Chapter 5 - Frank ran.He hadn't run that fast in thirty years.
The corridor flooded instantly.
Cold water slammed into his knees.
Then his waist.
Joseph grabbed him and dragged him toward a steel staircase.
Mina surged through the water behind them.
Frank looked back.
The creature emerging from the broken chamber was monstrous.
Its body was long and pale.
Its mouth was wide enough to swallow the entire boat.
Its skin was covered in scars.
Metal plates had been bolted into its spine.
And beneath those plates, something glowed red.
Frank nearly stumbled.
“That thing is real?”
Joseph shouted:
“Keep moving!”
They reached the staircase.
Joseph slammed the door.
Something struck it from the other side.
BOOM!
The steel bent inward.
Frank stared.
“That's not encouraging.”
Joseph locked a second mechanism.
“Neither is this.”
“What?”
Joseph showed him a screen.
The facility was flooding.
Every chamber.
Every corridor.
Every laboratory.
Something was forcing water inside.
Frank looked at him.
“Why?”
Joseph didn't answer.
Another impact hit the door.
BOOM!
A hinge snapped.
Joseph grabbed Frank.
“Go!”
They ran upward.
Frank's lungs burned.
He reached another door.
Joseph opened it.
They emerged onto the top of the underwater structure.
Above them was Blackwater Lake.
The surface had become violent.
Waves crashed around them.
Lightning flashed overhead.
Frank looked toward his tiny boat.
It was still floating.
Barely.
Mina surfaced nearby.
Joseph pointed.
“We need the boat.”
Frank laughed.
“It's tiny.”
Joseph nodded.
“Yes.”
“And you're saying we can fit three people and a giant angry fish?”
Mina slapped the water.
Joseph smiled.
“She doesn't consider herself giant.”
Frank stared.
“She is larger than my refrigerator.”
They reached the boat.
Frank climbed in.
Joseph followed.
Mina tried to climb.
The boat nearly tipped.
Frank shouted:
“ONE AT A TIME!”
Mina stared at him.
Frank pointed.
“Stay.”
The fish actually obeyed.
Frank looked stunned.
“Well, I'll be damned.”
Joseph climbed in.
“Start the engine.”
Frank pulled the cord.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Nothing.
He tried a third time.
The motor coughed.
Then died.
Frank closed his eyes.
“Of course.”
Joseph looked behind them.
The lake was moving.
Something was approaching.
Not beneath the surface.
Above it.
A black shape rose through the waves.
Frank stared.
“What now?”
Joseph whispered:
“They found us.”
A helicopter appeared through the storm clouds.
Its searchlight swept across the lake.
Frank shielded his eyes.
“Who?”
Joseph's face tightened.
“The people who never wanted me found.”
The helicopter turned.
A red laser appeared on Frank's chest.
Frank stared down.
“Is that what I think it is?”
Joseph grabbed him.
“GET DOWN!”
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets slammed into the boat.
Metal sparked.
Frank screamed.
Mina dove.
Joseph threw himself over Frank.
The engine finally started.
Frank gripped the controls.
“Hold on!”
He pushed the throttle.
The tiny boat accelerated across the lake.
The helicopter followed.
Frank swerved.
Another burst of gunfire tore through the water.
Joseph shouted:
“They're not trying to kill us!”
Frank looked back.
“THEN WHAT ARE THEY DOING?”
“They want Mina!”
Frank stared at the fish.
Mina surfaced.
Her eyes glowed.
Joseph shouted:
“She is the only successful specimen!”
Frank's mouth dropped.
“The only?”
Joseph nodded.
“Everything else died.”
Frank stared at Mina.
The fish looked back.
For a moment, she seemed almost human.
Then the helicopter fired again.
A bullet struck the boat.
Fuel began pouring onto the floor.
Frank looked down.
“That's bad.”
Joseph nodded.
“Very.”
Frank increased the throttle.
The helicopter moved closer.
Joseph searched the lake.
“We need to get under the trees.”
Frank frowned.
“There's nowhere to hide.”
Joseph pointed.
“There.”
A narrow channel appeared between two cliffs.
Frank drove toward it.
The helicopter turned.
Frank accelerated.
The boat entered the channel.
The helicopter attempted to follow.
Then a massive shape erupted from the water.
The giant creature.
It slammed into the helicopter.
The aircraft spun sideways.
Frank stared.
Joseph stared.
Mina surfaced beside them.
Frank whispered:
“Did that thing just save us?”
Joseph shook his head.
“No.”
“What then?”
Joseph looked at the burning helicopter.
“It was hunting the helicopter.”
Frank swallowed.
“Which means…”
Joseph looked toward the open lake.
“It knows we're here.”
The giant creature disappeared beneath the water.
Silence returned.
Then Frank saw something on the shore.
A man stood beneath the trees.
Wearing a black coat.
Watching them.
Holding a rifle.
Joseph's face became terrified.
“No.”
Frank looked at him.
“Who is that?”
Joseph whispered:
“The man who erased your memory.”
May you like
The stranger raised one hand.
Then pointed directly at Frank.
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