Laura Martin - Code Name Flood

“A tranquiliser probably wouldn’t kill you,” Chaz murmured under her breath to us as she tightened the ropes on Todd’s wrists.

“Gee, thanks,” Todd sniffed.

“Yeah, I’m sure something calibrated to drop a dinosaur would be really great for our health,” Shawn muttered with a murderous look at Schwartz. It wasn’t until Chaz had double-checked the ropes on our wrists that Schwartz walked up to stand in front of me.

“No one should have a map that leads directly to the lab,” Schwartz said, scowling. “Where did you get it?”

I pressed my lips together and looked down. Schwartz grabbed my shoulder roughly and shoved me backwards until the hard wood of the boat’s edge dug painfully into the backs of my knees. My jaw clenched. If he thought he was going to bully information out of me I wasn’t ready to give, he was wrong. I’d come too far, survived too much, to risk failing my dad and the mission he’d given me by trusting the wrong person now. Swallowing hard, I remained silent and met his angry glare with one of my own.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear,” he said, leaning forward so I was forced to lean back further over the water. “Talk or you go overboard.”

I flicked my eyes back towards the shore; it wasn’t that far away. But with my hands tied together it might as well have been miles.

“Whoa,” Chaz said. “Dr Schwartz, sir, isn’t that a bit much? I mean, she’s just a kid.”

I felt the faintest tug of hope. Maybe Chaz wouldn’t let this guy do anything too drastic.

“So are you,” he sniffed. “Do as you’re told.”

“Yes, sir,” Chaz said, but she sounded uncertain. When I still didn’t say anything, Schwartz sighed and backed up a step, giving me some much-needed breathing room. My feeling of relief flitted away when he grabbed Shawn by the front of the tunic and shoved him against the opposite side of the boat. Shawn swayed dangerously backwards but his feet stayed firmly planted and Schwartz’s grip on him held him upright over the dark waves lapping against the boat. My heart felt like it had jumped into my throat, and I attempted to swallow it as I took in the obvious threat to my best friend’s life. It was time to talk.

“It’s from my dad,” I said. “A family heirloom. No importance.” It was a lie. The map was the most important thing I owned. But every instinct I had was screaming at me not to trust this man, and I was not going to tell him anything I didn’t absolutely have to.

Schwartz just stood there, his face unreadable as he studied me. I held my breath.

“Liar,” he said, but I barely heard him because over his shoulder I’d just seen an all-too-familiar look come over my best friend’s face. Before I could tell him not to, Shawn pulled back and clobbered Schwartz on the side of the head with his bound fists. Schwartz yelped, and as if in slow motion, I saw him lose his grip on the front of Shawn’s tunic. Shawn fought to keep his balance for a gut-wrenching heartbeat before toppling backwards and off the boat. He disappeared below the surface of the blue-black water, and I screamed, rushing forward even though I knew he was out of reach. A moment later, Shawn came up, gasping and thrashing as he fought to keep his head above the waves. With his hands still tied in front of him, he was forced to keep himself afloat with nothing but his legs as his heavy pack and gear dragged him down.

“He’s going to drown!” I gasped as Shawn’s head went under again. Panic dug its cold fingers into my heart. If I jumped in, all I would do was drown with him. In desperation, I attempted to rip at the rope binding my hands with my teeth, but it was no use. The next thing I knew, Schwartz had grabbed the back of my tunic and yanked me roughly away from the edge and onto the floor of the boat. He was shouting at me, but I was too lost in my fog of panic to hear him.

“Tell me who gave you that map,” he bellowed again, obviously deciding to use Shawn’s predicament to his advantage.

“She already did!” Todd yelled. “Can’t you see Shawn’s drowning?”

I stumbled to my feet in time to see Shawn struggle to the surface, grab a lungful of air, and go down again.

“He’ll get eaten before he can drown,” Chaz said, her lips pressed in a grim line. “Look.” Something in her voice cut through my panic, and Todd and I snapped our heads to follow her pointing finger.

“What is that thing?” Todd breathed. My heart stuttered to a terrified stop as I took in the creature swimming towards us. Its enormous head alone was almost as long as our boat and reminded me of an alligator with long yellow teeth jutting out from jaws that looked capable of crushing a human in one bite. Its massive body was serpentine and fluid as it cut through the water like a snake. A dark blue-black in colour, it blended almost seamlessly with the waves, and if Chaz hadn’t pointed it out, I might not have noticed it until it was upon us. But now that I had seen it, I knew it was going to haunt my nightmares. I had no clue what kind of plesiosaur it was, but it was one of the scariest things I’d ever seen. Which, considering everything I’d seen since coming topside, was really saying something.

“Get him out,” I begged as angry, helpless tears slid down my face. “Please.”

“Talk,” Schwartz said coldly.

“Sir!” Chaz said, dropping her gun to the floor of the boat as she lunged forward to make a grab for Shawn.

Schwartz shot a hand out to restrain her, his face pinched. “The safety of the lab is in jeopardy. Follow your orders.”

Words began pouring out of me, as though if I just said the right combination, I could save Shawn. Whether I trusted Schwartz didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered but getting Shawn out of the water. Fast.

“My dad gave it to me. He told me to come here.” I choked, frantic. “He didn’t say why. Just get him out. Please!”

“Dr Schwartz?” Chaz said as Shawn spluttered back to the surface. “That’s Pretty Boy. It could capsize us.” Tearing my eyes away from Shawn, I saw the beast sink down into the murky water. Somehow not seeing it was scarier than seeing it had been.

Schwartz sighed. “Fine, we’ll finish this at the lab.” Leaning over, he grabbed Shawn’s tunic, and with Chaz’s help he hauled him back into the boat, where he flopped in an exhausted heap, gasping for air. Schwartz was just turning back to the motor when the boat lurched suddenly, almost toppling Todd into the water. Chaz grabbed him and threw him to the floor of the boat next to Shawn.

“Dr Schwartz!” she yelled. “He’s testing us. Please get this thing moving, or we’re all dead.” Schwartz’s face went white, and he grabbed the cord of the motor, giving it a firm yank. The engine snarled and died. He pulled at it again, and it gave another hopeful rumble before sputtering out. The plesiosaur emerged beside us, and if I’d had the inclination to reach out a hand, I could have pricked a finger on one of the teeth that was roughly the length of my forearm. What had Chaz called it? Pretty Boy? What a stupid name for one of the ugliest creatures I’d ever seen. It sized us up before bumping its head into the boat again, making it tilt violently. Its message was clear. It was going to toy with us first, terrify us, before swallowing us whole.

“Dr Schwartz!” Chaz yelled, going for her tranquiliser gun.

“Saying my name isn’t helping,” Schwartz snapped. “And don’t shoot it. It’ll drown if we tranquilise it.”

“Good! Drown it!” Todd shouted, but Schwartz ignored him as he gave the cord another yank. This time the engine spluttered to life. He cranked the handle, and we shot off across the water, the shoreline shrinking behind us as we headed towards the middle of the lake. Pretty Boy submerged again, and I waited for it to reemerge and chase us. It didn’t.