Primordial

Chapter 38

“All flesh for the God of the Lake!” Laine yelled. He shouted something in Finnish, and then more in his bizarre language. Beneath the sounds of his cries and the steady rush of the storm, the low drone of the police launch drew ever closer. “You have no right!” Laine screamed. “The god was here before you and will be here long after you are gone!”

“Could things go any crazier?” Aston said as he and Slater hurried down into the SCUBA room at the back of the Merenneito. More shots rang out and bullets peppered the gunwales, tearing through the sides. The situation was dire. It was only a matter of time before they were randomly hit. He pressed a hand to his aching head.

“What the hell are we going to do?” Slater asked.

“Swim for it.”

She looked at him as though he had sprouted extra feet from his forehead. “What are you talking about?”

“We need to get out of here. Get a wetsuit and tank on. We can dive straight off the back, get down to the lake bed for cover, and head straight for shore.”

She pointed with her thumb back over her shoulder. “Laine just released a massive prehistoric predator. Or did you forget that?”

“That’s a hard thing to forget. But if we stay anywhere around here, we’ll be shot for sure. If not by the police, then by Laine. I don’t like being the only fool in a gunfight without a weapon.”

“You don’t think we can just hunker down until Rinne takes Laine into custody?”

As if in reply, a bullet ripped through the side of the ship and pinged off the floor between them. They both looked in the direction from which the shot had come. A trickle of water flowed through the hole left by the bullet.

“I’m going to say no to that.” Aston hastily began pulling on gear. He gestured desperately as he shouldered a tank harness and respirator. Slater looked uncertain, eyes wide and confused. A mighty crack split their concentration and the Merenneito tipped violently to one side. They were thrown across the deck, crashing among the diving gear. The crack turned into a creak and lake water began jetting into the room.

“The monster’s attacking the boat!” Slater said, voice betraying her disbelief. “I can’t believe it could hit us that hard.”

“It’s a dinosaur! Now get some goddamned gear on!” Aston shouted.

She seemed to accept his assessment of the necessity and quickly began suiting up. The creature hit the boat again. The craft rocked and shook. A long crack appeared where the bullet hole had been, and the ship took on water at an even faster rate.

Gunshots barked from above, voices shouted, Rinne’s the loudest through the megaphone. Laine screamed in that hideous, broken language and the beast smashed into the Merenneito again. Another thud, and then another. The monster was clearly in a frenzy.

“Don’t the police see what’s happening?” Slater shouted.

“Between the storm and the attention they’re paying Laine, maybe not. In any case, I don’t know how much time this tub still has. That thing is pissed!” Aston said, helping Slater into her harness.

Cold water washed over their knees as they pulled on fins and masks. They made their way to the dive platform. Icy rain greeted them, waves crashed all around, but no sign of the monster. As they exchanged looks, the back of the boat tipped alarmingly, the bow rising high and they had no choice but to roll with it, straight out into the lake.

Aston pointed down and Slater nodded, wrapping her mouth around her regulator. They kicked hard, directly for the lake bed. The water was aglow with the Merenneito’s lights, debris and silt swirling madly like glitter. With any luck, the monster would stay distracted by the boats and give them a chance to get away.

They dove, swimming for all they were worth, trying to reach a safe depth before they would level out and make their way toward shore. Thirty feet down, something tumbled through the water.

Slater screamed through a cloud of bubbles as a severed arm dropped slowly past them trailing clouds of dark blood. The beast must have turned its attention to the police launch. He imagined how well the small craft would fare against the determined attack of the prehistoric predator and shuddered at the thought.

Aston’s heart almost stopped as the massive, dark shape of the lake monster swept around, its gargantuan jaw sliding past them mere yards away. Slater grabbed him as it turned sinuously and powered up to crash directly into the underside of the police boat above. The booming crack echoed through water.

Aston and Slater tumbled and rolled in its wake like leaves in a storm, head over heels, bubbles clouding around them. Slater’s grip on Aston’s arm redoubled and he pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her as they managed to right themselves.

Slater looked frantically left and right, then at Aston, her eyes wide in a terrified question. He didn’t know the answer. Completely disoriented, the lake shore could be in any direction now and the only way to be certain was to surface again and look.

And risk putting themselves in the lake monster’s line of sight.

A sharp beam of light spiked up from below, swept left and right. Aston spotted the shark cage lying on its side on the silty bottom, Holloway was still inside, shining his flashlight all around, presumably trying to get an idea of what was happening above. In the glow near the surface, the monster snaked and switched in the water.

Turn off your light, you bloody fool, Aston thought. You’ll draw her to you.

The cage was their only chance for safety. He glanced at Slater and she nodded frantically. They both kicked hard for the lake bed.

Holloway’s light swept one way then back and passed right over them. He quickly returned his beam directly at them and Aston waved one hand, redoubled his efforts. The cage seemed a great distance away and growing no closer as Aston drove himself forward, Slater keeping pace.

He started in shock as Holloway raised a gun and aimed it alongside his flashlight. Aston recognized the tranquilizer pistol. He twisted in the water as a syringe dart with enough chemicals in it to kill him stone dead buzzed past with only a few inches to spare. He pushed Slater to one side then zigged back as Holloway frantically reloaded.

What was wrong with the bastard? Did he think they were coming to hurt him? To exact revenge? Surely he’d seen the monster in the water. There was easily room in the shark cage for the three of them.

As Aston drew closer, Holloway raised the weapon again and fired. Aston twisted once more, writhing away from the dart, but felt impact in his left shoulder. Cursing but refusing to stop, he kicked hard and dove for the cage. He thrust both arms through the bars and grabbed either side of Holloway’s head. As the man yelled a cloud of bubbles at him, Aston planted his feet against the cage and pushed back, pulling with all his might. Holloway’s head cracked up against the bars and he slipped from Aston’s grasp, falling limply back. He hung in the water of the cage like seaweed for a moment, clearly stunned, and Aston hauled the cage door open.

Holloway shook himself and tried to rally, swinging his weapon arm up to try to for a pistol whip. Aston raised one arm to block the blow and punched out with his other hand. His arm dragged through the water, his attack a fraction of its possible strength, but it was enough to knock the billionaire back again.

Slater came barreling past him, a decent sized rock in one hand, and slammed it into Holloway’s face. His mask shattered and his respirator tore free of his mouth in a cloud of bubbles. Slater used the moment to push into the cage and reached to pull Aston in, but the billionaire was not giving up. He clawed for Aston’s mask, tried to pull it loose. Aston twisted aside, grabbed Holloway by one arm and struggled to drag him sideways so that he might gain access to the cage.

Something moved in the corner of his vision. The monster was back. As its massive, grey bulk descended, Aston panicked and heaved. He used Holloway for leverage to force himself into safety between the bars.

Holloway’s eyes and mouth were wide as he was swung up out of the door and into a forest of giant, white teeth. The beasts jaws snapped closed over him. Aston whipped his hand away as the billionaire vanished in the scaled sweep of the monster flying by. He pulled the cage door closed and slid the bolt home.

He gripped the cage bars and gazed at the massive form that swam above them, desperately trying to calm his breathing. Leave us alone, he pleaded as the monster swam up and banked over.

Slater reached out, eyes concerned. He looked down to see a syringe dart hanging from his harness. The point was buried in the thick nylon and he felt nothing as she pulled it free. Far too close for comfort. His relief was short-lived as the monster barreled back down through the water, straight for them.

They both braced against the cage walls as the enormous snout crashed into it, rocking the cage and sending it tumbling across the lake bed. His injured shoulder slammed hard into the cage door, and hot pain burned anew. Silt stirred up in thick clouds and they rolled around inside like laundry in a washing machine. Another clang rocked them a second time, then water began rushing by at a furious speed.

Gradually, the silt cleared as the sensation of motion increased. The monster had the cage clamped in its deadly maw and was carrying them back toward the underwater channel that led to its lair.