Return to The Deep (From The Deep Book 2) (8 page)

They heard it before they saw it, a throaty rumble which punctuated the pleasant sound of surf on sand. They watched as it came, chrome grille shimmering in the sunlight, the sheer size of the truck overwhelming. For Fernando, it was a revelation. It was finally real. It was finally happening. He glanced towards Marie, and was surprised to find her looking back, small smile on her face. They were about to take part in something spectacular.

In the truck, Jim levelled off and pointed the vehicle towards the beach. The passed shops and storefronts selling beachwear and drinks. People stopped to stare as Jim increased his speed. Ahead, the road faded into sandy beach, and beyond that, the ocean gently rolled. He could see the others ushering people aside, making them move to allow the truck through. To ensure their compliance, he honked the horn, an incessant noise as he floored the accelerator.

Because of the weight of the cargo, it was necessary to approach at speed. If Jim slowed, the wheels would bog down and they would lose forward momentum. The harder, more compacted sand at the water’s edge, would with luck, give them enough grip to do what needed to be done.

"You might wanna hold on," Jim said, as they approached the transition between asphalt and sand.

The truck jolted and groaned, almost slewing out of control. From the cab, Clayton and Jim could feel the truck struggle to retain its momentum as the road surface changed, throwing up great clouds of sand in its wake, as it edged towards the water.

"Faster, you need to speed up," Clayton said as they bumped along.

"I’m doin' the best I can," Jim grunted through gritted teeth.

Just when it seemed like they would bog down and be stuck, the texture under them changed again as they reached the wetter, more compacted sand. Suddenly, finding grip, the truck lurched forward, then slewed to the right. Even for an experienced driver, there would have been little chance of correcting the slide. For a complete novice like Jim, there was no hope at all. The truck powered into the water, its trailer jack knifing after it. In the back, the creature was slammed against the inner wall, crushing three of its handlers against the iron railing and killing them instantly. The shift in momentum threw the trailer side on into the water until its wheels found purchase in the sand and tipped the entire truck, trailer, and all on its side, half submerging it in water.

"Holy shit," Tom said as he charged into the water, leaping in and swimming to help, swiftly followed by Fernando.

Inside the cab, Clayton's scream had been cut off by the seawater that flooded in through the open window mere seconds before he was thrown against the interior of the cab. Jim was also thrown out of his seat into the water filled passenger side of the cab, clashing heads with Clayton on the way. Dazed and confused, freedom looked a long way away from where they bobbed in the water, looking up into the blue square of light above them from the driver’s side window.

Outside, Fernando and Tom were in nine feet of water looking for a way to get into the cab. They swam to the front window, peering inside to their friends. Tom knocked on the glass, relieved to see both Clayton and Tom give the thumbs up.

"We need to get them out of there. See if you can break the glass," Fernando said as he kicked to stay afloat.

Tom did as he was asked, kicking at the glass as best he could whilst treading water. "I can’t get enough momentum. We need to get something to break it in, we need to-"

The trailer moved, jerking a full two feet deeper into the water and dragging the cab with it as its cargo started to wake from the effects of the sedation.

"What the fuck?" Fernando said, swimming towards the cab.

"Whale must be trying to get loose."

As if in direct response, the truck slid a further foot and a half towards deeper water. In the cab, Clayton and Jim started to panic as the water level rose.

Tom turned towards the dozen or so beach goers who were wading out to help. "Call the Coast Guard or something. My friends are trapped in here."

In the back of the trailer, the creature stirred as it overcame the effects of the sedative, its senses overwhelmed by the array of scents from the open ocean, sensations that were new and incredibly stimulating after a life in captivity. The creature lay half submerged in the water, only held afloat by its damaged support harness, which had saved it from certain death during the crash. Once again, it shoved against its restraints, dragging trailer, cab, and all, further into the ocean, its harness groaning in protest as one of the creature’s thick tentacles came free, pushing aside the floating corpses of its dead handlers. The two who were lucky enough not to have been crushed by the creature, scrambled out of the back into the water, swimming for the beach as quickly as they could. Unlike the growing crowds, they were fully aware that the cargo wasn’t a whale, even if that was the word spreading around the people gathering at the scene.

"What the hell's happening?" Jim said as the water level rose.

"It's the whale, it’s pulling us deeper."

"Then let’s get the hell out of here," Jim replied.

"Agreed. Give me a boost up."

Jim helped Clayton to clamber up the vertical inside of the cab. He managed to grab the steering wheel and pull himself clear of the water. "Alright, I’m gonna try climb up the driver’s seat and out."

"What about me?"

"Once I’m up there, I can kick out the window and pull you up."

Jim nodded, treading water and hanging on the edge of the submerged passenger side seat.

"Okay, here goes."

Clayton swung towards the seat, managing to hook his foot onto it. He clambered up, putting one foot on the inner edge of the steering wheel and the other between seat and backrest, as he reached for the door handle directly above him. At the same time, the creature detected a plethora of signals from the coastal waters that were teeming with life of all kinds. Its senses overwhelmed by the masses of data, it lunged and thrashed, desperate to free itself and explore its new environment as its movements dragged the trailer even deeper into the water. Clayton was thrown back into the cab, hooking his foot through the steering wheel on the way down, his ankle snapping with explosive agony as his upper half went under water. He thrashed in a panic, unable to free himself or lift his head above the water level. Jim dragged himself over, lifting Clayton clear of the water so he could breathe.

"Unhook your foot," Jim hissed in his ear, "I can’t hold you up for much longer."

Clayton tried to comply, the explosive jolt of agony racing down his leg from his shattered ankle causing him to lurch back, his head again s
l
ipping below the surface for a second before Jim pushed him clear. "I can’t, it hurts too bad. Man, you wouldn’t believe how much it hurts. I think it’s broken.”

"Hang on, let me take a look," Jim said.

Holding Clayton up with one hand out of the water, Jim shifted position and could immediately see the problem. As Clayton had fallen, the wheel had shifted, threading Clayton’s leg over and under the wheel, and pinning it against the dashboard. Clayton was right. From the unnatural angle in which it was hanging, it was most definitely broken.

"How's it looking?" Clayton said, panic seeping into his voice.

"It's not too bad," Jim said, hoping the lie would go undetected.

"It really hurts, man," Clayton moaned.

Jim shifted position, his arms tiring from holding his friend out of the water. "Don’t worry, Tom and Fernando will be here to help us soon enough," Jim replied, wondering what the hell was taking so long.

Outside, Tom and Fernando were trying to climb up the outer structure of the truck to no avail. Neither of them was particularly strong swimmers, and the thrashing and jerking of the truck as it was pulled ever deeper, had put off those who had initially joined the rescue attempt, leaving Tom and his brother alone in the rescue efforts.

The trailer groaned as the creature pulled against it, shearing loose one of the four housings holding its harness in place and dragging the trailer even deeper so that two thirds of it was now submerged. Back in the cab, the movement of the truck shattered the window that was submerged, flooding the cab with a rush of seawater. Both Jim and Clayton were instantly submerged. The truck rocked, and for a moment, looked as if it were going to tip onto its roof, yet, somehow it remained upright.

Clayton thrashed under water, the agony in his leg second to the desperation to grasp a breath of air. For the second time, Jim pushed his head out of the water to relative safety, although now, his face was barely above the waterline and the position of his body meant he could go no further. He looked Jim in the eye. Neither had to say anything. They knew if the truck were pulled any deeper, Clayton would die.

A shadow moved overhead. Jim and Clayton saw Tom looking down into the cab from the passenger side door. "Hang on, I’m coming down," he said as he started to climb through the open window.

"No," Jim said, "he's stuck. You need to cut the whale loose. If it pulls us any deeper, he's done for."

"We can get you out."

"Look at his fuckin' foot, man," Jim screamed.

Tom did, and saw the way it was twisted around the steering wheel. Fernando had joined him at the window. "Alright," Tom said, "we'll be as quick as we can."

With that he was gone, his brother in tow.

"Don’t leave me here, man," Clayton stuttered as the water lapped against his face. "Don’t you dare. I know what you did. I’ll tell them. I’ll tell them you killed that man."

Jim knew it was the fear talking, and yet at the same time, Clayton was right. He looked around the confines of their prison, the water filled cab, which was eerily silent. It dawned on him that nobody apart from Clayton knew it was he who had shot the driver of the truck. They were both wearing balaclavas. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, one idea grew into another, then another.

How easy would it be?
He asked himself.
How easy just to release his grip on Claytons head and shoulders and let it fall beneath the waves? How much effort would it take to hold him down as he thrashed in his desperation for air? How long can an average person hold his breath for underwater? One minute? Two?

He locked eyes with Clayton, and there was an unspoken knowledge of what was about to happen.

"Wait, don’t-"

It was all Clayton could manage before Jim pushed his head under the water.

Outside, Tom and Fernando were making their way down the side of the truck, stepping carefully on the steel side rails towards the rear. Between the gaps, they could see the huge hulking shape of the creature as it thrashed against its confines. They could also see the bodies of those who were riding with it in the back, floating on the surface, arms bobbing with the tide.

"Jesus, this wasn’t meant to happen this way,” Fernando said, voice trembling as he followed his brother.

Tom didn’t answer. He was more concerned with what was below him. He could see the creature partly free of its harness, and was horrified by what he saw.

Fernando started to climb down over the edge when Tom grabbed him.

"Wait."

"We don’t have time," Fernando replied. "We have to move fast."

"You can’t go in there."

"Why not?"

"Because that's not a whale."

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"Just look at it, Fred."

Fernando followed his brother’s gaze to the gaps between the metal side rails. It was plain enough to see. The creature had almost entirely slipped free of its harness, exposing its grey green body and array of tree trunk like tentacles.

"What the hell-"

Fernando was cut off as the creature lurched again, dragging the trailer deeper and knocking Tom and Jim off balance. Tom fell into the sea, Fernando's leg slipped between the rails, his foot making contact with the creature. He could only watch as its harness finally gave way. The creature was free of its restraints.

Tom resurfaced, coughing up seawater. He grasped the rear axle of the truck, hooking an elbow around the greasy shaft. He watched in awe as the creature freed itself. It lingered for a moment in the water, mere feet from Tom, then with a flick of its flippers, was moving into deeper waters, the wake it left behind rocking the trailer.

"What the hell
was
that," Fernando said, staring after the creature.

"I don’t know, just help me up," Tom grunted.

Fernando pulled his brother back up onto the rail of the truck, and the pair hurried back towards the cab. As they arrived, Jim climbed out, eyes wide and lip trembling.

"I couldn’t help him, I tried but I couldn’t keep his head up.”

Tom and Fernando looked into the cab at Clayton's body as it bobbed under the water, submerged from head to chest.

"Holy shit, this is bad, this is really bad," Fernando mumbled.

"It was an accident. We need to wait for the police," Tom countered.

"No man, we
can’t
," Jim cut in. "He lost it, he had a gun. He shot the driver..."

"Not Clayton, no way," Fernando said, looking down at the floating corpse of his friend.