Chapter 86-Cancel the shot

Chapter 86: 86-Cancel the shot

Aymara stared at the enormous eye on the monitor. She had barely finished dealing with a monstrous octopus, spent her last system points and now another creature had appeared.

For one brief second she calculated the odds of surviving another encounter before dismissing the thought as useless.

The fear crawling beneath her skin could wait. Information came first and as long as she knew her enemy then she could turn the situation around.

’Fine,’ she accepted her situation. Since the apocalypse wanted to escalate. So would she.

"System, identify the new creature!"

[Scanning unknown organism...]

[Warning: Biological data insufficient.]

[Estimated size: Undetermined.]

[Threat level: EXTREME.]

Aymara’s eye twitched. She hadn’t even felt the creature approach. Either from focusing too much on the octopus or just from the creature being too good at avoiding detection but it didn’t look good for them.

"Undetermined? You can identify a creature that just got blasted into pieces, but you can’t tell me what that thing is?"

[Host, the organism is currently outside the available scanning range.]

"Then extend the scanning range!" She demanded, losing her cool.

[Attempting to establish a lock...]

The monitor flickered and beneath the dark water, the enormous eye shifted, its glossy surface catching the faint glow of the ship’s instruments.

It was watching them, not the ship and not the weapons that Aymara had. Them specifically.

Aymara slowly straightened, every muscle tightening. If it was observing instead of attacking, then it was assessing them and that meant it was either intelligent or cautious. Either way, it was dangerous.

"Why do I feel like this thing is smarter than the octopus?" She asked, feeling more nervous than she had ever been before.

Nathaniel stepped beside her, his earlier embarrassment fading as he studied the screen. "Because it hasn’t attacked yet and that’s what makes it more scary."

She glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"The octopus attacked almost immediately. This one is staying beneath us, watching." He pointed toward the radar. "It could be waiting for us to lower our defenses or for us to mistakenly classify it as a non-threat."

Aymara looked at the barrier indicator. She was one hundred percent sure that they were protected but she had learned enough about the apocalypse to know that a full defense bar didn’t mean safety. It only meant the enemy hadn’t found a way through yet. She would not give it the chance to learn.

"System, activate all underwater surveillance. Keep the nuclear blaster armed, but don’t fire until we have a confirmed target."

[Command confirmed.]

A series of blue indicators spread across the radar and then the entire screen flashed red.

[WARNING!]

[Multiple hostile organisms detected.]

Aymara froze over. "Multiple?"

The radar expanded. One enormous life signature was directly beneath the ship. Three more were approaching from the west and another two were moving in from the east while behind them, a vast cluster of smaller signals was converging on the floating carcass of the dead octopus.

Nathaniel’s face paled. "How many are there?"

Aymara stared at the display, already mapping their approach routes and the safest escape vector. "Enough to overwhelm us if we stay here."

The water surrounding the cruise ship began to churn, its black surface folding into spiraling currents. Dark shapes moved beneath the waves circling the enormous carcass.

Some were small enough to resemble ordinary fish on the radar. Others were almost as large as the cruise ship itself. They were feeding.

The dead octopus had become a banquet, and the ocean’s predators had gathered for the feast.

Unfortunately, Aymara’s ship was sitting directly beside it. "System, can we move away from the carcass?"

[Propulsion systems operational.]

"Then prepare to leave."

But before the command could be executed, the ship shuddered.

BOOM!

Nathaniel caught the edge of the console and held on. Aymara’s hand flew toward the controls. "What was that?"

The radar showed the largest life signature pressing against the underside of the vessel. Just when the cameras zeroed in on it, it moved.

The ship lurched violently to one side.

KRRRRRNNNG!

Aymara’s expression hardened. Something was scraping along the hull and it was enormous in size.

The external cameras switched automatically to the underside of the ship and for a moment, the screen showed nothing but darkness and drifting debris.

Then a pale shape slid into view, its slick hide gleaming like drowned marble beneath the camera’s lights.

Nathaniel stopped breathing. It looked like a fish except its body was longer than several buses placed end to end, and its mouth occupied nearly half its head.

Rows upon rows of crooked teeth lined its jaws, each one jagged and yellowed, while bony spikes protruded from its back like the remains of a shattered crown.

Its eyes were small, almost invisible against its grotesque head yet its mouth opened wide enough to swallow a smaller vessel whole.

Aymara’s stomach tightened but she forced herself to study its anatomy instead of recoiling. The armored back was likely resistant. The mouth and gills were exposed.

"That’s a fish?"

[Classification: Unknown aquatic mutation.]

"Of course it is unknown. What’s the fuck is that supposed to be?"

The creature circled beneath them. Its enormous body vanishing and reappearing through the murky water and then another appeared by its side and instead of joining him, it joined the others in feasting over the carcass of the octopus.

They were drawn to the octopus carcass, but the moment one of them noticed the cruise ship, its movements changed.

It turned toward the hull. Its jaws opened wide, revealing a cavernous throat behind the forest of teeth. Along the roof of its mouth, rows of tiny hooked teeth flexed backward, designed to drag struggling prey deeper instead of letting it escape.

CRUNCH!

The creature bit down on the ship’s outer structure. The defensive barrier flared blue, bathing the underside of the vessel in electric light.

[WARNING! EXTERNAL IMPACT DETECTED.]

Aymara immediately activated the ship’s external weapons.

"Fire at anything that approaches the hull! Don’t let them gather underneath us!"

Cannons roared and explosions illuminated the water in violent orange bursts. One of the smaller creatures was struck and thrown backward, its body tumbling through the waves in a cloud of blood and shattered scales.

The others scattered and for a moment, the pressure eased. Just then the largest creature opened its jaws again.

Aymara noticed the water around its gills pulsing in rapid, rhythmic bursts. It wasn’t merely breathing. It was tasting the water, sensing the ship through vibrations and traces of blood carried by the current.

A blinding flash erupted from beneath the ship as the nuclear blaster began charging automatically.

Aymara’s eyes widened but she forced her instincts to remain calm. "Wait! Don’t fire yet!"

[Weapon discharge imminent.]

"Cancel the shot!" She ordered.

[Cancellation confirmed, host.]

The system responded, the energy faded leaving the water below dark and trembling. Aymara kept steady and didn’t falter.

Nathaniel turned toward her. "Why did you stop it?"