by DAN MONTY
INTO THE DEPTHS
The sequel to: “From the Depths"
A novel by Dan Monty
First published in 2021 by Killer Mule Books for KDP
Copyright 2021 by Dan Monty
All rights reserved
Text, cover, & illustrations by Dan Monty
Copyright 2021 by Dan Monty
All rights reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
This book is copyright. No part of this book should be copied, sold, hired out, or reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of the author.
First edition 2021
By the same author
The Granville Train Disaster
From the Depths
The Outlaw Madrid
Way of the Sword
For God,
The creator of all living things. Let it be known that without his help, I surely would not be where I am today.
Chapter One: Ivan the Terrible
Melbourne, Australia 2025
Five Years After the Events of Isla Santa Maria
A chilling wind blew in from the window of a dark Melbourne city high rise, that climbed to the sky from its place on Little Collins Street, which intersected across Elizabeth Street in the CBD. The building boasted a glorious view over Melbourne’s city streets, the city night was lit with dots of neon like swarms of twinkling fairies.
John Cushing was a forty two year old writer, and something of what many people might define as a conspiracy theorist. He was American, about five foot nine inches tall and his head was graced with a mop of messy, shoulder-length black hair. A neat moustache lined his upper lip and there were hints of sleepy dark circles under his eyes.
He had not slept much over the last six months. His work always came before sleep. ‘No rest for the wicked,’ although he was not really a wicked man. He was however, troubled. Deeply troubled.
The walls of the apartment on the fifteenth floor were lined with drawings of bizarre creatures he had drawn himself. All of them were seemingly crude representations of man-fish; shark-headed beings atop humanoid bodies, men with grotesque fish-like faces, gills on children’s bodies... to most this would seem like the mad etchings of a lunatic. A woman with a fish tail, a humanoid turtle – utter madness. John however was not mad, yet anyway.
He sat at a desk in the corner of a small room littered with newspapers, with tabloids all over the floor, some pinned to the walls. His skinny body moved, reaching up with his wiry arms to pin another picture to the wall – this one of an island he had drawn. He sighed falling back into his chair and reaching for a small tape recorder. He cleared his throat, sparked a cigarette, and took a drag on it before pressing ‘record’ on the tape recorder and speaking into it.
“Okay, so I am in Melbourne. I haven’t left the apartment in three days. I’ve been going over my findings and thus far - still have found no tangible evidence that the island of Santa Maria ever existed. There are no maps, no records, no historical documents. The island does not exist, and yet I have seen it with my own eyes. Two months ago, I was there and watched in horror as my friends were captured by what seemed to be... um... mutant fish people... “
John paused the recorder and laughed. He shook his head, wiping tears from his eyes. It was true enough he was not completely mad, though it should be stated that he was not too far from it. He had seen terrible things, strange and bizarre things... that island... it wasn’t normal. The mermaid! he thought to himself as if remembering something new. He resumed his voice recording.
“There were three of us, myself, Simon, and a marine biologist named Betty. We had gone to the island to visit our colleagues, after hearing no word from them in so long. The facility however, was destroyed when we arrived. Hans Strucker was nowhere to be found... and there were these... things everywhere. Strange mutations of what seemed to be humanoid marine animals. The creatures saw us, and chased us through the jungle. The trees were thick and difficult to navigate. Simon stepped into some kind of... trap. My God! There was so much! The trap... it snapped closed on his ankle, cutting right to the bone. Betty and I... we tried to open it but we couldn’t. There... there was no way to save him... “
Isla Santa Maria, two months ago...
Simon Bradshaw wailed as he squirmed, trying to get out of the trap. He moaned, looking at John and Betty and spitting as he cried out.
“John you gotta get me outta here man! Get me out!” Simon screamed as the sound of heavy footsteps approached. Betty and John covered their mouths, rushing behind a pile of large stones in the jungle as a small group of figures approached.
John looked at Betty who herself looked as though she could erupt into screams at any moment. He covered her mouth and shook his head.
Three figures stepped towards the shaking body of Simon, who looked at the creatures in utter fear. The largest of them was an upright walking great white shark with armour and an eye patch. He possessed arms and legs that were grey, humanoid, and muscular. He was draped in ragged clothes. His massive mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth, 300 in total lined his massive mouth. He brushed away at his rags and stepped forward out of the trees, two similar looking shark-man creatures also stepping behind him. The leader, whose name was Ivan, grabbed Simon around the neck, speaking with a clear English accent.
“So! To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, man-flesh?” Ivan roared. The other two shark-men remained silent.
“You can... talk?” Simon asked, the colour draining from his face. Ivan raised Simon higher, tightening the grasp of the trap around his ankle as it broke through flesh and muscle. Simon screamed.
“AAAGGGHHH! NO PLEASE!” Simon roared, while Ivan's monstrous white shark head inched closer to his face.
“Do you think... you have rights in this place, man-flesh? Do you think you can come here and hurt my people? Destroy what we have done here? Like you have destroyed your own home?” Ivan asked. Simon violently shook his head, the monstrous hand around his throat getting tighter.
“Please!! We don’t mean any harm!!!” Simon squealed. Ivan only grinned.
“We? Oh dear. So there are others then, yes? Perhaps even... nearby... listening on like unwelcome rats?” Ivan asked, with a grin.
Ivan squeezed Simon’s throat, choking the life out of him, and ripping him upwards, tearing the severed leg away from the trap, and splashing the trees with blood. He tossed the lifeless body of the intruder to the ground, turning to the shark soldiers that each held spears.
John and Betty stood up and took off running. Ivan pointed towards the fleeing intruders.
“There! Bring them to me!” he roared, as his two shark-headed soldiers took off after them in pursuit.
Abigale Channing, a beautiful woman with a long mane of dark hair, youthful skin, and with an Australian accent, walked over to Ivan. She was human; though seemed somewhat native to those who did not know her. She shoved Ivan, unafraid, and pushed him backwards.
“This is not our way, Ivan! These people are no threat to us!” she demanded. Ivan grinned, shoving her back.
“You want to side with them? Good. You are just like them anyway! You look like them. You sound like them. You belong with them!” Ivan added, angrily.
Like the others, Abigale had been captured years earlier and subjected to experiments run by a man who she thought was experimenting on sharks. However, it turned out that Hans Strucker had been creating mutant human marine life hybrids. Most of Abby’s friends had been killed, but many had been turned into gruesome looking mutations, humans spliced with marine creatures.
Abigale had been turned into a mermaid, which existence caused her to generate gills and a fish tail when she entered the water, although out of the water she looked quite human. This had caused resentment over time, and Abigale had started to feel like she did not fit in with the mutants any more, until she had learned there were others like her as well that had fled into the sea, mermaids and mermen that built their own underwater city.
Her mutant friends had helped her rebuild the island, to create a haven for the mutants, but over the last five years the stronger mutants had taken over the island forcing Abby and her mutant friends to obey them.
Abigale hated Ivan. He was monstrous and warlike, and evaluating the mutants as superior to human life. He wanted only to inflict suffering on the world of man, and one day he vowed he would do just that.
“Ivan, let them go!” Abigale demanded angrily, but Ivan shoved her again. He opened his jaws exposing his jagged teeth.
“What will you do if I don’t? Look at you, Abby! Pathetic! You’re like them. You’re weak,” he said, turning away from her. Abby pulled out a switchblade from her yellow singlet, rushing at Ivan with the blade. Ivan grabbed her arm, tossing her to the ground. He placed a heavy foot on her chest, pinning her to the jungle floor.
“You’re a disgrace, Abby! I am trying to protect this island from outsiders! You want to get in my way? You are welcome to try, little one!” he hollered, removing his foot from her and stepping away. He towered over her, a giant six foot seven inches beast who could easily run head on into a bus just for the experience. He could easily kill her and Abby knew it. She was no match for him, but she did not have to take it either. She got up, taking off onto the jungle after the other fleeing humans. Ivan watched her leave yelling out after her.
“Abigale!!! Get back here! If you do this, there will be nowhere on earth you can hide!” he howled, his voice loud and vicious. Abby kept running through the trees not looking back. She grabbed a spear that leaned across a tree as she passed it and ran fast.
Abigale could run faster than most of the others, actually. She had been through as much hell as any of them, but she had also been blessed with more gifts. She could run up to fifty kilometres an hour. She had incredible heightened senses, both on land and in the sea. She was fast, strong, and athletic, and able to navigate long distances remarkably fast. She was done taking orders. Done with this island. Abigale Channing ran faster than she had in a long time.
Chapter Two: Escape from Aquatica
John paced around the Melbourne apartment rubbing his eyes and taking a swig from a bottle of Victoria Bitter. The beer was cool and soothed his parched throat as it made its way to his belly. He sighed, looking out the window at the city below. A big man was hobbling into a 7-Eleven store on the street below, an annoying old lady ahead of him looking like she was yelling at him to hurry up. The sky was grey and moisture on the road told John it had recently been raining.
He took another swig of VB beer, and shook his head at the poor guy below. He could probably in his depressed mood shoot the old woman from this vantage point, it might do them both a favour. He grabbed his voice recorder, hitting the red button, and letting out a woeful sigh.
“The jungle of Santa Maria was brutal. Soaring heat and crawling spiders at every turn. The things were catching up to us, and we knew it. Soon enough, the shark-men soldiers would find us and kill us. We had to keep running... ”
*****
John and Betty were frantic, running through the trees, sweating and panting. John stopped suddenly, hearing something; and Betty, a petite blonde in cargo shorts and a Lady Gaga t-shirt, looked at him with concern.
“John what is it?” she asked. John put a finger to his lips. “Shhh!” he said, pointing in the direction of a rustling sound, as he looked into the thick of the trees, stepping closer to see what the noise was. There was a low rustling, like something was hiding among the trees. John grabbed a thick stick off the ground and held it tightly like a baseball bat.
The shark-creature leapt out of the trees beside Betty instead of where John had been looking. It grabbed her, clawing at her, biting down on her neck, as her screams turned to gurgles of blood which spattered the trees.
“BETTY!” John screamed, running to her and smacking the creature across its head. Betty's corpse fell to the ground and the shark-soldier turned its attention to John; a blood slicked grin on its face. It leapt for John as the spear shot out of the trees, piercing through its head. The creature let out a cry as it fell to the ground, and Abigale jumped out of the trees, pulling out the spear and ramming it through the creature's chest. She turned to John, gripping the spear in her hand.
“Your friend is dead. There are more coming! Follow me!” Abigale said. John followed Abigale deeper into the jungle.
They walked onward, Abigale leading the way with her spear in her hand. John looked around into the depths of the jungle, frantically searching for any signs of threat.
“Who are you?” he asked. Abigale made no response.
“Look, I just watched my friends die, alright?! I have a right to know who the hell you are and what the hell happened to this island! What are those things?” John insisted, so Abigale stopped walking, turning to face this impossible man. “Shut up! I’m trying to get us out of here. In order to do that, I’m going to need you to shut your bloody pie-hole. Those things? They were lab experiments created by a fucking madman. They will hunt us, and believe me if they don’t just kill you where you stand, they will cook you alive and eat you. Sound good? Now hurry up and follow me!” Abigale replied.
“Okay... yeah I’m gonna follow you," John said. Abby noted he was American, and a thought flew over her mind like a rainstorm. She had known an American on the island once. A man named Bo. She let out a sigh and shook those thoughts off. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
Abigale lead John through the tall grass and palm trees, running as they approached an opening in the trees. The beach suddenly came into view in all its glory, with a fishing boat beached into the sand. Abby ran towards it, jumping aboard and pushing through a curtain that lead into the cabin.
The interior was a mess of old magazines, computer equipment, video tapes, and other equipment none of which interested her at the time. There was a poster of the film Jaws on the wall – a gargantuan shark pushing it’s head through the surface of the water, the poster ripped and aged. Abby was looking for something and as if remembering something, she then opened a large box and extracted a wooden bow and a quiver of arrows.
John looked around inside the cabin, and she grabbed him by the hand.
“Listen, I need you to help me pull the boat into the water. We need to hurry, they’ll be coming!” Abby demanded. John cursed as Abby slung the quiver of arrows over her shoulder, taking the bow in her hands.
The two of them heaved the fishing boat, dragging it across the sand to the water. John wiped sweat off his brow, and noticed how surprisingly strong the woman was, not to mention the fact she was hardly even breaking a sweat. That was when he noticed her body change... the salt water soaking her body, and causing it to change... her legs morphing into a blue fish tail, her eyes glowing blue. John froze for a moment.
“What the hell are you? Are you like them?” John asked. As they pulled the boat into the water, Abby finally sighed and shook her head.
“No. I’m something else," she said, giving the boat one last heave, pulling it into deeper water.
They got into the boat, and Abby slowly changed back into her human form . She jumped behind the controls. The boat had been fuelled up and as she flipped switches and fired up the ignition, John let out a sigh of relief.
“Holy shit! I didn’t think she’d even float!” John said. Abby winked at him.
“She’ll float and she’ll sail, but that won’t stop them. Can you drive?” she asked. John nodded.
“Good. You drive, I’ll shoot," she said. Abby turned to walk out of the cabin, loading up an arrow into her quiver.
“Whose boat is this?” John asked. Abby let out a frustrated sigh. Perhaps it was a sigh of sadness, for she seemed to hesitate before answering.
“It belonged to two shark researchers that came to the island. They’re both dead... " she replied. John nodded in understanding.
“What happened here?” he asked. Abby closed her eyes.
“Monsters and madmen. Now hurry up and take us out to sea. They are coming," she said.
Abigale stepped out of the cabin, walking out onto the deck. She looked towards land and took aim with her longbow. From her vantage point, there on the sand stood an army of shark-men. Ferocious beasts with razor-sharp teeth, grey and white skin, and armour fashioned with spines and coral from the sea.
Ivan stepped out in front of the mob of shark-people, leering at Abby as the fishing boat plotted its heading further out to sea.
“Bring them to me!” Ivan roared. Four of his most brutal beasts ran into the surf, leaping into the water – their fins sticking out of the water, as they swam faster towards the escaping boat.
Abigale took aim, waiting for the right moment to release an arrow. From inside the cabin, John yelled out to her worriedly.
“What’s going on out there?” he yelled, while Abigale focussed her aim.
“Just... drive!” Abby yelled, releasing the first arrow which met its mark, catching the leading shark-creature in the dorsal fin. The shark’s head surfaced, roaring as it continued swimming closer.
“Shit!” Abby cursed, loading another arrow as the sharks swam closer... and closer... gaining on them now.
“Can’t you drive this thing any faster?” Abigale yelled. John gave the engines all they had, the boat speeding ahead faster. Abigale fired another arrow, shooting another shark-man in the head. The four fins still cut through the water, now mere feet from the boat. Abby cursed again, kicking open a steel box on the deck, and removing two pistols which she aimed at the approaching sharks. One of the shark-men leapt out of the water, landing on the boat. Abigale kicked him hard in the gut, her fingers dancing on the trigger as she fired four shots into its head, sending the beast hurtling backwards and hitting the water with a splash.
