Seamen Anthony Gonzalez tumbled backwards, the engineer’s head slamming hard against a control panel, knocking him unconscious. Lieutenant Peter Suarez found himself pinned under a collapsed bulkhead, his left ankle caught. As the engine room filled with water, he managed to free himself and crawl up into the next compartment, sealing the watertight door behind him seconds before the sea could rush in. * * * “Damage report!” “Engine room’s flooded. I can’t raise—” A loud wail was followed by flashing red lights. “Core breach,” Heller yelled. “Someone’s got to shut it down.” “Helm, high-pressure air into the ballast tanks, put us on the ceiling. Dennis?” “On my way.” Chief Heller ran through a tilting maze of chaos. He squeezed past crewmen attempting to staunch the flow of seawater spraying from a thousand leaks. At least half of the electrical consoles looked down. He found Lieutenant Suarez outside the engine room frantically throwing switches, shutting down the nuclear reactor. Heller joined him, shutting off the alarm. “Report, Lieutenant.” “Reactor’s gone, but at least we averted a meltdown. Everyone and everything aft of the engine room is underwater.” “Radiation?” The officer looked at his friend. “Denny, this ship’s over forty years old. We’ve lost the integrity of the hull, the steel plates are falling off like shingles. We’ll drown before any radiation kills us.” * * * Jonas and the Japanese sailor were hauled out of the sea and onto the Kiku’s stern deck. Frank Heller escorted the whaler’s lone survivor to sickbay, Mac leading Jonas up to the bridge. Terry Tanaka wrapped a blanket around him as he entered the command center. “Diving in the sea like that – are you insane?” “Actually, Mac and I did spend three months together in a mental ward.” She shot Jonas a look to kill. “Don’t ever do that again.” “Terry, quiet,” Masao called out. “We’re receiving a distress call from the Nautilus.” Bob Pasquale cupped his ears, trying to hear. “They’re surfacing. No power… major breach. They need our assistance immediately.” Captain Barre barked orders to change course. The Kiku turned, fighting against the relentless swells. * * * Anthony Gonzalez had regained consciousness, the engineer’s face pressed hard against the watertight door where a small pocket of air remained. The chamber was bathed in red emergency lighting. Blood gushed from his forehead. As the Nautilus rose, debris began seeping out of the gap in the hull and into the Pacific. The Megalodon rose with the sub, snapping its jaws at anything that moved. Smelling Gonzalez’s blood, the Meg jammed her head into the opening, separating the already loose steel plates, enlarging the gap in the hull significantly. Her white hide illuminated the dimly lit flooded compartment, catching the engineer’s attention. Holding his breath, he ducked underwater and looked down. The monster’s ten-foot-wide jaws opened and closed below him, the upper jaw pushing forward and away from the creature’s head like something out of a 3-D horror film, the hideous triangular teeth less than five feet away. Gonzalez felt his body being sucked into the vortex. He surfaced and tore at the door, his screams muffled by the rising sea. Unable to escape, he chose an alternative death, ducking his head underwater, inhaling the salt water deep into his lungs, struggling to kill himself before the mouthful of teeth could reach him. The female inhaled the heaving body into her vacuous gullet, crushing and swallowing her prey in one gulp. The warm blood sent her into a renewed frenzy. She shook her head, freeing herself from the opening, then circled the Nautilus again as its bow burst through the surface.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 22:48:09 +0000