Chapter 5: Big Water Monster
"Depth charge incoming!"
A massive splash shattered the quiet night.
Ben, clad only in his swim trunks, hit the surface of the lake like a cannonball. Cold water sprayed in every direction, soaking the muddy banks.
"Ah hahaha! Gwen! Cousin! Come down and play!" Ben popped his head out of the water, violently splashing handfuls of lake water toward the two figures standing on the shore. "We came all the way to the lake to play in the water, didn't we?"
"No, Ben. I don't want to get wet yet." Gwen took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself. She stared out at the dark, rippling surface of the lake, which was heavily shrouded in a thick, eerie fog under the night sky. She decisively rejected the invitation.
"Me too. I only came out to get some fresh air." Klein stuffed his hands into his pockets. He gave the dark water a disinterested glance, turned around, and began walking back toward the Rustbucket.
"I'll go too." Gwen quickly hurried after him, eager to leave the damp chill behind.
"Ah!"
A sudden, sharp scream echoed from the water. Ben vanished beneath the surface. A cluster of frantic bubbles continuously rose from the exact spot he had just occupied.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
Gwen stopped in her tracks. She sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "Ben, stop joking around, okay? This isn't fun!"
Knowing her cousin's endless track record of childish antics, Gwen didn't believe for a second that he was in actual danger. She and Klein turned back around, walking to the edge of the water.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
The bubbles kept rising. The surface remained unbroken. Gwen shifted her weight, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face. Klein narrowed his eyes, his lazy demeanor fading slightly. He raised his wrist, his fingers hovering over the faceplate of his watch, preparing to jump in and drag the idiot out.
Splash!
A dark silhouette burst out of the water, completely draped in slimy, dripping green seaweed.
"Ah!" Gwen let out a piercing shriek, stumbling backward and falling hard onto the muddy ground.
"Ah hahaha! Dweeb! You look so silly!"
Gwen squinted through the darkness, her racing heart slowing as she recognized the annoying laughter. She wiped a speck of mud from her cheek, glaring daggers at the boy wrapped in aquatic plants.
"Dweeb! This isn't fun at all!" She scrambled to her feet, spun on her heel, and marched away.
Klein merely shrugged, dropping his hand from his watch. He turned to follow her. Why there was so much seaweed floating in a freshwater lake was a mystery he didn't care enough to solve.
"Ah!"
Ben shrieked again, sinking beneath the surface for a second time.
"Alright, Ben, have you had enough fun? We're leaving now," Klein called out over his shoulder, not bothering to look back.
But as he took another step, a strange sensation washed over him. His heightened perception caught a subtle shift in the water's current, a massive displacement of liquid that a small boy couldn't possibly create. He glanced back. The water was churning violently.
Something was wrong.
Without a second thought, Klein slammed his palm onto the dial of his watch and dove straight into the freezing lake.
A blinding, brilliant flash of cobalt blue light erupted from beneath the surface, illuminating the thick fog. The lake began to boil and ripple wildly, massive waves crashing against the shore.
A second later, the water exploded upward. A monstrous, towering figure leaped out of the lake and landed heavily on the muddy bank. It was a terrifying, amphibious beast with a massive fish-like head, rows of razor-sharp fangs, and powerful, scaly limbs.
Ripjaws.
In one of his webbed, clawed hands, he held a coughing, sputtering Ben.
Klein turned his massive, luminescent eyes back toward the water. Beneath the rippling surface, a gigantic, serpentine black shadow quickly darted away, disappearing into the murky depths.
"What was that?" Ben gasped, coughing up lake water as he stared at the spot where the shadow had vanished.
...
Early the next morning, the sun struggled to pierce the horizon. The fog resting on the lake remained incredibly thick, clinging to the water like a gray blanket.
The Tennyson family made their way toward the docks to meet their chartered fishing boat. Because of the early hour, the wooden piers were entirely deserted. The silence gave the area a desolate, isolated atmosphere, though the crisp morning air was undeniably refreshing.
"Grandpa! You have to believe me! There really is a monster in the lake!" Ben clung to Grandpa Max's arm, frantically recounting the terrifying events of the previous night. "If Cousin hadn't saved me, I'd be fish food right now!"
"Alright, Ben, we'll talk about the monster later." Max chuckled, adjusting the heavy tackle box slung over his shoulder. "We are going fishing all day today. I was quite the fishing master back in my youth. I'll show you kids how it's really done."
Max clearly didn't take Ben's frantic monster stories seriously. In his long, secret career, he had encountered creatures far more terrifying than a local lake cryptid. He knew perfectly well that unknown, ancient creatures existed on Earth, and they generally lived peacefully in their isolated habitats. As long as they weren't causing widespread destruction, he saw no reason to interfere.
Klein and Gwen followed a few paces behind. Gwen walked close to Klein, her shoulder occasionally brushing against his arm as they chatted. She was clearly leaning toward him for a sense of security after last night's scare, a detail Klein noticed but didn't mind.
Soon, the wooden planks of the dock creaked under their boots as they approached a weathered, heavily modified fishing vessel. An old man with a deeply lined face and a permanent scowl was aggressively sorting through a pile of thick ropes on the deck.
"Hello there! Are you Captain Shaw?" Max called out cheerfully, waving a hand. "I'm Max Tennyson. I booked this boat for the day."
The old man snapped his head up, glaring at them with a wild, intense look in his eyes. "Then what are you waiting for! Get on the boat! I'm a very busy man!"
Captain Shaw's temper was exactly as advertised.
"Well then, let's get on board." Max gestured toward the deck, looking back at Klein, who was quietly observing the foggy lake, and at Ben and Gwen, who were already bickering.
"Okay, Grandpa. Coming," Klein responded, stepping onto the gangway.
"Ugh! Gross! Keep those away from me!" Gwen's voice pitched up in disgust.
Ben was holding a massive, writhing clump of thick bait worms in his bare hand, shoving them directly toward Gwen's face with a wicked grin. Her face turned pale. She turned and sprinted up the ramp.
"Cousin, wait for me!"
Klein reached out, catching Gwen by the arm and easily supporting her weight as she practically threw herself behind him to escape the worms.
"Alright, stop messing around, you two. Let's get on the boat before we lose the morning bite," Max urged, ushering his grandchildren onto the deck.
...
Out on the open water, the fog had thinned considerably, though visibility remained frustratingly low. The damp air smelled heavily of diesel exhaust and old fish scales.
"So, Captain Shaw, how is the fishing out here today?" Max asked, leaning against the railing and trying to strike up a friendly conversation.
"Very good! Better than you could possibly imagine." Shaw grunted, aggressively yanking a lever on the control console. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes locking onto Ben. "Though it seems your grandson is planning to use his own breakfast as bait."
Ben was currently draped over the side of the boat, his face an unhealthy shade of green, staring down into the churning wake.
"Dweeb, what is wrong with you now?" Gwen asked, crossing her arms.
"I have to find that big monster from yesterday!" Ben groaned, forcing himself to look up. He squinted through the mist. Suddenly, his eyes widened. A dark, jagged shadow was floating in the water just ahead of them.
"Ah! It's coming!" Ben shouted, pointing a trembling finger.
The boat cut through the water, drawing closer to the ominous shape. As the mist cleared, Ben's shoulders slumped. It was just a massive, waterlogged piece of driftwood bobbing in the current.
"It's called the Krakken," Captain Shaw suddenly spoke up, his gruff voice cutting through the sound of the engine.
Ben spun around, his seasickness instantly forgotten. "You know about it?" He looked thrilled to finally find an adult who actually believed his story.
"Of course I do. It's famous in this town." Captain Shaw reached into his heavy waterproof coat and pulled out a crumpled, water-stained photograph. He shoved it toward Ben.
The image was grainy and heavily blurred, but the massive, serpentine outline rising from the water was unmistakable. It was the exact same creature that had nearly dragged Ben to the bottom of the lake last night.
"I am going to catch that beast," Shaw growled, his eyes gleaming with a manic obsession. "Everyone in town says I'm crazy. They all sit in their safe little houses and say the monster doesn't exist at all." He snatched the photo back and carefully tucked it into his coat.
"I don't doubt that," Max muttered under his breath, side-eyeing the clearly unhinged captain.
"I can take you exactly where I saw it," Shaw offered, leaning in close. A disturbing, jagged smile stretched across his weathered face. "But you'll have to be brave enough to go on a real adventure with me."
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The heavy sound of a high-powered engine interrupted them. A sleek, expensive-looking yacht cut through the fog, pulling up directly alongside their weathered fishing boat. Several men in matching uniforms stepped out onto the deck.
The leader, a man with slicked-back hair and a perfectly pressed outfit, leaned over the railing with a condescending smirk.
"Hey! There is no fishing allowed in these waters! Turn your vessel around and go back to the docks immediately!" the man ordered. He puffed out his chest. "I am Jonah Melville. I represent the Friends of Fish organization. I am an expert in animal protection, and this area is strictly off-limits. Old man, you cannot fish here."
"This is my lake!" Captain Shaw exploded, his face turning a dangerous shade of red. He slammed his fist against the console. "You stinking fish-hugger! I can sail wherever I damn well please!"
Max stepped forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture. He cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem. Captain Shaw, I believe I chartered this boat for the day. So, whose orders should we be following right now?"
Max's tone was polite, but the subtle authority in his voice left no room for argument. He didn't want to start a turf war in the middle of a lake.
"Hmph!" Captain Shaw crossed his arms, glaring daggers at Melville, but he aggressively threw the engine into reverse, steering the boat away.
...
Back on the shore.
"Those stinking fish-huggers! They actually sealed off the entire lake!" Captain Shaw paced furiously on the wooden dock, kicking a loose pebble into the water. He suddenly stopped, his manic energy returning. He marched right back onto his boat. "I am going to catch that beast. I am the greatest monster expert alive!"
Without another word to his paying customers, Shaw fired up the engine and sped away from the docks alone, clearly intending to completely ignore Jonah Melville's warnings.
Max, Ben, Gwen, and Klein stood on the pier, watching the boat disappear into the mist. They all shrugged in unison.
"Gwen, do me a favor. Look up that Jonah guy," Klein said, leaning against a wooden piling. He dug into his memories. The slick-haired man's arrogant attitude had triggered a vague recollection. Something about him was completely fake.
"Mm. On it." Gwen walked over to a nearby picnic table, pulled her laptop from her backpack, and began typing rapidly.
A few moments later, she hit the enter key. "Got him. Jonah Melville. And guess what? He isn't a member of any recognized fishing association. He's definitely not an animal protection expert either."
She turned the screen toward the group. "He's a poacher. He frequently hunts rare and valuable animals, packs them into shipping crates, and sells them on the black market to the highest bidder!"
Max's relaxed demeanor vanished instantly. His jaw tightened, and his eyes hardened into the sharp gaze of a veteran Plumber. "It seems we are going to have to follow him and see exactly what he's up to."
"Awesome!" Ben pumped his fist in the air, a massive grin splitting his face. "Are we finally going to go hunt the big water monster?"
For Ben, a boring fishing trip had just transformed into a high-stakes adventure, and he couldn't wait to dive back in.
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