Followed quickly by another, more ominous bleep: WARNING: FUEL LINES BROKEN.
LESS THAN A SECOND later, a low rumbling began. Nick could see the aquarium walls vibrating, as if the gods themselves had rendered their judgment and found him wanting. The waters around him began to churn like the inside of a giant, boiling pot of stew. He quickly turned around and looked for a handhold as several whirlpools began to form on the liquid’s surface.
Glancing to his left, he could see the palm trees on the beach swaying before they toppled over. The shaking had become acute as the waters began to recede, and he grabbed hold of the sides of the platform. Nick noticed a broken pipe along the other side of the wall emitting some sort of wispy fumes, and he could smell its sharp, chemical odor.
The water continued to drain rapidly, completely exposing the lower sides of the aquarium. Nick let out a deep breath as the bodies of the dead revealed themselves. Countless cadavers of previous victims were strewn all over the bottom of the habitat, with much of their flesh having attained a semi-solid, gelatinous state due to long-term immersion in saltwater. Scavenger fish flopped helplessly on top of body parts, drowning in the thick, humid air.
Proteus lay crouching above a small mountain of dead bodies as the remaining water drained away from it. The creature stared at Nick with its yellow eyes, and let out a pitiful cry before baring its teeth and snarling in fury.
Nick could still feel the pain in his chest as he slid off the platform and onto the side of a small rock ledge near the bottom, his feet nearly slipping as he stood on top of a mound of soggy human entrails and seaweed. The gas fumes are even stronger down here, he thought.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the gaping hole behind him, right where the creature had broken through the piping and had crawled out back and forth to go on its nocturnal forays. If Proteus wanted to escape again, it would have to get through him this time.
The creature was mortally wounded from the fusillade of gunfire directed at it previously, and thick black fluid oozed out from the nearly a dozen bullet holes along its bloated torso. Nevertheless, the rage continued to fuel its mind, ignoring the pain and the blinding white light as it began to shuffle towards him.
From the corner of his eye he could see the bodies of his wife and daughter lying together on an artificial rock shelf. Cathy’s arms still cradled Kim’s head. Their faces looked so serene, it almost seemed as if they were simply fast asleep.
He also noticed Quentin, who lay facing down, his mangled corpse partly submerged near the still bubbling main drainage vent.
Nick continued to breathe heavily. He made one last gesture of defiance to the thing that killed his wife and daughter, extending his middle finger at it. The tone from his hoarse throat was soft, deliberate. “Come at me, you son of a bitch.”
There was a pounding on the glass corridor at the upper wall of the chamber. When Nick looked up, he saw his son waving frantically at him from behind the glass. “Live a good life, Scotty,” he whispered while winking at the boy.
He had guessed correctly that the creature couldn’t smell what he could—that it couldn’t sniff what was in the air, for Proteus’s physiology couldn’t sense the kind of elements making up a type of gas that could burn it alive. Nick remembered what his science teacher had told him all those decades ago, when he was still a teenager in high school.
The pumps were fueled by gasoline, and while as a liquid it wouldn’t burn, the fumes on the other hand were highly flammable. The misty air was thick with vapors coming from the broken pipe. With the waters of the aquarium now drained, the gas had mixed with the oxygen, creating a potentially lethal environment within the enclosure.
Proteus had gotten to within a few feet of him. The creature opened its mouth and held its clawed arms wide, as if ready to embrace Nick in death.
Nick took out the stun gun from the pouch around his waist and held it up in front of the creature. Proteus tilted its head sideways in a mixture of curiosity and contempt.
“Die,” Nick said as he pushed the button, creating a spark.
SCOTT STOOD AT THE top of the winding corridor, his hands and face pressed against the glass, watching as his father stared down the creature at the bottom of the enclosure. When he locked eyes with Nick for a few seconds, the boy was momentarily confused.
He saw his father wink at him just before Nick returned his focus towards the monster standing in front of him. Then Nick pulled out a black device from his pouch and everything past the tempered glass turned a fiery orange color.
The initial currents of heat knocked Scott sideways onto the ground, his ears popping when the explosive shockwave reverberated up the passageway.
57
MORNING HAD COME TO Lemuria, the brightness of the rising sun casting its rays over the pristine white sand beaches along the shores of the Morgenstern estate. The only sounds one could hear were the gentle lapping of the waves by the shoreline.
Gopalan the boat driver had moored his watercraft at the dock several hours before. Sitting on the bow of the speedboat, he kept looking out into the calm waters. He had been waiting all night for them, and he had given his word he wouldn’t leave until they came back.
Taking a sip from a water bottle, he kept thinking about what was happening at the resort. The squawking radio on the boat had been relaying news that numerous dead bodies had been found, and the Indian Navy was on its way.
Spotting movement coming from the side door of the building, Gopalan turned and saw Scott Dirkse walking slowly through the mansion’s front door. Still holding the water bottle, the boat driver quickly got up and ran along the wooden pier towards him.
The boy slowed to a halt when he got down the steps and onto the dock. His eyes seemed to stare ahead and lacked any kind of focus. The smell of rancid fish and burnt plastic emanated from his stained clothes and matted hair.
Gopalan stood in front of him and leaned forward, offering the bottle of water to the dazed boy. “Are you okay? Where are your parents?”
Scott let out a deep breath as he slumped down onto the lower steps, completely ignoring the boatman offering him a drink.
Gopalan kept looking around, waiting for someone else to come out, but the house remained lifeless. “Where did everybody else go to?”
Clutching his eyes, Scott buried his face on top of his shaking knees and started to weep uncontrollably.
LESS THAN A KILOMETER away, an oval shaped pod the size of a basketball drifted lazily along the waist-deep turquoise waters before the strengthening currents transported it towards the deeper regions of the sea.
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Further Reading: The Girl in the Darkness
Did you love Lemuria? Then you should read The Girl in the Darkness by John Triptych!
Brenda DeVoe lives a lonely, quiet life in a secluded house by the backwoods of Virginia. Her days are spent working as a volunteer at the local animal shelter, caring for unwanted and injured pets. Once the toast of their small town, Brenda and her husband Jeff were destined for great things until one fateful night, when their young daughter disappeared without a trace. Their marriage soon fell apart and they separated, each to live out their damaged lives as best they could. Years later, Brenda finds something familiar when an injured cat is brought into the shelter, and the nightmares that she had once left behind are now returning… with a vengeance.If you like the pulse pounding novels of Mary Higgins Clark, Gillian Flynn, Kathy Reichs, Tami Hoag and Paula Hawkins, then have a look at this newest psychological suspense thriller by John Triptych!