Depths of Paradise

by Vance Albright

  “Of course,” Okada replied. He reached into the briefcase and pulled out a file folder that was nearly overflowing. He placed it on the table. “I hope you can make more sense of that information then I can.” His tone was less serious this time, showing that he did have a softer side to him. “I also believe this information is available on our laptops. Is that correct, Saburo?” Saburo did not answer. He was on this phone. He had an intense look on his face as he typed on the computer.

  “When did this happen?” he asked the person on the other line. A feeling of uneasiness started to fill the room. Everyone knew what he was talking about. “Yes, thank you,” Saburo said and hung up. Okada was the first to ask what everyone was thinking.

  “What has happened now?”

  “A yacht was found drifting north of Maui with no one aboard.”

  “Was the yacht damaged?” Liz asked.

  “No damage was mentioned. The vessel was just drifting through the water.”

  “Do we know who the yacht belongs to?” Okada asked.

  “The boat was registered to a Dylan Patterson. An experienced boatman. He and his girlfriend were reported to have been on a week’s vacation.”

  “What do you think, Max?” Liz added.

  “I don’t know. It could have been our animal,” Max replied with a little uncertainty. “It could also have been an unfortunate case of kidnapping or two love birds both falling off the boat and downing at sea.”

  “Was anything onboard stolen, or have any ransom demands been made?” Liz asked.

  “Nothing was mentioned, and the Maui police department have classified both people missing at sea,” Saburo replied.

  Samuel Richards spoke up. “Did the report say anything about damaged electrical equipment or portable electric devices with dead batteries?”

  “Again, nothing was mentioned,” Saburo replied.

  Okada took a seat and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get to work. I would like both goals to be completed by the end of the day.”

  “It will be difficult, but we can do it,” Max said.

  “I feel the same way,” Okada replied. He turned to Saburo and said, “Please make travel arrangements for us to get back to Hawaii.”

  “Wait, we’re going to Hawaii? I thought our base of operations was going to be here,” Ashly said.

  “Our base of operations is on Niihau,” Max added.

  “Great, more traveling,” Ashly said, annoyed, not wanting to go through the chaos again. A knock at the door stopped the conversation. Saburo opened it.

  “Hi, the lab results from the claw examination are finished. Max wanted them right away,” Sora said, handing the paper to Saburo, who in turn handed it to Max.

  “Thanks, Sora,” Max yelled as she and Saburo left. Everyone looked towards him as he read. Moments later, he said in a tense voice, “These results are rather worrisome. The DNA sample matches no DNA we have on record. It comes from an unknown species.”

  “So, it is a sea monster,” Liz commended. Samuel snapped his fingers. He was the only one with an excited look on his face.

  “Wait, the report said nothing about a claw? Where did you find it?” Ashly asked, surprised.

  “The claw was found when Max and Liz investigated the Lucky Dragon wreckage. I thought you knew everything?” Samuel Richards said sarcastically.

  “I said I read the information packet. There was no mention of a claw in that packet,” Ashly snapped back. “How did you know about it?”

  “I know when and how to ask the right questions to get important information,” Samuel replied in a proud voice.

  “All right, children, cease fire,” Liz said, making a chopping motion between them. Ashly huffed in frustration at Samuel.

  “Like it or not, we’re a team now. So, let’s get to work and create a plan,” Max added.

  “Sounds good,” Ashly agreed. She walked over to the desk in the corner of the room and removed the HDMI cable from the computer and plugged it into her laptop. “I’m going to work over here so everyone can see and approve our final presentation.” Ashly placed her iPad next to the laptop. “I also have some personal work I need to get done, which means I’m going to be multitasking for an hour or so. I hope that’s not a problem.”

  “As long as your primary focus is with the team,” Okada replied.

  “I’m used to working on three to four programs at the same time. This will be easy.”

  Liz clapped her hands several times, then said in a motivating voice, “Okay, team, we need to figure out what we are dealing with and how to kill it.” Liz pointed both her index fingers at Max and Samuel. “You two figure out what this creature is, and I’ll come up with a way to kill it. Ashly can write down the information and Okada can supervise the operation.” Max smiled at his friend’s enthusiasm.

  “As I stated earlier, the only evidence we have is we’re dealing with an unknown marine animal that is possibly between twenty-eight and forty feet long. It’s a quadruped with approximately thirteen-inch-long claws.”

  “Don’t forget it likes to eat humans,” Liz added.

  “Samuel, your field is studying unknown animals. Does that description seem familiar?” Max asked. Samuel got up and walked over to where Ashly was sitting. She quickly hid her iPad from view.

  “Darling, I need to use the big screen. May I please borrow your laptop for a moment?”

  “Since you said please, sure,” Ashly said, getting up. “Just don’t touch the word document or PowerPoint I have opened.” Samuel sat down and opened the internet browser. A few seconds later, he went to his website. The top of the website’s main page had the words “The Complete Guide to Cryptids Across the Globe.” In the center a Yeti and Samuel Richards leaned against opposite sides of the words smiling and giving the thumbs up. A thunderbird flew overhead, and the Loch Ness monster swam beneath them.

  “Welcome to my website. The Complete Guide to Cryptids Across the Globe. The most accurate and advanced cryptozoological site on earth,” Samuel said with pride.

  “Your humility is an inspiration to everyone,” Ashly said with annoyed sarcasm.

  “You’re too kind, dear,” Samuel replied.

  “Back on topic,” Okada added. Samuel moved the mouse to the menu bar and selected water cryptids.

  “Cryptozoologists have identified eight different species of water cryptids. Based on the information we have, I believe our monster is a mystery saurian.” Samuel moved the mouse to mystery saurians and clicked. Several images of giant crocodiles and plesiosaur-looking animals appeared on the screen. Samuel clicked on three different images. The first was a Machimosaurus, a type of marine crocodile. The second was a Tanystropheus, a small plesiosaur-looking dinosaur. The third was a Nothosaur; it looked like a crocodile only with smooth skin, and a head that looked more dinosaur then crocodile. It also had a long neck.

  “Out of those three, the Nothosaur is my main suspect,” Max said.

  “What made you jump to that conclusion?” Samuel asked.

  “Fossils show the Tanystropheus was only around six feet, plus the head and neck are two small to be hunting people and ramming ships. I doubt we’re dealing with a Machimosaurus because marine crocodile are ambush predators that hunt close to shore. If our mystery creature was a Machimosaurus, it would be spending quite a bit of time on land.”

  “What about dinosaurs like the Kronosaurus, or better yet an Elasmosaurus? It had a long neck that could… you know, pull someone from a moving ship,” Liz asked.

  “First off, Kronosaurus and Elasmosaurus are marine reptiles, not dinosaurs,” Max corrected.

  “Spare me the details,” Liz replied.

  “Details are important,” Max added. “And the creature we are hunting could not be a Kronosaurus or Elasmosaurus.”

  “Because of the clawed feet. Those marine reptiles have flippers,” Okada pointed out.

  “Yes, the claw we found made this investigation so much easier. The Nothosaur has webbed fe
et, a thick skull, and a thick neck that could theoretically be used to ram ships. The only problem with the Nothosaur theory is the Nothosaur is only ten feet long; however, only one fossil has ever been found.”

  “Hold on,” Ashly said. “Assuming this is true and we’re dealing with a lost species of dinosaur, where has it been hiding all these years? Also, why haven’t we had attacks like this occurring throughout history? Doesn’t it make more sense that this creature is a mutation caused by radiation or pollution?”

  “There have been a few attacks reported throughout history,” Samuel replied. “One of the best known is the event that happened to the German U-boat SM UB-85. The U-boat that was sunk by a sea monster.”

  “I remember my grandfather mentioning that story to me,” Okada added.

  “What happened to the U-boat?” Liz asked.

  Okada motioned to Samuel. “You probably know this story better than I do.”

  Samuel cleared his throat. “On April thirtieth, 1918, the British warship HMS Coreopsis was on patrol in the North Atlantic. It was midday when it spotted a German U-boat drifting on the water’s surface. The U-boat did not try to submerge or fight the approaching British ship. What was even stranger was the Coreopsis found the U-boat’s crew standing on deck trying to signal the ship, ready to surrender. Every German was frightened and just wanted to leave the area as soon as possible. Not a single man put up a fight. When the British crew explored the ship, they found all the electrical equipment was shorted out and the U-boats batteries were completely drained. Once everyone was safely on board the Coreopsis, the U-boat captain was interrogated. He claimed that the U-boat had surfaced the night before to recharge the ship’s batteries. While the batteries were charging, the captain and some of his men walked on deck, getting some much needed fresh air. The captain stated that one of the men saw a large wake approaching the boat at a high speed. Shortly after, the front of U-boat was struck and a monster emerged from the ocean. The monster brought its upper body out of the water and rested it on the U-boat. Unfortunately for the Germans, the creature was resting on the forward mounted gun. The captain ordered his crew to fire on the monster with their side arms, which seemed to only anger the monster. Now this is where the story gets strange. During the fight, several crew members started to unexplainably panic, while others started firing at what they called sea spirits flying around the monster. Finally, the creature released its hold on the U-boat and disappeared beneath the waters.”

  “Did the German captain describe what the creature looked like?” Max asked.

  “Yes. He described the creature as an underwater cat that used its long claws to cling to the U-boat. Unfortunately for us, only the upper body of the animal was visible.

  “Are you sure this is true?” Ashly asked skeptically, thinking the idea of an underwater cat was ludicrous.

  “Every word,” Samuel replied.

  “What about the head? Did he get a good look at that?” Max asked, knowing the head was one of the most important keys to identifying an animal.

  “I was getting to head,” Samuel replied. “He stated the creature had a face that resembled a panther with large horns coming out of the back of the skull.”

  “This WWI historical website states that the U-boat SM UB-85 began to dive when it noticed the Coreopsis. It was only forced to surface due to a new crew member forgetting to close the tower hatch,” Ashly added. “No mention whatsoever of a sea monster.” Everyone looked at Samuel. Their faces showed they were beginning to wonder if he was crazy or would just believe anything he heard.

  “Yes, yes, that was the official account. No right-minded commander would report a captured U-boat had been disabled by a sea monster,” Samuel countered. “Go to the bottom of the page and read the section titled ‘other information.’” Ashly scrolled down and placed both hands on the sides of her head.

  “When the Coreopsis captain’s personal log book was discovered in the early 1970s, it was found he had written that the UB-85 was disabled by a sea monster. Knowing how unbelievable the story was, the captain and the crew came to an agreement that no one would speak of the monster and blame the condition of the U-boat on water damage from an opened hatch.”

  “Ashly, are there any photos of the incident?” Okada asked. Ashly searched the website for a few moments.

  “Yes, two of the German crew and five photos taken inside the U-boat.” Ashly turned her laptop so Okada could see. The photos were black and white and not the clearest. He carefully looked over the earth one. After years of looking over old photos with his grandfather, his eyes had grown used to finding details in even poor quality photos.

  “If the account of the ship flooding is true, then why are none of the German crew’s clothes wet? The inside of the ship also appears to be dry.” Ashly had to admit defeat on this one. She saw what Okada was looking at and knew he was right. There was no way the U-boat flooded. Ashly threw her hands up. Her rational thinking did not want to believe a lost dinosaur was responsible for the attacks, but her teammate’s arguments were starting to convince her.

  “Okay, playing the skeptic again, but if there is a population of sea monster living in the oceans, why are people not seeing them more often? Or taking good photographs of them?”

  “Those who have are dead,” Liz said in a deep, evil voice.

  Max gave a more solid answer. “Ninety-five percent of the world’s oceans remain unexplored. So, it’s possible that a large unknown species could remained hidden.”

  Samuel snapped his figure and pointed at Max. “Exactly. I find most biologists to be pompous pricks, but you seem to be okay.”

  “I don’t know if I would have believed in sea monsters until a few days ago,” Max added.

  “Okay, you made your points and I can accept them. However, those explanations don’t explain the sudden wave of attacks occurring around the Hawaiian Islands. In the past week we have had at least four attacks,” Ashly commented.

  Max had a theory for this as well. “The creature we are hunting could have been chased from its territory by a larger member of the same species. It could also be a younger or weaker animal that learned to prey on humans as an easy source of food.”

  “Just like how tigers and bears can become man eaters,” Liz said.

  “Right,” Max complimented. “Many species of known animals can become man eaters. A great example of this is the Tsavo Man-Eaters attacks that occurred in 1898.”

  “What is the Tsavo Man-Eaters?” Okada asked.

  “The Tsavo Man-Eaters were two lions who killed an estimated one hundred people during a seven-month period,” Max answered. “My point is just because several members of a species become man eaters does not mean the entire population will hunt humans.”

  “Okay, for the official report, we’re going with the Nothosaur as our best guess. Correct?” Ashly asked, documenting all the important points they covered. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

  “Ashly, pull up a map of Hawaii and mark the locations where the known attacks have taken place,” Okada said. Ashly pulled up a map of the Hawaiian Islands and added markers on all known attack sights. The location marking formed a nearly complete circle around Maui.

  “Our mystery saurian seems to like Maui. Max, would you agree we found the creature’s hunting ground?” Samuel asked.

  “I honestly have no idea,” Max replied. “We’re dealing with an unknown species. It could be creating a territory around Maui or it could be passing through.” Max gently pounded his head in frustration. “There are still so many unknowns at the moment. It’s hard to say anything for certain.”

  “I have an idea I know you’ll enjoy, Max,” Liz said.

  “Let’s hear it,” Max replied.

  “What if we talk to that Mya Kendig girl who survived the Molokini crater attack? I’m sure she can tell us something useful, and you can meet your crush,” Liz suggested. Max tossed a ball of paper at her, which she caught.

  “It wo
uld be a good idea to hear the story from an actual witness,” Okada agreed.

  “Speaking of the Mya attack, wasn’t the Maui police department supposed to send us Jade Kendig’s diving gear?” Liz said.

  “I thought it arrived last night,” Okada answered.

  “It’s not in Dr. Yamaguchi’s lab, and none of his staff have seen it,” Max stated.

  “I’ll go ask Saburo where it is. I want to stretch my legs anyway,” Liz said. She placed her hand on Okada’s shoulder. “I’m getting a soda; want anything from the vending machine while I’m gone?”

  “The usual,” Okada replied.

  “Anyone else want anything?” Everyone else shook their heads no or said “no thanks.”

  “Okay, be back in a flash.”

  “Ashly, can you tell us at what time each attack took place?” Max asked. Ashly skimmed the folder for a moment. A look formed on Samuel’s face that said he knew exactly where she was going with this.

  “I don’t have exact times, just rough estimates,” Ashly replied.

  “Just confirm this statement. The Lucky Dragon, hotel, and yacht attacks occurred at night, while Mya’s attack occurred in the daytime.”

  “Yes, that appears accurate,” Ashly said. “What are you getting at?”

  “The fact that only one attack occurred in the daytime,” Samuel added. He looked at Max. “You believe those two girls accidently swam into the creature’s layer.”

  “Yes, it’s possible that the area around Molokini crater is the creature’s layer.”

  “If it was a territorial attack and the creature was not hunting, that would explain why that Mya girl got away,” Samuel said. Ashly added the text “possible monster lair” under Molokini crater.

  “Okay, what did I miss?” Liz interrupted. She handed Okada his drink and lightly punched Max on the shoulder.

  “We might have found the creature’s lair,” Max replied.

  “Cool,” Liz said, sitting down.

  “Has the diving equipment arrived?” Okada asked. Liz burst out laughing.