Monsters In Our Wake Read online

  “Let’s give him the ship for his millennium,” I said. “We shouldn’t keep giving him gifts for no reason, or he’ll get spoiled. He’s already getting quite willful, don’t you think?”

  Willful was a colossal understatement, but I knew Draugen wouldn’t stand for much criticism of our son. The only reason he minded me was that he knew I could kill him quite easily. (He probably also knew I’d considered it several times, Draugen be damned.)

  At some point during the day, she’d swam through a kelp bed, and the strands waved around her face like hair when she tossed her head. “I suppose you’re right. He has been rather difficult lately. But I want this to be over soon, Nøkken. No more obsessing over the humans.”

  Before I rose to the surface, I gave her my word.

  It would be over soon, one way or another.

  There was no doubt about that.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After Liam’s death, everyone spent a lot more time on deck. No one could bear to return to the cabin, which still reeked, even though the men had thrown the soiled bedding overboard.

  Flora didn’t like being out in the open air. She preferred her cabin, in spite of the fact it had taken on some of the same horrible smell. When she was on deck, she didn’t feel safe, but she kept this to herself. Ever since the engineer had died, the mood toward her—always unfriendly—had grown hostile. She stuck close to Thor, the only guy she had some camaraderie with. The one good thing that resulted from the sad incident with Liam was that it had delayed Thor’s attempt to repair the ship.

  Not surprisingly, Apostolos wasn’t keen to send one of his best men into the ocean.

  Flora tried to avoid the big Greek and the other men whenever possible, but it wasn’t easy. She grabbed a quick sandwich after the rest of the crew had finished eating, scurrying in and out of the messdeck like a mouse. After a couple of days, she was tired of hiding. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe they would always treat her like a leper, but she wasn’t going to help them do it anymore.

  As soon as she heard the scraping of several chairs being pulled away from the table, she went downstairs to join the others. The boisterous laughter stopped when she entered. Thor raised an eyebrow at her, but he indicated the chair beside him.

  Frank knocked his hand away. “Don’t bother, son. She’s not welcome here.”

  Flora’s cheeks grew hot. “What do you mean, I’m not welcome here?” She could hear her voice shaking, and took a deep breath to steady it. “I’m still part of this crew.”

  The gruff man snorted. “You’ve never been part of this crew. We don’t have any use for a goddamn Jonah.”

  “Maybe you should go, Duchovney,” Apostolos said in a gentle tone that made her even angrier. The last thing she needed from the big Greek was pity. “We don’t want any trouble here.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. You guys have been avoiding me ever since Liam died. I have a right to know why you’re blaming me. I haven’t done anything wrong.” Tears of frustration stung her eyes, but she forced them back. She wouldn’t give any of those bastards the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

  George lunged from the table, a dangerous expression on his face, but Archie and Thor seized his arms.

  “I think you should go, Flora. I’ll bring you something later, okay? Maybe wait for me on deck,” Thor said, and she could see the warning in his eyes. She knew he didn’t mean to reject her, but his words hurt more than anything else.

  “Okay, fine. But I don’t understand why I’m suddenly not welcome to have a sandwich with you.”

  “Are you completely obtuse, woman?” Frank hollered, banging his fist on the table hard enough that the cutlery clattered. “You busted our drill string, wrecked our ship, and killed Liam. You’re a bloody Jonah. If this was the Middle Ages, someone would have burned you at the stake by now.”

  The color drained from Flora’s face, and she groped for the handrail for support. “What—I don’t—”

  “She wasn’t to blame for any of those things, Frank,” Thor said in a calm voice. He put a hand on the man’s shoulder, but Frank shook him off.

  “The hell she wasn’t. You’re thinking with the wrong head, Anderssen. The rest of us can see her clearly. She’s bad luck, is what she is.”

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t kill Liam—I took care of him while the rest of you were here getting drunk.” Flora was gratified to hear new strength in her voice.

  “You made him get in the water,” George said, rising from his chair again. His eyes were red-rimmed. “You, with your ridiculous stories of sea creatures and supernatural bullshit.”

  “I did not make him go in the water. I tried to talk him out of it. Thor was there. Thor, please tell him the truth.” She looked at her friend in desperation.

  “I’ve tried, but they won’t believe me. They’ve got it in their heads that you’re responsible for what happened to Liam, and they won’t listen to anything different,” Thor said. “Guys, if anyone talked Liam into doing what he did, it was me. Flora thought it was a bad idea from the start. Unfortunately, neither of us listened to her.”

  “Guess who’s thinking with his dick again,” Frank said to a general murmur of assent.

  Flora glared at the sailor. “I am not sleeping with Thor. How can you accuse me of these things? How can you think I had anything to do with Liam’s death? I tried to save him, but I’m not a doctor. I did the best I could.”

  She couldn’t close her eyes without seeing the young man thrashing on his pus-soaked bed, out of his mind with pain. She had nightmares where the flesh dissolved from the man’s bones again and her ears were filled with that terrible sizzling.

  “You shouldn’t have given him the Tylenol.”

  For a moment, she wasn’t sure she had heard the sailor right. “He had a fever, Frank. You really think giving him Tylenol is what caused his skin to dissolve?”

  The man shrugged. He still wouldn’t meet her eyes, which she knew was a bad sign. The more the crew depersonalized her, the easier it would be to hate her.

  It was George who answered.

  “He was fine until you gave him those pills. Fine. You came along and everything went to hell. Frank was his doctor. You should have asked him what to do. You should have never given Liam nothing without Frank’s say-so.”

  “Frank wasn’t there to ask. He was in here getting pissed.”

  This time, both George and Frank lunged at her, and it took everything the other men had to hold them.

  “What are you going to do, hit me? Would hitting a woman do it for you? Would that solve things?”

  “I wouldn’t bother hitting ya, witch. I’d throw you overboard,” Frank said, and the cruelty in his eyes made her shudder.

  “Duchovney, as your supervisor, I’m ordering you to leave this room and go on deck,” Apostolos said. “Thor will bring you your lunch.”

  She knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she had her pride. “You haven’t been my supervisor since the day you said you were firing me.”

  The Greek sighed heavily. “I’m still the captain of this boat, and I’m responsible for every soul on it. I’m telling you this for your own good—leave this room. That’s an order.”

  Flora’s chin trembled, and she knew her emotions wouldn’t be kept in check much longer. “Fine. I’ll go. You can have your scapegoat. But I want you to know I cared about Liam. I did everything I could to save him.” She surveyed the men at the table, all of whom refused to look at her. Even Thor had bowed his head. “I did a hell of a lot more to help him than any of you.”

  “Go.” Apostolos pointed at the stairs.

  She did, taking her time, ascending each stair deliberately. The tears didn’t fall until she was alone.

  * * *

  An hour later, Thor arrived with her lunch.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “What do you think? How could they say those things? How could they think them? I didn’t have anything to do with
Liam’s death.”

  “I know that, and you know that, but I guess they need someone to lash out at.” He shrugged, setting down a plate that had a roast beef sandwich and a pickle on it. “Some of the guys believe that old superstition that women are bad luck on a ship. It’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s more than ridiculous—it’s scary. It’s getting so I feel safer taking my chances with the creature. What if they do something to hurt me? What if they really do throw me overboard?”

  “Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen to you. Apostolos won’t let them touch you, and neither will I. You’re just going to have to keep your distance until we land,” Thor said, his voice heavy with regret. “I’m sorry, but I’ll bring you your lunch and dinner every day, I promise. I can even make you something special, if you like—tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

  “If Apostolos won’t let them hurt me, why do I have to keep my distance?”

  “Just because a lion is in a cage doesn’t mean you should poke it with a stick. The men are angry right now, and angry men are unpredictable. I think even the Greek is nervous about the potential for violence. Maybe if they don’t see you for a while, they’ll calm down.”

  She brushed new tears from her eyes and stared at the ocean. It was still flat and calm, like it had been since the day the drill string was destroyed. She’d always loved the ocean, was ordinarily soothed by it, but no more. Now she hated it with a passion. If she ever got home, it would be a long, dark day before she went near the water again.

  Thor touched her shoulder. “I’m really sorry. I did try to reason with them, but it didn’t do any good. They think I’m biased.”

  “I know. I heard.” He was so young—not much older than Liam. Just a kid, really. The only people keeping her alive were a kid and a boss who loathed her. It was less than comforting. “Let me ask you a question. Do you think the Tylenol killed Liam?”

  “Of course not. Even if he were allergic to it, it wouldn’t have caused that kind of reaction. I think something got into his wounds from that—that thing out there, whatever it is. Maybe some sort of toxin. It dissolved Liam’s flesh and killed him—everyone saw it happen. I don’t think the Tylenol had anything to do with it.”

  She exhaled in relief. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. I’m only calling ’em as I see ’em, and I told the guys the same. Hey—I brought something that might make you feel better.”

  Flora eyed the sandwich. Thor had obviously taken some time to make it for her, but she’d lost her appetite after the confrontation in the messdeck. “I’m sorry, Thor—it looks great, but I’m not hungry right now. Maybe later.”

  He grinned. “I’m not talking about the sandwich. Remember this?” Thor pulled a small waterproof camera out of his pocket.

  She felt her heart beat a little faster. “Liam’s pictures.”

  “Yeah, we forgot about them after…what happened. I haven’t gone through them yet. Why don’t we do that together?”

  “As long as we stay here. I don’t want to deal with anyone else right now.”

  “Don’t worry—no one’s going to bother us. Apostolos made them promise.”

  She was still nervous, but Thor was correct—the photographs were a welcome distraction. Perhaps Liam had gotten a shot good enough for her to identify the creature. And if she could identify it, that would be the first step in fighting it.

  They sat down on the wooden planking of the deck, the sun warm on their heads. The hours spent outside had darkened her skin until she was as olive-toned as Apostolos. Thor, with his Scandinavian heritage, wasn’t as lucky. He was trapped in a perpetual cycle of burning and peeling. At least he’d started to wear a ball cap to shield his face, which made him look even younger.

  She felt her pulse quicken as Thor hit the power button, bringing the camera to life. For a moment, she was afraid the battery would be dead, or the pictures would be destroyed from the rough treatment the camera had received.

  But her fears were for naught. Thor quickly cycled through the photos, most of which showed indistinct, watery blobs.

  “Wait…go back,” Flora said, leaning closer. “What’s that?”

  This particular picture showed a blob with a bit more shape.

  Thor squinted at the photo. “I can’t tell. Doesn’t look like much to me. I think that’s just the side of the ship.”

  “No, no…this is shaped kind of like a snake, see?” She tapped the screen with a fingernail. “And look at this. Could that be a fin, maybe?”

  “You have more imagination than me. I can’t see anything but a blob.”

  “Maybe I’m reaching. I probably want to see something too much. Let’s move on to the next one.”

  Thor advanced to the next frame, and Flora clapped her hand to her mouth.

  “My God…”

  The photo was full of teeth. Giant teeth. Fangs, exposed in a—could it be?—grin. There was a bit of nostril, but mostly teeth. The side of the boat, visible at the far edge of the frame, was toy-sized next to the creature. They wouldn’t stand a chance against it, even if they stayed on the ship.

  The rational side of her struggled to regain control. The existence of a marine animal that large was simply not possible. Where would it live? What did it eat? And why had it never been spotted before? It was too massive to hide for long, even in the ocean.

  No, the camera must have distorted the creature’s size. Nothing was that gigantic, not even the great whales.

  Thor continued to study the picture. It didn’t appear to unnerve him in the same way. “Leviathan…” he breathed.

  She shuddered. “The biblical serpent?”

  “Hey, some people think it really exists. It makes sense if there’s a factual basis for these ancient stories. What if this was what people were referring to when they wrote about Leviathan?”

  “I don’t believe in biblical serpents any more than Noah’s magic ark. I’m a scientist, remember? Bible stories are closer to mythology than fact.”

  Thor raised an eyebrow, nudging her with the camera. “What does your scientific education have to say about this?”

  “There’s always an explanation. Just because we don’t happen to know it doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”

  “Come on, Flora—you’re an oceanographer. You have training in marine biology. This is your field of study. Have you ever seen anything like it?”

  She forced herself to examine the photo even though it horrified her. It’s only an animal, silly. And a picture of it, at that. Nothing to be afraid of. But no matter how she tried to reason with herself, she still felt like something was listening—waiting for her opinion, as if a lot was riding on her next few words. She shifted on the deck, flexing her feet to alleviate the pins and needles.

  “At first glance, the teeth are snakelike, but there are too many of them. A snake’s teeth are spaced few and far between, and most don’t have that many. This creature’s mouth is full of them.” Flora thought for a moment. “It’s unlikely, but this could still be a type of water snake I’m not familiar with. Mammals were my specialty. I don’t know that much about reptiles.”

  “Are you shitting me? A water snake? Do you see how huge that thing is?” He shook his head. “No snake is that big. It’s not possible.”

  “I think the angle of the picture distorts the size. Because it was taken at such close range, the creature might be a lot smaller.”

  The ship groaned loudly in response, shifting from side to side, as if something massive passed underneath it.

  “Do you really believe that, Flora?” Thor’s hazel eyes dared her to lie to him.

  “No, I don’t. But I can’t handle the reality of this.”

  The Cormorant moaned again, and as Apostolos hurried onto the deck, they stumbled to their feet. “What’s that sound?” the Greek asked, peering over the edge of the ship. “What’s happening?”<
br />
  “It could be the creature swimming underneath us. I think it knocked something loose the last time.”

  Apostolos whirled on Thor. “How many times do I have to tell you? Liam’s death was an accident. What happened to the ship was an accident. There is no creature.”

  Steeling herself, Flora wedged her body between them. She refused to let this man push her around any longer. She hadn’t been to blame for the horrible things that had befallen The Cormorant, and damned if she would take his abuse in silence any longer.

  “Yes, there is. And we have proof.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thor suspected Flora thought the pictures would change things. And maybe he’d hoped the same, but if he’d thought about it a bit longer, he could have predicted the outcome.

  If anything, the guys were even more eager to fix The Cormorant and move into safer waters.

  One thing did change. Liam’s photos caused such a ruckus that no one said a word when Flora started joining them in the messdeck again. She was quiet for the most part, but when she had something to say, the guys listened. Maybe they finally realized she knew more about this kind of thing than the rest of them combined. The crew’s only encounters with marine life thus far had been catching a few fish or some lobsters for dinner. That hardly prepared anyone for this.

  “Are you still willing to go below, Anderssen?”

  Thor could tell Apostolos hoped he would refuse. The captain didn’t want to wrap someone else’s remains in a towel and store them in the cargo hold beside Liam’s. But Thor knew he was the only option. None of the others had his mechanical knowledge—Apostolos might know more about the ship, but he was the captain. The Greek couldn’t sacrifice himself.

  “Yes. We have to fix the ship, and it has to be done from below. The radio isn’t working. We haven’t seen another craft in days. If we don’t get this barge working, we’ll starve.” Thor prayed he’d be able to fix The Cormorant before he was ripped to shreds.