Feeding Frenzy

by Michael P. Spradlin

  “Okay. Snorkeling. It’ll be fun. Let’s follow Calvin. Nothing to worry about. Water’s not that deep and stuff. No problem,” Emmet said as he cautiously traipsed toward the water. The others seemed to walk easily into the ocean in their flippers, but Emmet lifted each foot and carefully stepped along like he was wearing giant clown shoes. At least it was warm. Warm water was probably better for sharks, though, and stingrays, giant squid, and killer whales.

  “Hurry up,” Calvin hollered. “We need to stay together.”

  Emmet quickened his pace and soon joined the others in waist-deep water. Everyone dived forward and swam out together.

  Calvin was carrying a dive flag and swam a short distance ahead of them. A small weight was attached to the flag by rope, and he lowered it until it settled on the bottom. The bright red flag had a white stripe running at an angle across it. It was attached atop a small plastic float, which bobbed gently on the water. The flag would let any passing boaters know there were divers in the area. In Florida, it was illegal to snorkel or scuba dive without a dive flag. Calvin was a law-and-order guy.

  Emmet was new to snorkeling but got the hang of it pretty quickly. It wasn’t really swimming. It was mostly floating until something interesting appeared, then diving for a closer look, and staying down for as long as possible while holding his breath. Upon surfacing he blew the water out of his snorkel. Emmet found he could float for a long time, breathing through the plastic tube and observing the sea life.

  The five of them floated in a rough semicircle, looking down into the waters below them. Emmet had to admit it was pretty spectacular. The water was a deep sky-blue color, and there were lots of cool fish and plants to look at. Parts of the coral reef were covered with indentations on the surface that made him think of pictures of the moon he’d seen in science class. Other parts stretched out like vibrantly hued fingers reaching into the ocean, or silk fans that swayed lazily in the currents. Emmet couldn’t believe there were this many different colors under the water. Oranges, yellows, reds — and not just on the reef and the plants, but on the fish as well. It was a revelation to him, because he had never been in the ocean before. He understood now what Dr. Geaux had been trying to tell him. It was like nothing he’d ever seen.

  He recognized a few of the fish swimming around, including a small school of groupers floating a few yards away near the surface. But around the reef itself there were hundreds of scary fish. They were reddish-orange with white stripes, and had sharp, dangerous-looking spines sticking out all over.

  Emmet raised his head and tapped Raeburn on the shoulder. She looked up at him as they treaded water.

  “What are those spiny fish? They look like they belong on the head of a medieval weapon,” he said.

  “They’re lionfish,” she said, shaking her head.

  Great! Emmet thought. In Florida even the fish are named after things that eat you.

  “Why did you shake your head?” he asked, glancing around to see Stuke had floated away from the group and Riley was trying to get Calvin’s attention by pointing at something beneath the water.

  “They’re nonnative. An invasive species, just like the pythons Dr. Catalyst was trying to get rid of,” she said. “They’re really aggressive and they sting, so don’t get too close.”

  “Of course they sting. It’s probably fatal,” Emmet said.

  Raeburn shook her head. “No, it just hurts. They chase off the other fish that feed around the reefs and then strip the reefs clean. They never recover.”

  “Can’t they be caught or something? Like in nets?”

  “They’re too deep for nets, and they’re hard to catch. Divers will sometimes spear them, and they can be eaten if you clean them right, but there are just too many of them now.”

  “Huh,” Emmet said. “How are you so smart about all this stuff again?”

  “It’s called studying, Emmet. You should try it sometime,” Raeburn said. She adjusted her mask and dived under the surface.

  Emmet decided to follow her.

  DR. CATALYST DONNED HIS WET SUIT AND SCUBA GEAR. He pushed a switch on the console near the ship’s wheel for the proximity alarm. If a swimmer or another boat approached while he was in the water, a special watertight communicator on his wrist would vibrate a warning. He wasn’t going to allow anyone to stop him this time, not the U.S. Coast Guard or those brats Emmet and Calvin.

  Double-checking to make sure his tanks were full of air, he buckled himself into the rig and rolled backward off the boat. Also attached to his wrist was an underwater video camera. This time he would have to film his creations’ first successful deployment from beneath the water.

  Unlike with his Pterogators, Dr. Catalyst would not be able to return the Muraecudas to his base. They were not as trainable. They would stay free in the ocean, ridding it of the venomous pests. He was certain they would clear the reefs of lionfish in a matter of months.

  Some scientists in Honduras had attempted to train sharks to feed on lionfish, but with only limited results. Since lionfish were reef dwellers, he had thought long and hard about what could thin their numbers.

  Barracudas fed on the fish that congregate on or near reefs. Moray eels made their nests among the nooks and crannies of the coral. And the reef shark was able to sit still upon the ocean floor waiting for prey to swim into its territory. It was the ideal combination.

  And now he had the perfect set of test conditions. A reef full of lionfish, according to reports from the Florida fisheries’ records. And a group of obnoxious kids. He was certain the Muraecudas would ravage the lionfish. But what would happen if the nearby humans approached them?

  Dr. Catalyst hadn’t a clue. But he was anxious to find out.

  THE SCHOOL OF GROUPERS DARTING AWAY FROM THE reef was the first indication something was wrong. And of course it was Calvin, the King of the Wild Frontier, who noticed it initially. He surfaced, hollering and waving his arms. Emmet, Riley, and Raeburn were floating nearby and raised their heads, treading water and looking at him quizzically.

  “Where’s Stuke?!” Calvin asked, swimming over to them. Looking around, they saw their friend about thirty yards farther out, almost directly over the top of the reef.

  “Stuke!” Calvin shouted. But Stuke didn’t hear them.

  “What’s wrong?” Emmet asked.

  “The groupers. They swam off. Fast,” Calvin answered.

  “Calvin. We’ve talked about this. I need more infor —” Emmet said.

  Riley interrupted. “When a school of fish swims off like that, it usually means there’s a predator approaching.”

  “Probably just a marlin or a barracuda. Sharks don’t usually feed this time of day,” Calvin said. Emmet knew he was saying that for his benefit. But Calvin looked nervous. “We’ll get Stuke and swim back to shore.”

  “Good idea,” Riley said. She lifted her wrist and showed a plastic underwater camera attached to it. “I already got some great pictures, anyway.”

  They tried calling out to Stuke, but his head was beneath the water and he didn’t hear them.

  “All right, let’s stay together and go get him,” Calvin said, pulling his mask back into place. The four of them swam along the surface toward Stuke, but Calvin stopped suddenly. They all pulled up, treading water.

  “What is it?” Emmet asked. He really didn’t like the way this outing was progressing.

  “I thought I saw …” Calvin put his face down in the water again.

  “Oh, I hate when he does that,” Emmet said. “What, Calvin? You thought you saw what?”

  Calvin rose again, a look of alarm on his face.

  “Stuke! Stuke!” he shouted. “Everybody, swim to him as fast as you can! Stay together.”

  Emmet was now officially frightened. The four of them spat out their snorkels and swam as hard as they could toward Stuke.

  Emmet couldn’t resist, though. He ducked his head beneath the surface.

  And immediately wished he hadn’t.


  Converging on the reef from farther out in the ocean were half a dozen creatures. They looked like something out of his worst nightmare. They swam toward the reef, their bodies long and slithering, almost like snakes, except their blunt faces held huge mouths full of needlelike teeth, sticking out all over. Row upon row of them flashed in the sunlit water.

  They lunged through the water as they converged on the reef and tore into the lionfish. It was a feeding frenzy. Their heads and jaws snapped and slashed, devouring fish after fish, spines and all. The lionfish tried to scatter, but the creatures — each ten or twelve feet long — swam them down, devouring them.

  Somehow Emmet’s legs kept pumping. He knew on some level he was still swimming in Stuke’s general direction, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the carnage happening below him. The things were fast and flexible, and it was almost like they worked in concert, circling around any group of lionfish trying to escape and driving them back toward the reef.

  In the minute or so it had taken them to swim this far, it appeared to Emmet the reef was wiped clean of lionfish, unless one had managed to cower under a rock somehow. The beasts were remarkable in their efficient savagery. He was about to raise his head up and ask Calvin what they were.

  But right at that moment, one of them turned and spotted Stuke, who was snorkeling with his back to what had just transpired. With a mighty thrust of its snakelike body, it surged through the water.

  Heading directly toward Stuke.

  DR. CATALYST WAS MORE THAN A HUNDRED YARDS away from the group of swimmers. His camera was running, and he was delighted by what he’d just witnessed. The Muraecudas had cleared an entire reef of lionfish in minutes. It was astonishing, and they had done it with remarkable efficiency. Were he not underwater and breathing through his regulator, he would have been laughing with glee.

  Now he kept the camera rolling, for one of the beasts had spotted a swimmer who was separated from the others by a fair distance. At this range it was impossible to tell which of them it was, but he hoped with all his heart it was that insufferable little snot Emmet Doyle. He flexed his damaged arm, remembering the combination of shock and outrage he’d felt when Emmet induced Hammer, one of his Pterogators, to attack him. More than the physical pain was the mental anguish. Years of work and research nearly destroyed. The fact that his hybrids were still active in the swamp provided the only solace.

  Dr. Catalyst did not give up. For a reason he could not explain, he believed Emmet and he were connected somehow. Someone as brilliant as he would of course require a far more fearsome adversary, but he was no fool. Human history was full of instances when a younger, weaker, but plucky adversary had managed to defeat a superior foe.

  But while Dr. Catalyst might be Goliath, Emmet Doyle was no David. Dr. Catalyst’s work, his intelligence, was far too important and vast to be undone by a mere child, even one with as much sand as Emmet Doyle.

  Dr. Catalyst peered through the lens of the video camera. The monster fish was almost upon the lone swimmer, and the other four tried desperately to alert him. Let them all be attacked and driven off. It would make good video. And it would show the world that this time, Dr. Catalyst meant business.

  This footage would work perfectly for his next news release. He had engineered a new species: fast, aggressive, and it attacked swimmers! Tourists and locals alike would flee the ocean and all of South Florida! His creations could clear out the lionfish population, and with his Pterogators still on the loose in the Everglades, he would be one step closer to his goal.

  Emmet Doyle, Dr. Geaux, all of them would see he could not be stopped.

  It was perfect.

  ONE MINUTE STUKE WAS FLOATING GENTLY IN THE water, and the next he was yanked beneath the surface by a hard tug on his leg. The pain hit him like a bolt of lightning. His head came up out of the water, and he screamed.

  Stuke furiously kicked his foot, but something had hold of his leg and would not let loose. Worse, it was angrily shaking and writhing. Whatever it was, each time he moved, its teeth clamped down harder. The pain was excruciating. Still Stuke pumped his legs back and forth, desperately trying to free himself from whatever held him. He thought he heard voices calling to him, and shouts coming from the beach. But all his focus was on not passing out from the sudden, searing fire in his leg. If he didn’t stay conscious, he would certainly drown.

  The creature yanked hard again on his leg. Stuke screamed as it pulled him underwater. There was no time to hold his breath. His mouth filled with seawater, and he choked on the salty taste. Feeling weak and woozy, he tried kicking at whatever was dragging him — probably a shark — but it was too strong. As he sank in the water, he watched widening billows of red swirl around him and realized it was his blood. Now he was truly terrified.

  When he looked down, his fear and confusion only worsened. His goggles were full of seawater and he couldn’t see clearly. The creature holding him was big, but it wasn’t a shark. It looked like a giant snake or maybe a huge eel. Whatever it was, its teeth were like shards of broken glass slicing into his flesh. He worried now that if the thing bit him any harder it would break his leg. He was more scared than he’d ever been in his entire life.

  Stuke struggled, but he was losing his strength. His lungs burned and when the creature clamped down again, he opened his mouth to scream but only took in a mouthful of seawater. This was it. His parents’ faces flashed in his mind, and he thought about how much he would miss them. He closed his eyes. With his last bit of oxygen and strength he gave his leg one more shake, but it was no use. He was going to drown, devoured by whatever strange beast held him in its grip.

  The next thing he felt was hands under his arms, tugging him upward. He opened his eyes to see Calvin and Raeburn desperately trying to lift him to the surface. Calvin let go and swam right down to the creature, kicking out with his foot and landing blow after blow on its midsection. It didn’t seem to even notice. And as each kick connected, it shook Stuke’s leg and he writhed in pain. If anything, the monster clamped down harder. Stuke felt his body going limp. His friends could not save him.

  Raeburn tore off her mask and snorkel, grabbing the hard plastic tube and holding it like an ice pick. She dived downward and stabbed it hard into the creature’s eye. The creature was determined not to release its prey and tried to wiggle its body away from the persistent girl. Raeburn stabbed again and again and again, annoying the giant eel and causing Stuke to silently suffer in pain. As each blow landed, the creature tried to pull him deeper into the depths. With one last mighty swing, Raeburn furiously jabbed the creature in its now-bloody eye.

  Finally, Stuke was free. The giant eel backed away and floated motionlessly a moment, as if stunned by its own pain. For a tense moment, it looked like it was going to strike at Stuke again. But it dived, slinking along the sandy bottom, trailing a stream of blood behind it. Two other dark shapes darted from the reef and followed the bloody path through the water.

  Raeburn and Calvin grabbed Stuke beneath the arms and pumped their legs furiously toward the surface. When they broke through, Stuke spat out a stream of water, coughing and choking.

  Calvin turned Stuke’s head to the side. “Come on, Stuke! You gotta breathe, man!” he shouted. Stuke’s head lulled forward and another stream of seawater cascaded out of his mouth. Finally, he took a huge, gasping breath. Then he screamed in agony.

  “Ahh! My leg!” he shouted.

  By then Emmet and Riley had arrived.

  “Come on!” Emmet shouted. “We’ve got to get him to shore. Riley, you swim alongside him and help hold him up. Raeburn, put pressure on the wound and help Riley push him toward shore.”

  Emmet’s legs worked furiously as he treaded water. He looked toward the beach to find his dad and Dr. Geaux staring at them with their hands shading their eyes, trying to determine what had happened. Apollo, who had been leashed to the picnic table so he wouldn’t wander off, was in a full-on barking frenzy.

  “Dad! We need
help!” Emmet shouted. “Hurry! Stuke’s hurt!”

  “Go! Go! Go!” he shouted to his friends. The four of them kicked toward shore, moving clumsily, with Stuke thrashing and moaning in obvious pain. Dr. Geaux and his dad ran into the water fully clothed, splashing toward them.

  “Calvin, you and I will guard the rear,” Emmet said. He pulled his snorkel free from his mask like Raeburn had done, and Calvin did the same.

  “We’ve got to watch so they don’t attack us from behind,” Emmet said.

  Calvin understood immediately, and they both took deep breaths. Diving below the surface, they swam backward, their bodies at an angle to the ocean floor. At first it appeared as if the creatures had all disappeared. But then Emmet spotted two of them swimming hard along the sandy bottom, and veering in their direction. The trail of blood streaming from Stuke’s leg was acting like a homing beacon for these creatures, and for who-knew-what else. Emmet remembered reading that sharks could smell blood in the water from great distances.

  He and Calvin surfaced for air.

  “Did you see them?” Calvin asked.

  “Yeah. It’s like they’re circling. They’re attracted by the scent of the blood,” he said.

  Stuke moaned in agony and Raeburn tried to comfort him. Riley was grunting with the effort of pulling him toward the shore. There were still about fifty yards between them and Dr. Geaux and Dr. Doyle, who were now swimming toward them.

  “Okay,” Calvin said. “Let’s go under, find out where they are. I guess if they come at us, kick at ’em with our flippers. Maybe the splashing water will distract them. Better to lose a foot than a hand.” He said it like losing a limb was a choice between regular and diet soda.

  “I don’t want to lose either!” Emmet said. But they both ducked beneath the surface. It was just in time. Two of the creatures were only yards away, and closing fast. All Emmet could see were wide-open mouths full of teeth the size of knitting needles. Both boys flipped onto their backs and kicked out with their legs, their swim fins thrashing through the water, causing it to swirl and surge around them.