Chapter 19 – Fight to the Finish

From yonder and beyond lies the body of water known as the majestic Pacific. Once the glowing ball in the sky fades into nothingness, the mood of the Pacific is a mysterious site to behold. Rising upon the mist above, is the full night's sky, speckled with thousands of stars. The ocean's surface is dim and dreary, illuminated by the faint radiance from the light of the moon.

Not for the faint of heart, this oceanic jungle is the playground of the fiercest of predators. The feeding frenzy from these beasts is the kind of event that no human dare participate in. Once witnessed, it is never forgotten.

Landlubber Adam Belfort is all too familiar of one such beast and her method of feeding. The growing legend of the Kraken. Adam has seen this horrific creature reach out with those spiny tentacles to take hold of her intended target. Once in the grasp, the beak comes out and munches down on her catch.

This will not happen to Ashley if Adam has anything to do about it. He presses the accelerator to full, but it will not go any faster than its design to do. Adam heads towards her at top speed, around the buoy, and right in Ashely's direction. He watches the horrific scene played out before him as the creature is in striking distance to Ashley and that it's all a matter of time until he will witness another killing by the beast of Fukushima.

As if Adam has learned to be an expert boatman by osmosis, he maneuvers the lifeboat right up to the Kraken. He turns the craft sideways and splashes water into the face of the beast. However, the giant squid heeds him no mind. Dinner is about to be served and it appears that the creature is set to pounce upon her prey.

With hunger in her eyes, she heads straight for Ashley. Despite his feeble attempt in distract the beast; she has one thing on her mind. Time for a midnight snack. She reaches out her tentacles and about to consume Ashley. Now Adam must muster all of his love for her and turn it into courage to rescue his soulmate from a horrible death.

His first pass did nothing to deter the beast. No, if he is going to stop her, he has to fight one on one with her. Mano a Tentáculos. But how do you defeat a creature that is taller than any skyscraper? There is no weapon on the lifeboat. He searches about and sees nothing. She is shaken by a scream. It is Ashley. The Kraken has grabbed his wife in her clutches.

There is no time to improvise. Action must be taken.

He revs up the boat when it occurs to him. Use the craft as a weapon. Adam points the rear of the boat right at her. It's a one in a million shot, but Ashley's life depends on it. As he gets the rear of the boat right next to the beast, he uses the blade of the motor boat and clips part of her tentacles.

It worked. The Kraken lets go of Ashley. Now she turns around and chases Adam. Good, she is falling right into his plan. Get her to chase him far enough into the ocean so Ash can get away on the DPV. What will happen to him… well, he will deal with that later. The important thing is that his wife is safe.

Glancing back, he sees the beast right on his heels. Let us see what this craft can do. He pushes the throttle on the lifeboat forward. It takes off like a rocket. The bow rises, so Adam adds more throttle.

Flying like the wind, the craft slows down suddenly. Then it sputters out. Crap! How did it run out of gas? He looks over his shoulder and the giant squid is even closer.

No, no, no… it cannot be out of gas. We filled it up before we left. He turns around to check the engine. It is not burned out. Then what could have caused the engine to fail? The tank is fine. However, he smells gas.

He glances at the fuel line and notices that it is broken. How in the hell did that happen? He touches the rubber hose and feels the gas. He smells it. Quickly, he analyzes the situation and sees that the hose is not cracked so it did not wear out. Nor is it a clean cut. It is jagged as if it was pulled. Not all of the way, but just enough to cause a leak.

Criminy, it must have got caught when I pulled the boat from the mother-ship. Panicky, he searches around for divine intervention. Calm! Calm! Breathe in… steady exhale. It would be a fine time to hyperventilate.

The craft is dead in the water. He is closer to the DPV's than Ashley is. If he can get to them, then they can swim away. With his mind clear, Adam notices an oar in the lifeboat. He paddles it to Ashley, but the Kraken follows him.

Not wanting the beast to get to Ash, he heads away from her. But, it didn't work. The predator returns his attention back to the easy target which is the wadding Ashely. Adam paddles faster and manages to get to the water scooter.

He grabs the control. Will or will it not start up? Oh, good, it was not damaged by the Kraken. He revs it up to a maximum speed of 3.2 mph. He drives toward Kraken to make a more tempting choice, hoping that the large beast can discern between the sizes of humans.

The angry predator leaves his prey and follows him. Adam can see that visually she is mad. She snorts as she uses all of her might to catch up to him. At her six foot a second pace, she will easily catch him on the DPV scooter.

Adam is pleased because now the beast has left Ashley. However, she is not safe as she battles the waves of the ocean. He sees her swimming with all of her might, but he is helpless to save her, or the beast will follow.

He knows that Ashley cannot hold on much longer. She looks to the horizon, trying to tread water. She sees a navigational buoy floating in the not too far away. She swims towards the buoy. Then climbs on it for safety. She hangs on for dear life.

Realizing that his wife will be okay for now, Adam pulls the throttle and circles the beast, then heads out towards the open sea. And the angry beast follows. Good. Keep following me, you lump of slime.

As relieved as he is, Adam does not know what he is going to do once the creature catches up to him. That part of the plan he has not figured out yet. At least Ash is safe and resting on the buoy. But, for how long? After the creature is done making him her next meal, what's to stop her from going to his wife? The seals make those buoys a resting stop. The colossal squid will surly toppled that thing.

No, instead of sacrificing himself, he must stop the Kraken.

Not for Wilcox or anyone else. He needs to get her destroyed to protect himself and his wife. Damn, why can't this thing go any faster? The beast gets closer and closer. And yet he still hasn't figure out a way to kill it.

Adam is getting pretty good in handling the DPV, but he cannot outpace the irate beast. It is just a matter of time until they will approach the final round in this fight to the finish match. The Kraken definably has the reach and the experience in taking out opponents.

However, Adam has the smarts. He has a secret that the beast does not possess. And that is her weaknesses. Getting close enough to take advantage of it is another thing. His hits the throttle of the scooter, but it just will not go any faster.

As he heads toward the shore, the waves are going in the opposite direction. Just like when he and Ashley were walking along the beach, time seems to stand still as if he is not moving at all.

However, as slow as he is moving, he is gaining traction. He gets even closer to the shore, but that won't help. Maybe beaching the beast? Ah, she won't be that foolish. The surroundings do seem familiar. Yes, this is the place that Conrad took him to. The Estuary Restoration Project.

What a place to die at. He will be like a sacrificial lamb right at the very spot that will give great pleasure to his real archenemy, Edward Wilcox. The place where he has stocked fresh fish to attract buyers. But, when he gets closer to it, he doesn't see any fresh fish. Certainly, the fish would not be that stupid to swim in the ocean towards their death.

Towards their death!

Of course. Jensen told him how vulnerable squids are to fresh water. Maybe he can get the Kraken to follow him and shock her to death. If she stays in it long enough, she will explode. However, she is not that stupid though. Will she go for the bait?

Turning around, Adam sees that she is almost upon him. She might catch him before they get to the Estuary. Come on, he says to the scooter. Why can't you go over four miles an hour? When he glances back again at her, he can see the glow of the squid's green-blue "tubes" of light piercing through the waters. What is fueling her anger?

Ah, there we are. Finally, just a few feet more. It is just a matter of time now. He has no time to look back. Must concentrate on the finish line. Just as he was about to cross it, he feels the water behind engulf him. It is as if something or someone has caused the swell.

As he turns around to look, the tentacles of the Kraken knock him off of the DPV.

For a few seconds, Adam has no clue where he is at. He has visions of being back in Arizona in the hot swell of the desert. All sorts of human predators pounce on him. His boss comes straight towards him. Then before he knows it, he is in San Diego at the offices of Edward Wilcox. Opening up his jaws like a crocodile's mouth, he snatches for Adam. He pulls away.

He wakes up and notices that he is in the Pacific Ocean.

His body starts to sink, but he fights to stay afloat. As an instinct, he reaches to grab something as if he was in a pool, but flounders. Consequently, panic sets in which causes him to sink a bit more.

This is silly Adam. You are a good swimmer. You do not need handles to hold on to.

He kicks his feet and he moves his body to the surface. Once there, he notices the DPV bobbing to the top. He grabs it. Once on it, he points it towards the beast. His intent is to use it like a weapon like his did with the lifeboat.

With the scooter right on the Kraken, it has no use on it. The craft's propellers are designed not to hurt the diver as well as marine life. This now dawns on Adam. Pissed off, the colossal squid takes the DPV and swims away with it.

Now alone, he must figure out a way to kill the Kraken or die. Being only a foot away from the fresh water, Adam returns to his plan to shock the beast. He swims in that direction. Once in the fresh water, he waits to see if she will follow. And predictable, the predator follows her prey.

Because she was so close to him, it did not take long for her to be in the fresh water. Adam is relieved when the beast is now in the Estuary with him. Just as planned, the creature changes color. He was told that this is a sign that it is in shock and is about to die.

He breathes a sigh of relief. Finally, the thing is dead. Tired of swimming so far, Adam leans back into the water, which helps him float. However, he sinks instead. Struggling to get up, he takes on water.

Coughing it up, he realizes that the water is salty. This is not fresh water at all. So, this is the well-advertised fresh water pond. This was the big project Wilcox bragged about. How can he get away with it?

Ah… now I get it.

It finally dawned on Adam. This was the reason for the cover up. The advertised aquifer is nothing but a scam. Or a failure. Either way, Edward Wilcox hid all of this to the public. He is nothing but a bait and switch snake oil salesman.

The reasoning behind the scam is now evident to Adam. If this was truly a failed estuary, then Wilcox would have lost his shirt on this deal. And it's just like him to turn a negative into a positive and promote wild claims about how the residents of the master plan community was going to be able to fish with the newly stocked aquifer.

If this is not entirely fresh, then the—holy crap!

Bubbling from the surface of the ocean is… the thing. Emerging above the foamy waters is her smarmy mantel thrusting forth like an arrow piercing through the darken sky. Adam comes face to face with this monster of the mythical being.

With her tentacles still under the water, the Kraken grabs Adam round the middle. Once she has a clear grip on the human, she drags him upside down through the water. This took Adam by surprise and he was not able to hold his breath. With his head remaining underwater, instinctively, he gasps in a futile attempt to bring air into his lungs. Unfortunately, this results in more water flowing down his throat.

Adam will either be fish bait or drown to death… or both if he does not act quickly. Despite the heaviness of the chainmail he is wearing, he manages to get his head above water. Maybe Ashely right about that damn thing.

As soon as he reaches the surface, his hands encircle his neck. He knows there is no one around to see his bad miming of "I'm choking" but it is a reflex to being out of water. The trachea in his throat fight to keep the water out, but he cannot get air in either.

Adams lungs feels like they are on fire. His heart races a mile a minute, he is afraid it will pop out of his chest. He panics with fear. All he knows is that he needs to get away, or the beast will drown him.

In the attempt of escaping the clutches of the beast of Fukushima, Adam moves his arms. But, he is not gaining any traction as if he is frozen in one spot. His leg muscles tighten. Am I going against the tide again? What the--! He looks back and the Kraken still has his legs.

Let go you sonna bitch. Adam stares right at the beast, but does not see it. It is as if he is there, but someplace else. There is no doubt now that Adam will be Kraken's next meal. His mind drifts away. I wonder what death will be like? Will it be painful while being chewed up? Soon he is dizzy and not sure where he is.

Maybe it is a good thing that I am too weak to know what is going on.

Adam ponders that he will not feel the beak come crashing down upon him. A coldness comes over him. Adam does not know if that is because of the chill in the ocean temperature or the moment of his upcoming death overtaking him.

Turning his emotion inside out, he lashes out. "You sonna bitch. You took my friends." Spit builds up in the corner of his mouth. "You won't get me." His nostrils flare. "Not if I can help it." If he only had one of Jensen's spear, he can stab her where it counts.

His wide-eyed expression changes. The eyes narrow. Then he sneers at the predator. "Why am I even talking to you? You don't care." He fights to stay afloat. "They say squids have feelings, but I doubt if you even care." Adam's tone changes. "You have no soul, you incompetent daughter of Hades."

His jaw clenches tightly. No, I will not die. He fights to stay above the water despite her tight grip on him. Once where his body was cold, now his temperature rises. He must find a way to defend himself or take the beast down with him. Fighting to the end, he will not be an easy meal going down.

Like a Zen Buddhist, his mind concentrates on the moment. With her tentacles, she tightens her grip on him. It is so tight, he can barely move. Must focus. His inner voice takes over. Adam drops thoughts of the future. Do not focus on self. Yeah, I am about to be eaten. Experience only the present. Still alive. Still breathing. In slowly… out slowly. Relax. Yes, that is it relax!

Somewhere in the back of Adam's head, he seems to remember reading that if one relaxes their body, they can… slip… free…Adam slithers downward away from the clutches of the Kraken.

The beast still has a grip on the chainmail, but no two-legged fish.

Now Adam is just wearing a wetsuit. Now that he is free, he rises to the surface to catch air. Wheezing, he breathes in and out like before. However, this time he is in such a hurry to take in as much air as possible, the breathing is fast, so he can dip back down.

However, before he knows it, the predator grabs him again. She brings him down under to her home turf. He lunges towards her, searching for a vital organ to injure. He pulls his right hand back, then swings a right cross to the Kraken. Because of the force of the water, the punch did nothing.

Right in front of him are those menacing eyes. Why not? Adam sticks both of his thumbs into her eyes and gouges them. Slightly wounded, the beast from Fukushima releases him. With no going back, he maneuvers his body dolphin fashion away from the beast.

Angry, the beast lets out a roar.

Oh, she is mad now. Must get the hell out of there. Adam positions his body face down in ahorizontal position. He rolls his body from one side to the other as he moves his arms forward. While one arm moves and pulls underwater from an extended forward position to the hip, the other arm recovers above water from the hip to the extended forward position.

As he makes traction, his thumb catches on the chain around his neck. It is Conrad's Saint Christopher. His chest sinks as his thoughts go back to the death of his friend. Adam fights back a tear as the horrible image of the Kraken dismembering him with that vicious beak of hers.

Adam can still hear Conrad voice on why he wore it. What did he say? "It gave me luck." TO GIVE HIM LUCK! What luck… or chance… did he have against that behemoth? He still died anyway. Except, Adam now recalls… he was not wearing it on the day that he passed away.

Still on his tail, Adam moves his arms in a vain attempt to get away from the Kraken. Without warning, she attacks. This snaps Adam out of his trance. With her tentacles, she sweeps them around, searching for her prey. Once she grabs him in her tight grip, she tosses him around back and forth, jarring him.

The pressure of her grip feels even tighter. Because he had the chainmail on, he never felt the barbs from the tentacles. Now, without that protection, he can feel it penetrate the wetsuit. They are like knifes stabbing through his flesh. If it wasn't for the rubber suit, she would have dug even deeper into Adam's body.

Still holding on to the Saint Christopher, Adam thinks about the significant to it. How can this medallion have saved him from this creature? Adam does not feel any luckier wearing it. It is not as if divine intervention will descend down to help him. Or will it?

Examining it further, he sees the special knife Conrad had retrofitted to it. The Tungsten steel blade. Nah! Can it be that simple? But is the blade long enough? Adam squirms under the mighty hold of the beast, but does not budge. He looks at the slimy beast ready to make him her meal. Then he glances back at the blade. I guess it will have to do.

What was it that Jensen told him about squids? You have to stab her in the sweet spot. But, he neglected to say where that was. The beast opens her beak. Adam knows all too well when that happens, the end is near. It is now or never. He will only get one shot at this. He had better make it a good one.

It is easier said than done. Opening the blade underwater is not easy either. He fumbles with the damn thing. Crap, it slips out of his hands. As it falls, it just catches on to part of the tentacles of the squid.

Adam reaches over to it, but the beast snarls at him. As she raises him up to her mouth, the Saint Christopher drops from the tentacles. Adam catches it at the last second. Now that he is out of the water, he is able to grip the knife better. He is inches from her hungry mouth.

With the blade open, it reflects off of the beam of the moon up above. The brow on his face narrows in. "Now see what you do when your prey is armed?" He stabs the hideous beast. She releases her grip temporally.

However, she is not even slightly injured. The only thing it did was to make her even more furious. She roars in fury. Then she trashes him about. He flies like a rag doll against a nearby buoy.

After regaining his composure, Adam swims away. The monster turns and sees him leaving. She heads straight towards him. Still with the knife in his hand, Adam lunges at her. But the blade is too short.

She grabs him anyway. Here we go again. Round three. Will this go the distance? She brings Adam up to her slobbering mouth again ready to make the final kill. It is just a matter of time now. Adam will be the main course.