Part 1 (2/2)

He turned to Dave who was at the helm, fighting the wheel. ”What the f.u.c.k are these things?” Kim yelled.

”I don't know,” Dave said through gritted teeth. He gestured out to the water. ”It looks like a big school of them heading southwest. Must be what's driving the fish crazy!”

Dave shrugged and scratched his bushy head. The wind whipped at his heavy coat, rippling it like the waves of the sea. ”They must be following this current. Never seen anything like it.”

Kim looked out into the gray ocean. The seagulls were circling in wide, erratic circles, cawing frantically. Kim jerked a thumb toward the excited gulls. ”Birds are acting real strange.”

”Everything is!” Dave said. He had both hands on the wheel, his knuckles growing white as he struggled to keep the s.h.i.+p on course. ”Everything in this part of the sea seems to be trying to get away from something.”

Kim felt the boat lurch violently. He nearly lost his balance as he grabbed at the wooden railing. He righted himself; his heart still lodged in his throat. Jesus, this storm is getting worse.

Another length of net was brought up with three of the creatures hanging on by their insect-like legs. He studied the animals intently as he gripped the railing. He had never heard or read of any crab or lobster reaching the size of the things in the nets. Logic dictated that they probably dwelled on the bottom of the ocean and rarely came to the surface. If that was so, why were they coming up now?

He shook his head as the cawing of the gulls gnawed at the base of his skull. The sky was darkening rapidly. The wind was blowing stronger, the swells rising higher. The ma.s.s of dark storm clouds had grown larger and more sinister, painting the sky a dark black. The Lucky Mariner bounced off a swell, nearly knocking Kim off his feet. Some of the crew members weren't so lucky; a few of the men were thrown to the deck. Heart racing, Kim gripped the railing and made his way carefully to the ladder that led to the lower deck. He climbed down carefully and joined Ralph Hodgson.

He nudged Ralph's shoulder. ”Get Jeff out of that skiff and get those nets up!”

”We pulling in?” Ralph asked sharply. He had nearly ten years of crew experience on commercial fis.h.i.+ng vessels and the motions of the sea were disturbing him too.

”You bet your mother's a.s.s we are.” Kim leaned over and yelled to the upper deck where Dave was fighting the wheel with all his strength. ”Hey, Dave! We're bringing up the nets and headin' in!”

Dave acknowledged the order with a wave and steered the boat into the swell to aid in retrieving the large nets. Kim barked the order to those on deck and then turned to steal another glance at the storm before all h.e.l.l broke loose.

A commotion off toward the skiff caught his attention. The man they'd sent out to drag the net-an experienced seaman named Jeff Bowers-was yelling and slapping at the water with his oars. His screams washed toward them, high pitched, loud and clear.

”What the f.u.c.k?” Kim hissed, stepping toward the railing. He took the pipe out of his mouth and put it in his jacket pocket. His heart beat wildly. He could barely make out roiling, undulating movement below the tiny skiff as Jeff beat at the water with the oars.

The tiny skiff was listing to one side pretty badly as the net grew taut. One good wave and the small boat would capsize. Jeff was trying to cut loose the net, but the rough sea made it impossible. The rough thras.h.i.+ng of the boat made it appear that the net was being pulled out of Jeff's hands.

Suddenly the net attached to the skiff was yanked below and the tiny boat flipped over, spilling Jeff Bowers into the freezing ocean.

The skiff floated in the water half submerged, and finally sunk. Jeff was nowhere in sight.

It all went down so fast that Kim couldn't believe what he saw. The crew watched in stunned terror, finally gasping exclamations of shock. Kim felt the tension among his crew as Jeff's dark form broke the surface briefly.

Ralph pointed and yelled. ”Man overboard!”

The heavy dark clouds finally split open and spilled their contents on the hapless crew. The rain added to the mounting confusion as the men clamored to save their lost mate.

Jeff Bowers treaded water and gasped for air as he bobbed in the ocean. A moment later he was yanked under. For good.

As the crew scrambled to save Jeff, Ralph looked at Kim. His eyes were wide and scared. It looked like he was about to scream when a heavy shock hit the bottom of the boat.

It threw Kim against the wall of the cabin. The shock tossed most of the men to the deck. They scrambled to their feet, resuming rescue duties. Kim's heart raced frantically. It was as if they'd hit bottom, but Kim knew that was impossible...not this far out!

Something had taken Jeff Bowers down and the ocean was becoming increasingly dangerous, more alien than he had ever seen it. He pushed the thoughts from his mind. If he didn't act quickly, his men were going to die out here.

”Let's get the f.u.c.k out of here!” Kim screamed. There was no sense in trying to rescue Jeff Bowers now. He was as good as dead. Kim moved across the deck and the shock wave hit again, louder and stronger, shaking the vessel. Kim stumbled, but managed to remain on his feet. It felt like the bottom of the boat was being torn apart.

Kim grabbed Ralph by the shoulders and spun him around. ”You! Come with me!”

They turned and were about to climb up to the wheel when Danny appeared from below deck. His expression was grave. ”Somethin's ripping the h.e.l.l out of the hull.”

Kim felt his stomach drop into his bowels. ”Something...?”

”I don't know what,” Danny said. His voice trembled. His eyes looked like white marbles set on his black face. The intensity of Danny's fear sparked a new tremor of terror in Kim. He had never seen Danny scared of anything before. Seeing him genuinely frightened provided the reality check he needed.

”What's going on down there?” Kim shouted over the loud thunderclap. Danny motioned for Kim to follow and turned back toward the door.

Suddenly the boat lurched from some unseen impact.

The crewmen fell to the deck, trying to hold on for dear life. Kim fell and hit his face on the deck. The sharp pain of his nose breaking exploded in his mind, fueling his adrenaline. He scrambled to his feet quickly and saw that most of his crew was suffering the same fate; one man had smacked his head against the deck, while another lost his grip on the ladder and fell to the lower deck. Another man had tumbled through a window to the sound of shattering gla.s.s and garbled screams of pain. Kim almost laughed at the sight but stopped himself before he launched into a volley of giggles-the scene looked almost too comical, like out of a cartoon.

The sounds of snapping wood amid the yells of his men brought him back to reality yet again. Something was tearing the boat out from under them. He looked through the open cabin doorway and fear gripped his heart like a vice. An entire plank was missing from the side of the s.h.i.+p and the sea was invading the warm interior, flooding the lower deck. Holy Jesus, f.u.c.king Christ!

Kim moved forward and another lurch toppled him back onto the deck. His head thunked the wall. Stars blossomed in his field of vision. The deck listed at a forty-five degree angle. Behind him Danny and Ralph were cursing and scrambling to their feet.

Danny's scalp had been laid open during one of his falls, bathing his face and the front of his s.h.i.+rt with dark blood. Ralph was heaving with exertion; he hadn't suffered any physical wounds yet. Kim struggled to his feet and gripped the railing, barely feeling the blood from his broken nose. Ralph hoisted himself up and fell on his face. Danny rose on wobbly legs and helped Ralph up. Ralph appeared visibly dazed. He shook his head and spat out a broken tooth, his first battle wound. Danny and Ralph gripped the railing as they regained their composure. They had to get the f.u.c.k out of here, and they had to do it now!

Kim suddenly noticed the tension on the gill nets. There was a sharp tug and the boat lurched again. Kim weathered the sudden movement and remained standing. Danny and Ralph almost went down again but held on, cursing. Something was pulling on the nets. The same thing that had pulled Jeff Bowers to oblivion.

Kim pulled the razor-sharp scaling knife from his belt and lunged toward the nets. ”Cut the G.o.dd.a.m.ned nets!” He yelled to the crew members around him. ”Cut the nets! Cut the nets!” He scrambled to the railing, which was nearly under water. His head throbbed with pain. He began to hack at the line holding the main net.

Ralph brought out his own knife and hacked at the line. Danny joined them and a moment later a handful of the other crew members were scrambling to sever the lines from various points of the vessel.

Behind them they could hear Dave cursing as he throttled the engine and tried to maneuver the vessel toward sh.o.r.e. A rattled whine was emanating from the engine and Dave yelled ”f.u.c.k!” and slammed his fists down on the dash as the boat shuddered with exertion. A cloud of black, oily smoke rose from the engine as the boat moved slowly. It felt and sounded like the engine was dying. Kim cursed himself as he realized what was happening; the engine was flooding. G.o.dd.a.m.n!

A moment later the mechanisms locked up and the whole thing shut down. The electrical system died, plunging the s.h.i.+p into darkness.

Kim's heart raced madly. The crewmen were yelling to abandon s.h.i.+p. Kim turned to Danny. ”Get the life raft!”

Danny scrambled to the cabin as another wave crashed over the deck, bringing the sting of icy salt water.

Kim hacked at the nets, severing another line, preserving their lives for one more precious second. He huffed past Ralph and helped him sever his line. The wind picked up, howling in his ears as the s.h.i.+p tilted even more, slipping farther into the ocean. The howling wind and the shouts of the crew obliterated the sounds of the hull being torn open, flooding the s.h.i.+p further. The icy water flooded up to his knees. He was hardly aware of it. He was so involved in getting the nets cut, getting his men on the life raft and off the s.h.i.+p that he didn't even hear the rising screams of his men. Screams that rose suddenly and were cut off before they had the chance to register in his brain.

Kim's knife slashed through the last line. He heaved a deep breath and turned to Ralph, who was no longer there. Kim blinked and caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned.

The trident punched through his chest so quick that he didn't even see it coming. The force of the blow pushed him back into the water. His consciousness ebbed as he felt himself rise to the surface of the water. Kim tried to get up, but found that he was already in motion. He was moving through the water, being dragged down into the murky depths. He caught just a fleeting glimpse of the Lucky Mariner as it went down in the storm, and then everything went black and Kim Isaac knew no more.

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