“Get as far as you can,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be one hell of a bang.”
Suzie stopped and turned back.
“We need to be sure you get it.”
Mitchell nodded.
“I know, Miss. I hope the bang is big enough.”
She shook her head.
“Hope won’t do. We have to lure it close.” She looked Noble in the eye. “We have to stay. It’ll come, if we tell it where we are.”
Noble knew what she was asking.
But I have another idea.
“We could lie,” he said and saw the dawning realization in her eyes.
She turned back to Mitchell.
“Someone still has to stay here, though,” she said.
Mitchell nodded.
“That’s my job. I’ve got my lads to revenge.”
She hugged him again and then took Noble’s hand. Noble nodded once more to Mitchell, then led Suzie away. He didn’t mention the tears in her eyes and she didn’t mention the ones in his.
They arrived on the top deck of the boat just as it took a violent lurch. The keel listed suddenly. Water lapped across the gunwales and there was a screech of tearing metal. There was just enough light to see that this whole area of the plastic city was being dragged down into the sea and the old boat was going to go along with it.
At first sight, there was no sign of any life rafts along the whole length of the boat, but a cry from Suzie alerted him to a solitary craft hanging by one chain on the starboard side. It took a matter of seconds to release it from its moorings, but by that time, the water around them was seething with a white churn and the old ship rocked and rolled.
Now or never.
He bundled Suzie into the life raft and was about to lower it into the water when he felt the tug in his mind.
Pain brought him back as Suzie raked her fingernails across the back of his hand.
“We don’t have time for this shit,” she said. “You know what we need to do.”
Indeed, he did. He lowered the life raft and Suzie started sculling frantically with an oar to maintain the small craft’s balance in the water. Noble jumped down into the water. The current tried to suck him away and he had a bad moment when he made a grab for the oar and missed, but seconds later, Suzie helped drag him into the life raft. They started to drift, slowly at first, then faster, the current taking them away from the badly listing ship. Pieces of plastic started to fall from above as the city came apart around them. Dark shapes surged and sped in the water, Shoggoths trying to repair the damage. But the sea was too strong, even for them.
Suzie touched his hand.
“Do you think Mitchell is still alive?”
Noble reached with his mind, searching for contact. It came immediately. This time he was ready for it. He sent an image, of the three of them in the corridor at Mitchell’s position, three figures standing, waiting. He sensed the creature’s eagerness, felt it speed through the hull.
Suzie took his hand.
Everything went white as the ship blew.
The aftermath was strangely anticlimactic. Their rubber life raft was tossed violently through surging waves and a large piece of thick plastic falling from above missed them by less than a foot, where it could easily have driven straight through the dinghy.
But within seconds, it was all over. They bobbed amid a sea of plastic and burnt vegetation. Interspersed with the rubble were patches of black tar. Suzie prodded one with the oar. It sank.
While Suzie checked the on-board survival box, Noble probed with his mind, but nothing replied.
It was three hours before a chopper appeared overhead and they were lifted to safety. As they banked away, Noble took one last look.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a sea of plastic and a thought came to him that would never fully leave him, even years later.
About the Author
William Meikle is a Scottish writer with fourteen novels published in the genre press and over 250 short story credits in thirteen countries. His work appears in many professional anthologies and his ebook THE INVASION has been as high as #2 in the Kindle SF charts. Recent work for Dark Regions Press includes SHERLOCK HOLMES: REVENANT, THE INVASION/THE VALLEY, CARNACKI: HEAVEN AND HELL. Upcoming books from Dark Regions Press: DARK MELODIES, and SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE YELLOW PERIL. He lives in a remote corner of Newfoundland with icebergs, whales and bald eagles for company. In the winters he gets warm vicariously through the lives of others in cyberspace, so please check him out at www.williammeikle.com.
Review
“…descriptions so vivid you can almost hear the clash of the swords and smell of blood.”
“The author is relentless; just when you catch your breath, something new and exciting happens, sending you spinning into another part of the adventure, and keeping you flipping pages to see what’s next.”
“Aims for pure entertainment… and hits the mark.”
Copyright
This eBook edition published 2012 by Generation Next Publications
www.generationnextpublications.com
Text © 2012 by William Meikle
Cover art © 2012 by M. Wayne Miller
Cover and eBook Creation by Stephen James Price
The print version of this book is available in trade paperback, signed limited hardcover and collectable leather-bound Deluxe Thirteen editions from Dark Regions Press.
The publisher and the author have agreed to release this eBook without Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection, but all rights are still in effect. This volume may not be resold or given away. Please show your support for this author by purchasing all additional copies through a reputable vendor.