Brian Keene - Deluge - The Conqueror Worms II

Three more tentacles snaked toward her, parting the water like eels. Leviathan loomed over the ship, dwarfing it with his towering mass. When the creature roared again, Sarah’s ears popped. She turned and kicked as the tentacles raced across the surface. Behind her, she heard the sirens screech. Henry and Gail’s expressions grew even more terrified.

“Don’t turn around,” Henry yelled. “Holy shit, just swim! Swim toward us!”

Even as he said it, Henry began paddling away. When Gail did the same, Sarah glanced over her shoulder. A dozen dorsal fins cleaved the water, pursuing her, as were a host of sirens, starfish creatures, and other denizens of the Great Deep. In their midst were Leviathan’s tentacles, leading the chase. But then, where Novak’s blood had spilled just seconds before, something strange began to happen. A red line appeared in the water, quickly growing in size and length until it encompassed the whirlpool. The first of Leviathan’s tendrils crossed the line and exploded. Seconds later, one of the shark-men and something that looked like a cross between a seahorse and a centipede both leaped from the water, intent on overtaking Sarah. Both disintegrated in a shower of gore as they crossed the line.

It’s Simon, Sarah thought. He’s doing this.

Indeed, his voice echoed in her head. It sounded strained and weak. But the barrier won’t hold long. Hurry, Sarah. And good luck…

Weeping, Sarah turned back to Gail and Henry, and swam toward them. When she’d reached them, the three held on to one another, arms around their shoulders, and kicked to stay afloat. The churning current grew stronger, sweeping them toward the center of the vortex.

“My God,” Gail sobbed, staring at the ship. “I just… my God.”

Leviathan had focused all of his rage on the vessel. As they watched, his tentacles encircled it, lifting the ship from the water. He flung it as a child might toss a bath toy, and the ship crashed back into the water, lying on its port side. Unable to cross the mystical barrier, the other creatures swarmed toward it.

“Look!” Henry pointed at the whirlpool.

Sarah and Gail turned back to the vortex. There, in the center of the light, they saw a beautiful blue sky with white, cotton-ball clouds. Below the clouds was a line of green treetops. It was then that Sarah realized what the source of the light was.

“It’s the sun,” she said, squeezing Gail and Henry’s shoulders. “That light… it’s been so long since we’ve seen it. I’d forgotten…”

“Know what else?” Henry flipped his wet bangs. “It’s not raining there. Look close. You see?”

“I can’t remember how it feels to be dry,” Sarah said.

Gail smiled. “You will soon.”

The current swept them forward faster and faster, making them dizzy. Sarah considered closing her eyes to ward off the vertigo, but instead, she continued staring into the sun. Behind them, Leviathan raised both massive fists and brought them down, smashing the ship into splinters. Leviathan roared again, and Sarah felt the pressure not only in her ears, but on her eyeballs and against her lungs, as well. Lightning split the sky, striking the ocean’s roiling surface in a dozen locations. The whirlpool increased.

“Hang on,” Gail yelled. “Oh God… the current!”

“We’re going to be okay.” Sarah did her best to reassure them. “Just stick together and don’t let go.”

The vortex swept them toward its center. Leviathan, the creatures, and even the rain seemed to fade into the background. Henry stared, blinking as the sun grew nearer.

“What happens next?” he asked.

“We start over,” Sarah said. “We get to start over in a world that’s still alive—a world where our loved ones are still alive.”

She smiled, thinking of Kevin and Teddy and Carl and all of the others she’d lost along the way. When she looked up at Henry, the teen was smiling. So was Gail, as the sun in the center of the ocean dried the tears on her face.

Together, they sailed over the edge of the world.

THE END