On the lake, Shaw's boat came out from the docks, but instead of being driven by the grumpy sailor, four familiar faces were the ones sailing it.
They had knocked the mad sailor unconscious, and taken his boat.
On the ship.
Grandpa Max was operating the ship while Ben was near him checking the various equipment in the cabin.
Out on the deck was Gwen leaning over the starboard rail, from the boat's edge.
"Hey, are you doing fine?" I asked, placing a hand on Gwen's shoulder.
"Um, thanks," Gwen said with a smile. "But don't worry about me, it's just some nausea….." Her sentence dissolved into a gag as another wave rocked the boat.
"Deep breaths. Look up at the sky." I said, keeping my grip on her shoulder
"Easy for you to say," she muttered but still followed my gaze to the sky.
After a moment, she straightened her shoulders. "So what's the next phase of your brilliant plan? Do you care to share it?"
"We're heading for the area that the F.O.F. had sealed during the day. If there's any evidence, that's where we'll find it." I grinned, keeping my eyes on the horizon with Gwen.
"So we're just going straight into what could be a trap." Gwen said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Maybe," I shrugged, showing a smile "but what's a trap if you already know it's a trap?"
Before she could reply, Ben burst out of the cabin.
"Check this out!" Ben said excitedly, dragging two bulky underwater suits onto the deck.
The air tanks clinked as he threw them at our feet. "Found these at the back of the cabin! They've even got little headlamps and—"
He paused, frowning at Gwen's pale complexion. "Whoa, what happened Gwen? You look... good. Like one of those models with super white skin."
"I'll make you a model if you don't shut up duffos," Gwen growled, but her threat lost its impact when she immediately clutched the railing again.
Grandpa Max emerged from the cabin as the boat reached the coordinates.
"So How do we see what is down there?" He asked me, his face full of concern as he surveyed the dark water.
"Well at first I was thinking of turning into an Alien to check" I replied, picking up a suit "but now that we have these, we can do without it"
Grandpa nodded, picking up the other suit. "You two wait here," Grandpa said, turning to Ben and Gwen "Rio and I will scout below."
He fixed Ben with that look - the one that said no argument. "That means no touching anything in the cabin, no 'quick looks', and absolutely no—"
"Blowing anything up?" Ben finished with exaggerated actions. "What kind of troublemaker do you think I am?"
"The kind he's raised for ten years," I mocked as I zipped up my suit.
We got into the suits and climbed down the ladder, plunging beneath the surface.
The headlight of the suits flicked on, revealing the murky underwater world and the landscape of the lake bottom in front of our eyes. As we swam around, weeds swayed and shadows of fishes quickly escaped the beam of our light. They stayed at the edges of our light, seeming to gauge what we were.
Even at the age of 60 Grandpa Max swam like a pro, easily swimming in the water.
-no matter how much you hide something, it will eventually unfold- I thought as I looked at his swimming figure.
Searching the bottom of the lake, Grandpa suddenly gestured toward a direction. Following his indication, I spotted what appeared to be vertical wooden planks ahead - something unnatural among the lake's natural formations.
As we approached, a clear picture appeared in front of us. It looked like a broken sunken Boat, and from the size and magnitude of it not just one but multiple Boats.
Looking around in the debris, I noticed a conspicuous boat that was fairly intact only its hull was dented inside. But what made it more conspicuous was when I looked over, something reflected the beam of my flashlight.
To find what was there, I swam closer to its vicinity.
There, Inside the dented hull wooden planks, metal sheets, and other materials were gathered together to form a bowl shape, inside which a huge orange-red ball with veins all over was placed.
The massive orange-red sphere pulsed faintly in the murky water, I don't know why I reached out instinctively, just inches from the egg.
But Grandpa Max grabbed my shoulder, shaking his head sharply. His eyes behind the diving mask were wide with a warning. He made a series of quick gestures pointing to the egg then making an X and finally pointing to the Boat: Danger. Surface. Now.
Seeing that I too realized that the krakken may be nearby and if we touch its eggs, who knows what it will do when it gets to know that two humans had touched its egg.
I nodded, but as we turned to swim back, movement above attracted our attention. Through the water, I could make out the dark shape of another boat approaching ours.
Noticing this Grandpa pointed to himself, then upward - I'll check - before gesturing for me to stay put.
He kicked off toward the surface with powerful strokes, leaving me floating near the strange sphere. The water distorted everything, but I saw Grandpa's head break the surface near our boat's ladder. Then - nothing.
Minutes stretched, and my oxygen gauge ticked down.
I knew it was Those F.O.F guys who were here after spotting the ship.
They won't do anything to Grandpa, Gwen, and Ben after all they are just mobs. They would just take them hostage and bring them to the abandoned factory.
And that is when I will make the excuse of tracking them via Gwen's phone.
So I waited, Finally the F.O.F guy's ship started moving away.
"Splash"
"BOOM"
A sudden BOOM shattered the silence. Through the water, I saw our boat erupt in flames. But suddenly two figures were thrown from Shaw's boat with the blast, surrounded by the falling splinters from the destroyed boat.
My blood runs cold as I see Gwen's red hair shining under the light.
Ben was just behind her, shooting bubbles as he didn't properly hold his breath.
Under the shockwave of the blast, they both sank rapidly, bound at their hands and feet.
What? Why were they on the boat till it was blasted?
They've been left behind?
Tied up? Just… left to die?
What is the situation?
My brain short-circuits. This isn't supposed to happen.
Not to them. Not like this.
But I find myself moving before I can reach any conclusion—I swim through the wreckage toward where Ben sank, his bound legs making it impossible to swim. Gwen at least has the sense to hold her breath.
But I was still too slow.
Ben's face turned purple and Gwen's cheeks bulged with her last reserves of air before her mouth opened involuntarily, drawing in water.
No. No. NO.
The word repeated in my mind like a broken record as I pushed myself against the water's resistance. The pressure from the water seemed to increase more and more at the moment when it needed to be less.
With trembling fingers, I rip off my glove with my other hand and slap the Omnitrix symbol. The familiar blue light pulses through the water as my body shifts, grows, and reconfigures—gills tore open from my neck, webbed tissues appear between my fingers, and my legs morph into a fishtail.
Ripjaws.
With the transformation complete, I shoot forward and bite Ben's cloth before he can sink any deeper. Twisting in the water, I use my powerful tail to propel us both toward Gwen.
Grabbing her arm, I pulled her close as I quickly brought them both above the water.
Pieces of the destroyed boat drift past like fallen leaves in water.
I locate a large piece of plank floating wreckage and drag my family toward it, placing them on it. I cut their bindings.
Ben immediately convulses, coughs and vomits water while Gwen flops on her back, gasping for air.
For a moment, I just float there, watching their ragged breaths.
Every labored breath, every shudder that runs through their bodies, feeds the rage building in my chest.
I can hear the F.O.F. boat fading in the distance, its occupants probably congratulating themselves on a job well done.
I want to go after them. Tear their boat apart, to make them understand the terror of drowning.
But I can't.
If I leave Ben and Gwen here, they will surely become the krakken's meal. So even if I am fuming with anger, I have to endure the helpless rage.
"...Okay. What happened?" I ask, my voice coming out low and cold. "Why were you two still on that ship when the goons had already left? And where the hell is Grandpa?"
Gwen looks up, her usual sharpness dulled by exhaustion. "They tied us up...left us behind...said we were...worthless..."
"And Grandpa?" I demand, my eyes turning unnaturally ferocious.
Her face darkens. "They took him. Said something about...needing his 'expertise.'"
Expertise? That can only mean one thing—they know who he really is.
Ben finally sits up, rubbing his head. "So, what do we do now…?"
I take a long breath, forcing the murderous rage down, down deep in my chest.
When I spoke, my voice became deadly calm.
"Now," I say, grabbing the plank, "we first get to the RV. Then we find out where they took Grandpa, And Then…. we end this."
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Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is to your liking. Sorry if you expected more details. Also sorry if you felt it was still too much detail.
If these chapters are a mess of grammatical errors, please point it out and I will try to fix it.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.