by Jake Bible
“Gang’s all here,” Shane said, “but why’s the fish doctor tagging along? Thought this was a Team Grendel reunion only.”
“I’m not part of the Team?” Gunnar smiled. “Why you gotta be so mean?”
“To compensate for my handicap,” Shane grinned, “I’m bitter.”
“You’re stoned,” Kinsey said as she walked up, gave him a hug, then took the joint from his mouth and tossed it to the ground.
“Hey!” he complained. “That’s medicinal! I have a prescription now, ya know?”
“So that means Ditcher is coming too?” Max said.
In answer, a pickup truck came speeding out of the tall fir trees that lined the property around the cabin. Dust trailed behind it and then clouded around everyone as it came to a stop.
“Way to make an entrance, dude,” Max coughed.
“Sorry,” Darren said, “I thought I was going to be late.” After hugs, handshakes, and all the greetings, he looked about. “Where’s Ballantine?”
“Been waiting here the whole time,” Mr. Ballantine said as the cabin door opened. Darby stood directly behind him, her throat covered in a wide bandage. “Could have taken all of you with ease. Makes me wonder if I’m talking to the right people.”
Everyone turned and looked at Shane and Max.
“You didn’t go inside?” Kinsey asked.
“Not our cabin,” Max shrugged, “would have been rude.”
“And neither of you thought to knock?” Thorne said. “How are you related to me?”
“No vehicle,” Shane said, “and I didn’t really care. So there’s that.”
“We were dropped off by associates,” Mr. Ballantine smiled, “which is why I brought you here.”
“You’re supposed to ask us if we were wondering why you brought us here,” Max said, “don’t you know anything about dramatic effect?”
“I’m going to go for the direct approach,” Mr. Ballantine said. “I’ve cleared it with the company and I want to hire you again. Come in so we can discuss it.”
“Nope,” Max said.
“Don’t think so,” Shane responded.
“Not interested,” added Lucy.
“Before everyone declines,” Mr. Ballantine said, “hear me out. Please?”
“We’ll hear you out, Ballantine,” Thorne said, “but we have quite a few dead reasons to decline, so do not get your hopes up.”
“Wouldn’t think of it,” Mr. Ballantine said as he gestured for them to come inside.
***
The sunset filled the sky with deep reds and glowing oranges. The air was chilly compared to San Diego, and Kinsey wrapped her arms about herself as she stood on the edge of the cliff, watching the waves far below crash against the coarse sand of the beach.
“Hey, ‘Sey,” Darren said as he walked up to her, “am I interrupting a private moment?”
“Nope,” Kinsey said, “I can share the sunset with you, ‘Ren.”
They stood there silently until the sun was almost lost to the horizon.
“Thoughts?” Darren finally asked.
“On Ballantine’s offer?” Kinsey replied.
“No, on the 49ers’ chances at the Super Bowl,” Darren said.
“Lame joke.”
“Yeah, it was. But…?”
“He makes a good point,” Kinsey said. “There’s more danger out there and we have the experience needed to deal with it. Throw another Team into the fray and they could end up as broken as us.”
“Are we broken?” Darren asked. “The way everyone was glad to see each other, I’d say we’re pretty well put together.”
“Could be,” Kinsey said, “what about your crew? Are they onboard with it?”
“They will be,” Darren answered, “I’ve been feeling them out the last week. I knew this would be coming from Ballantine.”
“How are they?”
“Good. Popeye is being fitted with a prosthetic leg. They just couldn’t save it, too much blood loss. Lake is always ready to get out on the water and Cougher is stoked that he’ll be First Engineer. Beau could go either way.”
“I thought they’d turn you down flat after losing Bach,” Kinsey frowned, “and Jennings.”
“I know you and Jennings had a connection, so to say,” Darren smiled, “I’m sorry.”
“It was casual,” Kinsey said, “a way to let off steam. But he was a good guy.”
“He was,” Darren agreed, “and that wraps that up. The dead are remembered and the living mentioned. What are you going to say to Ballantine?”
“Is Gunnar in?” Kinsey asked.
“He is,” Darren said, “as is your dad.”
“The boys are still deciding,” Kinsey said, “I think they’ll make Ballantine sweat before they answer.”
“Lucy’s in,” Darren said, “she didn’t want Bobby’s death to be for nothing.”
“Is that why you’re doing it?” Kinsey asked.
“No, not at all,” Darren replied, “well, sort of. It’s a factor. But the main reason is I still have a quest to finish.”
“Your whale,” Kinsey stated.
“My whale,” Darren nodded, “it’s out there, ‘Sey. I know it is. The one we found wasn’t big enough.”
“And we lost the hard evidence that it even existed,” Kinsey said, “I’m sure Gunnar pointed that out.”
“He did,” Darren said, “he also pointed out the dangers of what is loose in the ocean. He knows there are more sharks. Big ones, like what we dealt with.”
“That’s what Ballantine said,” Kinsey said.
“He also hinted that there may be more anomalies,” Darren said.
Kinsey finally turned from the picturesque sky and looked Darren full in the face.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“The company, the one Ballantine works for, solves problems,” Darren said. “I guess there are a lot more problems than even Ballantine knew about. Despite what we all may think, the company considers what we accomplished a success. They need us.”
“The company, the company,” Kinsey laughed, “what the fuck is this company? They solve problems? Whoopty shit. We all have problems. They should learn to solve theirs on their own like the rest of us.”
“Do we really?” Darren asked. “Do we solve them on our own? I think you’ve had some help with yours. And I know I haven’t gotten through mine without backup.”
Kinsey was quiet for a while.
“I don’t know yet,” she finally said, “I’m going to need some time to think about it.”
“Good,” Darren said, “that’s better than a flat no.”
“Hey!” Max yelled from the cabin. “Come on, you two! We have several bottles of whiskey and a deck of cards! OW! Hey! Why’d you hit me?”
“We also have non-alcoholic drinks, Kinsey,” Lucy yelled.
“And we’re going to play some strip poker!” Max added. “Darby said she’d totally play! OW! OWOWOW! Okay, okay, Darby is not playing! Jeez.” The cabin door shut, but they could still hear Max complaining.
“You coming in?” Darren asked. “Ballantine said the cabin is owned by the company and we can stay all weekend.”
“I’m going to hang out here for a bit,” Kinsey said, “go ahead. I’ll be in soon.”
“Okay,” Darren said, and squeezed Kinsey on the shoulder. She patted his hand and gave him a smile. “Don’t stay out too long. It gets cold fast up here.”
“You bet, dad,” Kinsey laughed.
“I’m the dad,” Thorne said from behind them, “not him.”
“Jesus,” Darren said, “damn you’re quiet.”
“Occupational hazard,” Thorne said.
“I’ll leave you two,” Darren said, “play nice.”
They waited until Darren had walked into the cabin before speaking.
“Play nice?” Thorne said. “I think we know how to do that.”
“We do,” Kinsey said, “just don’t ask if I’m in or not. I don’t kno
w.”
“I don’t want you to be in,” Thorne said. “I know we haven’t talked a lot since we got back, but Gunnar has assured me you are making progress. I don’t want that to get screwed up.”
“You mean you don’t want your daughter to end up relapsing and turning back into a junkie whore?” Kinsey laughed.
“Something like that,” Thorne replied. The smile on his face surprised Kinsey.
“Not the reaction I expected,” Kinsey said.
“You thought you’d shock me?” Thorne asked. “After surviving a 100 foot mega shark, I think I’m all surprised out.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Kinsey said. When her father gave her a puzzled look she just shook her head. “Never mind. It’s all good.”
“Okay,” Thorne said, “but if you’re going to tell me you’re pregnant, at least wait until I’ve had a few shots first.” His shoulders slumped. “Dammit. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” Kinsey said, “I may join you.” She held up her hands. “Kidding! Don’t go ballistic on me.”
“Funny,” he nodded, “I do want to say that if you decide you want in, then you have my support. I’d rather you didn’t, but it is your life. And, well, I liked being around you again. I missed that.”
“Missed almost dying on the high seas? I think you may need to be the one that walks away from this.”
“Probably,” Thorne agreed, “but you can’t teach an old frogman new tricks. And being a frogman is all I know, really.”
“I know that,” Kinsey said, “okay. Enough sappy crappy. How about we play some cards and just enjoy life for the night?”
“Good idea,” Thorne said as he reached out and took her hand. He was glad she didn’t pull away.
“Who’d have thought we would end up here,” Kinsey said.
“In Northern California? Not me. Too many damn hippies.”
“No, smart ass. I meant where we are in life.”
“You mean talking to each other?”
“Yeah.”
“Honestly? I didn’t.”
“Me neither,” Kinsey said, “but I like it.”
“Good,” Thorne said as they reached the cabin door, “me too.”
“I’m still going to kick your ass at Hold ‘Em,” Kinsey said.
“Only if I let you,” Thorne said.
A cheer went up as they walked into the cabin and then shut the door behind them. Laughter echoed out into the evening air. It was the type of overly honest laughter reserved for warriors and survivors.
And the cabin was filled with both.
The End
Mega 2 is available now from www.severedpress.com
About The Author:
A professional writer since 2009, Jake Bible has a proven record of innovation, invention and creativity. Novelist, short story writer, independent screenwriter, podcaster, and inventor of the Drabble Novel, Jake is able to switch between, or mash-up genres with ease to create new and exciting storyscapes that have captivated and built an audience of thousands. He is the author of the horror/military scifi series the Apex Trilogy (DEAD MECH, The Americans, Metal and Ash) and the bestselling suburban zombie apocalypse series, Z-Burbia, allavailable from Severed Press. He is also the author of Bethany and the Zombie Jesus, Stark- An Illustrated Novella and the YA horror novel Little Dead. Jake Bible lives in Asheville, NC with his family. Find him at www.jakebible.com.
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