The skeleton of a creature that seemed to match the species that had just swum away, though slightly smaller, rested on the bottom of the tank, its bones being picked clean by small, strange alien scavengers. Lucy thought she noticed another skeleton farther away, its ghostly form almost concealed by the green tainted water.
Lucy recovered from her latest fright. She had to keep moving. The monsters in the machine room she had just escaped from might be able to open the door. She was about to turn away when movement in the tank distracted her, a hazy dark shape grew larger. The Leviathan was coming back. More worriedly, it was speeding straight for the tank wall. Lucy’s gaze shot to the water dribbling from the crack and guessed its intention. She rushed around the edge of the huge aquarium.
A loud boom rang out behind her.
The aquarium wall shook.
The tank splintered.
The loud crash echoing around the room was followed by the roar of escaping water.
Lucy shot a glance behind. Water gushed from the broken tank so furiously a tidal wave formed and sped along the gap between wall and tank. The large creature carried through the hole by the escaping surge, collided with the wall before the torrent of escaping water grabbed it and carried it towards Lucy. Too fast to outrun, the wall of rapidly rising water gained on her. Its front edge scooped her up and sped her forward. She kept a tight hold on the weapon and flashlight as she tumbled in the turbulent water, catching glimpses of the Leviathan growing steadily closer on each roll. She turned her head at the pipes running along the wall and checked the flashlight strap was still hooked around her wrist; she would rather lose the weapon than the light, but she’d keep both if she could. She let the light dangle, reached out for one of the pipes and used them to steer herself towards the surface while the flood carried her around the circular room. She gasped in deep breaths when her head surfaced and looked at the pipes that continued almost to the ceiling. She grabbed at a bracket fixing the pipes to the wall. Her hand slipped from the first, but gripped the second. The current swung her body on its anchor point lengthwise along the wall and she slipped between two pipes, half in and half out of the water. The Leviathan broke surface thirty feet away and looked at its prey. With a flick of its tail it headed for her. Its mouth opened to reveal the sharp triangular teeth that lined its upper and lower jaw. The frightening vision reminded Lucy of the movie, Jaws, though this was far more terrifying.
A parasite clinging to the monster’s head, released its hold on its host. The current propelled its light body through the water it grabbed at with its stubby, eight-clawed limbs to steer it towards her. Lucy jabbed the spear at it. The tip entered its mouth, smashing through its teeth. When she shook the revolting parasite free, creamy blood spewed into the water.
The Leviathan approached rapidly with its clawed mouth-hands reaching out for her, their task to guide her flesh between its terrifying jaws. Lucy pressed her body deeper between the pipes as one clawed hand screeched along a pipe. Lucy prodded it savagely with the spear. The arm retracted. Aware its head was too large to reach its prey, the Leviathan’s eyes glared at her when the current sped it past and Lucy watched the scaled-body of the beast glide by. Its tail flicked and smashed against the pipes. The wash from the force loosened her hold and the current grabbed her in its grasp again.
Lucy turned herself around so she faced forward. The monster tried to turn to reach its prey, but it was too large for the limited space and the parasites weren’t strong enough to fight against the surging current. When the Leviathan sped away, Lucy guessed its plan was to swim in a circuit and come up behind her. She struggled to the surface, gulped in air and grabbed hold of a smaller pipe to halt her drift. Her searching gaze fell upon the grill of a ceiling vent. She climbed the pipes free of the water and grasped the vent with her fingers and pulled. It refused to budge. She laid the weapon on top of a pipe free of the water, wrapped a leg around another and gripped the vent with both hands. The Leviathan rose above the ever-rising water fifty feet away. Horror spread across Lucy’s face as she again stared into the wide open jaws that promised pain and death, and at the evil, grabbing-claws impatient to grasp her flesh. She frantically yanked at the vent. It came free as the monster leaped. Lucy screamed when she lost her balance and splashed into the water. The Leviathan spurted forward. Lucy slammed the metal grill at the vicious mouth, jamming it between its jaws. She let go and spun her body around. Aided by the current she swam away as fast as she could.
Two parasites launched themselves from the back of their host and let the current rush them toward their prey.
The Leviathan shook its head as its mouth-claws grabbed at the vent in attempts to free it. The monster clenched its powerful jaws. The metal edges bit into its skin before it folded. When the mouth-hands pulled the grill free and threw it clear, the Leviathan’s tail swished and sped it through the water.
Carried by the surging current still draining from the massive aquarium and her adrenaline fueled thrashing, Lucy sped around the circular tank. Worried she’d miss the open vent, her only chance to escape the monster fish and its evil passengers, Lucy gulped down a few breaths of air and dived below the surface. The featureless circular tank had only one landmark she could rely on, the hole smashed in its side. She glimpsed it up ahead. Not far to go now. She glanced behind. Two small, pale shapes loomed up on her. One snapped at her toes. Regretting she didn’t have the spear, Lucy jerked her foot from its reach. The other parasite had used the distraction to launch its attack and headed for Lucy’s thigh. Lucy screamed and swallowed water when the parasite’s eight sets of claws latched onto her skin. When its head moved to bite her, Lucy grabbed it and pulled it free, ripping her skin in the process. It had the revolting consistency of a maggot. She slammed it against the side of the tank and released it. She wasn’t sure if it was dead or stunned, but for the moment it was no longer a threat. Its companion though, was. She kicked out at it, landing it a blow. It shot to the side and disappeared between the pipes on the wall. Though she had slowed it down, she spied the parasite swimming along the gap between two pipes.
Lucy needed air. She swam for the surface and looked ahead. The vent opening was approaching fast. She would only get one chance. Her hands grabbed at a pipe bracket and gripped it tighter when she jerked to a halt. The parasite; upside-down with its feet pushing on a pipe to propel it forward faster, would soon reach her. A larger shape entered her vision. The Leviathan had arrived. Lucy scrambled up the pipes, snatched up her weapon and slid it between the pipes at the parasite. A cloud of pus-coloured blood seeped out, an indication her aim had been true. When she threw the spear into the vent, movement glimpsed from the corner of her eye spun her head around. The Leviathan rose above the surface twenty feet away with its jaws parted in anticipation of a meal. Lucy climbed through the opening and pulled her feet clear just before the Leviathan’s head slammed into the ceiling. Lucy stumbled from the force that buckled the vent floor and sent her crashing into the side wall.
The Leviathan, reluctant to let its prey escape, fought the lessening force of the water pushing against it and held its position beneath the opening. It pressed its snout against the hole and forced it inside. Metal screeched, buckled and tore. A clawed hand snaked past the tip of the monsters head and groped around for her. When it brushed against her leg, the claw snatched at it. Lucy yanked her foot away, but it was faster. It grasped her ankle and squeezed painfully. Sensing its prey had been caught; the Leviathan backed out of the hole and pulled Lucy towards the opening. Fighting back the panic that again threatened to overwhelm her, Lucy kicked at the claw, but it held on tight. Remembering the weapon, she snatched it up and stabbed at the monster fish. The blade slid harmlessly on the hard scales covering its head as efficient as medieval armor. Lucy changed tactic when her foot entered the opening. She stabbed and sliced at the hand around her ankle. When dark blood oozed from the wounds, the grip lessened. She kicked the claw free, pulled her leg back inside the vent and scrambled away from the opening. Except for the sound of rushing water, silence prevailed.