The Guillotine

by Lucas Pederson

  “I know it sounds convenient, but it really isn’t.” When Julia makes a humph sound, Frost walks over to one of the tables with a few bones still on it. He picks up a small skull, turns it over in his hands and lifts it for both Ash and Julia to see. “Infant hadrosaur. Duckbill species.”

  “Anyone could know that with a little research about the region,” Ash says.

  Frost places the skull back onto the table and picks up another skull. This one slightly larger. “Velociraptor. Not yet fully grown. Probably a juvenile.”

  Julia clears her throat. “Lucky guess.”

  Frost chuckles, replaces the raptor skull and holds up a long, thick bone. A femur. It takes Ash a few seconds to recognize what species it is.

  Frost, waggling the femur at Julia and Ash, still smiling, says, “This one. This one is probably so rare, you didn’t even realize what you had. Until now anyway.” He holds the femur up. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with the femur of a juvenile minotaurasaurus. So rare, only a single skull from the Gobi Desert and scatter of bones here and there have ever been found. Well, until now.”

  Ash glances at Julia. She’s glowering at Frost. But, eventually, she sighs, rolls her eyes and says, “Fine. So you were into dinosaurs when you were a kid. Why should we believe you’re not just in this for the money?”

  With a shrug, Frost says, “You’ll have to trust me.”

  “Heh, yeah, okay, dude.” Julia waves Frost away, grabs Kayla and Quinn, and walks to the office, leaving Ash alone with the men.

  He sighs. “Alright. We’ll try this. I don’t trust any of you. No matter how much knowledge of dinosaurs you have.” He shoots a glare at Frost. “And when I say we’ll try it. That’s all. We try. If it doesn’t work, we go back to Plan B.”

  “There was a Plan A?” Frost asks.

  “They thought they could lead it back to the ocean,” Giles quips, chuckling.

  Frost glowers and the small man withers. “Sounds like a fine plan. Why didn’t it work out, Dr. Barrington?”

  “The dunkleosteus decided it didn’t want to be made a fool and ate everyone. Almost”

  “Ah,” Frost says, nodding. “Noted.”

  “You all need to realize,” Ash says. “We’re not dealing with some dumb fish. Does it run on instincts? Of course. But does it think? Does it reason? Yes, I think so. I also think it makes plans too. Just like us.”

  “That’s nothing more than a theory,” Giles says. “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “Oh,” Ash says, “I know. I was face to face with it. I saw intelligence in its eyes and actions. It figured out exactly what we were trying to pull and called our bluff.”

  Silence drapes between him and them like thick gauze for the longest time, then Frost steps away from the table. The femur is back on the table. “Then we need to outsmart it. These mechs will give us an advantage.”

  “They might,” Ash agrees. “But those jaws deliver over eight thousand psi. Maybe even ten thousand. How will those mechs hold up to that kind of bite force?”

  “Look,” Frost says, stepping closer to Ash, eyes firm. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know if they were ever tested on bite force, but I do know one of these very same mechs was eaten by that leviathan creature a few years ago. If they can withstand that…”

  “Was it chewed on by the leviathan?”

  Frost shakes his head. “No clue, man.”

  Ash glances from Frost to Giles, then back again. “Okay. So, what’s this plan of yours? And like I said, if it doesn’t work…we have to kill it.”

  “Agreed,” Frost says. “The plan is simple, though. We lure it into our nets, tie it up and bring it to the surface where another team will take over. That’s it.”

  Turning back to the Moon Pool, Ash says, “Then let’s get it over with.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Frost helps Ash into one of the mechs. “Now, it’ll move when you move.” Frost clicks the harness on. “In the arms are joysticks and triggers. Those are your weapons and laser cutter. There are four speed settings that have been altered from the original design. Slow. Jog. Rapid. And max rapid. All you have to do is tell it which one.” He grumbles under his breath, looks away. “Wish I had more time to properly train you guys in these. They’re difficult to work with and get used to at first.”

  “And they’re airtight?” Ash, heart slamming against his ribs.

  “Yep. Like those Sharks over there, they draw in oxygen through the water.”

  “What do you need me to do out there?”

  “Hold the net. Once it’s in, help tie it up and haul it to the surface.”

  It sounds simple enough, almost easy, though he’s not so sure about that.

  Still, it’s worth a shot. He doesn’t trust any of them. Frost, maybe a little more than Giles. But, like Julia said, it just feels too convenient.

  “I’ll tell you what to do when the time comes,” Frost says.

  “Okay.”

  “I’m going to close the hatch. There will be a bunch of noises. Hisses and beeps. You’ll feel some pressure as everything stabilizes. All of this is normal. But once I shut this, there’s no turning back. Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “Yeah,” Ash says.

  Frost nods. “Just follow my lead and it’ll be over with in no time.”

  “Famous last words,” Ash says.

  Chuckling, Frost lowers the hatch.

  He’s never been claustrophobic, but being sealed inside this tin can…

  He worries most about Julia. How will she react? As the hisses and beeps assault his ears, he wonders if Julia can do this? She has always had a hard time with tight spaces and the mechs are as tight as one can get without being crushed.

  Still, he doesn’t hear her voice through the comms. So, either she opted out, or she’s sucking it up and showing everyone what a true warrior she is.

  As the pressure stabilizes in the sub-mech, Frost’s voice says, “These mechs are designed to leech from your brainwaves. Every motor thought, the mech will mimic. You sit up. It sits up with you. Every mech is equipped with a three-foot knife, laser cutter, and a fifty-caliber gun with limited ammo. If all goes well, we won’t be using any of those. We’ll be relying on the mechs’ strength to haul the thing to the surface.” A pause. “On my command, sit up and then stand.”

  Ash glances around, not really sure what to think, then Frost’s voice blares, “Sit up.”

  He follows orders and sits. The mech makes a hissing sound. In fact, he barely has to move at all. The mech does most of the work.

  “Stand.”

  He stands without issue. Through the mech’s visor he sees everything in full, vivid color. Everything is in startling detail, almost beautiful. Nearby, Julia favors him with a weak smile. He smiles back. They’re at least ten feet tall right now.

  This isn’t her thing, he thinks. She shouldn’t be in a mech.

  There’s no choice in the matter, he knows this, but he doesn’t want Julia facing the pressures of being underwater. Hopefully the mech will give her some comfort, though he doubts it.

  Spilling through the mech, Frost’s voice. “You give the mech an order, and it will follow. You tell it slow, fast, rapid speed, it will do that. You can engage your weapons and cutting tool using the buttons and toggles in the right and left arms. Time is short. My team will provide the netting. All you have to do is hold it and help us drag the thing topside.”

  “This is bullshit,” Julia spouts through the speakers. “But whatever.”

  Ah, the good old passive aggressive Julia. Soon they’ll all see the very aggressive Julia. The pissed off Julia he’s a little afraid of. If things go shitty quick, anyway.

  “On my command,” Frost says, “I want you all to jump into the Moon Pool, my team included. Stay near the Pool’s bottom opening until I arrive. Orders will follow thereafter.”

  Ash waits and when Frost gives the command, he walks to the side of the Moon Pool, draws in a breath, and steps o
ff the edge. He’s instantly submerged, sinking fast.

  “Um,” he says. “I’m going to crash, Frost. Sinking too fast.”

  “Tell the mech, ‘Slow pulse’.”

  “Slow pulse.”

  A thin whine and the mech’s descent slows to a near stop.

  “At the bottom of the Moon Pool, tell it to hold,” Frost says.

  Ash slips out the bottom of the Moon Pool. The lake floor is maybe thirty feet under the mech’s shiny, blue legs. Another mech shoots by him, in his ears, someone screams.

  “Julia?” He tries to maneuver the mech so he can see, but the other mech crashes into the floor of the lake, shooting up a geyser of sand that obliterates any view.

  He finally gets the mech to point head first toward the floor. “Um…fast pulse?”

  The mech beeps and suddenly he’s cruising downward at a rate he’s not at all comfortable with. Through the cloud of sand and whatever else and—

  “Hold!”

  The mech stops so suddenly, Ash’s forehead smacks the visor. Pain laces around his head.

  “Dr. Barrington? Dr. Remus?” Frost, sounding a bit alarmed.

  “I…I’m here, but Julia…she came down too fast and—”

  “I’m looking right down at you, dude. That was Kayla, I think.”

  Ash sucks in a breath and as the sand settles, he gapes at the rounded top of the mech’s head.

  “Kayla? Can you hear me?”

  “She’s probably been knocked cold from impact,” Frost says and another mech glides down. A quick glance and Ash sees Frost’s face through the visor. “Help me dig her out before the intakes get clogged.”

  Heart bashing against his ribs, there’s a godless minute where he can’t control the mech, then, finally, Ash helps dig Kayla out enough to pull her free of the lake floor. Frost brushes away sand from the intakes.

  “Kayla? This is Frost. Can you hear me?”

  No answer.

  Frost taps Ash’s visor. “Get her back into the facility and meet us here.”

  Ash nods, grapples onto Kayla and her mech and says, “Fast.” He surges upward toward the Moon Pool.

  “There was a time you’d have to say rapid pulse,” Frost says. “But the mechs have since been updated.”

  “Thanks for the history lesson,” Julia quips.

  “As I’ve told everyone, there are three settings to these mechs. Four, if you include hold. But once more, it’s slow, fast and Mach. You don’t have to say pulse after each, either.”

  Ash sighs, feeling dumb. He’s so lost on technology these days. He breaches the surface of the Moon Pool and hauls Kayla out. He gets out, inspecting the suit until he finds the emergency tab near the right armpit. Using his mech’s giant fingers, he grips onto the tab and pulls. In an instant, Kayla’s mech opens up.

  “The hell happened to her?” Giles kneels beside Kayla, checking her pulse. So…the little asshole isn’t without regard to human life after all. “Pulse is strong. Looks like she got a nasty bump on the head though.”

  “Can you look after her while we’re gone? Please?”

  Giles rolls his eyes, but nods. “Yes. Just go get that thing.”

  Ash turns and jumps back into the Moon Pool.

  “Slow,” he says and the mech’s descent eases. His heart still hammers hard, but at least he’s able to keep his breathing under control as he sinks below the Moon Pool’s bottom. Under him, the others wait.

  “Good job, Dr. Barrington,” Frost says.

  “Ash. It’s just Ash.”

  “Okay, Ash. You ready to catch a prehistoric fish?”

  “Not really.”

  “Oh c’mon, Ash,” Julia spouts. “These mechs are awesome.”

  “Thought you’d be freaking out by now,” Ash says.

  “You know…me too, but it’s like being in a mini-sub. Weird, but not uncomfortable.”

  “Okay,” Frost says. “Quinn, can you hear us?”

  “Yes.”

  “Location of the fish, please?”

  “Four hundred yards from you to the east,” Quinn says. “Looks like it’s close to the surface.”

  “Not good,” Ash says. “If it’s preying on humans…”

  “We need to attract it,” Frost says. “Get it closer to us.”

  Ash frowns, thinking. How does one attract a dunkleosteus? Is there a way? He figured it’d be at the facility non-stop until it broke it apart. If it’s as intelligent as he knows it is, why is it so far away? It’s starving. It wants food. And it’s going to get food no matter what. Fishermen. Anyone. Anything. It’s going to feed regardless of how strange the world has become around it.

  So…how the hell do they get it back to the facility?

  It takes a few minutes, but an idea finally surfaces.

  “Blood and lots of noise.”

  “What?” He can practically hear the horror in Julia’s tone.

  “We need blood and a lot of noise. Something so loud it’ll catch its attention. Maybe need a spotlight to attract the vision senses of the fish too. Need all three to attract a fish. Vision, smell, sound. The sound will create vibrations in the water too.”

  “Light and sound,” Frost says. “Good. But how are we going to get blood?”

  “That,” Ash says, “I don’t know.”

  “Can we try the other two and see if it works?”

  “We can, but you have to remember, this fish has been stuck in ice for millions of years. It’s practically starving. The scent of blood will get it moving faster than light and sound.”

  “How much blood do we need?”

  “A shark can smell blood over a mile…” Someone says, though Ash isn’t sure who. One of Frost’s men.

  “At least a pint,” Ash says, though he has no idea, really.

  There’s a long pause. He lowers himself to be among the group. Julia is directly across from him. She winks.

  Frost is to his left. The man nods inside his mech, though the mech doesn’t nod with him. So, maybe mechs don’t mimic everything…

  “And where the hell are we going to get a pint of blood?” One of Frost’s men asks.

  “I don’t know,” Ash says.

  “How about we draw from a few of us up here?” Quinn asks.

  Ash smiles. “Yes! If you can, that would be perfect. Is there a nurse to draw the blood?”

  “No, but I’ve done it a time or two interning. Give me a few minutes.”

  “Well, hell,” Julia says. “How ‘bout that.”

  “So,” Frost says. “We sit tight until we get the blood. Any ideas on noises and lights?”

  Silence trails after this and all Ash can think about are the tunnels leading under America. How many are there? Where do they all go? If it’s true, then it also explains, at least in part, the monster in Lake Champlain. Champ, or Champy. And if one wants to go further, maybe it even explains the Lochness Monster. Maybe some of those sightings weren’t fake. Maybe they were an actual liopleurodon or something else finally thawing out after millions of years. Maybe all those myths are real…

  “An explosion,” Julia says.

  Everyone gives her the same, “Huh?”

  “A gas tank, or something, I don’t know. But an explosion is loud enough, right?”

  “Yeah,” Ash says, heart galloping now. Excitement is mounting. Another step closer to getting the beast back in their area.

  “So,” Frost says. “What are we going to blow up?”

  “Quinn,” Ash says. “If you’re listening, get Ben to bring four hydrogen tanks to the Moon Pool, please.”

  It takes her a few seconds, but, “On it. I have almost a pint of blood now.”

  “Good. Thanks. I’ll grab that and the tanks.” Ash, feeling like everything is either moving too fast or not fast enough, tells his mech to go fast. He aims himself for the Moon Pool.

  “What about the light?” Frost asks.

  “Can the facility use high beams?”

  Quinn says, “Yes. Kind of. I ca
n flash them on and off.”

  “Rock on,” Ash says as he enters the Moon Pool. “I’m almost to the surface, has Ben brought the tanks yet?”

  “Rolling the last one in now.”

  “Good. How’s the blood coming along?”

  “I have it. Just getting it ready for you. Ben is strapping the tanks together.”

  Ash smiles. “Thank you, Quinn.”

  “Shush. Just don’t die out there.”

  “I’ll try not to.” He surfaces, pulls himself out of the water and towers over everyone standing near the Moon Pool. The mech reads everyone’s blood pressure and body heat. Giles is the highest in everything. Especially blood pressure.

  “The blood is taped to one of the tanks,” Quinn says. “Let me know when you want me to start flashing the lights.”

  “I will,” Ash says. “Thank you.” He grabs the strap of the tanks, lowers them into the Moon Pool, and steps in.

  “Slow,” he says, and the mech stops its instant plunge. Gradually, he pulls the tanks and bag of blood down the Moon Pool to the open lake.

  When he reaches the bottom, two other mechs slam into him and latch on.

  “What…?”

  “I was right,” Julia says. “They’re assholes.”

  “From now on,” Frost says. “You will both do as I say. This isn’t a matter of control, as it’s for your own safety and the safety of my team. Follow orders and we all get out of this alive.”

  “We’re doing as you say anyway,” Ash says as Frost’s men take the tanks away from him. “Why act like we won’t?”

  Frost’s mech rises up, only a few inches from Ash. “Because I know your tendencies to stray from plans. To toss aside protocol. I want this operation to run as smoothly as possible. I know my team will do exactly what’s expected of them. I can’t trust you or your partner.”

  “Oh,” Ash says, “That’s lovely. Just when I started to trust you…”

  “You can trust me, Ash. I just need you to realize I will not be made a fool of. It’s my way now, or you’re dead. Understand?”

  Ash glares at the man. “We’ll see how this ends up.”

  Frost chuckles, nods. “Yes. We will.” He turns away from Ash and announces, “We’ll blow up the tanks first, blood bag attached to one of them. With the explosion the blood will travel farther. On my command, Quinn, you start flashing those lights. When the fish is close, team, you get the net ready.”