Pressure (16 page)

“You may go up to the bridge,” Takenaka told them. “Make yourselves comfortable. I must see to preparations before we raise anchor and get underway. Then, we will find your fish.”

He walked away, laughing humorlessly. They watched him go. Carrie shook her head.

“He's … something.”

“Aye,” Abhi agreed. “He is something alright. Let's just hope he's right about that thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“That we find it before it finds us.”

There was a sudden commotion overhead. Carrie and Abhi both glanced up at the sky, in time to see a massive flock of seabirds, all heading inland and traveling fast. The noise they made was deafening. Even the mercenaries were momentarily distracted, all staring skyward as the squawking mass swooped by, blocking out the fading sunlight. Dollops of white excrement splattered the ship and the dock as they passed. A few unlucky sailors were also targeted.

“My God,” Abhi gasped. “I've never seen so many birds at once. Not in all my years at sea. What could they be doing?”

“I don't know,” Carrie admitted. “It's not a migration pattern. It's almost as if they're fleeing something.”

Abhi stared at her, and then back up at the birds.

“I need a drink,” he murmured as the flock was swallowed up by the dark.

*   *   *

They were barely two and a half miles out of port when the trouble started. The moon was just a dim sliver in the sky, and they sailed in blackness—the surrounding sea a rhythmically churning mass of shadows that seemed to envelop the ship. Takenaka had posted watchmen along the upper deck, and each was armed with a variety of weapons, ranging from antique whaling harpoons to fully automatic AR-15s and Chinese-made SKS's. All of the sailors seemed to speak English, or at least enough of it to get by, which made sense, given the number of nationalities onboard the vessel. They most likely needed to rely on one common language to effectively communicate. But during the time it had taken to get underway, she'd heard snatches of Portuguese, Creole, Hindi, Russian, Pashtun, Somali, Vietnamese, French, and various accents ranging from Australian to Welsh to America's Deep South. They truly were an international crew.

Carrie and Abhi occupied the bridge, along with the captain and a half-dozen sailors, watching pensively as the vessel slipped through the darkness.

“I was told this fish can interfere with electronic equipment?” Takenaka asked.

“Yes,” Carrie confirmed. “Electronics and living things, both. I'm not sure how, although I suspect it emits some sort of neurotoxins. The effect is also based on the target's proximity. The closer the person or electronics are to the web of neurotoxins, the better the chances of a disruption.”

“We are up high enough,” the captain proclaimed. “This is no little boat. Our equipment is beyond this web.”

“I hope so,” Abhi agreed.

Takenaka clapped him on the back. “We are, little man. Come, let me show you.”

He guided Abhi over to a bank of equipment. Carrie suppressed a giggle as Abhi glanced over his shoulder and mouthed “little man” to her. He had at least three-inches height on the rumpled ex-whaler. She followed after them, still grinning. They stopped behind a sailor who was hunched over the sonar.

“You see?” Takenaka gestured. “Everything is working fine.”

“Captain?” The sailor did not look up from the sonar, but his voice was tense. “I've got something.”

“What is it?”

“I … I'm not sure.”

Scowling, Takenaka leaned over the sonar operator and glowered at the screen. The backlight seemed to illuminate the scar on his face. Abhi and Carrie stepped closer, standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse. When Carrie finally did, her breath caught in her throat.

Two massive shapes were hurtling toward the ship from the direction of the collapse. She couldn't judge their speed, but it was clear they were closing quickly.

“A school of fish, maybe?” the sailor suggested.

Without looking away from the screen, Takenaka raised his hand as if to strike the younger man. The sonar operator flinched, and backed farther away. Then, the captain turned to Carrie.

“A school of fish, alright. Two of them. Two big fishies. I thought there was only one?”

“I did, too,” Carrie murmured.

“Well, you were wrong. This is unfortunate. If I had known there were two, I would have demanded more money.”

Muttering in Japanese, Takenaka returned to the helm and grabbed a handset. He keyed the mic, and a squeal of electronic feedback echoed across the ship.

“Attention all hands, attention all hands. This is the captain speaking. General quarters, general quarters. This is not a drill. We have multiple targets approaching. All hands man your battle stations, on the double. I repeat, muster with weapons at your stations. Let's go to work. That is all.”

The ship erupted with activity as hatches slammed open with metallic clangs and crewmen emerged from the decks below, hurrying to various positions on the main deck. Carrie and Abhi drew aside as the captain stalked the bridge, barking out orders to the other sailors.

“I don't understand,” Abhi whispered. “The only time it left the trench before was when we had the egg. We're nowhere near the trench yet. And now there are two of these things?”

“Apparently,” Carrie replied. “There's a mommy and a daddy.”

“And we kidnapped their baby. That's just wonderful.”

Carrie nodded, feeling a surprising sense of remorse.

“But why would they stray so far from the collapse?” Abhi asked.

“They've learned some things about us. If I had to guess, I'd say the creature—creatures—have no intention of letting any boats back into their turf. They're defending their territory. Their hunting ground and nest. They see us as just another predator. A boat came into their territory and stole one of their offspring. Now, a second boat is approaching. They don't intend to let that happen again.”

“Shit…”

“Exactly,” Carrie agreed. “We're going to have to warn the authorities. They need to shut down all traffic in these waters—commercial and private. And we'll have to make certain the research flotilla doesn't come anywhere near here until this situation is fully resolved.”

Abhi's eyes widened in apprehension. “If these things are bringing the fight to us—if they've figured that out—then what else have they learned about us?”

“I think we're about to find out.”

“Okay, men,” Takenaka said over the intercom. “It's time to earn your pay. Let's do this like professionals, collect our money, and then we can all go home and spend it.”

A chorus of cheers went up across the outer decks of the ship. Sailors raised boathooks, harpoons, and rifles in the air, cheering.

“Captain!” The sonar operator sounded frightened. “They're almost on us.”

“Location?”

“One portside and the other aft.”

“Distance?”

“Portside, three hundred meters and closing. Aft, four hundred meters … no, wait … three fifty. Jesus, these things are fast!”

Grinning, Takenaka hung up the microphone and turned to Abhi and Carrie.

“You will both stay here on the bridge, where you are safe. I can't be responsible for you if you venture outside. Yes?”

Abhi nodded. “Sounds good to me!”

“Two hundred meters,” the sonar operator called. “One hundred fifty! Get ready!”

“Anderson?” Takenaka turned to Carrie.

Carrie shrugged. “You're the captain.”

The ex-whaler's grin grew broader. “No, I am the hunter.”

He turned and strutted off the deck, slamming the hatch shut behind him.

Sighing, Abhi leaned against the bulkhead. “I'll bet he's fun at parties.”

*   *   *

Things escalated quickly as the pair of creatures attacked the large vessel in perfect unison. Carrie and Abhi watched from the bridge as the massive shapes emerged from the ocean, water streaming down their forms. Without the sun as a deterrent, they were much less cautionary than before. Despite this, Carrie still couldn't get a clear look at their structure because of the pervasive darkness. She caught only glimpses as spotlights flashed over their bulk. Pressed up to the window, she pushed her fist against the glass in frustration.

Despite their proximity, the ship's electronics still seemed to be functioning normally. The same could not be said of the mercenary crew. While only minutes earlier they had been cheering with bravado, now, most of them stood motionless, gaping in horror as the sea vomited up these monstrosities, the likes of which none had ever seen before. These men were used to fighting other men, Carrie realized. The foes they now faced were something else entirely.

Dozens of black-and-brown tentacles burst from the water. They varied in size, from the circumference of a sewer pipe to no thicker than an extension cord. As the swiveling spotlights trailed over them, Carrie noticed that some of the tentacles were lined with suckers, while others were not. As the night exploded with rifle fire and muzzle flashes, the flailing appendages whipped across the main deck, seizing anything they came in contact with. One curled around the antenna mast, and with a tremendous yank, snapped it off. Debris plummeted to the deck, sending sailors scrambling out of the way. Metal barrels, gear lockers, and even a mop were snatched up by the questing tendrils and yanked into the black ocean.

Abhi's hand fell on her shoulder, clutching.

“Oh my God,” he moaned.

Carrie followed his terrified gaze and gasped. A helpless mercenary struggled and kicked, hovering ten feet off the deck, caught in the grip of a thrashing tentacle. Shrieking, he punched it ineffectually as it hauled him overboard.

The ship lurched suddenly, slamming Carrie and Abhi against the glass. For one terrifying moment, Carrie was certain that the window would break, spilling them both onto the deck below, but the glass held. Abhi screamed, but his face was still smooshed against the window, and the sound was just a muffled wheeze. When she tried to regain her balance and right herself, Carrie found that she couldn't. The boat's entire aft end was sticking up out of the water, and slowly rising into the air. When she looked forward, she saw why.

One of the creatures had heaved its amorphous, streaming bulk over the bow of the ship and was slowly, laboriously crawling on board. The crew was in panicked disarray. Most tried to flee, but many of them fell as the ship tilted higher, sliding down the wet deck toward the creature. Something that resembled a giant crab claw darted forward and seized the closest victim, gripping him around the waist. The soldier of fortune fired his weapon into the appendage, but the creature didn't relent. Seconds later, the black pincers squeezed, their serrated edges slicing through flesh and cracking bones. It waved the helpless mercenary back and forth in the air, and then his body split in half. His legs plummeted into the churning sea, while his upper torso splattered onto the still-sloping deck, splashing innards and blood across his hapless comrades. Horrifically, Carrie realized that the sailor was still alive, despite missing his lower torso. He dropped his weapon and tried to crawl up the deck, his face frozen with anguish and shock, as his organs spilled from him and slipped away. Then he lay still.

Another sailor had braced himself around a pole, using it to keep himself balanced. He fired an automatic rifle into the creature's bulk, spraying indiscriminately. Empty brass shell casings flew from the gun and fell at his feet, rolling forward on the sloping deck. Part of the creature seemed to flow toward the determined mercenary. A spindly, pointed leg, much like the one that had stabbed Carrie when she'd fled with the egg, hovered above the gunman. He kept firing as the javelin-like appendage slammed downward, spearing him through the top of his head. His body jittered and the weapon slipped from his hands. The leg withdrew. The man remained standing, even as his brains leaked out of his gaping mouth.

“That thing is going to capsize us if they don't do something!” Abhi pushed himself back from the window.

“That big gun,” Carrie said. “What did you call it?”

Abhi blinked, momentarily confused. “The Bofors?”

“Yeah, that's it. Why don't they use that?”

“The range is all wrong. Those are for targets at a distance. Fighting pirate vessels and such. These things are way too close. Even if they could hit them where they are, the blast would sink the ship.”

“We're going to sink anyway,” Carrie muttered.

“No,” Abhi said, feigning cheerfulness. “I'm sure we'll be dead long before the boat sinks into the trench.”

Out in the darkness, Carrie caught a glimpse of a massive beak, and three baleful eyes the size of manhole covers. Despite her overwhelming terror, she paused to consider the beast's mystifying biological origins. It was seemingly unlike anything on record, either living or extinct—a bizarre, distorted amalgam of various sea creatures, all of which had grown to hellish proportions.

“That's not the same one,” she murmured. “The one that attacked Paolo and I was smaller than this.”

“So is this Mommy or Daddy?” Abhi asked, trembling.

“I don't think it matters.”

Behind them, there were numerous crashes and clangs as gear and equipment that hadn't been properly tied down or stowed fell to the floor. A sailor cried out in pain. Several others cursed in a variety of languages. Alarms rang on the bridge, and a claxon sounded throughout the ship, nearly lost beneath the rifle reports and screams of panicked seamen.

Abhi teetered, pin-wheeling his arms to keep his balance. His eyes were wide and his face was lathered in sweat. Worse, his complexion reminded Carrie of wet cheesecloth. She worried that he was having a heart attack. She grabbed his shirt with one fist. The cloth was damp, and his deodorant had failed.