The Reef

by Mark Charan Newton

  She wondered about Menz and Yayle. They had been gone ten minutes. The plan was simple, placing explosives along the top of the reef and down one side, fracturing it, breaking Quidlo’s bonds, which would allow it to push it away with ease. It would take them another fifteen minutes or so to reach this side of the reef, another hour to plant the explosives along a wide enough section to free Quidlo, another half an hour to return. About two hours to wait in all. She would not see the explosions. She was confident that the explosives the Qe Falta gave her would be of the highest quality. After all, they had been doing this sort of thing as long as she could remember.

  She and Lula lay on blankets on the rocks, listening to the waves, and, every minute, checking on the positions of the naval fleet and for Menz and Yayle, should something go wrong. Because she was laying face down, Jella could feel her heart pounding the rocks. Through the gaps, she could see the sea and a glow on the horizon where the sun would soon be showing.

  The hour passed and there was not yet any sign of Menz and Yayle.

  Jella and Lula had spoken little. The horizon was brighter, but the sun hadn’t risen. She could see now the outline of the naval fleet. There were twenty grey ships and the sight made her pulse race. She thought she could hear the sound of explosions, but she wasn’t sure. The time would be right.

  She nudged Lula, who was holding her musket, scanning the beach.

  Lula said, ‘Was that it, d’you think?’

  Jella nodded and pushed herself up so that she could look over the rocks to the sea. Nothing was happening. She thought it may have been the first explosion. She thought she could hear more.

  It seemed an eternity until Menz and Yayle climbed ashore. As soon as they reached the beach, she called over the rocks, waved her arms. Then they jogged towards her.

  She stepped down on to the beach. ‘All done?’

  Menz raised his thumb, his chest heaving. She smiled, beckoned them up to their position on the rocks.

  ‘Was it as you remember?’ Jella asked.

  ‘Aye. Seemed even bigger. In fact it’s ridiculously large. I’m a bit worried that if we wait too long the thing will get away.’

  ‘It’s either that or be in the water when it surfaces, which will probably sink us,’ Jella said. ‘Fair point,’ Menz said. ‘If you say so.’ Menz and Yayle removed their diving equipment and picked up muskets. They crouched, looking over the rocks towards the sea.

  ‘Should be up by now,’ Menz said.

  ‘Give it time,’ Jella said.

  ‘We haven’t got time,’ Menz said.

  ‘Look ... Look at the water’s surface,’ Yayle said. ‘The bugger’s coming.’

  The surface of the water was rising, slowly, then falling, as if a storm was developing. The sun began to rise from her right, and she could see the long, dark shadows that the high waves cast. The sea sounded louder. White tops were visible as the water collapsed on itself.

  ‘It’s coming,’ Jella said. They could see clearly a shape, hundreds of feet long, beginning to surface. Behind, were the masts of the naval fleet. ‘It’s fucking huge,’ Yayle said. ‘Much bigger than I thought down there.’ Then, quietly, ‘This is ridiculous.’

  The others remained silent on top of the rocks, staring, wide-eyed, at the creature that was rising in the new morning sun, pushing itself up out from the surface of the water. It’s skin was dark. Crumbled segments of coral that fell as it burst through the water. A large wave about six feet high spread then banked up on the shallow waters, climbed high and missed them by inches.

  Jella turned to watch the waves crashing through the forest and birds darted out from the canopy as she watched the palms bend and break under the pressure, then she looked at her ship, which had moved a little despite the anchor. Her pulse was racing. The plan was working.

  Back out at sea, Quidlo was out, it’s tentacles, thick and heavy, trailing out of sight. Its cylindrical face pushed into the air, dominating the horizon. Water sprayed and crashed all around it, coral still falling in pieces. Its head tilted up and they could just see its black eye, dozens of feet across, and it seemed to gasp, exhaling air as if it breathed like a person, remembering daylight. Its body must have been over a mile in length.

  ‘What kind of fucking squid is this thing?’ Menz said. His mouth hung open. ‘I ain’t seen that in any book.’

  ‘Beyond our time,’ Jella said. ‘And for good reason. You never really believed me, even when we went to see it. Even when you actually saw it. None of you really believed me, did you? I was right.’

  They watched the creature turn towards the naval fleet that was sailing through and over the rough waves forming a semi-circle. Jella could see the masts rising and falling. ‘Fire at it,’ she said. ‘Come on, provoke it. .. ‘

  Within seconds, as if she had willed it herself, some of the grey naval boats began firing, as she knew they would. She could see the plumes of smoke, followed by the sound of explosions.

  Quidlo turned towards the fleet. Jella watched amazed as the creature drew its tentacles out of the water hundreds of feet in the air, water spraying all around, its shadow strong in the higher sun, then in crashed them down through the boats, tossed the ships over. She thought she had heard thunder as the sound caught up, then she looked on as the next wave banked up the shallow waters of the island, came racing past and slapped into the forest behind forcing the island to vibrate. The waves were only so shallow here, but on the mainland they would have hundreds of miles of water behind them. The destruction would be phenomenal.

  Manolin was looking out to sea. He had joined a group of villagers some way up the volcano. The children had been taken further up, towards the ichthyocentaurs’ village, by several adults. He had woken Myranda early, dragged her and Lewys out when he had heard explosions.

  Myranda had blown a conch to wake the village and, as they saw the reef fracturing and rising, they ran up the slope, understanding what that would do to the water, to the waves. Manolin carried children in his arms. Many of the villagers took his example and carried them on their backs, in time to look down on a wall of water as it smashed through their huts and into the forest, tossing wood into the air before dragging segments of the village under the froth.

  Manolin was breathless as he watched what he guessed to squid climb out of the water and dive again, before it swam towards another island further up the chain. As he was laughing with amazement, the shadow of the creature rose again, its conical shape piercing the sky. Then he saw the tentacles follow up behind and slap down, as if it were pushing itself up from the water, creating an even larger tidal wave. That must be the size of a city ...

  He was so shocked that the sight of the naval fleet on the horizon was the last thing on his min. All he could do was watch with the islanders, as the beast brought its tentacles down, flipped boats in the air. He noted the booming of the guns in the distance, which had no effect on the squid, could hear the thunderous sound as the wave arrived onshore, decimating what remained of the village, snapping back trees, displacing everything in sight. Birds shot out of the forest. You could feel the island shudder on impact.

  No one said anything, but Manolin was nodding his head. That explained what he saw in the reef on Pilar. He wondered if Santiago had anything to do with it, but suspected that his old colleague was long gone. He wondered what the old man would think about a squid that size.

  Myranda approached him, he placed an arm around her wanting to be protective.

  ‘Don’t worry at all,’ he said. ‘A village can be rebuilt.’

  She nodded, curled up under his chin. She didn’t look sad.

  They watched the creature out at sea rise and fall several times. Manolin estimated it to be over a mile if it were measured from end to end. He shook his head in amazement, at the fact that something that size could be hidden within the reef. Everything made sense now: the sirens, what he saw underwater. The enigma of what exactly the sirens were doing with the half-bred ichthyocenta
urs was becoming clear.

  They were keeping this creature down there, chained to the ocean floor. They needed the half-breeds to work, to help.

  After the creature had plunged into the deeper waters in the distance, he felt a strange sense of calm. The waters took a while to return to normal. He couldn’t see anymore boats out at sea. The sun was low in the sky, but already strong. With the children still out of the way in the ichthyocentaurs’ village, several people returned to the beach, but there was no village there.

  ‘Right,’ Jella said. ‘I can see the first of the survivors coming now.’ She pointed to a small boat that approached the shore. When it was closer, she could see there were over a dozen men crammed on board. ‘We’d better be quick about this, then we have to find that fucking giant and bait it.’

  ‘Jella, after seeing that thing, do you really think it’s going to want to eat only a couple of whales?’ Menz said. ‘Fucking hell,’ Jella said. ‘Have some fucking confidence. Look, concentrate on those people, okay?’

  ‘How can I?’ Menz said. ‘I can’t have faith in a plan I doubt.’

  ‘Look,’ Jella said. ‘If you’re not going to be any use, get back on the fucking boat. Now.’

  ‘Jella, we need all the help we can get,’ Lula said. She hated to see her lover like this, angry, frustrated. She knew that their plans would go wrong if they got angry.

  ‘No, if she wants me to go, I’ll go,’ Menz said.

  ‘If you’re going, I want out too,’ Yayle said.

  Jella was furious at this attitude, this abandonment now. ‘Fucking bastards! Why the hell bailout? What the fuck for?’

  ‘I never saw it’s power before-I never knew just how big it was,’ Menz said. ‘Do you really think we can keep such a thing like that under control? No. But look, the tidal wave will cause quite some damage. That’s enough, I think. It would’ve killed enough. With that thing free in the waters, it’ll do more damage around these seas, and who knows, maybe it’ll get to Escha. But we can go back, no? Make more plans.’

  ‘Fuck you,’ Jella said. ‘Get on the boat. Lula and me-we’ll finish them off.’

  ‘Right,’ Menz said. ‘We’ll swim. You can use the boat once you’ve had enough of killing.’

  Menz and Yayle crawled along the rocks then down the other side. They placed their diving gear on, crept out towards their boat.

  Lula turned to Jella. ‘That wasn’t particularly wise, was it?’ Jella seemed not to react to her question. Perhaps it didn’t need an answer. Perhaps Jella knew that what she’d done was wrong.

  Jella placed her musket through a gap in the rocks and aimed it at the boat. As it reached the beach, a couple of the men jumped out into the shallow water. Jella fired, a crack shattering the air, and one man fell to his knees, then forwards into the water.

  Jella smiled as the men jumped out of the boat ran for cover, kicking their knees high to get out of the shallow water. Lula fired: another fell over the boat. They both fired again and two more fell over the edge of the boat as they tried to get out. Jella could hear them kicking the water to run away. She and Lula climbed down the rocks and threw one of the grenades towards the boat. She watched it explode in a plume of water, leaving no one on the boat in once piece. They knelt by the base of the rocks on the sand, fired at those who were running. There were seven men on the beach, sprinting towards the forest for cover. Jella fired and missed three times before striking another, this time in the head, and he fell backwards onto the sand in a spray of blood.

  Lula held Jella back as the rumel stood up. ‘No, they have cover now. We must be careful.’

  ‘Come on, we can take them,’ Jella said.

  A shot sparked off of the rock behind, followed by four more.

  ‘Fuck, get down,’ Lula said, and sprawled in the sand. She looked back towards the forest, but couldn’t see where the shots came from. Still looking at the trees, Lula said, ‘Jella, let’s get to the boat now. We still have a chance to get back and bait that Quidlo at least.’

  Jella stared back at her, her eyes wide and full of pain. She was holding her stomach. Lula could see blood pouring from between her grey fingers.

  ‘No. No, no. Jella, are you okay?’ ‘Yes ...’ Jella said. ‘I’ll be fine. I can still shoot. You get back to the boat. I’ll hold it here.’ ‘No, I’m not going,’ Lula said. ‘I’m the better markswoman. I can get them.’

  ‘There’ll be more after this lot. Get to the boat.’

  ‘No, I’m not going,’ Lula said.

  Another spark flared off of the rock. Lula knelt up, fired, but she did not aim anywhere specifically. While she reloaded, Jella sat up, her back against the rock. She brought out two pistols from within her breeches.

  ‘I can hold them,’ Jella said.

  ‘I’m not going,’ Lula said.

  ‘Go.’

  ‘No,I love you too much to just leave you here to die.’

  ‘Lula,just fucking go will you.’

  ‘Why?’ Lula stood up and fired where she saw a face in the trees.

  She heard a scream then reloaded.

  ‘Look,’ Jella said, ‘I never liked you that much. I only wanted you for sex and because you were an easy target when I found you, and then I found out how good you were at shooting. Don’t hang around for me, because it isn’t worth it, believe me.’

  Lula stared at Jella, who was loading her pistol again. Why was she saying this? Was it true? It was amazing how quickly something could be shattered. Lula felt sick, refusing to believe what was being said.

  The rumel looked up. ‘You heard me.’

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ Lula said.

  ‘Your call. Don’t die because of a fuck buddy.’

  The word stung aggressively, and was something she couldn’t acknowledge. They had a relationship, they had shared so much. ‘I wasn’t a fuck buddy. I was much more and you know it.’ Lula’s voice was frail.

  Jella laughed. ‘Get the hell out of here, fuck buddy.’ She fired towards the forest, the shot echoing across the bay, then she screamed, ‘Come on, I’ll take you all!’ She began to laugh then stopped, and stared into the distance.

  Lula was no longer able to see effectively because of the tears welling in her eyes. She would be no good at firing now. Considering the words Jella had just spoken, she walked away, all the time looking back.

  Jella turned back and saw that Lula was climbing up over the rocks.

  Her throat felt thick. She looked down at her wound then at her ammunition. She had a plenty of shots left, could finish the job. She reloaded, tried to remember how many there were. She thought there were two left. She reached in her pocket and brought out her last grenade, then looked towards the forest, watched the palms moving.

  A face moved within the darkness and she pulled the pin and threw the grenade as hard as she could. It exploded in the forest, sending shards of wood and leaves onto the beach, but she saw the faces running either side so she fired. One of the men fell out onto the beach, then she waited for the other.

  She reached for the musket on the sand beside her, loaded then crawled behind one of the lower rocks, pushed herself up over it. She had cover and the survivor would try to come for her.

  There were no more boats at sea. She hoped she could kill more people, more survivors. There were pieces of wood, several barrels floating in the shallow water. She held the musket up over the rock, looked along the barrel through the sight. She scanned the forest, heard another shot, which struck the rock beside her. She saw where it came from and, on seeing a small tree moving against the wind, fired.

  She watched a man fall through the leaves onto the beach.

  She sighed, pushed herself to her feet, the wound causing her a stiffness inside. She stumbled towards the forest. If she was shot at then there would be more of them-that insane decision was all she had left to ascertain the situation.

  There were no further shots. She checked the other bodies. She placed a pistol in the mouth of any
that were still alive, and forced their eyes open as she pulled the trigger. Everyone she killed was with her city of Lucher in mind, an obscene offering to her past.

  After she had counted all the dead, she fell to her knees then sat down on the beach. Out to sea, her boat was drifting away. She swallowed hard as she remembered Lula. She looked at her wound. She felt numbed to the pain. For some minutes she checked, but there were no more navy survivors.

  It was the right thing to do, about Lula, she thought. How else was I to make her go away? She needed that kick. I saved her. Now they can go on and finish the job. They can sail with the whale overboard and drag Quidlo back to Escha. It’ll be like catnip to a pussy. It’s easy, so simple. Then it can destroy the coast. I did it. I got some revenge. Lucher got one back. And at least I killed some Eschans.

  They’ll be safe with Allocen on board, protecting them. I’ve done my job. We’ve all done our jobs. It was worth it. Hopefully I can heal. I can somehow get back. I’ll catch fish or something, there’ll be enough to keep me alive. Then I’ll get back. It’s easy. I’ll make a boat from whatever gets washed up here.

  She fell flat on the sand clutching her stomach. She tried to lift her head, but her neck was in pain so she laid on the soft sand. Shuddering, she listened to the waves repeating, lapping nearer her feet on each push. It soothed her, despite the pain, which she felt stronger than ever.

  The sky was the sharpest shade of blue. Overhead, gulls circled, and she could hear the palms swaying. In the distance, a strange animal croaked, but she couldn’t recognise it.

  Then, she heard something else that she didn’t recognise, except this time she wanted to lift her head. She couldn’t describe the sound. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked out to sea. Vision was hazy.

  As Jella focussed, she did not believe what she saw.

  In front of her in the shallow water, were over a dozen heads and shoulders above the surface, with pale skin and long hair. She knew they were females, but not what they were. They were spaced several feet apart and were motionless. The waves rolled past them towards her. She couldn’t explain why, but she thought they were beautiful and it was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes and collapsed to the sand.