Megalodon: Apex Predator

by S. J. Larsson

  Sir Mallory gave him an inquisitive look. “I haven’t seen you blow chunks.”

  Will let out half a laugh, but said nothing.

  “What? Don’t be embarrassed. I’m dying to know now.”

  Will shrugged. “It’s gross, but I throw up in my mouth, then swallow it back down. I just don’t eat or drink much when I’m on a boat, so there’s not much that comes up.”

  His face dropped in sincere sympathy. “You poor guy. How miserable. They say everybody eventually gets their sea legs, but Will, I think you’re the guy who never could ride a bike all his life.”

  That made Will laugh, and he appreciated that Sir Mallory made him feel less self-conscious about his inability to physically cope with the motion of the ocean.

  Chapter 2

  Will was bundled up with three space heaters blowing on him on the bridge. He spent nights on the bridge with open windows and the space heaters to keep from barfing while staying warm. Nights in this part of the world didn’t leave room for even the sickest person to get fresh air outside.

  The watch his dad gave him on his tenth birthday said it was seven at night, just past.

  As if on cue, Ellen, his sixteen-year-old sister, entered with a hot plate of fish and vegetables. “Come on, Willie, you gotta eat something. Look, it’s fresh-caught.” She held the food under Will’s nose, but his stomach turned. Still, he took the plate and offered her what he thought was a genuine smile.

  “I’m not leaving until you have at least three bites. Big ones.” She stood straight, chin-length brown hair falling over one eye, and put her hands on her hips with a frown.

  Will picked up the tin fork and shoved the peas and carrots around. “I…I can’t right now, but I will. You can leave it.”

  She huffed. “You’re going to starve! You have to get some nutrients. Look. One bite, okay? Then I’ll leave you to pick at it all night if you want to.” She looked out of the bridge windows. “But you won’t,” she said in a sing-song voice.

  “What do you mean?” His curiosity piqued.

  “Well,” she said as she crouched back down, “Sir Mallory is lighting the deck’s fire pit tonight and is going to tell a story. Something about what this expedition is all about. I mean, Dad’s been sailing the Drake Passage for months now getting his chops back for this, and who knows how much Sir Mallory really is paying him to do it. I mean, he’s a knight, for Christ’s sake! Can you imagine the kind of money he has?”

  “Nobody ever told me what he was knighted for.” The smell of the cooked fish turned his guts and he put the plate next to him on the floor.

  “I dunno, but it must have been bravery. Don’t you think he’s handsome? I mean, for an older guy. I like older guys.”

  “Eh.”

  She slapped his arm. “What did I tell you? One bite. Then at eight, be on deck. Now, go on, eat up.”

  Will picked the plate back up and took a nibble of fish. It actually tasted delicious, and he took another small bite.

  “Good, good. See? Not so bad.” She smiled at him. “I know this is the rough part, but I have this feeling, ya know? Like we’re gonna see stuff, do stuff like nothing we’ve ever done before. Sir Mallory gives you that feeling, doesn’t he?”

  Will nodded. Sir Mallory certainly made an impression on him, but not exactly the heartthrob kind he had on Ellen. Will guessed he could see the older guy’s good looks, but he suspected it was the knighthood that really got Ellen excited.

  In a low voice, so Don Mack couldn’t hear, she said, “Caleb is coming to my room tonight. Don’t you dare pick my lock, and if Dad tries to make you, pretend you can’t. Got it? Willie?”

  “Who’s Caleb?”

  She blushed again. “He’s one of the guys with James. He’s eighteen, so smart he graduated from college this year. He’s so interesting. But tonight, it’s special, okay? No lock-picking.”

  He nodded. Ellen had gone from swooning over Sir Mallory to sneaking an eighteen-year-old into her cabin in less than a minute. “Okay, will not disturb in any way.”

  Ellen left Will to pick at his fish and vegetables, huddled in blankets and trying to keep the food down. He hadn’t realized how hungry he’d been.

  Don Mack, his dad’s first mate, was at the wheel in front of Will, and he turned. “Look at ya. Eating like a regular sailor, son. Maybe you’re starting to get those sea legs after all.”

  Will smiled weakly as a bit of fish rose up in his throat with a shift of the sea. He swallowed it back down without expression.

  “Hey, Don?” Will asked him.

  “Yeah?” He kept his eyes on the dark sea. The ice in the water wasn’t as bad in this area, but it could still sneak up unexpected. Don Mack was almost as good as his dad at cold sailing.

  “Do you know why Sir Mallory was knighted?”

  He shook his head. “Don’t give a crap.”

  Will’s eyes widened. “Why not?”

  He shrugged, pushed his enormous hat back. “It’s a bunch of rich people giving other rich people a reason to feel more important. ‘You are better than everybody else because I’m better, too, and I say so. You are a knight!’” He said the last part in what Will imagined was the Queen of England’s mimicked voice. Don slapped his thigh. “Get it?”

  Will chuckled. “Yeah. But don’t you think Sir Mallory might be a little different or something? I don’t get the feeling he’s stuck on himself or all high-and-mighty.”

  Don turned for a moment. His nose was bright red and bulbous, and a lock of black hair fell out of the front of his hat and over his forehead. “I don’t know what to make of the guy. Except he’s up to something, and we’re about to find out what.”

  “We are?”

  He laughed. “Didn’t you even listen to your sister?”

  “Oh. The fire pit at eight.”

  “Yeah, yeah. The fire pit at eight. I have to float this boat and can’t go, so you have to tell me everything. This expedition’s been in the works for four years, and your dad’s only just agreed after three years of Mallory begging him. Wouldn’t do it without him. Something’s up.”

  “Dad didn’t say anything.”

  “Nobody knows what the expedition is all about.”

  “Well, Dad said it was secret, but I thought that was just from me and Ellen.”

  Don shook his head and kept his gaze on the horizon, lazily fielding the ship’s wheel. “Big part of the reason your dad wouldn’t sign on for so long is because Mallory wouldn’t tell him what it’s all about upfront. Somehow, Mallory convinced him to go along with it, anyway.”

  Will thought for a minute. “Did Sir Mallory give Dad a bunch of money to make him say yes?”

  Don laughed. “I’m sure as hell he did, but I don’t think that’s why your dad said yes.”

  Will rubbed his face and pushed his dinner away. “I’m so confused.”

  “Your dad’s a sailor. You know that.”

  “So? Of course he is. He sails all the time. But why in this freezing bottom of the planet?”

  “Maybe he’s a curious man. Could be nostalgia. Captain Miller sailed the Drake Passage for the first six years of his sailing career. Or maybe Mallory used that British charm and eventually got to him. But just between me and you, I don’t think your dad likes Mallory much.”

  “Really? Why not?”

  Don wiped his red nose. “Your dad’s a straight-shooter. Mallory’s a chummy talker. Two types that don’t usually walk off into the sunset as best friends…ever.”

  “Dad’s so judgmental,” Will said under his breath. He couldn’t help it. Every time his dad brought him to sea, Will’s seasickness grew in him resentment toward his father until they were grounded, and then it would vanish with the spinning of Will’s head coming full stop.

  “Hey, don’t say that. Your dad’s one of the good ones. I’d trust him with my life. Hell, doing this trip with him is trusting him with my life, but you know what? He knows the Drake Passage so well it’s like trusting him w
ith a shotgun in a mad dog’s face.”

  “Huh?”

  “He knows how to use a shotgun real good, too. You seen it? You think he’s something with that whip he carries around all the time. He just switched to that when Ellie was born. Oh, and the Glock, man. He’s a wicked one with the Glock.”

  “What Glock? Dad doesn’t have any guns.” He thought of his dad’s skills with the black whip. One of his father’s favorite things to do was sneak up behind him and ensnare him around the waist. It always gave him a mean jump, but he guessed that was his dad’s way of hugging. Other times, he’d seen his dad use the whip to catch fish right out of the sea.

  “Oh.” Don straightened up and rubbed his nose again. “I must have been thinking of when we’d go out when your mom was still alive. He could shoot a shark thirty feet away right in the face with his handgun and kill it instantly.”

  “Dad? For real? No way.” Will tried to imagine his lanky, tall old man as a gunslinger. It was hard to think of his quiet, somber father ever unloading a gun into any living thing. “What was he like?” Will said quietly.

  “Your dad? Always knew what to say. Always knew what to do. Still does. He’s just more careful.”

  “No, I mean before. Like, when you’d sail with him, before Mom.” Will was afraid to ask. His mother was an off-limits topic around his dad, and Will had never thought to ask Don. Before Will sprouted up to being taller than Don, the old sailor treated him like a fragile doll. Probably because he was sick every sea voyage. It was amazing how some things had changed since he’d hit six feet. Now Don Mack cursed in front of him, and Will had been surprised during those long nights on the bridge how much Don rattled on about whatever thought came to his mind.

  “Your mother was the best, you know it. Pretty as a movie star. Your dad used to be a hell raiser, Will. Always quiet, always thoughtful, but daring and adventurous. That’s what your mom liked about him.” Don wiped his nose again.

  “He still does stupid things.”

  Don spun on him with bright black eyes. “Stupid! I’m betting this expedition pays for your and Ellen’s college, and three new, fast cars for the lot of you. Maybe even a place on the beach in Virginia when you go back.”

  “Money’s a dumb reason to risk the most dangerous seas there are,” he mumbled.

  “That’s because you’re twelve, and you don’t have to feed your kids and put good clothes on their backs. Besides, it’s more than money. Your dad loves a challenge at sea, and he’s done the Drake Passage more times than any captain alive. It’s like his warped paradise. He gets excitement, he gets to use his chops. Those things are important.”

  “Dad doesn’t get excited about anything.”

  “Well, what the hell’s got you pissing all over your dad like this?”

  Will instantly felt guilt. He should have kept his mouth shut. “I just don’t like being at sea.”

  “Oh, I get it. And he makes you go on trips. You have six years and then you never have to even take a shower again if you don’t want to. Cut your dad a break is all I’m saying. He’s had it rough. And between you and me, and I’d never say this except I nipped a touch of rum earlier, but he hasn’t been right since she died. He loved adventure, sure, but she was the great adventure of his life. We can all only hope to have what your mom and dad had at some point in our lives, even if it is just for a day.” He looked back at Will and smiled. “Eat more. Almost eight, and I see some of Mallory’s people starting up the pit. You’re in for a treat. Fresh air and a hot fire. Actually, just save your food and eat it on deck. I bet you’ll actually finish a meal tonight with that setup.”

  Chapter 3

  The warmth of the fire pit flaming orange and yellow soothed Will like a lullaby. Everyone onboard sat around it except for Don Mack, heavy coats open to the heat and cheeks flushed with fire in the icy air. Sir Mallory paced across from Will, making jokes quietly with his people, and one older woman in particular. She had dyed blonde hair cut short around her face, high cheekbones, and wrinkles that were downright dignified. Even in her parka, she looked frail, delicate. Will wondered at how this elegant lady, who had probably never known cold like this, nor been at sea so long, seemed as cool as a white Persian house cat while Will still couldn’t finish his dinner.

  “Eat.” Will’s father’s voice came from behind where Will sat next to Ellen.

  “I will in a sec.” He didn’t want his dad to get that stern tone, the one that said no questions asked. Maybe that tone of voice came from his days of shooting sharks dead with handguns.

  “I told him,” Ellen said, rubbing Will’s arm. “You eat up, and he almost did, but I guess he was tricking me.”

  “No, I had to stop. I’ll have more soon.” He looked back over his shoulder at his father’s standing form towering above. The light from the fire made his weathered skin contrast in hues, the lines of a long and complicated life almost flickering with studious movement across his features as he kept his dark eyes focused on the fire pit. Everyone said Will had his father’s eyes, but other than color, Will couldn’t see it. He couldn’t see any of his physical likeness from his father other than his height, with his father notching doorframes at six-foot-six.

  “You’ve lost weight,” his father said.

  “Not really. I’ve always been skinny.”

  “Too skinny.”

  Will shrugged and slowly took a bite of cold broccoli. His stomach was somewhat settled, but food was the enemy at sea. Still, he wished he could sleep by the fire pit every night.

  He could feel his father’s disapproval in his voice, thus the piece of broccoli. It should keep him from being dissatisfied with Will for the moment.

  Finally, just as Will thought the pretense of nibble after nibble was going to make him puke all over his sister, Sir Mallory turned all around the group with his hands in the air in front of him, palms out.

  “Thank you, thank you,” he said in a strong voice. “I want to thank every one of you who has come on our expedition. This will be one of the great times of your lives, I guarantee. Only a few I brought with me know the true nature for my wanting to come here. James.” He turned to a guy in his thirties near him. Because of his heavy clothing, all Will could make out of him was that he had thick lips that turned up in the corners and pale skin. “James is our tech specialist. Head of tech. Tech head. And we do have some tech work ahead of us. He has a couple people he brought with him.”

  James waved a gloved hand and in a thick British accent, said, “Happy to be here.”

  “Next, we have Nancy. Nancy? Where are you?” He turned to a woman calling out to him.

  “Right where you left me.” She had red curls coming out of her parka hood, falling all the way down to her waist. She must be warm as a Husky with all that hair, Will thought.

  “Nancy is a marine biologist with a specialty I’ve been looking for and nerves of steel. Thank you for coming, Nancy,” Sir Mallory said, and bowed to her. She laughed.

  “And then, of course I’ve told my wife.” He turned to the woman with the short, blonde hair Will had noticed him talking with earlier. “Kathrine,” he said, “it’s because of you that the last thing I said I’d ever do is about to take place. Well, if all goes according to plan.” He gave Kathrine a squeeze on her shoulder. She smiled stiffly from the attention as everyone stared at her, and pulled the hood of her coat back over her head.

  “You told them. Why didn’t you tell me?” Will’s father’s deep voice carried across the group. Will groaned under his breath.

  Sir Mallory stood straight as he addressed Will’s father. “Captain Miller, I didn’t think I’d ever talk you into it until we got here, until you felt this part of the ocean again. The air, the ice. I thought you’d have to get the Drake Passage back in your blood before you’d understand, before you’d agree.”

  “You mean go along with your plan, right?” Will’s father countered. It was obvious to Will that everyone around the fire pit felt the tension
between the two men.

  Sir Mallory tilted his head to the side and glanced at James, then back to Will’s dad. “No worries, Captain Miller. You can still say no, and you’ll be paid for the time you have put into this. Tonight, you will find out exactly what I have planned, and you can decide if it’s worth it.”

  “Is there risk?” Will’s father asked.

  “Isn’t there risk right now?”

  “I mean for my kids. Real risk.”

  “Sailing the Drake Passage for any reason is risk, in my mind—but I will admit that yes, there is risk, but we have taken every precaution,” Sir Mallory said with a smile.

  “Alright,” Will’s father said. “Tell me.”

  Sir Mallory began pacing again. “I will. But first, I want to tell all of you a story, one I’ve only told my wife, and her only once. This will be the second time in my life I’ve spoken of an event in my childhood that took place right here in the Drake Passage, and that event has led me to undertake a lifetime of planning and study to execute a dream. But I digress. I’ll now tell you what happened so long ago when I was just ten years old.” He stopped, looked at his wife, and then his gaze swept over the group, landing on Will. The knight’s eyes twinkled at recognizing him, even though Will was buried in layers of clothing, as though he wanted Will to hear this story more than anyone aboard. It made Will feel special, that this trip might actually be something special like Ellen had said. Sir Mallory smiled at Will, a gentle curve of the lips, different from his usual sunshine grins.

  “My father, Jonathan Mallory, was a great man. I was the luckiest kid alive to have him as a father. He wanted me to experience anything I wanted, and he had the money to make it happen. He came from old money, and our family at one time held a title, but that’s in the history books. Yes,” he said with a chuckle, “he spoiled me right rotten. When I was ten, I told my father that I wanted to see the ocean where the Pacific and Atlantic met. I wanted to sail the Drake Passage. He made it happen. He found someone who would take us as close to Antarctica as north of Elephant Island.