both sides kind of lost their minds for a while . . . like three decades worth of insanity,” Marco said while he scrolled through what looked like lines of debits and credits on his laptop screen. Always the multi-tasker.

  Ollie finished his coffee. “I just hope it wasn’t some underwater nuclear observation shit. We could be living on top of a cancer hot spot.”

  Now Marco turned to face him. “We already covered that when we had those special inspectors come out months ago. All background radiation is normal. Bombs were never detonated here.”

  Feeling like his own grandpa, Ollie held in a pained groan as he got out of the chair.

  “I guess that’s some consolation.”

  “That’s a lot of consolation if you ask me. Hey, I emailed the demolition team this morning to see if they could speed up the timetable to take the lab down. No sense keeping it around.”

  Ollie stared out the window at the clear blue sky kissing the equally clear, aqua ocean. He was living in Eden, just fifty yards away from Tara and his friends. He had to shake yesterday off and enjoy every moment.

  “Good. I can’t wait to watch that thing get wiped off my island.”

  ***

  Two houses away, Lenny paced in his kitchen.

  Yesterday had been a major clusterfuck. They were lucky no one had gotten killed, especially Ollie. Poor guy had really taken it on the chin not once, but twice.

  The main attraction of urban exploration was uncovering mysteries, revealing forgotten pasts, stepping back in time and trying to piece that world back together. It wasn’t always possible to find answers, as the truth turned to so much dust over time.

  What had transpired in the lab was no ghost from the US military past.

  Whatever Ollie had done up on that catwalk had woken something up.

  But what?

  “Was everything alright, Mr. Lenny?”

  He didn’t even hear Lae come in the open patio door. She blew in with the island breeze, a slim, middle-aged woman with short, jet-black hair, tawny skin, and a smile that could be substituted for a ship’s beacon. She’d brought him breakfast and coffee a half hour ago. Lenny had barely touched it.

  “It was fine,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m just not hungry.”

  “Do you want me to save it?” she asked in perfect English. He’d studied up on the Marshall Islands before he came here and was happy to learn that most people spoke fluent English. At least he wouldn’t be the dumb American stumbling his way through conversations with the locals.

  Then again, Lae and so many others spoke at least two languages, so he was the dumb American.

  “That would be great. Thanks.”

  She went about putting his rice and eggs in a Tupperware bowl and sealing the sliced fruit in cling wrap.

  “Lae, can I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”

  “You know that old military lab on the end of the island?”

  She cleaned up his counter with a paper towel. “Oh yes. I see it every day from my boat.”

  “What do you know about it?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Lenny chose his words carefully. “I mean, you and your family have lived on the next island over for a long time, right?”

  “Oh yes. A very long time.”

  “Did anyone ever talk about what went on here after the war?”

  Her smile faltered for the briefest of moments. “No. The Japanese had relocated anyone who lived on the island in the thirties. More than a thousand Japanese then moved in. When the United States took over, naturally the Japanese were removed and the island was closed off. We don’t know what they did. We are just grateful they didn’t set off any bombs.”

  She made a quick sign of the cross before washing his plate and mug and putting them in the drainer.

  “Thanks,” Lenny said, cleaning his glasses with the end of his shirt.

  Before Lae left, she said, “You should stay away from there.”

  “Why is that?”

  “All militaries do bad things when people can’t see. Not just Americans. Leave the bad be. There’s so much else to enjoy.”

  She left as quietly and quickly as she’d arrived.

  Leave the bad be.

  Lenny changed into less comfortable clothes and left the house.

  No, that just wasn’t his style.

  ***

  Lenny tried to get Steven to go back to the lab with him but the mere thought of telling Heidi left the big man jittery and flushed.

  “She’ll kill me and you if she found out,” he said, looking behind him to make sure she wasn’t close enough to listen.

  The island was too small to keep a secret.

  “You’re really that whipped?”

  “Spoken like a true single man. Besides, why the hell would you want to go back there?”

  “I want to look inside that tank or whatever it is.”

  “You saw how well that worked out for Ollie.”

  “We won’t be going back there as blind as we were before.”

  “Count me out. I’m too pretty to die.”

  Lenny rolled his eyes. “What, they don’t have mirrors in your house, Coots?”

  “Why am I standing here talking to a crazy person when I could be swimming or getting my tan on?”

  And that was that.

  Tara looked for a moment like she was game, but then she thought of Ollie and Marco and wanted to check in on them. She said they were both busy doing island construction stuff today.

  “Promise me you won’t go there alone,” she said. “After everything that happened, it might be ready to collapse.”

  “It touches me that you care, T-Mac.”

  “As a former veterinary assistant, it looks like I’m the sole medical expert on this island. I don’t want to have to pull your ass from the wreckage.”

  “Come on, not even if it meant a little mouth to mouth?” Lenny said.

  “Been there, done that, got over it with therapy.”

  For a second, he thought she was serious, then she smiled. “Now go put on your bathing suit and meet me at the beach later. I have a strong desire for sun and cocktails.”

  Sun and cocktails.

  Nope. It was darkness and whatever was lurking in that tank for him.

  ***

  He felt bad lying to Tara. But maybe he’d be in and out so quick, she wouldn’t even realize he’d gone. His house was on the end of the oval, so no one saw him walk out his back door in full exploration gear.

  It was a truly stunning day. Yesterday’s gray cold front had knocked a few degrees off the thermometer and a cloud couldn’t be seen for miles.

  He didn’t feel bad about wasting the day in the old lab because there would be more sunny days than he could count in his future.

  Lenny had always had a stubborn streak as wide and deep as the ocean itself. He questioned things to the point of annoyance for those on the opposite end of his endless queries.

  The Omega Lab left him with too many questions to be able to sit back and relax. He had to see for himself, and he hoped there might be some documents left behind in the military’s mad dash to leave Grand Isla Tiburon.

  He walked along the beach, comforted by the sound of the lapping surf. It was tempting to just take a fast dip with his clothes on. He knew if he did, he’d end up staying in the water.

  Climbing the dune, he came upon the ugly lab complex. From the outside, it looked as if nothing had happened just twenty-four hours ag
o. Dozens of birds were perched on the roof. They stared down at him as he made his way to the front.

  The door was closed but unlocked. Just like Tara did yesterday, he kept it open with a heavy rock. He did the same with the next door until he got to the heart of the lab.

  Alone in the dark, the lab was downright eerie.

  Much of the cement on the cylinder had crumbled off, revealing the drab metal work underneath. The water hadn’t completely drained off. It was up to his ankles and cold.

  Taking a deep, echoing breath, he grabbed hold of the ladder on the side of the tank and tugged on it. It seemed sturdy.

  “It did yesterday, too.”

  The sound of even his voice was comforting.

  He made the climb up to the catwalk as quickly as possible, avoiding the section that was mangled when Ollie almost took a nosedive.

  He’d brought the most powerful flashlight he had along with a few flares. Striking one of the flares to life, he tossed it down the catwalk. The bright orange flames illuminated the observation deck. There wasn’t much to see.

  Were there computers back then?

  Sure there were, but they were the size of tractor-trailers. There wouldn’t have been room for any up here. No, this was strictly an area built to observe whatever was down in the cylinder.

  Lenny lit another flare and tossed it into the tank.

  He saw undulating water and nothing more.

  Sweeping his flashlight around, he spotted a wide beam with a metal box and big red button. Above it was the open flap of the chute Ollie had accidentally opened.

  A breath of wind spiraled up from the cylinder, whispering past the chute and toward Lenny. It brought with it the horrendous stench Ollie had spoken about.

  Lenny instinctively pinched his nose closed and expelled the foul vapor from his mouth. He hesitated to inhale until he was sure the breeze had passed.

  “What the hell was in there?”

  Reluctantly, he stepped toward the chute’s opening, daring himself to plumb its depths with the flashlight. The sloping metal was stained with rust or . . . something. He thought of slanted autopsy tables, putrid fluids pulled by gravity to the opening at the end.

  What did they do with the body fluids? Did they cremate them? Toss them down the drain?

  He’d have to remember to look that up later.

  The smell was so bad now it made him dizzy. He was going to puke.

  Bent at the waist, his muscles locking as he retched, his flashlight’s beam focused on an object so unexpected, so out of place, he screamed between bouts of vomit.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Ollie was talking to two guys who were going to start painting the interior of the rec center when Tara came by wearing a white cover-up that did little to hide the black bikini underneath.

  “Call me if you need me,” he said to the men, anxious to be alone with Tara.

  “How you feeling today?” she said. The handle of her wicker bag was looped over her shoulder, a water bottle poking out of the top.

  “I’ve been worse,” he said, not wanting to let on just how sore he was.

  “I’m sure you’ve been better.”

  “With all of you here in this amazing place, I doubt that.”

  Her smile made his knees weak.

  “Getting sappy in your old age,” she said.

  “Since we’re the same age, I’m sure you’ll agree we’re far from old.”

  She peeked into the open door of the rec center.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. One of the workers had turned on a radio. An old Michael Jackson tune drifted down the hall.

  “They’re painting the game room today. Some other guys are coming in to lay down the carpet in the theater. We want to get this done fast before you all get bored.”

  She patted his shoulder. He hoped she didn’t see the pain flash across his eyes. “After yesterday, I could use a little boredom. I’m going to plant my ass in the sand. You have time to hang out?”

  “I’m the boss. I can make time.”

  He gave an awkward smile.

  Stop being so damn doofy!

  She turned toward the beach. “Walk with me. Talk with me.”

  He followed her like a puppy dog. God, he was being so transparent. And awkward. It was like college all over again.

  They spotted Heidi and Steven in lounge chairs by the water’s edge. Tara waved.

  “We should probably give them their space,” she said.

  “Yeah, I think we need to throttle back and ease Heidi in a little easier,” Ollie said, chuckling. “It’s like introducing a new cat to the house.”

  “Be nice.”

  “I’m always nice.”

  Tara stopped and looked at him over her sunglasses.

  “Well, now I am,” Ollie added.

  “We both are.”

  Of course, on Grand Isla Tiburon, it was easy not to fly off the handle because he wasn’t being made fun of or surrounded by assholes.

  “You know, I haven’t been in the water yet,” she said, pulling her cover up over her head and tossing it in the sand. “Time to rectify that.”

  She flipped her sunglasses to him and made a beeline for the water. Ollie caught himself staring at her with his mouth wide open.

  So had Steven, who grinned like a lunatic at him.

  “Come on!” Tara called out over the crash of the surf. “It’s so warm. Oh my God, it’s perfect.”

  “I’m not wearing my suit.”

  Treading water, she looked around. “Is there a rule about proper bathing attire I can’t see?”

  He also wasn’t wearing any underwear, so stripping off his shorts was out of the question. He didn’t want to take his shirt off and have her see his full body bruises. That would kill the mood, if there was a mood, for sure.

  Ollie kicked off his sandals and placed her sunglasses in her bag. The water wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t freezing like the lakes back home in early summer.

  “Hope you don’t have anything important in those pockets,” she said as he paddled out to her. Swimming had never been his strong suit, but he planned to rectify that.

  “Like Lenny’s head, they’re empty.”

  Tara floated on her back, eyes closed, bobbing on the water like driftwood. Beautiful driftwood.

  “Make sure I don’t float too far out,” she said. “I don’t want to get eaten by sharks. Not yet, at least.”

  He was tempted to hook his finger around hers to keep her tethered to him.

  You big chicken, he mocked himself. Just go for it!

  As he reached out his hand, he spotted something breaking the surface of the ocean.

  Not just something.

  Lots of somethings.

  “What the hell is that?” he said.

  Tara didn’t hear him.

  Dozens of plumes of water spewed into the air as sleek, gray shapes came rushing toward them like tennis balls rolling down a hill.

  Now, he grabbed Tara’s hand.

  “Tara. We gotta get back on the beach.”

  “What? How come?”

  She followed his gaze and froze.

  “Are those sharks?”

  “No. I think they’re dolphins.”

  “There’s so many of them.”

  “Yeah, and they’re coming right at us. We’re going to get smashed if we don’t get the hell out of their way. Come on!”

  Tara cleaved through the water with the grace of one of the fast approaching dolphins. Ollie struggled to keep up, his legs and arms suddenly feeling as if they were weighted down with anchors.

  He saw Heidi standing now, pointing. He could feel the concussion of the dolphin’s bodies as they broke the surface and smashed back under, getting closer with each passing second.

  Frantically dog paddling, he didn’t even realize he was in shallow water until Tara reached down to help him up.

  “Look at them,” she said, her eyes glued to the onrushing spectacle.

  Now that
they were safely out of the way, it was a pretty amazing sight. There had to be at least thirty of them, the sun glinting off their slick bodies.

  “Good thing I saw them,” he said. “I don’t think they’re used to humans being in their way.”

  “I don’t think that’s it,” Tara said. “It looks like they’re running from something.”

  “Maybe there’s a killer whale out there. They eat dolphins, right?”

  “Land animals are my specialty, but I think they prefer seals and penguins. A dolphin might be too big for them.”

  “It’s amazing,” Heidi said. Ollie didn’t even notice her and Steven coming up to them. They stood in the water up to their ankles, shielding their eyes as the dolphins made a steady march toward land.

  “They have to turn around any second now,” Steven said. “Dolphins don’t beach themselves.”

  But there was no sign of them slowing down.

  “Something has them spooked,” Tara said. She ran back to her bag and grabbed her phone, snapping picture after picture before changing to video.

  Steven turned to Ollie. “You’ve been here a while. You ever see anything like it before?”

  “Not even a little.”

  Without realizing it, they had all backed out of the water. It seemed as if the pod of dolphins wasn’t going to stop until they made land.

  They were so close now, Ollie heard their bodies splash as they popped in and out of the water in their oceanic stampede.

  Movie clips from Jaws, Shark Night, Sharknado, Deep Blue Sea and even Flipper ran through his mind. He could never help to compare real life to reel life. God help them if this was anything like what was depicted in those movies.

  Heidi said, “What do we do if they—”

  A dorsal fin the size of a Cadillac crashed to the surface. It was just a few feet behind the dolphins at the rear.

  “Holy shit! Look at the size of that thing!” Steven shouted.

  Heidi yelped, running farther onto the safety of the beach.

  Now we know what’s got them so freaked out, Ollie thought. But if that’s a shark, it’s the biggest damn shark I’ve ever seen.

  “What the heck can it be, Tara?” Ollie asked, unconsciously making fists as if he could punch his way out of the situation.