who i write for. dean brannock from the watcher, benny weir from my babysitter’s a vampire, ethan morgan from my babysitter’s a vampire, erica jones from my babysitter’s a vampire, older!daniel larusso from cobra kai, devon lee from cobra kai, samantha larusso from cobra kai, tory nichols from cobra kai, anthony larusso from cobra kai, moon taylor from cobra kai, miguel diaz from cobra kai, carter davis from the happy death day films, john nolan from the rookie, lucy chen from the rookie, angela lopez from the rookie, nyla harper from the rookie, celina juarez from the rookie, miles penn from the rookie, karl mayer from desperate housewives, edie britt from desperate housewives, orson hodge from desperate housewives, ana solis from desperate housewives, bobby from hell of a summer, young and older!nick goode from the fear street trilogy, deena johnson from the fear street trilogy, kate schmidt from the fear street trilogy, simon kalivoda from the fear street trilogy, young and older!ziggy berman from the fear street trilogy, samantha fraser from the fear street trilogy, kurt from fear street part 2.
PART TWO.
extra. if i choose not to write a request, please respect that. i’m also in school so it might take me a bit to write them. i do not write smut at this moment in time. please specify if you want the reader to be female or gender neutral, i do not write male readers. i do not write graphic/in detail smut. plz don’t request a smut story for characters who are minors, i will only write fluff and angst for them.
my works: cigarettes and alcohol - christy renault | what a sick feeling - benny weir | (part 1) love potions - benny weir (part 2) you made me love you - benny weir (part 3) things change - benny weir | all night - benny weir | pretty when you cry - dean brannock | under the sea - james “mac” mackreides |
stefani reyes from final destination: bloodlines, bobby campbell from final destination: bloodlines, jennifer jolie from scream 3, chad meeks-martin from the scream films, anika kayoko from scream vi, adrian chase from peacemaker, christopher smith from the dc universe, leota adebayo from peacemaker, emilia harcourt from the dc universe, rick flag sr. from the dc universe, sasha bordeaux from peacemaker, langston fleury from peacemaker, finney blake from the black phone 2, matt pearson from st. denis medical, bruce schweitz from st. denis medical, serena jung from st. denis medical, jim hopper from stranger things, mike wheeler from stranger things, eleven/jane hopper from stranger things, dustin henderson from stranger things, lucas sinclair from stranger things, jonathan byers from stranger things, steve harrington from stranger things, max mayfield from stranger things, robin buckley from stranger things, rich santos from it: welcome to derry, and dick hallorann x reader. more to be added.
ava daniels from hacks, jimmy lusaque jr. from hacks, clark kent from superman (2025), eve teschmacher from superman (2025), jimmy olsen from superman (2025), five hargreeves from the umbrella academy, sloane hargreeves from the umbrella academy, viktor hargreeves from the umbrella academy, teresa delgado from jurassic world: rebirth, bill tench from mindhunter, holden ford from mindhunter, sam loudermilk from loudermilk, belly conklin from the summer i turned pretty, steven conklin from the summer i turned pretty, laurel park from the summer i turned pretty, taylor jewel from the summer i turned pretty, adam fisher from the summer i turned pretty, denise russo from the summer i turned pretty, conrad fisher from the summer i turned pretty, clark griswold from christmas vacation, julie james from the i know what you did last summer films, eric reyes from freakier friday, li fong from karate kid: legends, mia lipani from karate kid: legends, raymond stanz from the ghostbusters films, andrew yancy from bad monkey, and jay sebring from once upon a time… in hollywood.
joan from fear street part 2, cindy berman from fear street part 2, christy renault from fear street: prom queen, lori granger from fear street: prom queen, tiffany falconer from fear street: prom queen, melissa from fear street: prom queen, matthew kidman from the girl next door, eli from the girl next door, danielle from the girl next door, the weeknd, rudy baylor from the rainmaker (2025), jocelyn ‘bruiser’ stone from the rainmaker (2025), charlie harper from two and a half men, shooter mcgavin from the happy gilmore films, jiuming zhang from meg 2: the trench, james “mac” mackreides from the meg movies, suyin zhang from the meg, sal saperstein from the studio, quinn hackett from the studio, piper ratliff from the white lotus, chelsea from the white lotus, timothy ratliff from the white lotus, victoria ratliff from the white lotus, jaclyn lemon from the white lotus, lochlan ratliff from the white lotus, saxon ratliff from the white lotus, dominic di grasso from the white lotus, albie di grasso from the white lotus, lucia greco from the white lotus.
summary: school is fucking you in the ass (metaphorically), and you just need a pick me up from the prettiest dealer at school.
warnings: smoking.
—
Your parents were up your ass, your cheer squad held you to too high of a standard, and the preparations for prom were sucking out whatever life remained in you.
To put it bluntly, you were on the fucking brink of having a psychotic break.
The stress was building up so much that you felt like you could just burst and destroy anything or anyone in your line of sight.
Whenever you voiced your grievances to your best friend, Spider, he would always say you should pick up smoking, to which you would continuously laugh off.
That was his answer for everything and you did not like it. You vowed to never indulge in that disgusting drug, but vows were meant to be broken.
After a cheer practice full of the other cheerleaders practically on their knees at the sight of you, Spider’s coping mechanism did not seem so unreasonable anymore and you knew who to go to.
You caught her on her way out of the school, pushing through the double doors, as you called out her name. She continued walking, either not hearing you or deciding not to answer, but you didn’t let that stop you.
“Christy!” She heard you that time.
She turned around and stopped, allowing you to catch up and miss the annoyed glance that painted her face.
“Hi, I’m (Y/N), a friend of Spider’s.” You blurted awkwardly, smearing a smile on your face to hide your nervousness.
She cocked her eyebrow, wondering why you introduced yourself with that title and why you felt the need to say who you were at all.
She wasn’t an idiot—she knew your name and reputation.
“Yeah, I know who you are.” She turned forward and picked up her steps, making you frown quickly and follow her.
You cleared your throat after a minute of just walking next to her in silence, fumbling with your cross necklace as you thought of your next words. However well you planned them, they clearly didn’t come off the way they should have.
“Could I pay you for a… you know?”
Christy looked at you, forgetting you were even there, and simply said, “Huh?”
“You know… the—the things you sell.”
She let out a chuckle. “No, I’m not sure I do.” She thought it was amusing how your voice wobbled slightly and how you unconsciously held onto your cross like it would help you.
She knew this was probably the first time you were rebelling against mommy and daddy, and she wanted to make you say what you needed.
If you couldn’t do that, then she wasn’t giving you it. You had to earn it.
A sigh escaped your lips, “Christy…” You dragged her name out in a whine, causing her to smirk but ignore you.
You wanted to stomp around like a child and say fine, fuck you, you aren’t getting my money, but you already came this far. “Weed, marijuana-“
“Okay, okay. You don’t need to list every word for it, I got it.”
A moment of silence lingered before you spoke. “So do I pay you now, or?”
She rolled her eyes. “Just meet me at the baseball field at seven tommorow night and don’t forget your wallet.”
~~
“I’ve never done this before.” You muttered nervously, looking down at your lap.
“Yeah, that‘s obvious.” She replied as she rummaged around in her bag, pulling out a pre-rolled joint and a lighter that was the same shade as her red cowboy boots.
As Christy looked at you, excitement filled her body. She was honored to give your first joint, knowing that the cheer squad would all shit their pants if they saw you now.
“You good?” She asked once she saw you were avoiding eye contact at all costs.
You looked up and put on a smile, hoping to soothe your nerves. “Just nervous.”
“Come on,” she nudged you with her shoulder, “you’ll do great. You are with the pro, after all.” She smiled, making you let out a laugh.
“Yeah, thank god for that, right?”
She let out a hum in agreement as the two of you just looked at each other. You only then noticed how close she was to you. As your eyes moved around her face, you felt a pit form in your stomach.
Not a bad one, more of a one you get when you know your crush is going to ask you out.
That wasn’t what was happening, though. Far from it.
“You ready?”
You nodded, “Let’s do it.”
Christy’s original plan was to give you the weed and send you on your way quickly turned into her smoking with you. She had to make sure you didn’t die, obviously.
She stuck the joint in her mouth and lit it, wrapping her lips around and inhaling. You watched her every movement to make sure you didn’t embarrass yourself when she passed it to you.
When she blew the smoke out, she held the joint in front of you. “Just do what I did.” You nodded and took it from between her thumb and pointer finger, placing it between yours, and copying her movements.
You placed your lips around it, inhaled sharply, and launched all the smoke out in a coughing fit. She couldn’t help but laugh as she patted your back. “Dude, are you good?”
You gave her a thumbs up as your coughing settled, rasping out a “holy shit” making her eyebrows raise.
“Don’t inhale so sharply this time.” You did the process as before, but left out the part where you made a fool of yourself. You inhaled slowly and blew out the smoke not long after, passing it back to her.
“How was that?”
“Fantastic.” You laughed.
You both passed the joint back and forth until its length became too short. Christy put the joint out and sat back down in the grass, letting out a sigh.
You felt good—light, warm, and happy as you laid down in the grass. Christy also laid on her back, looking at the sky just as you did.
“You’re so cool, Christy. I’m jealous.” You blurted.
She turned her head to face you, seeing you were already looking at her. “Thanks,” She smiled.
“I wish we could have been friends. I hate my friends, they suck.”
“Yeah, they do.”
“You’re so pretty too. I’ve always noticed that but being so close to you right now… you’re just so pretty it’s honestly mind blowing.”
She was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. Your sudden compliment and how you seemed to speak like you were talking about the stars above you made her feel fuzzy.
Even fuzzier than she already was.
“You’re pretty too, (Y/N).” Was all she could manage.
A sharp inhale escaped between your lips, much like the one that made you cough for what felt like hours, before you let out a string of words you weren’t sure you would regret.
“I just—I think I want to kiss you.”
Before she could speak you opened your mouth again as you quickly leaned up on your elbow.
“No, no. I definitely do. Really badly, actually. Is that okay?”
“I think you should.”
You listened and slowly captured her lips with yours. They were soft and tasted like cherries, pairing with the lingering taste of marijuana.
Her hand came to rest on your shoulder as you leaned over her.
You didn’t see the night going this way, but the feeling of desire that sprung up deep down inside of you the moment your lips hit hers made you wonder if it was meant to happen.
Christy never imagined kissing you under the stars like there was no tomorrow. As selfish as it sounds, she was thankful for the pressure you felt or else she may have never gotten to kiss you.
The lack of oxygen brought you both apart and made you pant.
“That’s going to be thirty dollars.” Christy said, smirking.
“Thirty dollars? What a ripoff, I’m never doing this again.” You replied before placing your lips against hers.
warnings: Cussing if you count that, otherwise none!
Months had passed since the last time you talked to Benny. 4 months to be exact.
You avoided him at all costs, even going as far as not to sit with the group at lunch, going off and doing your own thing.
Erica and Sarah would join you, the former more than the latter as she was the one who was the one in the group the most pissed off at Benny. Hell, she might have even been more upset than you. Her reaction to the situation made you feel sane like you were rational in your decision to cut Benny off and you made the correct one.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to kill him? Drain him of all his blood?” Erica looked down at you as you walked to her house. The two of you had been hanging out a lot recently, you loved it.
“I think so. I don’t think death should be his punishment, just losing our friendship.”
“Is there a difference?” She cocked her head.
You shrugged, “I guess not.”
“Do you think you’ll ever forgive him? I’m not saying you should, I'm only curious.”
You pondered. “I don’t know. I’m conflicted. I miss him a lot, even after everything he did. I don’t regret what I said, I was valid for that. It’s funny how someone can wrong you but you still miss them.”
It truly was. You didn’t think you’d be mad at Benny forever but didn’t know when you would forgive him. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. Who knew?
Not you, that’s for sure.
In the following days after you chatted with Erica, you thought a lot about the situation. 4 months had been a long time to go without talking to Benny, and maybe that was enough.
You had no clue what to do. So when you showed up at Benny’s house on a whim you started to regret your decision. Your closed fist paused inches from the door.
You weren’t going to do this.
Letting out a sigh, you dropped your hand and turned around. What exactly were you thinking of doing?
Tell Benny you forgive him and that you love him the way he loved you?
Give him a kiss that’s so passionate it would put a romance movie to shame?
Oh my god… that’s exactly what you were going to do!
Idiot.
Absolute fool.
The self-respect you had for yourself was- “Y/N?” You froze. Oh no, this was happening. Do you run away or face him? That was your dilemma.
Those two choices kept replaying in your head and before you knew it, you were slowly turning around. “Benny. Hi.” You spoke through gritted teeth.
“Oh-oh my-“ You held up your hand to stop him from coming any closer. “Don’t.” He stood there, staring awkwardly at you, waiting for you to make the first move.
You let out a weak laugh, “This was a mistake.” Obviously.
“Don’t leave, please.” He could’ve begged, and by his tone, it sounded like he was.
“Benny, you have to know that I’m still mad at you.”
“I do. I swear I do Y/N and you have every right to be.”
“Yeah, no shit. You drugged me.” He grimaced when you put it like that.
“I know, and I’ll never forgive myself for that, but please come in. Let me explain myself.”
“I don’t know what else there is to explain Benny. You gave me a love potion because you thought that I couldn’t love you without it.”
“I-I did-“
“Did it ever cross your mind that maybe if you simply asked how I felt it could’ve gone in your favor?” Your words were laced with venom as you spoke, walking back up the stairs of his porch, coming to stand right in front of him.
“No-“
“Well you should’ve! You should’ve been rational and actually thought of the fact that maybe I could’ve loved you. Did you not think to ask Sarah or Erica if I liked you? Or even Rory?”
“Rory?” He asked, confused.
“Yeah! I talk to Rory you know—well actually you wouldn’t know. But if you had asked any of them you would've known that I was in love with you too, you idiot!”
You shouldn’t have been yelling, feeling bad for his neighbors, and his Grandma who might have been inside.
Benny’s mouth was wide open.
“What?” You spat.
“You-you were in love with me too?”
“Did I say that out loud?” You laughed unsurely.
“I’m sorry Y/N. I should’ve asked you first.”
“Why did you do it, Benny?” You whispered. “I didn’t think you could love me without it. It wasn’t the right way to do it. I don’t want to imagine what could’ve happened if it worked.”
“Why didn’t it?”
He let out a slight laugh, “You were already in love with me.”
“Well aren’t I lucky?” You spoke sarcastically.
“Yeah—uh, listen, Y/N, I’m really sorry. If I could take it back I would, I should have known it was stupid. Apparently, I didn’t learn from Delilah’s dog.” You almost laughed at the last part, remembering how well that blew up in his face, but you kept your composure. “I shouldn’t have drugged you.”
“So you admit it?”
“Well, yeah-“
“Then I forgive you.” You shrugged.
“R-really?” He stuttered out in shock, not expecting you to ever forgive him for his actions.
“As long as you promise to never put any spells in my drink again… we’re good.”
He smiled, “I promise. Thank you.” There was a beat of silence until he spoke again. “So, do you still love me?”
You rolled your eyes, “Unfortunately.”
He scoffed jokingly.
“Of course I do, Benny.”
“Lucky me,” He sighed blissfully.
—
Words from Micky: Part three is here! Thank you for all the love on the previous two parts, you guys are amazing! I do have some more Benny works that are in the chamber, but I currently am working on some full length fics over on my Wattpad.
A party yacht passed by Suyin's glider with perfect timing.
The team yelled out and were accepted onto the boat which the bride wasn't happy about (understandably so).
Suyin left in a flash after everyone was aboard to collect Jonas.
He was okay.
Ana might have doubted if he would survive but looking back she didn't expect anything different. She was glad the hero didn't die this time.
"Hi, can I join you?" Mac stood a few feet back from her. "Please," Ana smiled at him. He came up to lean against the railing, looking out to the sea. The silence was comforting, the two were always able to sit in silence and not feel awkward, not expected to talk.
"What happens now?" Ana looked up at him.
"I don't know," He answered truthfully.
"Probably take a couple of weeks off, right?" There was way they were resuming work right away.
"Right." He smiled down at her.
"Maybe um..." Oh boy. Here she goes. "Maybe we, can do something? Together?"
A vague ask. Something you could ask a friend. But also something you could ask a person you considered to be more than a friend.
"Yeah, that sounds nice." He was grateful Ana made the "first move", yes, he took that as a move, which is what it was intended to be. He didn't know how she felt but she was quite obvious in her adoration.
Looks say more than words do, and the look Ana had on her face and the one Mac had on his said everything.
She broke her gaze and turned to face the sea, trying to conceal the smile that was threatening to break out and failing horribly.
Mac's eyes stayed on her but turned to where she was looking when her eyes lit up even more if that was possible.
Suyin's glider was visible off in the distance.
"Hey, hey!" Lori yelled from the deck above, waving to Suyin.
If Anastasia's vision wasn't so bad she would've seen Suyin wave back, but if her vision was good she wouldn't have seen it anyway. Happy tears clouded her eyes, she swiped at them, trying to shoo them away.
Happy tears felt different than sad ones.
They came the same way, blurring your vision and threatening to fall, but the emotions that came with them were different.
With happy tears, relief comes with them, good news normally results in them.
Sad tears are the opposite, usually packaged with a horrible feeling, sometimes a heartache or even nausea.
The sad tears were over and done with.
That thought is what Ana was sure brought them on.
No more pain, only joy.
Mac wrapped his arm around Anastasia and she leaned into him. The blanket around her provided warmth, but he provided all the warmth she needed.
Not just in this moment, but in her life.
Anastasia would consider her ability to fall in love easily as her worst quality, but it seems this time it paid off.
The relaxation after Jonas and Suyin stepped aboard the yacht was the best feeling in the world. The Mana One crew, a family, were sitting on one of the many decks, wrapped up in blankets, basking in the feeling of great relief.
Ana and Mac were sitting next to each other, her blanket was now placed around both of their shoulders. "Well, here's to being alive." Mac raised his cup, others following suit. "And to our friends," DJ added, a solemn smile graced Ana's face.
She clinked her cup against Mac's with a cheers and took a long sip, letting the hot liquid warm her up.
Maybe good things were better left unsaid.
Anastasia and Mac's relationship wasn't confirmed but they had an understanding.
An understanding that they cared for each other, loved each other, but didn't need to say it out loud.
It wasn't the right time to profess love for someone, but who was to say that time wouldn't come soon?
Jonas got the Shark in the path of Suyin, telling her to take the shot and she did exactly that.
After she did so, a splash shot high up into the air but the missile sadly missed the Meg.
"Anybody see it?" Jonas asked.
"Can't see the Shark, but something's going on up here."
Anastasia ran out onto the main deck with the team, meeting up with Lori who was already there. Two helicopters passed over the boat, and everyone looked up to the sky, seeing a third one going in the other direction.
"Okay, I've got her attention," Ana could barely hear Suyin from the helicopters that were still buzzing around. "Bring her to me." She could hear Jonas reply. Suyin's voice came in after that but Ana didn't hear her anymore.
There was commotion from Jonas' end and it didn't sound good.
The boat shook lightly as Jonas passed under with the Meg hot on his tail. The team was still focused on the helicopters, watching as two of them collided with each other, fire erupting as two halves of a helicopter dove into the water, but the other was coming straight for the Mana One team.
"Go. Go. Go!" Mac yelled, and grabbed onto Anastasia's hand, pulling her over to the side of the boat. The helicopter crashed into the deck just as they submerged into the water.
The explosion spilled into the water, fire sat on top of the surface. "Where's DJ?" Jaxx asked, causing Ana to look around the open ocean.
"I don't know," Mac answered her.
"Where's Meiying?"
"I don't know! I couldn't see her anywhere."
"Meiying!" Ana yelled out, she grew concerned for the young girl. "Meiying! DJ!" She yelled again but it was no use.
As if the panic from not knowing where Meiying or DJ were, the panic that she was in the water with a large Shark that had already killed a number of her friends had started to set in. Trying to ignore the fact that they were pretty much-sitting ducks as long as they were in the ocean.
Not for long though, Suyin came around from the other side of the boat with DJ and Meiying on the side of the glider. "Come on, come up!" Ana grabbed onto Jaxx's hand, assisting her onto the glider.
"There it is." Ana turned her head at Jaxx's words. The Meg was close by. "Oh, my god." She and Suyin spoke at the same time.
"Jonas!" Mac yelled.
"It's coming." Suyin thought out loud.
"We're sitting ducks up here, Jonas," Mac stated the obvious.
"Mummy!" "It's coming." Meiying and Suyin's voices were background noise to Ana's thoughts.
Was this it?
Was death coming right for her?
"Can you hear me, Jonas?"
"Meiying, hold on."
"Suyin, we're gonna have to go. Through here."
"Jonas, we've got nothing left," Suyin spoke. Ana hoped he would finally reply. "Almost nothing."
"How're you gonna kill it?" Mac asked.
"Evolution. I'm gonna make this thing bleed. Suyin, what you said before, you were right. It's not about the people you lose. It's about the people you save. Signing off."
"Jonas!" Suyin yelled, trying to stop him. Protests were let out by her and Mac but they fell on deaf ears.
Jonas was the type to sacrifice himself. He was the hero of the story if Ana had ever seen one.
This time she hoped it worked out for the hero.
TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREVIOUS<<. CHAPTER 11. Coming 8/21
"Yeah, I understand. I understand, yep. Thank you." Mac chucked a book towards the wall in frustration, causing everyone to shut up and halt their movements.
Anastasia raised her eyebrows in shock, looking at Mac along with everyone else in the control room, wondering what the issue was.
"Let me guess, Morris never called anyone." Jonas walked onto the ground floor.
"Didn't call anyone." Mac smiled, although he was far from being happy.
Of course, Morris didn't take any action.
The weight of the Meg was taken off everyone's shoulders last night but was placed right back on very quickly. "No one knows the sharks out there. No one, Not the Australians, not the Chinese. No one."
"The hell was he thinking?" Lori questioned. Ana rolled her eyes. "He wasn't,"
"He wanted to make this go away as quietly as possible," Jonas answered.
Greedy bastard.
"Mac, we need to let everyone-" "Let everyone know. Yeah, I'm on it." He cut Jonas off. "Anastasia, why don't you help Mac? Lot of phone calls to make." Jonas pointed over to where Mac stood. "Okay," She nodded and walked over to Mac.
"Jaxx, can you find that thing?"
"Wait, wait, wait. Why are you asking her that? I don't like the fact that you asking her that." DJ intersected.
"You want me to illegally hack into Morris' satellite tracking system to find a prehistoric Shark?" She questioned, catching the attention of Mac and Anastasia. "Yeah," Jonas confirmed. "Okay,"
"We use a tracker, find the Meg, and we kill it."
"Bro," Mac stopped him. Jonas walked over. "We really gonna do this?" Ana looked to Jonas who now stood in front of her and Mac. "A lot of people are gonna die if we don't, Mac."
"Well, I'm in," Lori spoke. "Me too," Suyin added.
"Let's do this."
"How do you feel about commandeering that evac ship? With the help of your friend here, of course." Jonas nodded toward Ana. Mac gave her a brief look, "I'd say, uh," He let out a short sigh, "it's a great day to go fishing."
Jonas let a small smile break out on his face, turning to address the rest of the room he spoke, "Now let's get everything on it. Construction explosives, gliders, the whole lot. Everything."
"Because we're about to evac, right? Like evacuate? Like, leave the area of imminent danger and go to a safe place like normal people?" Anastasia heard DJ's skeptical tone as she walked out of the room, feeling as if DJ was not going to be lucky in his hopes of leaving Mana One.
-
"Any luck with the authorities?" Jonas asked Mac and Ana, the two having walked through the plastic curtain of the room where everyone else was. She shook her head while Mac answered, "No. Prehistoric Shark sounds like a damn prank call. We can't rely on them for anything."
That was true, Anastasia had one man literally bust out laughing when she tried to warn him. He was so loud and went on for so long that she had to pull the phone away from her ear in hopes of him stopping.
He only did when she hung up.
"How long until the Shark gets to those people?" Jonas asked, looking at the map that showed the route of the Meg. "20 minutes," Jaxx said.
"Can we get there first?"
"Doubtful."
"Yeah, well, we're gonna have to," Mac added.
If the Shark entered Sanya Bay, a heavily populated beach, the chaos that would erupt would not be pretty.
"Well, getting there first wouldn't mean anything if we don't have a plan," Lori spoke. "Maybe we have a plan."
The plan Jonas spoke of was brilliant, and Ana hoped it would work. The Meg would be lured into the shallow area of the water far away from any beach-goers, and the gliders would be the transportation used to go after it.
How would the Shark be lured away from a ton of people out to a non-populated area of the sea?
A Whale call should do the trick.
When the gliders were prepped, the device holding the phone that contained the Whale call, and Suyin and Jonas were ready, it was time.
"So... how do you want to do this?" Anastasia stood behind Jonas who was at the side of Suyin's glider, listening to her speak to him. "Is that you asking my opinion?"
"No. I was just being polite, before telling you what we're actually doing. So you feel better about yourself."
Ana smiled at their interaction, further hoping that the pair would get together once the Meg was done for.
"Appreciate that." After Suyin waved to him, he turned around, spotting Mac and Anastasia smiling at him.
Jonas laughed before putting on his poker face and shrugging, "What?" He questioned the two.
"Nothing." They responded at the same time, Mac being happy to give Jonas a rough time.
"We're ready." Jonas walked off.
-
"We're close enough, stop here." Mac instructed, "Jaxx, DJ, we gotta get that thing in the water." He spoke about the luring device. "Yeah, we're on it," DJ replied.
The wind whipped Ana's hair around, causing it to get into her eyes and not give her a clear view of the work being done around her.
She was glad this was the end of it, supposedly, at least.
She had faith in Jonas and Suyin, there weren't two people who were more capable of an act like this than them.
It would work.
It had to.
The Whale call device was dropped into the water not long after the boat stopped, and both Jonas and Suyin were lowered into the water.
"Any last thoughts about our plan?" He spoke through comms.
"Not dying would be a good start."
Yeah, no kidding. Ana thought.
Jonas laughed, "Finally, we agree on something. Let's not make it a habit."
God, the banter was off the charts with those two.
Anastasia hoped to be Suyin's maid of honor at their wedding, which was definitely happening.
"Suyin, look out! Get out of there!" Jonas's voice was terribly loud. "Damn it," He spoke quieter that time.
"What's wrong, Jonas?" Suyin asked, her tone conveyed worry. "Can't make the shot. It's too close to the ship." Oh, great.
"Jesus!" He whispered. "Jonas, it's on you." Suyin pointed out. "Mac!" Lori yelled, Ana followed him onto the deck even though she wasn't the one who was called for.
The Meg left a large wake as it swam after Jonas, his glider barely visible as he tried to move faster than the Shark.
"Jonas, what's going on down there?" Mac asked.
What Jonas said next was (not) lovely to hear.
"Trying to stay out of its mouth."
TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREVIOUS<<. CHAPTER 10. Coming 8/14
During the ride back to Mana One Doctor Zhang had passed.
The station was quiet after, mourning the loss of the people they worked with. Anastasia had taken a shower right when she got back and went to Suyin who was in the boardroom.
"May I come in?" Suyin nodded and placed one of the photos down.
Ana wrapped her in a tight hug feeling the tears of her own come down again.
She could feel Suyin's body shaking slightly, as she gripped on tighter to Ana.
The hug lasted long, but that didn't matter. The two held each other like it was their last hug ever, like they wouldn't be able to ever touch each other again.
"How are you feeling?" Ana already expected the answer but still wanted to ask.
"Not good, I still can't believe it. It doesn't feel real." Suyin pulled back, tears streaking her cheeks.
"Your feelings are valid, you've experienced the loss of a parent. A parent is one of the worst people to grieve."
"I feel angry. I should've done something."
"It's not your fault, Suyin, he knows that."
"I know," She sniffled. "Do you want to talk about him?" She shook her head. "Not now."
"That's okay. I'll be here to listen when you do. I'm here for you, Suyin, you can lean on me. You and Meiying, I love and care about you guys more than anything." She didn't say anything, just pulled Ana into a hug.
"Jonas," Suyin whispered. Ana turned her head to see him standing by the doorway.
"Sorry to interrupt," "It's okay," Ana smiled at him.
"Are you okay if I leave?" She asked. "Yeah," Suyin responded in a whisper.
They pulled back from the hug and with a look between the two Anastasia left.
-
It was time to take action... again.
With the second plan not working it was time to find a better idea.
Suyin and Jonas passed by Mac and Anastasia, and now that everyone was accounted for the meeting could start. The room dive control room was packed full of crew, and the chatter died down.
Morris stuck his hand up in greeting, "I've informed the Chinese government about the Meg. As well as the authorities in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Australia. The Chinese are sending two destroyers to take it out, so, this is now... officially, and thankfully, out of our hands."
He took a beat, nodding to himself. "I'm closing Mana One," Ana furrowed her brows, looking up to Mac who had a stoic look on his face. "Until the Meg is killed, and an evacuation ship is coming here tomorrow morning."
"You damn right," DJ commented.
"And finally, I just want to say..." He walked down to the ground floor where everyone else was. "I'm sorry, for your losses. Your friends. I came here to celebrate with you, and now I'm mourning with you."
That was a different side to Morris, a side that shocked Ana completely.
She had no idea that he was a real human who showed emotion. He came across as a rich asshole who thought everyone was below him, which he still did, but he had another side to him.
After Morris had got packed up Jonas and Anastasia escorted him out to the helicopter. They stood on the stairs as Morris climbed into the helicopter, watching it go up.
"Thanks for saving our asses!" He yelled down to Jonas.
He gave Morris a salute in return, receiving a slight smile from Ana.
"Something's not right." She turned to Jonas. "Yeah, I feel that way too."
"You think he actually informed all those people?"
"I want to believe him."
That was a no or a maybe, but it was clear Jonas was still suspicious.
-
The medbay doors slid open with a chime, alerting Meiying and Lori that Jonas and Anastasia were coming in.
"I can see your cards," Lori sang.
"Well, look at you too crooks." "Hey," Lori smiled. It was nice to see her doing better.
"It's nice to see you up. How are you feeling?" Ana asked.
"Like I got off easy, compared to the rest of you guys."
Meiying put her cards up to show Jonas and Ana. "Mmm," "I think you're going to lose, Lori." Ana teased, getting a smile in return.
"What do you got up there?"
"Three kings." Meiying put her cards down on the bed.
"What? Come on! Every time!" Meiying laughed.
"You owe me a soda for that one." Lori pointed.
"Fine." Meiying hopped off the bed. "We'll square up when you get back, okay?"
"Fine. Fine. Fine," She repeated as she walked away.
"I'll go help her." Ana gestured. Meiying obviously didn't need help carrying some sodas, but Ana wanted to give Lori and Jonas a moment to be alone.
She wanted to ask Meiying how she was doing, she partly already knew from what Suyin told her, but Meiying also looked happy and she didn't want to bring it up and make her sad. They walked in a comfortable silence and grabbed three sodas and a juice box, making their way back.
"How 'bout you just try something new? So the rest of your life isn't a vast wasteland of misery and solitude." The two caught the last part of Jonas and Lori's chat.
"I think that's a good idea," Meiying spoke, handing the sodas over. "You do, huh?"
"We weren't eavesdropping, I promise. You guys were talking loud."
"Eight-year-olds hear everything."
"That is true." Ana laughed, Lori too.
"Jonas..." Meiying whispered, gesturing him to come closer with her pointer finger. He listened, "My mom likes you, too." She spoke loudly enough for the two women to hear. Punctuating her statement by suggestively raising her eyebrows, making Lori and Ana bust out laughing.
"This is possibly the worst moment of my life." He looked at the two. "And since you," He pointed to Ana, "Want to laugh. What about you and Mac, hmm?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." She took a sip of her soda, trying to hide her flustered expression.
"You don't?" Lori tilted her head.
"Nope, not at all." Ana shook her head, trying to be convincing. Lori looked fixedly at her, a pointed expression on her face.
"Fine," She broke, shoulders dropping. "I will admit, I do like him more than a friend should."
Lori smiled widely, "I knew it! Just so you know, he feels the same about you."
"What?!" She pretty much yelled. "You're joking."
"Nope. He talks about you a lot, it's annoying." Ana rolled her eyes. "Jonas, you've known Mac longer than I have. What's your input?"
"Well, he's quite obvious when he's in love," Is he though? Ana hadn't picked up any signals from him. Maybe her blinders were on. "And he's also told me about you, a lot about you."
Ana's face felt like it was on fire. "God," She placed her head in her hands. "This is embarrassing. What do I do?"
"Confess, duh." Lori said, and Jonas nodded along.
"No, not now. With everything going on it's not the right time."
Nothing like confessing your love for someone hours after your friends died.
"Okay. Then do it when it feels right." Lori smiled.
"Is Mac going to be my uncle now?" Meiying blurted out, making the three adults laugh.
This new revelation had Ana confused. Confused about when the right time to tell him was, how she would go about it, and what she would say.
She had a lot to ponder about and who knows, maybe she wouldn't even tell him.
She was sure Lori wouldn't let that happen though.
TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREVIOUS<<. CHAPTER 9. Coming 8/7
The sight of Suyin's eyes fluttering open could've made Anastasia burst into tears.
It didn't though, because she was still silently crying from seeing Suyin's lifeless body getting pulled out of the water and onto the boat.
The time between CPR being performed and when her pulse came back was hell on earth.
Suyin let out a sigh and Doctor Zhang chuckled while Ana wiped her tears. "Thank god, you scared the hell out of me."
Suyin let out an exhale and tried to sit up quickly. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy. You were dead a minute ago."
She let out a sigh, "Doctor," She made eye contact with Jonas. "You got me out."
"It was closer than I woulda liked."
"Can I have a minute with Jonas?"
"Sure," Doctor Zhang agreed and Heller took the blood pressure cuff off.
Ana kissed her on the head and walked behind Doctor Zhang, "Thank you, again." She said to Jonas, he sent a nod in return.
She had thanked him at least three times now. Yeah, it was close like he said, but Ana saw it as at least he got her out, gave her a chance to survive.
"She okay?" Mac asked, "Yeah," Ana smiled.
She felt peace for the first time in the past days, she could relax properly and go back to Mana One and have the best sleep of her life.
"Good. And you are?"
"Fantastic, you?"
"Fantastic," She laughed at him using the same word as her.
Through the whole disaster she's appreciated Mac more than he'll ever know. Him checking in on her was too nice of him, but he loved her so what else did she expect?
Did he love her like a friend?
Yes.
Did he love her like a lover?
Also yes, not that she'll ever know.
Mac seemed like a person of high confidence, but when it came to professing his love he was a chicken. So was Anastasia, minus her seeming like a person who had confidence.
"Wow," Suyin walked past Mac and Ana, staring up at the ginormous Shark strung up above the deck.
"Hey! Look who's up." The Wall popped out from in front of the Meg.
"Hey,"
"How are ya?"
"I'm better. Thank you."
Ana watched The Wall throw his phone to Jonas, posing for the photo, gagging loudly due to the awful smell, and screaming loudly as he fell into the water.
The team laughed loudly at DJ scaring The Wall by moving the Meg slightly. "Yo, Jonas, please tell me you got that!"
"I got that, DJ!"
"That's not funny, man!"
It felt good to laugh.
Ana looked around the open sea, enjoying the cool breeze as she leaned against the table next to Mac. She thought about Toshi, how she wished he could've been here to see the discovery.
The nice moment she was having was quickly ruined.
A loud splash occurred, water hit Ana in the face, and the last thing she could've expected to have caused the wave was a Meg taking a bite out of the dead Meg that had been strung up not that long ago.
It was like slow motion, the way it happened, and when the live Shark pulled the boat in its direction she lost her footing.
The boat tilted and she slid down to the other side, hitting the wall below the railing, watching Doctor Zhang flip right off the boat next to her.
She saw the lifeboats sliding off the upper deck and jumped into the water, hoping they wouldn't hit her.
One of them narrowly missed her and she resurfaced with a gasp, watching the boat flip fully over.
What. The. Hell.
"2! There's two?! Nobody said there were two!" DJ took the words right out of her mouth.
2 Megs? You've got to be kidding.
"How are there two?!"
"Ana!" She heard Mac yell.
"I'm here!" She yelled back while climbing onto the bottom of the boat, that was now the top.
She helped Suyin up the boat as DJ continued to yell out.
Suyin was yelling for her dad, Anastasia helped her look around.
"Mac! Give me a hand." Their attention turned to Jonas who was pulling Doctor Zhang along, the two ran over, helping the men while Morris was on call trying to get the team help.
"Thank you, Jonas. Thank you." Doctor Zhang's mouth had blood drizzling down the side of it, he needed a doctor ASAP.
He groaned in pain. "Just relax. Relax. It's not good." Jonas turned to Suyin. "He needs a hospital fast. Let's get the doctor. Where's Doctor Heller?"
"Maybe we should flip him on his left side, he has blood in his mouth and we don't want him to aspirate on it. Keep his airway clear." Ana thought out loud.
"Good call. Help me keep him steady." Jonas flipped Doctor Zhang on his side and Suyin and Ana helped keep him put.
"You're in the wrong line of work, Anastasia." Doctor Zhang joked.
She sniffled, the adrenaline was wearing down, the situation was becoming more apparent. "There's nowhere else I'd want to work, sir. Or for anyone else." She smiled.
"Here it comes!" She turned her head to the sea, seeing the large and rough wave of the Meg swimming towards them.
"Hey!" Doctor Heller started smacking his arms down in the water.
"No!" "Heller, no! What are you doing?!" Jaxx and Jonas tried to stop him. Ana couldn't bear to watch.
The kill count for the Meg was going to rise again.
Once again being someone she knew, someone she cared for.
Doctor Heller yelled and yelled and she wanted to cover her ears. She kept Doctor Zhang on his side as Jonas comforted Suyin.
With one final "Hey!" it became silent. "Heller!" Jaxx yelled and Suyin screamed.
The Meg swam away after that, being satisfied with the kill. Jaxx was helped onto the boat.
"What was that? What the hell was that?"
"Okay, come on, DJ."
"No! No! This is why we don't leave the station, okay? That's why you don't do that! And you went down there and you pissed it off, now it gonna come back and kill every one of us! Now what are we supposed to do? I shouldn't even be out here in the first place! Swimming in this ocean, that one ate the other one, is another one gonna eat this one? Man, it's..."
He cut himself off. "It just killed Heller. It killed The Wall. It killed Toshi. These are my friends, man."
Ana's heart hurt at DJ's rant, he hadn't been very vocal about his feelings but now they were all on the table.
The boat creaked, "Okay, can I just point out that this thing is sinking? What are we gonna do now?" Morris spoke.
"Where's Mac?" Ana's head snapped up at Jonas' words, her eyes darted around.
She spotted him swimming straight for a life boat, Morris' question was answered.
TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREVIOUS<<. CHAPTER 8. Coming 7/31
Anastasia handed Mac the spear gun, the two were on the stern with Jonas who was getting clipped in.
"This tracker rifle only had a 100-foot range."
"100 feet?" Jonas asked, bewildered. "Get really close before you shoot." Ana nodded at him.
"Great." He snatched the gun out of Mac's hands.
"If you want me to go instead, I will." Ana was shocked at Mac's statement.
"I got this, Mac."
"Okay, good, 'cause I was lying." Jonas chuckled. "Be safe." "Yeah, thanks, pal." Jonas turned to look at Suyin, "I hope you're right about this."
"Me too." With that, he dove into the water. Jonas swam slowly while Doctor Heller fed him more line.
"I'm an idiot," Jonas spoke over comms.
He swam a bit further, "I am proceeding to the enormous killer Shark."
"Yeah, we got you, Jonas." Anastasia eagerly watched on, worried for Jonas.
"Sharks are attracted to panic motion. Keep it nice and smooth."
Easier said than done.
"It's all gonna be fine." Jonas tried to reassure himself once the Dorsal fin of the Meg poked out of the water. He then started singing the Just Keep Swimming tune from Finding Nemo and Ana had to bite back a laugh.
"Oh, boy, it's going under." Morris pointed out, and the nerves were running higher than ever. Jonas was barely visible, but it looked as if he was close to the Megalodon.
"Mac, tracker is live!" Jaxx yelled out minutes later.
"Great! Reel him in, DJ." The line started to come in.
"Stop! Stop!" DJ stopped per Suyin's pleas. "No vibration!"
Anastasia looked back out to the sea, the Meg did look more aggressive as it swam forward, it caused a wake to appear at both its sides. "Oh, shit. I'm in trouble."
"Jonas, it's coming at you."
"You think I didn't notice?!" He yelled at Jaxx, her statement was obvious.
"Start the boat! Start the boat!" Jonas was easier to see due to his frantic swimming.
"Pull him in!" Suyin and Ana said the same thing, although Ana wasn't as calm as Suyin. Jonas was coming to the boat quickly but the Meg was right on his tail, it was too close. Everyone was yelling at Jonas, telling him to hurry.
Jonas went under for briefly and then flew up into Ana, The Wall, and Heller, the Meg was right behind him, mouth open ready to eat. The three caught him and he slipped out of their grasp onto the platform, landing harshly. They kneeled down to Jonas, looking over him.
"Are you alright?" Ana quickly asked, he only nodded, out of breath. "You might be a son of a bitch, but you're sure as hell no coward. Good job." Heller patted Jonas on the chest, while The Wall brought him into a handshake, Ana let out a sigh of relief, giving into the laughter everyone else was sharing.
-
"I prepared the spearheads to inject etorphine." Ana walked over to Dr. Heller, handing him the bottle. "A Killer Whale is knocked out with 10 CCs. Dead with 20. What do you think?" Doctor Zhang asked Doctor Heller.
"I think we use the whole damn bottle."
Suyin got suited up, her father and Ana helping in any way possible. After the cage was lowered and Doctor Zhang had a short conversation with Suyin Ana started to worry.
"I'll be okay you know."
"I know. It's just... I know."
She didn't really want to divulge into a whole speech about how she couldn't lose her best friend. "Please be careful." She wrapped Suyin into a hug, as best as she could with the large tank on Suyin's back.
"I will," Suyin rested her cheek on Anastasia's shoulder, the two had always been touchy with each other, showing their affection mostly by touch.
"I love you," Ana smiled at Suyin once she pulled back. "I love you too," Suyin returned the phrase. Ana got up and busied herself with assisting Doctor Zhang.
-
She stood between Jonas and Mac, watching down on Suyin as Heller shut the cage lid. Jonas turned the latch and Suyin gave a salute, he patted the cage two times in return and down she went.
Chum was thrown in around Suyin, and the waiting game began.
A gasp was heard from Suyin. "What's happening down there? You okay?" Mac asked. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just some teeny, tiny, eight-foot Sharks." Ana rolled her eyes at the use of "tiny" being a description of eight-foot Sharks.
"Here we go."
It was showtime.
"We've got her attention," Jaxx announced. The Shark was pinged on the map, going right towards Suyin. "Suyin, it's on its way," Mac spoke through comms as he walked away.
"50 meters!" Jaxx informed him.
"50 meters." He relayed.
The meters started decreasing, 30 and then quickly 10. The moment the Meg was on Suyin she let out a yelp. "Okay. Wow. I'm going to try to hit it in the eye. Damn it."
It was hard not knowing what was going on down there.
Suyin yelled again and the line for the cage started rolling, the whole rig turned to the side.
The boat abruptly got pulled backward, water came up onto the deck, and Ana held onto the table to not lose her footing.
"Oh sh-" The rod was pulled almost all the way out of the platform, narrowly missing DJ and Heller, who tackled DJ to the ground.
"Yes! The poison is in."
"Okay, Suyin, hang in there."
She let out a grunt, "I'm trapped! I'm in its mouth!"
"That cage will not break." Jaxx told her, "That's the problem! The cage is being swallowed!"
It seemed as if no one knew what to do but Jonas, who went flying off the back end of the boat with an oxygen tank.
Ana ran over. "Hell yeah!" She glared at Morris.
"Not this again." "Oh, man. Oh, man." The cage line was getting dragged again, causing the boat to turn in the same direction.
The noise of the line snapping made Ana look over and see the rod knock Jaxx into the water. "Jaxx!" She ran over to the cabinet with all of the equipment to look for a ladder, fishing through the gear.
Morris came up behind her, "Do you have a ladder here or something?"
"I'm looking for one, help me," He started looking through the other cabinets.
"New problem. My mask is broken. I'm losing air." She heard Suyin over comms, feeling her heart shatter. Suyin had been too close to death too many times, this one felt more serious.
She pulled the earpiece from her ear and placed it on the floor next to her. "Here!" She turned around at Morris' voice and the two ran over to the ride of the boat.
"Help!" Jaxx screamed right as Morris threw the ladder over the edge, Ana and Morris held each side steady, watching the Meg come up on Jaxx.
"Hurry, Jaxx!"
"Come on, Jaxx!"
Morris and Anastasia grabbed onto her right before the Meg crashed into the spot she was in only a few seconds earlier.
"Thank you," "You're welcome." The two replied. Ana felt like her heart would burst out of her chest any second.
"Jonas, the crane's in the water!" She snapped her head towards the spot where the crane should have been at DJ's words. "It's gonna pull her to the bottom! Hurry!" She ran over to DJ.
"Swing the second crane over." The Wall commanded. Ana helped DJ do exactly that.
"We're gonna set a trap. Guys, I need some bait." Doctor Heller threw in a big chunk of chum, and moments later the Meg swam right for it.
"Come on. Got him!" The Wall was mistakenly still holding onto the line which caused him to be yanked into the water.
He resurfaced, with the crew all yelling at him.
The line attached to the Megalodon that was once jerking forward started to slow until there was no movement.
"What you people discovered is an even bigger goldmine than we ever thought possible."
This meeting was running way longer than it should have. It felt like Morris was going on, and on, and on, and could not shut his mouth.
Anastasia was leaned forward to the table, her head resting in her palm, feeling as bored as ever. "We are completely unprepared to deal with creatures like a Megalodon." Suyin tried to reason with him.
"I understand, and we can get prepared. I'm talking about a long-term plan."
Everyone minus Ana and Mac started talking over one another, their overlapping argument reminded her of the scene in SpongeBob SquarePants where the anchovies rush into the Krusty Krab.
She ran both of her hands through her hair and felt the table beneath her elbows shake. She recoiled and looked around the table to see if anyone else noticed, Mac did, and he held his hand up to try and silence the rest.
"Did you guys feel that?"
"What's that?"
The rumbling continued and it shut everyone up.
"My daughter." Suyin sprang out of her seat, and Anastasia and Mac followed behind her. They ran into the elevator and Suyin pressed the button, Jonas was already on the level when the doors opened.
"Jonas!" Mac yelled.
"Did you see Meiying?"
"Do you know where Meiying is?"
"We can't find Meiying."
Suyin, Anastasia, and Mac all spoke over one another. They heard screaming, definitely Meiying, and started to run.
"Meiying? Meiying?"
Mac and Anastasia ran one way while Jonas and Suyin ran the other. Jonas and Suyin got to Meiying first, Mac and Ana seconds later.
When she saw Suyin crouched in front of Meiying she immediately went over to the two, crouching down on the other side of Meiying.
"Are you hurt?" She asked, placing her hand on Meiying's back, she shook her head, clearly out of breath. Ana looked up at the glass noticing a bunch of teeth marks in the glass, she was surprised the Meg didn't shatter the glass completely.
The loud smack of a baby Whale made Ana jump and clasp her hand on Suyin's shoulder, who turned Meiying's head away.
The Whale let out a call, "It's okay. It's just a Whale."
"Wait. Where's Lucy? Where's the mom."
Oh no.
Ana put two and two together, Gracie never came up to the station without her mom, and how she was bumping her nose against the glass, could only mean one thing.
The Megalodon quickly came out of nowhere and bit into Gracie, making Ana gasp as the Whale whimpered. She turned her head the other way, not wanting to watch a young Whale get eaten, but it wasn't any use as she could still hear the Meg thrashing around in the water.
-
"All right, team. Initiate emergency protocols. And nobody is to go near the water."
Since the Megalodon was now past the thermocline it was time to spring into action.
"Turn off all the underwater lighting. Restrict the crew to essential areas." Mac patted Jonas on the back as he went to go do exactly what Jonas said.
"You guys, take a look at this." Jaxx had the thermal imaging clip up on the screens.
"When the glider came up, the thermocline was intact, so it was one degree Celsius right?"
"Yeah,"
"But a minute later, when the Evolution came up, the temperature increased by 25 degrees. A Shark could come right through there. 20 Sharks for that matter."
"When the Meg hit the Origin, it slammed into a thermal vent." Anastasia looked next to her, watching Jonas walk down to the main floor.
"Those can release millions of gallons per minute. The heat from that vent cleared the path through the freezing cold layer." Doctor Zhang added on.
"Are you saying we opened up a superhighway for giant Sharks?" Morris asked, sounding frustrated.
"Not exactly. It-it seems like it was a transitory event. The temperatures are returned to normal, and the gap is closed."
"Yeah. But not before a massive prehistoric killing machine decided to come up and say 'Hi.'"
"Hey, look, we're wasting our time. That thing's out there. We need to find it and kill it."
Suyin turned back to look at Jonas. "No. We can't. We should explore non-lethal options first."
"For the Meg or for us?"
An alarm blaring turned the attention away from Jonas and Suyin. "I've got an emergency locator beacon," Raymond, a dive control technician announced, everyone rushed over to him. "20 miles south, southwest."
"What does that mean?"
"It means a boat has gone down." Doctor Zhang told Morris.
Two more boats ping on the table.
"Three boats." DJ corrected Doctor Zhang.
"That's the Meg. We need to get there, now."
-
The team took Charlotte, the boat, out onto the water to the coordinates. Jaxx and Ana were on spotting duty, the two looked around the open ocean for the boats.
"Look, right there," Ana pointed out.
"Mac! We found something!" Jaxx yelled.
The boat came to a slow as it passed through wreckage, debris was everywhere. The team was looking over the side of the boat, the boat that went down looked like it exploded. The sight of tiny Sharks with their fins cut off made Anastasia disgusted.
Maybe it wasn't so bad the Meg attacked that boat.
Doctor Heller rolled one of the Sharks over with a rod that had a hook on it. "These Sharks have no fins."
"They were killed by Shark poachers. They cut off the fins and throw the Shark back to die. All for a bowl of soup." Doctor Zhang informed DJ.
"Looks like the Meg evened the score." Doctor Heller pulled an arm up.
"One fish did all this?"
"Ask it yourself." A large Dorsal fin came above the surface.
"Okay," Doctor Zhang let out a sigh. "We have a Shark cage and spearguns on board," He told Jonas. "If we can shoot the Meg in a soft spot like its mouth or gills, we can inject it with something lethal."
"Whoa! Whoa, whoa. It's gonna take at least 20 minutes to rig the cage. And that thing will be gone in two." Mac shut the idea down.
"Why don't you just put a tracker on it?" Morris spoke up, and for once something smart came out of his mouth. "Don't you guys ever watch Shark Week? You have one of those, like, GPS... tracker... tag.. thingamajigs. Keep an eye on the Shark 'till the cage is ready."
"We should be able to put a tracking dart in that Dorsal fin." The Wall agreed.
"You're welcome."
And he had to ruin it.
"Yeah, but somehow we have to get this boat next to that Meg."
"No, we can't. It's already proven aggressive towards boats."
"The safest way to approach is without a vehicle."
Mac, Doctor Zhang, and Suyin tried to come up with a plan.
"Hold up. Hold up."
"You want someone to swim out there?"
"To a prehistoric Shark that ate our friend?"
"Suyin, this might be the worst idea you've ever come up with. No offense."
DJ, Jonas, and Anastasia did not agree with that idea.
"Actually, one of us alone in the water is no threat."
"Okay, who the hell is gonna make that swim?" The Wall asked the important question.
"Let's draw straws."
"I can't swim." Morris stood up. Everyone looked at him, knowing he was the worst person to do it, and wasn't even a contender. "Uh... sorry, my body made me say that."
"I don't think anyone thought you were going anyway, pal." "Yeah," He agreed with Anastasia's words.
That's all Anastasia Katz focused on while she sped walk to her living quarters, her shaky hands.
Toshi was dead?
Absolutely not, she refused to believe it.
Someone she knew, someone she cared about, she would never be able to speak to again.
What the fuck even happened down there?
She didn't believe that Jonas would leave Toshi, no matter what anyone else said or thought, she didn't think he was that kind of person. The kind of person who leaves someone behind for no reason.
Yes, she knew about Jonas's past, him "leaving his crew behind to die" as Doctor Heller put it, but she had to believe it was for a good reason, and besides, Doctor Heller didn't like Jonas at all. For all she knew he was making Jonas out to be a villain, you would think Heller would understand the pressure of being responsible for someone's life, being a doctor and all, but he didn't.
Her heart was beating quickly, she felt like she was going to throw up, and the tears came when she shut the door behind her. She slid down the door, knees against her chest, weeping as silently as she could.
Grief was a complicated thing, you could go through it a bunch of times but it never got easier, only seeming to get worse.
Was it better to talk to someone about it or keep it to yourself?
Act like you were fine, it didn't affect you.
Anastasia couldn't act like she was fine, she wasn't that fourteen-year-old girl anymore who hid her feelings behind a mask and only took it off once she was alone in her room, away from her father's judgmental gaze.
God, don't even get her started on her father.
That trash human wrecked his daughter's teenage years and made her "weak", as he called her when she cried. She was still that weak little girl on the inside.
"Ana, are you in there?" Her head snapped up, Mac was at her door.
For what?
Did he hear her crying?
"Yeah. One second." She grimaced at her watery tone, if he didn't know she was crying before he did now.
She hurried to the bathroom to try and make herself look decent and then walked to the door.
"Hi," She tried to play it cool once she opened the door.
"Are you alright?" He immediately asked, and she broke. "No." He quickly shut the door behind them and led her to sit down on her bed.
"Talk to me." Ana shook her head, suddenly feeling embarrassed, "I can't believe Toshi's dead. His poor wife, and The Wall, everyone. I don't understand why it had to be Toshi, why couldn't they all make it back safely? It wasn't his time."
"Death is weird, you know. I don't have a clue on what to say that will make this any easier. But I'll listen when you talk."
He was right. Did death pick and choose people? If so, why Toshi? Not that she wanted anyone else to die, but she didn't know why anyone had to die.
Ana didn't know what else to say.
She simply leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, sitting in silence.
-
"You told him he was the type of person who leaves people behind?" Ana asked in shock, bundled under her covers, watching Suyin pace the room.
It was the following morning and Suyin burst into her room. "Well, yes, but that's what I thought happened! I lost my temper."
"It's good you recognize that, but the next step would be to apologize. You know, for accusing him of leaving Toshi behind. As much as it wasn't the appropriate thing to do I get letting emotions run high, and it's much easier to have someone to blame."
Suyin left shortly after, letting Ana get ready for the day ahead, which consisted of finding out how to kill the Megalodon.
Toshi's death was still weighing heavy on her, as it was for everyone, besides Morris, and not seeing Toshi around made it feel all the more real.
For what the Meg had done Ana wanted it dead.
"How are you?" Mac asked as they walked side by side to the meeting on what the next steps were.
"Hi, I'm better, I think. I don't know. It feels weird not seeing Toshi around, there's this hole in the team, he was such a big part."
"I know exactly what you mean."
It was a simple sentence but it made her feel seen, like her feelings were valid and she wasn't being reprimanded for feeling that way.
"How are you?" She returned the question.
"Okay, better when we catch the thing."
"Agreed," They turned the corner and saw Suyin leaning against Jonas's bedroom door.
Ana wasn't going to say anything, just raise her eyebrows and continue on, acting like she didn't see anything, and so was Mac.
"Hi. Uh-I was..." He put his hands up, "It's all good."
"Yeah. We won't tell Jonas you were being a peeping Tom." Ana smiled.
"That's not funny."
"Jonas and Lori were the worst married couple ever, you know?"
"Uh-huh."
"Whole experiment was over in a year."
"I didn't ask anything." Mac opened the door for Ana and Suyin, "I know." Ana smirked back at him, knowing he was trying to play matchmaker.
-
"This is what attacked us. A Megalodon."
Once everyone was in the conference room Suyin gave us a rundown of the giant shark, information popped up on the screen in front of the table.
"How big is that thing?"
"They can range from anywhere between 70 and 90 feet. 21 to 27 meters." Ana responded to DJ, eyes on her from her quick response.
"What? I know a few things about sharks." She shrugged.
A comparison of the Megalodon to humans and other sea animals showed.
"The Megalodon was the largest shark that ever existed. It feared nothing. It had no predators."
A slide about its prey was next, "Its jaws were stronger than any other animal, ever. The Meg could bite a whale in half, crushing through the bones."
"We are in uncharted territory," Doctor Zhang took over for his daughter. "Until today, Megalodon's were thought to have been extinct, for over two million years."
"Wrong." "A living fossil." DJ and Jaxx chimed in.
"That living fossil ate my friend."
Anastasia frowned slightly at The Wall's words, Mac placed his hand over hers, bowing his head as everyone was reminded of Toshi's death, not like they had forgotten anyway.
"I cannot begin to express my sadness for Toshi's death. We have the discovery of a lifetime. This is what Toshi worked for."
The Wall looked back to Doctor Zhang, Ana did feel like his statement was a bit insensitive. "It's what we've all worked for. But we're going to have to proceed slowly."
"Yeah, that's really not gonna work for me."
Everyone turned to look at Morris, who Ana forgot was even in the room until now. "What is Mana One?"
"This station?"
"Yes. And what's it doing? Hmm? Right now."
No one answered.
"Exactly. Nothing. 20 million dollar rover, gone. Thirty million dollar sub, gone. You are now sitting in the most expensive underwater marine biology day camp, in human history. And now that we've actually found something amazing, we can't proceed slowly. You don't quit trying to get to the Moon because you lose an astronaut. You charge forward, or someone else will get there first. Other people will want a piece of this thing, whether we like it or not."
"You seem to like it." Jonas' voice brought all the attention to him.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, you seem to like it." He spoke louder and Anastasia was happy he was clapping back at Morris.
"I'm sorry, is he part of this team?"
Ana scoffed.
"You're damn right he's a part of this team." The Wall harshly replied.
"Okay." Morris put a hand up, was he really expecting the group to say he wasn't a part of the team?
"You ever think that Mother Nature might know what she's doing? The thermocline might just be there for a reason?" He took a breath, "Hey, look, you wanna explore? Go ahead, explore. But if you start sending people back down there, don't call me to come save your asses. Because in case what happened down there wasn't clear to you, man vs. Meg isn't a fight. It's a slaughter."
TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREVIOUS<<. CHAPTER 5. Coming 7/10
Anastasia was in the med bay with Doctor Zhang as Heller was giving Jonas a checkup, making sure he was able to able to do the rescue, but she was pretty sure he'd be going either way.
The tension in the room was to the roof, Heller checked Jonas' blood pressure under his piercing gaze. "He's in perfect shape,"
"Just like the last time you examined me."
"Suyin took a glider fifteen minutes ago." Mac informed, walking into the med bay, "She's planning on taking the Origin back up."
Oh god.
Ana didn't know much about rescue missions but she figured bringing the Origin up in a glider was not a good idea.
"Take me to the sub." Jonas ripped the the cuff off.
"We're not done here."
"Yeah, we are. Lori's running out of air, and we're in international waters, which means legally, I can beat the ever-loving shit out of you, and get away with it."
Ana's eyes widened, she barely knew Jonas but she thought he was awesome.
He had the level of confidence and a take-no-shit attitude she so desperately wished she had.
She was shocked with herself about what she said to Morris earlier, she had come in contact with countless people like him, and some who were even ruder, but never once spoke back. She always rolled over and let them treat her however they pleased.
Heller turned to the other three in shock. "It's true," Ana and Doctor Zhang looked over to Mac, "Legally, I mean. Good thing he doesn't hold a grudge."
-
Anastasia was in the dive control room, ready to watch Jonas' rescue mission. Mac checked in with everyone, making sure everything was prepped and ready.
"Evolution, we are go for dive."
She watched Jonas on the screen, he turned the sub on and was dropped into the water.
"System go for descent."
Jonas stayed put, not listening to the automated voice, he was hesitating, understandably.
"System go for descent."
"Hey, brother. We're good to go."
"System go for descent."
The voice repeated, for the fourth time, and Jonas still hadn't moved. Everyone was looking around unsurely, was Jonas not going to it?
"Jonas." Mac was now wondering the same thing.
A few seconds later and Jonas started the descent, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"Evolution successful launch."
Jonas got to work, moving around the sub.
"Evolution now passing 1,000 meters."
Jonas was descending quickly, causing his blood gases to drop, but Jonas disregarded Heller's worry about him blacking out.
"Suyin be advised, Evolution is now en route. Request you return to Mana One immediately."
"Negative. He can give us an escort on our way up."
"Tell her to get out of the way, Mac. More people means more risk and she's in way over her head."
"Jonas, you just told her yourself."
"What?"
"The little green button on your intercom, that's for single channel communication."
"Brilliant."
Suyin entered the Thermocline, and passed through the "bottom", while Jonas stated he needed to cut communication due to how fast he was going, leaving the crew puzzled.
Minutes later Suyin found the Origin, "There it is. I've got visual on the Origin. I can see most of it."
"Okay. They're alive." Anastasia let out a sigh of relief, knowing that her friends were mostly safe at that moment, Mac patted her on the back.
"I'm going to set up to tow."
"Range to target. Six meters...Four meters."
Ana's eyes were glued to the screen showing Suyin, feeling antsy at how close Suyin was to rescuing them, wanting to yell, hurry up!
"Target locked."
"Firing magnetic hook. Three. Two-" Suyin was cut off by her own scream, a loud thudding noise accompanying.
"Suyin? Are you okay? What's happening?" Mac's tone was too calm, Ana was freaking out on the inside, biting the inside of her cheek to try and calm herself down, to no avail.
"There is something down here. Something just hit my ship." Suyin's whisper made goosebumps flourish all over Ana's arms.
Suyin yelled out again seconds later, "Suyin what's happening?"
"It's a huge squid. It's got the glider."
"Warning. Capsule pressure."
"Mac, it's crushing me. It's crushing me! I don't think the glider can take it." Suyin's tone was full of panic. Anastasia's anxiety level rose, the alarm blaring in the background didn't help either.
"It's not gonna hold," Jaxx informed the obvious, but hearing it from an expert made it all the more terrifying.
"Suyin, engage the pressure compensator."
"Compensator will not engage."
"Capsule breach in ten seconds."
Tears pierced Anastasia's eyes, was she seriously about to hear her friend die?
"Capsule breach in five sec-"
The automated voice stopped, and silence took over.
"Oh god. It's a shark. It's like 20, 25 meters."
"It's a Megalodon."
A Megalodon?
When Anastasia was just a young girl she was obsessed with sharks, the theme for her eighth birthday was sharks. If eight-year-old Ana knew that Megalodon’s were in fact not extinct, her mind would've been blown.
"Impossible," Suyin whispered in shock.
"I'm so glad I'm not crazy." Jonas was speaking directly to Heller, who stared at Jonas through the camera, not believing what he was hearing.
Jonas made it to where Suyin was located, "Suyin, power down. It's drawn to the light. Shut everything down and stay dark."
"Shut down in 30 seconds."
"Shutting off everything but comms." The sonar started beeping rapidly, detecting the Meg coming back around. "It's circling back. Turn them off. Now."
"Shut down in 15 seconds."
"Mac, I have no control." Anastasia should've known the chaos wouldn't end when the squid got eaten. "Hurry," The shark was coming fast, faster than Suyin's glider could shut down.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five-"
The beeping stopped, and so did the countdown, Suyin was safe. "Now's your chance, blow your tanks." "No. I can help you save the crew."
"Your glider's damaged, there's nothing you can do. Blow your tanks now."
"Damn it."
"Doctor Zhang, your daughters clear. I'm heading for the Origin now.”
This time the sigh of relief wasn't internal, it was hard to know exactly what was going on down there, the cameras didn't show everything and had been cutting out occasionally, and only being able to hear Suyin's reaction to the once unknown creatures and not know what exactly she was encountering was the worst.
Anastasia felt only a tad bit relieved, she still had more friends down there, and Jonas, who she hoped would be her newfound friend, and only when they came back up safe would she be fully content.
It was the second waiting game she experienced that day, both involving Jonas, but this was the most nerve-racking.
The sonar alarm started blaring, again. The Megalodon was coming for the Origin, again.
No one seemed to be speaking, whether that was because Ana was so laser-focused on the sonar and tuned everyone out, or there was no one talking, all silent as they watched the Meg.
Then, right at the last second, the Meg sped away from the sub, and the beeping stopped.
Anastasia assumed that was a good thing, if the shark had swam away that quick then there was a good chance it got spooked by something, which meant all was well...?
Jonas was radio silent, and his video signal was off, so no view of what was happening on the inside. The beeping started back up, snapping Ana out of her thoughts, and once again, for what felt like the millionth time, the familiar blob popped back up on the sonar, coming for the Origin.
But this time, there was a visual on the Evolution coming back up, so good news.
Or not.
"Where's Toshi's vitals?" Ana stood behind Doctor Heller, pointing to the screen in front of him.
"They aren't showing," Heller replied, lowly, as if he already knew what happened, or was guessing.
She looked at Mac.
"Come in, Evolution."
No answer.
"Jonas, come in."
Silence, panic rising again.
"Are you all okay?"
Maybe Jonas lost the comms connection?
"Doctor Heller has vitals on Lori and The Wall, but we don't have Toshi."
Please be a lost connection.
"Is Toshi okay?"
Please.
"Jonas, is Toshi okay?"
TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREVIOUS<<. CHAPTER 4. Coming 7/3
