Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep (12 page)

I eased myself through the hole. Then, dangling over the side, I lowered myself down as gently as I could and let go. I dropped with a splash. Had they heard? I held my breath and waited. Nothing.

I waited a little longer, to make sure my tail had fully formed. When the tingling and numbness had completely gone, I ducked under, swam through the big open porthole, and headed toward the ship.

It was almost like the old days: swimming out to sea under a sky gradually filling up with stars. A striped butterfly fish raced along beside me before slipping away into the darkness and disappearing under a rock. Shoals of silver bar jacks hovered nearby, shining like pins in the darkness. Purple fans waved with the current, caressing me as I sailed over them.

It was nothing like the old days.

In the old days, I was swimming out to meet my best friend; now I didn’t even know if I still
had
one. Shona would have been by my side on an adventure like this. My chest hurt as I pushed myself to swim harder, swim away from
the painful thoughts. The water grew colder and darker. I picked my way out toward the ship, praying there was no current around this side of the island.

After a while, I stopped to scan the horizon. Two dim lights, facing me. It was a long way out, but definitely inside the Triangle. I couldn’t even see the island anymore. Just blackness, except — what was that? Something flashed through the water. A boat? I held my breath while I watched. Nothing. It must have just been the moon’s reflection.

I swam on toward the ship. I had to stop it from finding us, get it away from the island. I had to buy some time.

Eventually, I was close enough to study it: a cruise liner with three levels of portholes and balconies, all lit up with lamps. The sides rose steeply out of the water.

I swam all around it, looking for a way in. There was a rope ladder hanging down at the back. I tried to make a grab for it but missed by inches. I heaved and jumped up in the water. No good — it was just out of reach.

I swam around again, looking for something else. And right at the front, I found it. The anchor!

Gripping the chains, I pulled myself out of
the water. My tail dangled and flapped in the sea. Panting and gritting my teeth, I managed to inch my way up. Eventually, I’d done it. I clung onto the chain like a koala, my body clear of the water. Within moments, I got that tingly sensation I knew so well. My legs had come back.

I hooked my feet into the loops, then slowly and carefully climbed up to the ship’s deck.

Hauling myself over the metal rail, I landed heavily on the deck. A quick look around. No one. Just me and the darkness and a row of deck chairs. I dried myself on a towel someone had left on one of them and pulled on the shorts I’d brought with me. Then I went to look for some signs of life.

It didn’t take long.

Halfway down the side of the ship, I found some stairs and a door that led inside. There were sounds, somewhere near. I followed the noise, almost sniffing my way toward it. Music. Laughter.

Soon I came out of the narrow corridor into an open space with a few people dotted around. I tried to saunter in casually, as though I belonged there, even though I knew I’d be spotted in a second.

But I wasn’t. Some kids were playing in a tiny
arcade on one side; on the other, a couple of men were drinking at a small bar. A man and woman behind the bar laughed together. No one even looked up.

A flight of stairs led up toward where the real noise was coming from.
Okay, you can do it.
I took a deep breath, twirled my hair a few times, nibbled on my thumbnails — and went upstairs.

It wasn’t till I saw all the food that I realized I was starving! I’d hardly eaten all day.

I grabbed a paper plate and joined the line behind a girl who looked about my age. Maybe she’d know something.

“It’s great, this vacation, isn’t it?” I said as we shuffled along the food table, shoving tiny sausages and crackers and chips onto our plates.

“Mm,” the girl replied through a pizza slice.

“Wonder how long before we shove off,” I said casually.

She swallowed her bite of pizza. “My mom says we’re not even supposed to be here. She thinks we’ve gone off course. Doesn’t matter though, if we see it.”

See it?

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I said, trying to stay calm. I popped a mini sausage into my mouth. “So has anyone seen it yet?”

The girl put her plate down. “Don’t you know?”

“Oh, I, um — I forget. Remind me?”

“That’s why we’re here! Mom says more than half the passengers canceled at the last minute. That’s how we got our places. I bet Carefree Cruises is totally fed up with that captain!”

What was she going on about?

“Yeah, I bet,” I said seriously. “What did he do again?” I asked, quickly turning away to grab another handful of chips.

“How can you not know? He saw Triggy, of course! First sighting in absolutely YEARS!”

A chip got stuck halfway down my throat. “Triggy?” I asked, swallowing hard.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Triggy.”

I tried a lighthearted shrug and a frown.

“Triggy! The Triangle Monster! I’ve always believed in it. Mom said it was just a silly fairy tale, but now she’s not so sure. I hope we see it, don’t you?”

I couldn’t reply. I couldn’t do anything. I tried. I opened my mouth, even moved my lips a
little, I think. But nothing came out.
Triggy?
It sounded like a cartoon character. She had no idea! I thought of the slimy tentacles racing down the tunnel toward me, the suckers all along it, grabbing at the walls, the way it extended out, the hairy tapered end touching me.

The bones.

Now these people were hunting it down. Which either meant it wouldn’t be long before they found us — or they’d be its next victims.

“I — I’ve got to go now,” I said eventually. I staggered away from the food table.

“See you in the morning,” she called before going back to the table.

“Yeah.”
Whatever.

I stumbled back down the stairs. At the bottom, I took a turn that I thought led back to the corridor I’d come down earlier. But I emerged into another open space. I was about to turn back when I noticed a shop just ahead of me. It was closed now, but there was a poster in the window. I went over to take a closer look.

It was the front page of a newspaper: the
Newlando Times.

BRAVE CAPTAIN TELLS OF HORROR AT SEA
the headline screamed across the top of the page. I read on.

The old myth of Triggy the Triangle Monster rose up again today when Captain Jimmy Olsthwaite was rescued from stormy seas by a local fisherman.

Captain Olsthwaite lost his boat when it was attacked by what he described as “a monster beyond imagining. The size of a dinosaur! And a dozen tentacles that wrapped around the boat.”

His story has horrified and delighted tourists in equal measure.

Katie Hartnett was among those setting sail today with Carefree Cruises. “It’s so exciting,” she told the
Newlando Times.
“My parents used to tell me stories about the Triangle Monster when I was little — but we never thought it might exist for real!”

Others have canceled in droves. Retiree Harold Winters was among them. “We wanted a peaceful trip, not the fright of our lives,” he said.

The captain’s sighting has not been confirmed. The coast guard is warning that it could be a case of delirium brought on by his traumatic capsize and rescue.

Three others were believed to be onboard the boat with the captain. Neither they nor the boat have yet been recovered.

The boat was owned by a company called Mermaid Tours.

I stumbled away from the shop. I was in one of those nightmares where you’re stuck somewhere, trying every exit, but there’s no way out and every step takes you deeper into the horror. It had happened already. The monster had attacked a ship, all because of me. My head swirled with nausea and panic.

I found myself out on the deck again. I leaned over the railing, and my stomach heaved. My mouth tasted like iron. I looked down at the sea, deep navy in the darkness. Little bright flecks sparkled white as the water lapped and splashed against the ship. There was another boat down there. I could just make out its shape. A small yacht. It looked as if it was coming toward us. Maybe they were checking to see if their lifeboats were working or something. Well, they’d be needing them soon, unless I could come up with a miracle.

I had to do something! I couldn’t just stand here staring at the sea.

Then it came to me.

I ran up steps, down ladders, along corridors,
banged on doors, called through open windows: “TRIGGY! THE MONSTER!”

People emerged from their rooms. Dressing gowns were pulled around bare bellies and boxer shorts; women came out of their cabins in silk nighties, kids in twisted-up pajamas.

“Triggy!”
I shouted at everyone I saw. “The monster! I’ve seen it!”

“Where?” Open-mouthed gasps.

“Over there!” I pointed — away from the island. I pointed and pointed. “Tell everyone. Tell the crew!” I ran on as everyone I spoke to gathered along one side of the boat: all gazing out to sea, desperate for a sighting of something I wished with all my heart I would never see again.

I had to find the captain.

I ran on, down more corridors — until I barged slap-bang into someone.

“Hey, what’s all this?” It was a woman in a uniform. She grabbed hold of my elbows, holding me at arms’ length.

“I need to find the captain,” I gasped. “I’ve seen the monster!”

The woman frowned. “Yes, dear. I’m sure you have. Now, come on, why don’t you —”

“I have!” I burst out. “I can prove it. It’s — it’s —” I gulped. The memory of it took the
breath out of me for a second. I started again. “It’s enormous, and it’s got tentacles.”

“We’ve all seen the papers, sweetheart,” the woman said, smiling. “Now, if you want an excuse to visit the captain, you can just say so. He’s always happy for you kids to have a quick look around the cabin.”

Bingo! “Okay!”

The woman gently shook her head as she pointed toward some stairs. “It’s up there. Turn right at the top, straight on to the end, and it’s through the door ahead of you. But knock first. He doesn’t take kindly to being barged in on.”

“Thanks!” I took the stairs three at a time.

I bashed on the door.
Come on, come on!

No one answered.
Come
on
!
No time for politeness. I tried the door. It swung open.

“I need to talk to the captain,” I said breathlessly as I burst into the room.

Two men were sitting in front of a load of dials drinking coffee. One of them swiveled around. “Now, hang on. What’s the —”

“Are you the captain?”

“I certainly am,” he said, “and you can’t just —”

“I’ve seen the sea monster!”

The captain leaned forward in his seat. “The sea monster?”

I nodded.

His face relaxed into a slight smile. “Now, listen, you want me to tell you something about this sea monster?” he asked. I swallowed, and nodded again.

He lowered his voice. “It doesn’t exist.”

I held his eyes. “It does! I’ve seen it.”

The captain leaned back in his seat. “Okay, let’s have it, then. Big thing with tentacles, was it?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what it was!”

“Right.” He was smiling, laughing at me. I had to convince him.

“It’s — it’s enormous!”

“Mm-hm. Anything else?” the captain asked in a bored voice.

“The tentacles — they’re tapered at the end.”

He turned back to his tea. I racked my brain.
What else — what else?

“And hairy! And they’ve got huge great suckers all along them!” I blurted.

The captain put his cup down. “They what?” he asked, his face suddenly hard, and focused on mine.