Primordial

Chapter 39

It was like falling to the ninth circle of Hell. The eerie sensation of rapid movement in utter darkness, the icy water sending chills down Aston’s spine, the surety of impending death. His stomach lurched as fear took hold. They were at the mercy of the deadliest killing machine he could imagine.

He held fast to the bars of the cage, trying to figure a way out. Slater flicked on her dive light, illuminating the cage and the massive jaws that held it in their grip. Gleaming teeth, each over a foot long, stuck through the space between the bars, so close Aston could reach out and touch one. They were in the middle of a nightmare.

The cage banged against the side of the channel, sending him and Slater crashing into one another. He wrapped an arm around her and they held each other tight. Aston longed for the days when his greatest fear was Chang’s goons.

Forcing down rising panic, he focused his thoughts on escape. They were locked in a shark cage carried in the jaws of a giant, prehistoric creature, headed, most likely, to the creature’s lair. The very same place they’d seen piles of its victims’ bones. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t know what was happening. The beast was taking them back so she could feed on them.

The cage door faced away from the creature’s jaws. So, theoretically, he and Slater could get out. But the cage was the only thing keeping them alive. The beast had displayed a particular taste for human flesh. If they swam out, they’d be snapped up in an instant.

They had no weapons at their disposal. No way to fight back. But what weapon would be effective against this prehistoric predator anyway? Nothing they had, except perhaps the harpoon on board the Merenneito, and that was certainly beyond their reach now.

He saw only one way out. Perhaps, upon reaching her lair, the beast would be unable to break through the cage and would go off in search of easier pickings. Then, perhaps, he and Slater could make their way out. It was a faint hope for two reasons: once they escaped, they’d have to make it through the underwater passageway and to the shore with an enraged, voracious killing machine on the loose; and they’d have to do it before they ran out of air.

Bright light flashed as they passed the first of the cameras set in the passage wall. By the time Aston had registered what it was, it had streaked past into the silt-stirred distance. Then light flared again as they passed the second camera. They were close to the shaft leading up.

He thought about the images being relayed back to Merenneito, and wondered if, when this was all over, someone would find them. Would snapshots of their final moments on earth be leaked onto the web, to the media even? Would the world see the horrifying images of two people about to be devoured by this legendary creature? If so, he imagined the fascination with the beast would be so great that he and Slater would be little more than a footnote, an afterthought. Few tears were likely to be shed for Sam Aston.

Hope began to drain, replaced by a stoic feeling of fate. Perhaps this was repayment for the choices he’d made in his life. He’d always half-expected to die young but this positively was not the way he’d imagined it. The thought almost made him smile. At least he had an outside chance of leaving his mark on the world.

They angled upwards, the beast sweeping into the vertical channel. Aston shifted his weight and tightened his one-handed grip on the bar, the other arm squeezing Slater tighter still, suddenly irrationally afraid of falling back into the creature’s mouth. Not just yet.

With a muffled clang, the cage banged to a halt. A sharp, stabbing pain ripped through Aston’s shoulder and shot down his spine as he slammed into the solid bars. He shook his head, trying to clear the spots that danced in front of his eyes. Beside him, Slater had regained her feet. Her dive light flickered and she gave it a hard tap.

The cage was wedged tightly in the passageway, caught at an angle between two irregular protuberances of rock. Aston turned on his light and looked back in time to see a gaping maw hurtling toward them. Instinctively he raised an arm as the creature smashed into their cage. He felt the impact in his teeth, but the cage scarcely moved.

We’re wedged in tight.

The beast made another run, the jarring impact rattling their bones, but succeeding only in driving the cage more firmly into its bindings. After a third attempt, it changed tactics, biting down and thrashing. It was a horrifying sight, the giant teeth scarcely three feet away, scissoring like giant, bony sword blades.

But the cage didn’t budge.

This was their chance. He turned and began to work at the cage door. His fingers, numbed by fear and cold water, resisted his commands. He fumbled at the latch, keenly aware that death lay only yards away. After several agonizing seconds, he unlatched the door and gave it a shove.

It was stuck.

He tried again, but it wouldn’t open. The impact must have bent the cage enough to stick the door tight in its frame. It might as well have been welded for all the wiggle he could get out of it.

Behind them the beast continued to gnash.

Keep biting, you bitch. I hope you break your teeth.

Wouldn’t it be something if the beast gave up and left them alone, yet he and Slater still died here, unable to open the door before they ran out of air? They had to get this door open. Desperate, he threw his body weight against the cage. The pain was immediate and intense, more damage to his banged-up shoulder. He turned and threw his good side into the effort. Still nothing.

Slater realized what he was about, and joined in. Again and again they slammed into the bars. Aston knew that with the added exertion they were consuming air that much faster.

Come on. Come on.

He took one last glance at the crushing, snapping death, so close to them, and crashed into the cage door.

It came free, budging only a few inches. He hammered at it, pushing it back a little at a time until he opened a gap large enough to fit through. He stepped back and let Slater go first, and then followed.

Not wasting a second, they swam for the lair. He didn’t know what they would do when they got there, but at least they were away from the beast for now. And there was air up there.