Terror Krakens

by Eric S. Brown

  “That leaves us in a rather bad spot,” Higgins said. The old man had crept up on them, overhearing part of the comm. chatter.

  Commander Lewis turned to him. “It does indeed. Tell me about what else we can do to make sure this platform is secured.”

  “Honestly, not much. Kennedy and Jango are good kids and good at their jobs. They’ll do everything they can to seal this place up tight. The platform is already on alert and everyone is armed except for Dr. Dane. That lady refuses to even consider carrying a pistol.” Higgins shrugged. “If I remember correctly, the Nicholson was on maneuvers near here before the storm. We could try to hail her and see if she can give us a lift home.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Commander Lewis agreed. “Robert, make that happen.”

  “This can’t be really happening…” Gray stammered, still talking about the comm. chatter. “Could someone back home be messing with us, sir?”

  “Oh, it’s happening,” Higgins snorted. “The apocalypse has started and we’re right in the middle of it.”

  “No response from the Nicholson, sir,” Robert reported, his expression grim.

  “Keep trying,” Commander Lewis ordered. “They may be the only hope we have of getting out of here alive.”

  “Couldn’t they just send a copter, sir?” Gray asked.

  “Girl, you really need to get yourself together,” Higgins roared at Gray, moving to smack a hand onto the console she sat in front of. “With all the crap going down out there, do you really think we’ll be high on their list of priorities? From what I heard, the whole fleet from our carrier groups down is under attack by those monsters. And that doesn’t even take into account all the pleasure and shipping vessels out there facing the same thing.”

  “Higgins…” Commander Lewis cautioned the old engineer.

  Higgins snorted again. “It’s the truth and you know it. We’re going to need everybody we’ve got at their best if we want to live through this.”

  “We need to start thinking about supplies and implement a rationing system at once,” Commander Lewis said. “We’re supposed to be geared up for another three months but…”

  “Reality is never what the stuff on paper says it is,” Higgins agreed. “I’ll put my boys on it as soon as they are done with sealing things up.”

  ****

  Ben sat on the edge of a bed in the Meridian Platform’s medical section. Maggie was stretched out, snoring, on the one next to his. He was just as exhausted as she was but wouldn’t allow himself to sleep yet. Dr. Dane, the platform’s medical officer, was still running their blood work to make sure they weren’t infected by anything the creatures might have been carrying. Leonard, Mathews, and Hall, three of the soldiers who had rescued them from the Princess Dream, were hanging around medical too undergoing the same tests. Only the old man had escaped Dr. Dane’s care already by forcing her to check him out first. No one had argued with him about it either. The old man was tough as nails with a demeanor to match.

  It was strange feeling safe again. They had spent so long waiting for the creatures to come pounding on the door of the Princess Dream’s armory before finally venturing out again and bumping into the soldiers.

  Dr. Dane stepped out of her lab area and came walking over to where he sat.

  “You are clean, all of you,” Dr. Dane told him. “Whatever those creatures are, at least so far, they don’t seem to be carriers of anything that’s a threat to healthy humans.”

  “Thanks,” Ben said, flashing her a weak smile.

  “Does that mean we can go now?” Leonard asked from where he, Mathews, and Hall stood.

  “You can go,” Dr. Dane said. “I’m sure the commander will be happy to have you back on duty.”

  Ben and Dr. Dane watched the men leave.

  “So…what can you tell me about these creatures that attacked the ship you were on?” Dr. Dane asked.

  Ben grunted. “Not much. I was about to ask you a similar question. Those guys told me you had examined one of them.”

  “Unfortunately.” Dr. Dane frowned. “I didn’t learn much from doing it. Those things are basically either a very new or very old species of octopus that mankind hasn’t encountered before, at least that’s on record anyway.”

  “What do you mean very old?” Ben asked.

  “Just what I said. These things could have been dormant somewhere at the bottom of the ocean for God knows how long and are just now coming out to play,” Dr. Dane answered. “I’d wager more on that than them being some sort of new evolutionary leap.”

  “Really?” Ben gave her a disbelieving look.

  “Really, Ben,” Dr. Dane said. “That would just make more sense. The ocean is vast and its depths never fully explored. There are likely lots of things down there that we’ve never seen before.”

  Ben shook his head. “All this is crazy.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Dr. Dane agreed.

  “So what’s next for us?” Maggie broke into their conversation. She had woken up and was sitting on the edge of her bed now.

  “I don’t know,” Dr. Dane answered. “I suppose you’ll have to stay here until Commander Lewis comes up with a means of getting you home.”

  “And how long will that be?” Maggie pressed her.

  “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him that,” Dr. Dane answered.

  Another soldier Ben and Maggie hadn’t met yet popped his head into medical. “Hey, Dane! Better get this place ready. Things could get ugly pretty soon.”

  “Kennedy!” Dr. Dane shouted at the soldier. “What in the devil are you talking about?”

  “Haven’t you heard?” Kennedy asked. “It’s the freaking end of the world out there. Those things weren’t just on that cruise ship. They’re everywhere, attacking everything on the water.”

  Ben and Maggie’s eyes went wide but Dr. Dane just glared at Kennedy.

  “I’m going to report you to the commander for coming in her and messing with my patients like this,” Dr. Dane snarled. “How dare you? These folks have been through enough.”

  Kennedy was taken aback by her anger. “But, Doc, I’m telling the truth. Jango and I just finished up securing this entire platform and we’re about to take an inventory of the supplies on hand so the commander and Higgins can come up with a rationing system for what we’ve got.”

  Dr. Dane acted like she still didn’t believe him. Ben looked from her back over at Kennedy. The man sure seemed to believe what he was saying. There was an edge of fear in him though he was trying hard to conceal it and Ben could tell it wasn’t because the doctor had threatened him.

  “What can we do to help?” Maggie asked, not questioning what Kennedy had told them at all.

  “Not much right now, but I am sure we’ll soon need all the help we can get,” Kennedy answered.

  “You’ve got it,” Maggie promised for both of them.

  Ben shot her a quick glance of concern but kept his mouth shut.

  Dr. Dane had to still be in denial because she moved to what looked to an intercom panel on the wall and stabbed a button on it angrily. “Commander Lewis, your presence is required in medical!”

  “Hey now, Doc!” Kennedy said. “What did you do that for? I’m sure he’s as busy as he’s got me and Jango.”

  “I will not tolerate this sort of crap from you, Kennedy, now get the hell out of my med bay,” Dr. Dane snapped.

  Turning paler than he already looked, Kennedy whirled about and vanished as quickly as he had appeared. He left the door to medical open behind him. Dr. Dane moved to close it but a hand caught the door. It belonged to a man in a commander’s uniform with graying dark hair and sharp, intelligent eyes.

  “Doctor,” Commander Lewis addressed her, stepping into medical.

  “Commander, Kennedy…” Dr. Dane started but he stopped her.

  “Dr. Dane, this will be hard to take in, but mankind’s dominance of the waves is coming to an end it seems,” Commander Lewis told her in a calm, stern voice.
“This platform could soon be under attack en mass by creatures like the one that killed Harold and Watkins, as well as everyone aboard the ship those two were on.” He gestured at Ben and Maggie where they sat.

  “What…?” Dr. Dane rasped.

  “The world has gone to hell, Doctor, and we’re on our own out here,” Commander Lewis told her as gently as he could. “I can’t tell you why it’s happening or where the creatures are coming from but they’ve apparently declared war on the human race.”

  Dr. Dane stared at Commander Lewis as she appeared to be collecting her thoughts and what he had told her sunk in. When she spoke again, her voice was cold and utterly professional. “These two are clean. I’ve already released your men back to duty. Just tell me what you need from me.”

  “If things go badly for us here, there will be fighting, up close and personal with those things. I need you to prep for casualties,” Commander Lewis said.

  “I’ll be ready,” she promised him.

  “Now about you two…” Commander Lewis said, looking Ben and Maggie over. “I am sorry for what you’ve endured but we’re in a crisis situation here. Do either of you have military training?”

  “Yes, sir, I do,” Ben answered. “Spent time in the Sandbox.”

  “Great,” Commander Lewis said. “Consider yourself reinstated. Report to Mister Higgins. He’ll issue you a weapon and tell you what to do from there.”

  “I may not be military but I know how to shoot and handle myself.” Maggie sat up as straight as she could. “And I want a gun too.”

  “That’s true,” Ben assured the commander. “I would likely be dead now if it wasn’t for her.”

  “You’ll get one then if that’s what you want, ma’am,” Commander Lewis told Maggie. “Right now, we need everyone we can get. This station was never intended to deal with anything like this. Counting everyone in this room, there are only thirteen of us onboard and our stockpiles aren’t unlimited. There will come a point where every bullet that can be fired matters if those things get past our defenses and make it onto this platform.”

  Dr. Dane was scurrying about, ignoring them all now, laying out the tools of her trade in order to be ready for the battle that was likely coming their way. Ben watched her frantic work and respected her for it.

  “It’s really that bad out there?” Ben asked.

  “Worse really, if I’m being honest,” Commander Lewis said. “It may be days or even weeks before the powers that be back home can send a copter or extract us. Those creatures just came out of nowhere and turned the world on its head. From how things sound, the U.S. will be lucky to have half her navy left by morning.”

  “God help us,” Ben muttered.

  “Let’s hope he does,” Commander Lewis looked into Ben’s eyes, “but in the meantime, you two go find Higgins and do whatever the old man tells you. He’ll put you where you’re needed most.”

  “Yes, sir,” Ben barked and got up from his bed. Maggie followed him as the two of them hurried past the commander to go find the old engineer and see what help they could be.

  “Dane?” Commander Lewis called her name as soon as they were alone.

  “What?” she snapped at him.

  “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” Dr. Dane growled. “Go on and get out of here. You don’t need to be wasting your time with me.”

  Frowning, Commander Lewis left medical, heading back to the C.I.C.

  ****

  Stepping into the C.I.C., Commander Lewis took a look around. Robert greeted him with a sullen look, reporting, “No response from the Nicholson still, sir.”

  Gray didn’t notice him walking in at all. She was leaning close to the screen of her console, working furiously. Higgins had left the C.I.C. to coordinate the platform’s defenses should the creatures show up and get past its defenses.

  Commander Lewis walked to Gray and put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in her seat like someone had just taken a shot at her.

  “Sorry,” Commander Lewis told her. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Gray looked at up with weary eyes. “It’s not you, sir. Take a look at this.” She pointed at her screen. “I’ve got contacts all over the place, some so tightly it’s hard to make out exactly how many there are.”

  Commander Lewis stared at the screen. “Are all those contacts biologics?”

  “Yes, sir,” Gray said. “And they’re headed this way.”

  “There couldn’t have been that many that escaped from the Princess Dream,” Commander Lewis said more to himself than her.

  “No, sir. I only picked up a few of them then and they all high-tailed it from the platform,” Gray said. “These are coming in from everywhere and fast.”

  “The adjustments were made to the C.I.W.S?” Commander Lewis asked.

  Gray nodded again. “Both are ready for action.”

  “Good. Switch them over to the manual firing controls that Hall set up and let those things know that this platform isn’t worth the effort,” Commander Lewis told her.

  The C.I.W.S. mounted on the northern and southern sides of the platform rose up on their bases, swiveling around toward their targets. Both of the huge weapons roared to life, throwing thousands of rounds into the waves at the approaching masses of creatures. The water churned, turning gray with their blood.

  Commander Lewis watched Gray’s screen as she controlled the two C.I.W.S. Their fire was utterly devastating the numbers of the creatures coming at the station. They emptied their first magazines and auto-loaded second ones, and then third ones, before finally the two C.I.W.S. fell silent.

  “That’s all they got, sir,” Gray looked up at him. “They’re empty until they can be manually reloaded and cool down. That prolonged fire was hard on them. The northern C.I.W.S. is on the verge of system failure and the southern one not far behind it.”

  “Frag it!” Commander Lewis slammed a fist down on Gray’s console. Her screen still showed hundreds of contacts closing on the platform.

  “What’s the ETA on those things?” he demanded.

  “Two minutes, sir,” Gray said.

  “We are so screwed,” Robert whined from his own console.

  Commander Lewis ignored his whining and ordered, “Patch me through to the entire platform.”

  “You’re on,” Robert said a few seconds later.

  “All hands, we are about to boarded. The creatures are closing fast on this platform and will be here momentarily. Prepare yourselves… God help us all,” Commander Lewis’s voice boomed through the base.

  ****

  Kennedy and Jango had sealed everything up tight, even wielding metal plating over the platform’s few vulnerable windows. Higgins was proud of their work as he, Ben, Maggie, and Mathews stood at the main entrance into the interior of the base from topside. Being the most obvious way in, the old man figured that was where the bulk of the creatures would concentrate their efforts. If somehow they got through, it was going to be up to them stop the things. Each of them were armed with an M4 except for himself and Maggie. The cruise ship security officer carried a pump-action shotgun just like he did, sticking with a weapon that was second nature to her instead of trying to learn a new one during combat conditions. Higgins respected her for that. It was a wise move anyway you looked at it.

  “Those things will be here soon,” Higgins reminded the others. “Be ready and keep a cool head. Our job is to hold them out, not be heroes. Heroes have a nasty habit of getting themselves dead.”

  The old man clutched a tablet in his left hand, his shotgun in the other. The tablet was tapped into the same video feed from the platform’s exterior cameras that the C.I.C. crew was watching too. The creatures came up over the sides of the platform in waves, dozens and dozens of them at a time. They flopped on the deck and took stock of their bearings. Just as Higgins had figured, one of the creatures spotted the main entrance, making a B-line for it. The others followed.

  Ben flinched as t
he pounding on the heavy door that was between them and the swarm of creatures began. It reminded him of a louder and more violent version of raindrops hitting the roof of a house. The number of tentacles whipping against the other side of the door was beyond even guessing at. The cacophony of violent fury grew even louder with each second that ticked by.

  “Steady now,” Higgins urged everyone.

  The metal door began to dent inward in several places and shook, clanging inside its frame.

  “Can those things really break through?” Mathews asked no one in particular.

  “Sure looks like it, son,” Higgins admitted. “Stand ready. Hold your fire until those things are completely through the doorway and swarming in the corridor. Less chance of us getting hit by our own fire bouncing back at us that way.”

  The creatures’ attack on the door continued. The door began to give way in its frame, leaning inward, then clanged onto the floor as a flood of octopus-like monsters poured through it. Higgins’ shotgun boomed as he yelled, “Give ‘em hell!”

  Ben cut a swathe of mangled meat along the front of one of the creatures with his M4. The thing stopped charging forward to topple onto the floor and lay there twitching, leaking grayish blood. Maggie pulped a creature with a well-placed shot from her shotgun and then pumped another round into its chamber to fire again. Mathews sprayed in the entire front wave of the monsters, sweeping his M4 from side to side on full-auto. The corpses of the creatures they killed began to pile up in the corridor just inside the main entrance. The floor was slick with grayish blood and slime. But still the things came.

  “Hold the line!” Higgins shouted, cramming fresh shells into his shotgun. He had already emptied the weapon and was being forced to reload. Ben covered the old man. Moving over next to him, his M4 trained on the approaching creatures as he fired burst after burst into their ranks.

  Mathews yanked a grenade from his belt and lobbed it at the swarm of creatures. “Fire in the hole!” he yelled.

  The grenade landed among a mass of the octopus-like things, blowing several of them to bits as it detonated. Shrapnel from its blast wounded a few others that were close to where it went off. It was enough to stem the tide of creatures somewhat. Higgins took advantage of the split-second lull in the creatures’ advance, moving forward, his shotgun thundering in the direction of one monster and then at another. Both of his blasts were lethal ones. The main bodies of the creatures he targeted splattered apart in showers of gore. Ben and Maggie moved with him, their M4s hosing the monsters still stunned from the grenade’s blast before they could fully recover.