The Swarm (95 page)

‘What if it's contaminated?' objected Roscovitz.

‘Why are you all so negative? We'll know if it's contaminated. The glass flaps stay closed until we're sure it's OK.'

Peak shook his head. ‘I'm not in favour.'

Rubin rolled his eyes. ‘General, we'll never get a chance like this again!'

‘All right,' said Li. ‘But be careful.'

Rubin laughed excitedly, walked to the edge of the basin and waved his arms.

‘Hey! Get a move on, can't you?' he shouted to Greywolf, Anawak and Delaware, who were busy unharnessing the dolphins. ‘Hurry up and—' They were under water and couldn't hear him. ‘OK, forget it. Luther, open the hatch. There's nothing to worry about while the glass flaps are closed.'

‘Shouldn't we wait until—'

‘We don't have time,' Rubin snapped at him. ‘You heard what Li said. If we wait, the jelly will be gone. All you have to do is let a little into the sluice, then close it. A cubic metre or so should do fine.'

Roscovitz felt like shoving Rubin into the water, but Li had given the bastard her permission.

She'd given the order to open the hatch.

He pressed the button.

 

Delaware was dealing with a particularly excitable dolphin. It was fidgety and impatient, and as she tried to unstrap its camera, it darted away. Harness trailing through the water, it sped towards the sluice. Delaware saw it circling the hatch and swam after it, taking long, powerful strokes.

She didn't hear the discussion on the jetty.

Come on, she willed the dolphin silently. Come over here. What's the matter? There's nothing to be afraid of.

Then she saw what was wrong.

The steel flaps were swinging open.

For a second she was so astonished that she stopped swimming and sank through the water until her toes touched the glass. The flaps were still moving. The sea beneath them glowed a vivid blue. Flashes of lightning shot through the water.

What the hell was Roscovitz playing at?

The dolphin darted back and forth around the hatch. It swam over to her and prodded her with its snout, trying to ward her away. When Delaware failed to respond, it swivelled and sped off.

She stared into the luminescent depths.

She could see outlines, shadows flitting back and forth, then a dark patch drawing closer, getting bigger.

It was approaching at high speed.

The patch became clearer, and assumed its normal form.

Suddenly she knew what it was. She recognised the enormous rounded head with its black beak and white chin, the even rows of teeth between the half-open jaws. It was the biggest of its kind she'd ever seen. It was rising vertically from the depths, gaining speed all the time, with no intention of stopping. Her mind raced. Within a split second the snippets of information came together. The glass hatch was made of armoured glass and was solidly built, but not solid enough to withstand a collision with a living missile. The creature measured at least twelve metres. At top speed it could propel itself out of the water at fifty-six kilometres an hour.

It was moving too fast.

She made a desperate attempt to get away from the sluice.

Like a torpedo the orca crashed through the glass plug. The wave sent Delaware spinning. Through the swirling debris she glimpsed shards of glass and swirling sections of the hatch's metal rim, then the white belly of the whale, as it rose through the hatch, barely hindered by the impact. Something struck her painfully between the shoulders. She cried out, and water filled her lungs.

 

Roscovitz barely had time to take in the situation. The jetty groaned and shook beneath his feet as the orca smashed through the hatch. A wave lifted the Deepflight into the air. He saw Browning lose her balance, arms flailing. The orca crashed down into the water and accelerated away.

‘The sluice,' screamed Rubin. ‘Close the flaps.'

The head of the orca rammed into the submersible, sending it spinning into the air. There was a snapping noise as the chain broke free. Browning was catapulted upwards and slammed down on to the control panel. One of her boots struck Roscovitz in the chest and sent him reeling backwards against the bulkhead, pulling Peak with him.

‘The sub!' screamed Rubin. ‘The sub!'

Browning's body sagged back into the basin, blood pouring from her head. The stern of the Deepflight shot vertically into the air. Then the boat filled with water and sank. Roscovitz staggered to his feet and tried to reach the controls. Something whizzed towards him. He looked up and saw the chain swinging in his direction like a whip. He tried to duck, but the metal struck his temples and curled round his neck.

He was dragged forwards and over the edge.

 

Greywolf was too far away to identify the cause of the chaos and, since he was in the water, he couldn't feel the impact. But he saw the submersible ripped from its chain, and what happened to Browning and Roscovitz. Rubin was standing at the control panel, shouting and waving. Peak's head popped up in the background. The soldiers were running to the site of the disaster, guns raised.

Hurriedly he scanned the water. Anawak was beside him, but Delaware was nowhere to be seen.

‘Licia?'

No answer.

Fear gripped him. With a powerful kick, he dived down and swam towards the sluice.

 

Delaware was heading in the wrong direction. A searing pain ran through her back and she felt as though she was suffocating. Suddenly she found herself back at the sluice. The two halves of the hatch had been ripped apart, but the steel flaps were closing. Beneath them the sea was ablaze with blue light.

She turned on to her back.

No!

The Deepflight was falling towards her, pods open and bow first. It sank like a stone. She kicked with all her might. The boat was going to hit her. As she stared up, the articulated arms, folded neatly together, bore down towards her. She tried to speed through the water, long and thin like an otter, but it wasn't enough. The boat rammed into her torso and she felt her ribs break. Her mouth opened in a scream, and she swallowed more water. The vessel pushed her down into the sluice and out into the open water. The cold pierced her body. Through the fog of her consciousness, she saw the steel flaps hit the submersible with a dull thud. The Deepflight stopped sinking. It was trapped, but Delaware was still falling. She stretched out her arms to grab on to the vessel, but her strength was failing and her lungs were clogged.

Please, she thought, I want to go back. I don't want to die.

In the gap between the blocked hatch and the trapped submersible she saw a hazy image of Greywolf's face.

A large dark shape approached from the side, jaws open, showing rows of conical teeth.

The orca bit into her chest.

She didn't see the glowing mass shoot past her. By the time it reached the sluice, Delaware was dead.

 

Peak banged his fist down on the control panel. His attempt to close the sluice had failed. The Deepflight had jammed the steel plates. Either he opened the flaps entirely and lost the submersible, or he left them as they were and allowed God knows what to find its way into the vessel.

Browning had disappeared and Roscovitz was hanging from the chain, legs dangling in the water, hands clutching at his throat.

Where was the damned orca?

‘Sal,' Rubin whined.

The water in the basin bubbled and frothed. The soldiers were rushing around with no clear objective. Greywolf had dived under water. Anawak was nowhere to be seen. And where had Delaware got to?

Someone prodded him in the ribs.

‘For God's sake, Sal!' Rubin pushed him away from the controls. His hands danced over the keyboard, fingers jabbing at buttons. ‘Why haven't you closed the bloody sluice?'

‘You stupid bastard!' Peak drew back his fist and landed a punch in the middle of Rubin's face. The biologist swayed and tumbled backwards into the pool, sending water spurting into the air. Through the shower of spray Peak saw the blade-like fin of an orca speed towards him.

Rubin's head appeared above the waves. Now he saw the fin too. His splutters turned into a scream.

Peak pushed the button to open the steel flaps and release the Deepflight into the sea.

He was expecting the display to light up.

Nothing happened.

 

Greywolf thought he was losing his mind. A pod of orcas was patrolling the water beneath the
Independence
. Seconds ago one had closed its jaws round Delaware and whisked her out of sight. Without stopping to consider, Greywolf swam towards the gap between the two steel plates, in time to see something hurtle towards him from below. Lightning and sparks flashed before his eyes and he was hit by a force like a giant fist that sent him reeling backwards. Everything turned upside down. For an instant he saw Anawak to his left, and then he was gone again. Legs flailed in the water. A body tumbled towards him. The white belly of an orca flashed past in the basin above. Finally he was looking down at the Deepflight trapped between the flaps.

Watching as a thing pushed its way through the half-open hatch, towards the inside of the vessel.

It was like a tentacle belonging to an enormous polyp, only there was no polyp on earth with a tentacle that size. It was three metres in diameter, too big for any living creature. Matter streamed up towards the well deck, racing out of the ocean in a never-ending column. As it left
the sluice, the single muscle of jelly branched into slender tendrils, whose smooth surface glittered with patterns of light.

 

Rubin was swimming for his life.

The fin chased after him. Coughing and spluttering he reached the jetty and tried to pull himself out of the basin, crazy with fear. His elbows gave way. He heard shots and sank back under the water to be confronted with an incredible sight. In a flash he realised that his wish had been fulfilled. The alien organism had entered the vessel, but under circumstances he hadn't foreseen.

Glowing tentacles twisted through the water, thick as tree trunks.

And the orca was between them, jaws agape.

Rubin shot back up. Two legs were thrashing over the surface of the water, centimetres from his face. Roscovitz stared down at him through bulging eyes. He looked as though he was hanging on a gallows.

A terrible gurgling noise spilled from his lips.

Oh, God, thought Rubin. Dear God. The fin was almost upon him.

The orca rose in a tower of spray, jaws wide open. Roscovitz's legs disappeared inside its mouth. The jaws clamped shut. For a moment the whale was suspended motionless above the water, then it dropped back.

Blood trickled from Roscovitz's dangling torso, and Rubin found himself unable to turn away. He heard a long scream of terror, and slowly it dawned on him that he was the one who was screaming.

He screamed and screamed.

The fin reappeared.

Combat Information Center

Li couldn't believe her eyes. In a matter of seconds chaos had erupted on the well deck. She watched Peak sprint along the jetty. Soldiers were firing blindly into the water, and Roscovitz's mangled body dangled from above. ‘Get me some sound,' she demanded.

The next moment gunshots and screams echoed through the room. Everyone started talking at once, as the chaos on the well deck found its echo in the CIC. Feverishly Li considered what should be done. She'd
send reinforcements, of course. This time with explosive projectiles. Why were the idiots firing standard ammunition?

They had to wrest back control.

She'd go down in person.

Without a word she went into the adjacent room. The LFOC was the command centre for amphibious operations. From there they could flood the ballast tanks, pump out the water, and open the stern gate, in the event that the control desk in the well deck failed. Only the steel flaps couldn't be operated from the LFOC - another stupid oversight.

‘OK,' she said, to the shocked crew members in front of the screens. ‘I want the ballast tanks in the stern pumped dry.' She thought for a moment. Was the sluice in the well deck open or closed? Would the water be able to run out? It was impossible to tell from the confusion on the monitors. Usually it was enough to raise the stern of the vessel and the artificial harbour would drain automatically, either through the open sluice or out of the stern gate into the sea. There was an emergency pump system, in case both were blocked. It took a little longer, but served the same purpose.

Li gave the order for the pump to be activated, and ran back to the CIC.

Well Deck

The steel flaps weren't responding. He didn't have time to wonder why. Breathing heavily Peak ran to one of the armaments lockers and pulled out a harpoon gun with an explosive charge. His men were firing indiscriminately into the water, while an enormous squid-like creature seemed to be forcing itself through the open sluice, writhing and snaking beneath the surface of the pool.

From the corner of his eye Peak spotted Rubin hauling himself out of the water. He felt disgusted and relieved. He detested the man, but that was no excuse for knocking him into the water. Rubin's life had to be protected He still had a job to do.

The fin moved away from the jetty. Anawak and Greywolf were some distance away, swimming towards the other side of the pool. Glowing tentacles seemed to pursue them, but the jelly was everywhere, stretching out in all directions. The orca was definitely on their tail.

He had to dispatch the beast before it killed anyone else.

Suddenly Peak felt calm. Everything else could wait. The key thing was to finish off the lethal mass of flesh and teeth.

He raised the harpoon gun and took aim.

 

Anawak saw the orca approaching. The water in the basin foamed and splashed - it seemed to have come alive, a moving, shimmering mass of blue, through which the orca swam purposefully towards him and Greywolf. It rose to expel a jet of misty air, and its black head loomed into view. It was only metres away now. They'd never make it to the jetty; that much was clear. But they had to do something. When the orcas had attacked in Clayoquot Sound, Greywolf had arrived in the nick of time and saved them. Right now, their only chance was to outmanoeuvre it.