by Jake Bible
“You two seeing that down there?” Shane yelled to Bach and Beau.
“I see it,” Beau replied. “Is it a boat? Looks like a Zodiac or raft torn to shit and upside down.”
“Do seagulls eat rubber?” Lucy asked. “Don’t you see them all?”
Everyone had been so busy watching the contest that they didn’t even notice the flock of seagulls circling the mystery item. More and more kept diving down, grabbing chunks and flying off.
“Must be pretty fucking tasty for those gulls to be all the way out here,” Max said. “We’re a long way from shore.”
“I’m going to check it out,” Bach announced. “Who wants to come?”
“It’s probably a dead whale,” Jennings said. “It happens out here.”
“But what if it’s the dead whale?” Bach said. “Worth checking out.”
“I’m going,” Shane said as he climbed down from the crow’s nest. “Should we get Ditcher?”
“I got it,” Bach said as he grabbed a radio clipped to his belt. “Captain? This is Bach. We have something you’ll want to see.”
“What is it?” Darren replied, obviously groggy from sleep.
“Are you taking a nap?” Bach asked.
“Shut up,” Darren replied. “What’s up, Bach?”
“Maybe a whale carcass, sir,” Bach said. “I’m taking a Zodiac out with Shane.”
“I’m going,” Jennings said. “I pilot the Zodiacs better than you.”
“We’ll cover you up here,” Lucy said.
“We will?” Max said. “From what?”
“Look at how the carcass is moving,” Lucy said. “Sharks. A lot of them. They’re having a buffet.”
“Good eye,” Max said. “Yep, gotcha covered.”
“I’ll be right up,” Darren said. “Tell Lake to change course and get us closer.”
Beau took off and headed for the bridge while Bach, Jennings, and Shane got the Zodiac ready. It was only a couple minutes before Darren was up on deck, pulling a t-shirt on and shaking the sleep from his head.
“Alright, let’s go see some rotten flesh,” Darren said.
“Captain,” Lake called from the bridge window, “I object. I’ll go. You should stay on the bridge.”
“Not happening, Lake,” Darren said, “if it’s my whale, then I want to be one of the first to see it.”
“Fine,” Lake scowled, “you’re the Captain.”
“He’s the Riker to your Picard,” Shane laughed.
“Shut it, nerd,” Darren smiled as Popeye worked the power winch and lowered the Zodiac to the water below.
***
The knocking woke her slowly and she had to fight to get her eyes open. Kinsey wondered if Gunnar hadn’t put a little extra in her formula.
“Wha…uh…what?” Kinsey croaked, her throat dry. “What?”
The hatch opened and Darby looked in. “You’ll want to see this,” she said. “There’s a bunch of the crew, including Captain Chambers, taking a Zodiac out to a carcass that was spotted.”
“Good for them,” Kinsey said. “Let them.”
Darby stepped fully into Kinsey’s quarters. “I’ll let you think it through for a second.”
“Think what through?” Kinsey asked, annoyed that Darby wouldn’t let her go back to sleep. Darby just waited. “It’s going to be like that, huh? You stand there and let your big announcement sink into my brain and then all of a sudden, I’ll understand what you’re getting at? Is that it?” Darby didn’t respond. “Listen, Darby, you seem cool and all, but I---”
Kinsey stopped. Darby smiled.
“Carcass?” Kinsey said. “Things like to eat carcasses.”
“Yes, they do,” Darby said, “and your ex is too focused on whales to think what might want to eat a whale carcass.”
“Ah, fuck,” Kinsey said as she hopped from her bunk and grabbed her pants, tugging them up over her bare legs. She got a tank top over her bra and then pushed past Darby, grabbing her boots on the way.
“Ah, Ms. Thorne,” Mr. Ballantine said as he hurried up the passageway, “news travels fast.”
“A Zodiac won’t be much against your giant shark,” Kinsey said.
“No, it won’t,” Mr. Ballantine said. “Maybe we should talk some sense into the captain before he gets hurt?”
“Oh, I don’t care if he gets hurt,” Kinsey said, “I just don’t want to miss it if it happens.”
“Ouch,” Mr. Ballantine smirked.
They all rushed up onto the upper deck, joining the rest of the crew that weren’t busy with duties and tasks to keep the ship working.
“Mr. Ballantine,” Ms. Horace nodded, her hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun off the water. “I believe the captain has left the ship and is chasing his whale.”
“Chasing his tail, more like,” Mr. Perry said from her left. “Whatever is out there is dead. No good use to anyone.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Perry,” Mr. Ballantine said, “did you think I was going to let the shark live?”
“Didn’t think much about it,” Mr. Perry replied, “because I don’t believe in your shark, Mr. Ballantine. I do believe in Captain Chambers’ whale, though. And I am 100% against killing whales. My parents gave me a subscription to Greenpeace magazine when I was little. Save the whales.”
“I had no idea you knew what compassion was, Mr. Perry,” Mr. Ballantine said.
“Only for whales, Mr. Ballantine,” Mr. Perry smiled. “People, I can care less about.”
“Delightful.”
Kinsey left Mr. Ballantine and his colleagues and made her way up to the crow’s nest, followed closely by Darby.
“Hey, my fiancé is here,” Max said. “Hey, sweetie. Having a good day?”
“Not going to happen, rifle jockey,” Darby replied.
“Give me that,” Kinsey said, as she took Max’s rifle from him and put her eye to the scope.
“Hey, bad form, Sis,” Max said. “You never take a sniper’s gun from them.”
“Not if you want to live,” Lucy said giving Max a quick high five.
“They think it’s a whale?” Kinsey asked. “Whatever it is, it’s huge.”
“See how the sharks are gnawing on it?” Lucy asked. “Even if we aren’t talking about Ballantine’s super shark, there are still some big fuckers out there. They need to watch themselves in that Zodiac.”
***
“C. Megalodon,” Darren said to Shane, “that’s the shark Ballantine is chasing. I’m chasing what I believe to be Livyatan Melville, which would have been a contemporary of Megalodon. But I highly doubt a shark the size of Megalodon could go undetected for decades, if not centuries.”
“And your whale can?” Shane asked as the Zodiac bounced across the waves.
“Do you know how many blue whale sightings there are each year?” Darren asked.
“Not a clue,” Shane said.
“Except for off the California coast,” Darren said, “there are less than a dozen sightings a year.”
“What’s so special about the California coast?” Shane asked.
“Of the close to 10,000 blue whales left alive, almost a quarter of them show up on the California coast each summer and fall to breed. The rest are scattered throughout the oceans.”
“So that leaves about 7,000 blue whales that almost never get spotted?” Shane asked. “Is that what you’re getting at?”
“Exactly,” Darren replied as the Zodiac got closer to its target, “and blue whales can be 100 feet long. The Livyatan Melville doesn’t get quite that long.”
A smell began to fill the air, even with the wind whipping past them, as the Zodiac sped over the waves.
“Damn,” Bach said, “whatever it is, it’s been dead a while.”
“Why give a shit about a whale that isn’t even the biggest?” Shane asked.
“Because of its jaw,” Shane said. “It’s like a sperm whale, with carnivorous teeth, but top and bottom. Unlike the sperm whale, which has a small
er lower jaw, Livyatan Melville has a lower jaw that matches the upper jaw. The crushing power is unbelievable. Theory is, it was the reason that Megalodon went extinct, among other things.”
“Damn,” Shane said. “So we’re talking Jonah’s whale then? This thing is all biblical and shit?”
“Could be,” Darren said as he brought his hand to his nose to cover the stench. “Damn.”
Jennings cut the engine and let the Zodiac drift close in to the carcass. Several of the feasting gulls protested and flew up into the air. Shane looked over the side of the Zodiac and saw a sight that sent his balls up into his throat.
“That’s a lot of sharks,” Shane said. “Fun.”
“Fucking A,” Darren whispered, ignoring the sharks and focusing on the whale. “Can you get me closer?”
“Not without gumming up the motor,” Jennings said. “Too much guts and shit floating about.”
“Paddle,” Bach said, grabbing the paddles from the floor of the large raft. “We’ll get in closer that way.”
Darren and Bach paddled, taking the Zodiac in as close as possible. Everyone in the boat just stared at what they saw. Even if over two dozen sharks weren’t tearing hunks of the beast off, it would have still been impressive because of the jaw.
“That’s your whale,” Shane almost whispered. “Holy fuck, Ditcher. You found your whale.”
“It’s not very long,” Jennings said. “What is it? Thirty feet? I’ve seen orcas that big.”
“It’s only part,” Bach said, pointing the paddle at where the tail should have been. “Quite a bit is missing.”
“About another twenty feet,” Darren said, “but it’s not the size, man. Look at that jaw. That anatomy doesn’t exist anymore. Or shouldn’t.”
“So you found it?” Jennings asked. “You found Moby Dick?”
“God, I’d wish you’d all stop saying that,” Darren said, “but fuck yeah, I found it!”
Shane studied the carcass, but kept coming back to where the tail should have been. He wasn’t a marine biologist, but he was a SEAL sniper and trained to observe every tiny detail. Sure, he and his brother played the fools, it helped let them stay under the radar when they wanted to. But the truth was, as with most SEALs, he could shame a MIT grad if he wanted to.
“What do you think bit the tail off?” Shane said. “Great white?”
Darren tore his eyes away from the decomposing jaw and looked back at the tail. He did some quick calculations and frowned. “Bite radius is too big.”
“Too big?” Bach asked. “What has a bigger bite radius than a great white?”
“Ballantine’s shark does, I bet,” Jennings said. “How big does that fucker get?”
“Not much bigger than fifty feet,” Darren said, “which makes it very possible that it attacked this whale.”
“You mean the whale we’re next to?” Jennings frowned. “The one attracting sharks for miles?”
They all let that sink in.
“What now?” Shane asked. “How do we get this back to the ship? Which I assume is what you want to do.”
“Ship is on its way,” Bach said, turning around and waving to the Beowulf II as it slowly came towards them. The ship gave two quick horn blasts. He could see quite the audience on deck. “Let’s paddle around it and see what else there is to see.”
“I’m guessing it will be more stinky, rotten whale,” Shane said. “Just a guess.”
They paddled around and everyone gasped.
“What’s the bite radius of that, Cousteau?” Shane asked Darren. “Still saying fifty feet?”
Darren did the math and shook his head. “That can’t be,” he said. “That has to be a double bite. It’s an illusion.”
“A double bite? Is that a thing?” Jennings asked.
Shane suddenly had an urge to start scanning the waters, ignoring the smaller sharks that swarmed below the boat, bumping against the hull now and again as they jostled for position. No, he was looking for something bigger, deeper, deadlier. For the first time since leaving California, Shane’s gut warned him that he was not safe. SEALs were trained to ignore fear and pain, but also to listen to it.
Shane’s fear was screaming at him to get the fuck out of there.
A shadow. Deep below.
“We need to fucking go,” Shane said. “Jennings? Get us out of here.”
“What?” Bach asked. “What do you see?”
“I don’t know,” Shane said. “But that’s the problem. We need to get up on the ship.”
“I can’t,” Jennings said. “See all the fucking sharks? I’ll chop them in half and it’ll break the motor.”
“The Beowulf II is on the way,” Darren said. “See? It’s almost here.”
“I think I see it,” Bach said, his eyes studying the water below. “Big shadow?”
“Yeah,” Shane said. “Why’d we take a Zodiac out to an all you can eat shark buffet? I think we just created a new level of stupid.”
“We’re fine,” Darren said, “just hold steady. We’ll need to be here to help get the carcass loaded up onto the Beowulf II.”
“What?” Jennings said. “We’re taking that onboard?”
“How else will we study it?” Darren asked. “Gunnar is going to need space to move and dissect. He can’t do that in the water.”
“Not with a monster shark circling us,” Shane said. “Seriously, Ditcher, there’s something big down there.”
***
“How will we get it up on deck?” Gunnar asked.
“Simple,” Mr. Ballantine said, pointing to the stern, “the Wiglaf clamps are designed to grab any large object, not just the mini-sub itself. They have precision calibration so they don’t crush soft flesh and destroy the specimen. I’ll operate them and get that bloated carcass on deck easily. I practiced on dead cows for weeks.”
“Hey, Gunnar?” Lake called from the bridge. “Will you come up here?”
“I’m a little busy, Chief,” Gunnar replied.
“You’ll want to see this,” Lake said. He turned his head and peered up at the crow’s nest. “All of you will.”
Gunnar and Ballantine exchanged glances; so did Kinsey and Darby up in the crow’s nest.
“You go,” Mr. Ballantine said, “I’m going to prep the clamps.”
Gunnar nodded and headed for the bridge, while Kinsey and Darby climbed down to it.
“What?” Gunnar asked.
Lake pointed at the sonar station.
“That look normal?” Lake asked.
Kinsey was amazed at the detail of the sonar. Most deep scanning devices just created blobs on the screen, but the Beowulf II’s sonar showed way more detail. Enough that you knew if you were looking at a shark or a dolphin or tuna. She was impressed. And a little frightened as she saw what was beneath them.
“What’s the scale?” Kinsey asked. “How big is that?”
“Jesus Christ,” Gunnar said, looking at the sonar, then out the window at the carcass. The Beowulf II was getting closer, but so was what was on the sonar. “That’s gotta be fifty feet, at least. And moving fast.”
“That’s a shark?” Kinsey asked. “Right?”
“It is,” Gunnar said, “a big one. Probably the largest great white on record.”
“Not a great white,” Darby said.
“Fuck,” Kinsey said, “it’ll devour that Zodiac.”
“It’s going for the dead whale,” Gunnar said. “It wants nothing to do with the Zodiac.”
The sonar started to beep loudly.
“What is that?” Kinsey asked.
Darby sat down at the station and watched the screens. “It’s a movement alarm. It was triggered because of all the sudden activity. See those there?” Darby pointed at the outlines of the hundreds of smaller sharks. “They’re leaving.”
She was right. Everything quickly left the area; they all watched as the only thing left on the screen was the big outline, still going straight for the Zodiac.
“We have to
get them out of there,” Kinsey shouted as she rushed out of the bridge.
“Pilot this ship as fast you can,” Darby said, following Kinsey.
“What about the helo?” Gunnar asked.
“Bobby won’t get it powered up in time,” Lake said. “Fuck. I should have been watching that.”
“Well, your crew is all out on deck watching the show,” Gunnar said, “no one was prepared.”
“They will be next time,” Lake said.
“If there is a next time,” Gunnar said as he took off after the ladies.
***
Shane placed the forestock of the .338 on Bach’s shoulder. “Sorry, man. I have to steady this thing. Cover your ears and don’t move.”
Shane stood up, very aware of the constant movement of the Zodiac, and began to track the shadow below as it circled the carcass and the boat.
“Hey!” Kinsey called from the deck. “You have company!”
“We know!” Shane shouted, watching the shadow’s every move. “We see it!”
“No, you don’t!” Kinsey yelled. “Whatever you see is not what’s coming!”
“Not what’s coming?” Jennings asked. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Bach looked back at the Beowulf II, which was only about twenty yards away.
“Don’t move,” Shane snapped, “Jesus.”
“We can paddle now,” Bach said. “Darren? Jennings? Get us back to the ship.”
Neither man argued, and started to paddle. The shadow below changed directions, its movements showing it was tracking the Zodiac. Then it was gone.
“What happened?” Shane asked. “Where’d it go?”
“It left,” Bach said. “I saw it take off. It was so fucking fast I would have missed it if I wasn’t looking right at it.”
“Why’d it leave?” Shane asked. “Why now?”
“Fuck,” Jennings said, “it’s so going to come up at us from below. Like that Shark Week video.”
“Just paddle,” Bach said.
***
Ballantine guided the clamps up and over the Wiglaf, getting them down close to the water.
“Bring the ship around, Lake!” Mr. Ballantine shouted. “We need to get the carcass close to the stern!”
