Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 11

The decaying carcasses swamped the grove of coral ahead of Rachel Wilde. Eye balls, glossy black, bulged out like they'd pop any second. A lower jaw, devoured to the cartilage, drifted toward her, teeth clinging to shreds of gum tissue. She lurched to the side to avoid bumping into it.

Something had fed on a literal buffet of blue sharks. Whatever consumed all the fish in the area wreaked havoc on the shark population as well. Though Rachel was new to marine research, she knew what that meant. They could quit collecting water samples and start looking for a predator. A large one.

A built-in survival mechanism shifted into overdrive. Rachel whirled around. Her eyes widened with each revolution, scanning the vicinity. Adrenaline and fear surged through her body—awareness that death lurked somewhere out of sight.

Something grabbed her shoulder.

She jerked away, her reflexes reacting before conscious thought kicked into gear.

"We should get back to the boat," Kevin said. "Now."

Rachel nearly choked on her next breath. Her chest seized tight as she recognized who touched her. She nodded, unable to speak.

"Come on."

She followed Kevin as he started for the trawler. As they passed over recognizable stretches of coral, Rachel couldn't shake the premonition of being watched, hunted, tracked like a helpless prey. She knew fish could reach speeds a human could only match with the aid of a jet ski. She reminded herself that the sea was clear and calm. If something came for them, it'd be visible from a great distance. The thought made her teeth clench together inside her dive mask. That only meant they'd see their death coming, but would be powerless to prevent it.

She stuck close to Kevin, nudging him along the way until they reached the boat.

As they started for the surface, from the stern of the trawler, great gushes of a crimson liquid poured into the water, spreading around them in a giant cloud.

"What's happening up there?" Rachel said, but failed to press the talk button on her mask.

Kevin ascended next to her, a red ooze curling around his body as he went. The shroud enveloped them on all sides, blocking the rays of the sun.

They pushed through the cloud and broke the water.

Rachel gawked at the sight that greeted her—Captain Ishikawa slumped over the gunwale, pouring a bucket of fish blood and guts into the water, turning the cobalt sea into a red drenched perimeter around them. The dark-eyed sailor peered down at them with his nose and mouth scrunched into a menacing snarl.

"Dinner time," he said.

It made little sense. Rachel tried to understand what was going on, but she realized there could be only one motive for the Japanese man's actions. He wanted them dead.

She glanced at Kevin. He had already peeled his mask back on his head.

He lunged for the ladder on the stern of the trawler. As soon as his hand grabbed the bottom rung, his forehead met the barrel of a black pistol.

Kevin shoved away from the boat in frustration. "What in God's name are you doing?"

"No talk now," Ishikawa replied. "Time to die."

Rachel floated, petrified, hyperventilating, staring at the sailor.

She wheeled around. Out of her peripheral vision, dorsal fins emerged, closing in on them, the first sign of marine life in the area. She counted three... no four... now five sharks swimming the blood-soaked depths. But something struck her as odd. The sharks held their position and didn't move in for the kill, but maintained a perimeter around them, fifty feet away, as if waiting for permission to attack.

Rachel remembered the debris field of blue sharks they discovered. Carcasses rotting in the briny water. She pulled her mask back and splashed under. The chum had dissipated. From what she saw, there were at least six or seven blue sharks circling them. The species hunted in packs like wolves, but still they drew no closer.

Why would they be holding off? What would keep these sharks away from a meal? She knew they only acted in such a way if they sensed danger. Understanding dawned on her. The predator that devoured the blue sharks must be nearby.

Rachel gasped for air when she realized she had been holding her breath.

The Tahitian deckhand stood at Captain Ishikawa's side, his eyes anxious and expression grim. The young man leaned over the gunwale as if he was thinking about helping them, but before he could extend his hand, the captain gave him a shove. It wasn't much of a push, but it was enough to send the scrawny Tahitian plummeting overboard. He smacked the water head first, disappeared, and then resurfaced.

Rachel checked behind her again. The sharks remained at bay, but now she was certain why. Her eyes targeted a long body as it became visible beneath them through the murk.

The creature flashed by, its scales reflecting a silver sheen from the sunlight.

Kevin saw it too. "Let us on the boat. Now!"

"I shoot two of you and be done with it." Captain Ishikawa smirked. "But no fun in that."

The large fish spanned over fifteen feet long, much bigger than the blue sharks waiting nearby. Color drained from the deckhand's dark complexion. The young man bobbed in the water, choked up sobs escaping his throat.

Then something yanked him under with a brief cry and a gurgle of bubbles.

Rachel dipped below and glimpsed the sleek creature that whisked him away. It took off with its prey, using a quick burst of speed. But because the fish swooped in so fast, she didn't get a good look at it. One thing was certain: it was not a shark. It lacked the prominent dorsal fin.

With the monster fish gone, she realized the sharks were moving closer.

Kevin leaped for the boat and latched hold of the top rung, but the sole of the captain's massive boot crashed into his face. The crushing blow forced him back into the water, his eyes fluttering back in his head, on the verge of passing out.

The captain stormed into the wheelhouse.

Moments later, the gargling racket of the trawler's engine filled Rachel's ears. They were being left to die.