Leviathan
by Alan Loewen
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
His friend growled in response as he held onto the deck railing. “If you weren’t paying for this trip, I would have stayed at home. I’m just glad I’m keeping my breakfast down. It would help if the waves weren't so choppy.”
Louis laughed. “Admit it. You’re having the time of your life. Just stand with your legs further apart, and your knees bent. You don’t want to go overboard here, or you might end up as fish food.”
Louis had wanted to rent a yacht more massive than the 92-foot Viking, but he had to take what was available. The armored boat could still do 32 knots, and though it was small enough to feel the motion of the waves, it was suitable for the job. And Louis was determined to give Tristian a good time and stay safe on top of it.
He turned and shouted up at the bridge. “Captain, are we there yet?”
The captain gave a thumb up through the cockpit window and turned to speak to his two crew members. Five minutes later, the two men began dumping buckets of chum from the stern, staining the waves crimson in the boat's wake.
The yacht turned about in minutes and remained still with its engine idling. One of the crew members came forward. “Stand clear,” he said, “We’re raising the guns.”
There was a vibration Louis felt through his soles as two sets of sliding doors on the deck slid back and two guns armed with harpoons rose and locked into place. The five-foot-long titanium harpoons were each tipped with large blades designed to penetrate scales and flesh and stay imbedded.
The crewman mentioned Louis to stand behind one and motioned for Tristian to man the other. “Now,” the crewman said, “we play the waiting game.”
They did not wait for long.
Within ten minutes, the leviathan breached the surface of the water, the sunlight shining brightly off its armored back. Louis and Tristian both gasped at its sheer size, at least twice as long as the yacht.
“Ach!” the crewman said, “It’s a small one. Do you still want it?”
“Yes! Louis said, yelling in his excitement.
“Okay,” the crewman said. “Remember all the practice you had on land.” He slapped Tristian on the shoulder. “You’re going first. Remember to hit the tail end. He’ll instinctively dive. Mr. Williams, when he breaches again, you shoot, and then we’ll go for a spirited ride as he drags us along as he runs until he tires. Now here he comes.”
The creature broke the surface, red water sluicing from its jaws. There was a loud report as Tristian fired. The harpoon zipped through the air striking the fish in its side. Immediately, it dived.
“Stand back and let me reload,” the crewman said. “Mr. Williams, stand ready.”
However, the creature did not breach again. Instead, the line on Tristian’s harpoon went slack.
Louis’ jaw dropped at the sheer speed the line cut through the water toward the yacht. Urgently, he tried to scream that the beast was headed for them.
It never broke the surface but impacted the bow with a collision that sent the crewman and Tristian over the side. Only Louis’ iron grip on the gun’s triggers kept him stable. As if he stood far away, he heard himself scream, “Men overboard!”
The harpoon line cut through the water again as the creature swam away from the boat and then reversed as the great fish swam back to the yacht … and the men floundering in the water.
Louis tried to breathe normally, and the creature breached, straight for the two men in the water. For a moment, when the fish was only 20 yards away from the boat, Louis felt time suddenly stand still. He looked deep into its large, black eye behind its open jaws, a creation of silver scales, fangs, and hate.
He felt the gun shudder in his hands, and the harpoon impaled the large black eye.
*
An hour later, the boat headed back toward the harbor, the great fish lashed alongside. Down below, Tristian sat in dried clothes and lots of hot coffee while above, Louis stared at his prize.
He would not be able to take it back to Earth, of course. It’s sheer size notwithstanding, there were strict protocols about what could be transported between parallel universes. Still, he and Tristian would each receive a huge scale of the leviathan’s body sealed in Lucite as their trophy.
Louis smiled to himself. He heard there was one universe where he could hunt cosmic horrors with tanks.
He wondered if Tristian would be up for it.
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