A young girl and her father were spending the cool afternoon together sailing a small boat off the coast of New York. Hearing something in the water, the young girl moved toward the edge of the boat, “Daddy, why is the water doing that?”
Her father tied the rope he was holding to the side of the boat and walked over to where she was. He looked over the edge of the boat and saw that the water was boiling. He quickly ran to the rope he had just tied, and began to frantically undo the knot.
“Daddy?” the young girl’s voice began to shake, “Daddy what’s happening?”
Her father turned the sail so that they moved from that particular spot in the water, “I don’t know sweetheart.”
They looked toward the boiling water as it became more intense. At that moment, they witnessed the violent emergence of a serpent-like creature. It rose at least fifty feet from the surface of the water and looked directly at the small sailboat.
“Oh…” the man stopped himself from cussing, remembering that his daughter was there with him.
“Daddy…”
The beast snarled releasing a puff of smoke from each nostril, turned, and darted through the water toward the mainland.
Twenty-three years later in Bethlehem, New York…
“We will drop you in from the air. Since the Manhattan Crisis, bridges linking the mainland with Treasure Island have been demolished. Once on the ground you will split into your assigned groups. One group will guard our temporary refugee camp, while the others search for people still living on T.I. You are only to bring people to the mainland if they want to leave, and the weapons you are provided with are only to be used if you are in real danger. The wildlife in this area have become more vicious, the people more violent, and as far as we know the beast still inhabits the surrounding waters. You are not hunters, and you are not barons or pirates. We do not shoot for sport and we do not pillage abandoned communities. We go to offer new life.”
Every man and woman, dressed in a white special ops uniform, lined up and received a modified AK-47 that had been stained white along with a handgun that had also been stained white. After checking their weapons, what looked like fifty troops boarded a bus and headed for South Albany, where a private cargo plane awaited them.
“Ladies and gentleman,” the man at the front of the plane said sternly, “We are about to descend. Hold on tight.”
The plane neared the island and then shifted upward.
“What is going on up there?” the man standing at the front of the plane turned toward the cockpit.
“Sir,” one of the pilots exclaimed, “You need to come see this!”
The man joined the two pilots, “We can’t make the drop until that thing submerges.”
The beast turned and looked up toward the plane. The three men in the cockpit watched in disbelief as the giant snake opened his mouth and hurled a torpedo-like flame toward them.
“Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn!” the man repeated as the pilot to his left tried to turn the plane.
“She’s too large! I can’t move fast enough!”
The flame caught the propeller and damaged the wing on the left side of the craft, sending it plummeting to the earth.
“AHHGGG!” one of the troops yelled out in pain as he came back to consciousness.
“Shh, shh, shh,” another came from behind him, “we don’t know who else is around… Griskow, come check on this man. I think his leg is broken.”
A woman approached through the dense fog and began to touch the man’s leg.
“Foster,” the man turned his attention elsewhere, “We need to canvas the area quickly and quietly.”
Another voice came from the fog, “Yes sir!”
The man returned, “What is your name crusader?”
“F, Fisher. Greg Fisher. S, sir. How many survived the crash?”
“Counting you, Fisher? Seven.” The man turned and walked toward the wreckage.
Greg turned toward Groskow, “What is your name miss… Groskow?”
She looked up as she wrapped his leg, “Tina, and his name,” gesturing her head toward the man who walked away, “Well… We just call him Roach.”
“What happened up there?” Fisher inquired.
Tina replied, “No one knows. Something hit us. We can’t even contact Bethlehem, and now most of our friends are dead while we’re stuck on this God-forsaken island.”
____________________________________________________________________________
WWW.CHRISTOA.COM
Join the club!! Search for the “Andrew Paul Short Story Club” on facebook to receive special offers on existing and future products!