The two fishermen knew these dark waters well. Their simple vessel had ploughed through the waves for over twenty years, always in search of the sharks.

“Anything on sonar?” Captain Yanshee asked.

“Seems to be a couple of shark’s eight points to the north.”

The captain smiled and turned the wheel sharply.

“Prepare the harpoon would you?”

His first mate walked onto the heaving deck and reached the prow. He carefully placed the lethal weapon into the launcher and called out, “Ready when you are.”

The bows ploughed on as a dorsal fin broke surface.

“I’ll have you mate.”

He took careful aim and was about to fire when a peculiar brown tentacle snatched the fin from his view.

“What the hell was that?”

“Did you get him?” the captain asked.

“No we didn’t. Something got it first. What’s on sonar?”

“A large shoal.”

“Are you quite sure about that?”

“Positive. Why?”

“The thing that got our friend was no fish, believe you me.”

He scanned the rolling ocean as a huge humped shape rose just off their bow.

“Hey, there it is,” the first mate called.

The captain checked his sonar again.

“Some kind of fish.”

The first mate shook his head.

“That is definitely not a fish mate.”

Two huge tentacles rose from the ocean and crashed upon the deck.
The hapless fisherman was tossed overboard by the impact.

As the surprised captain screamed, his wheelhouse was smashed to pieces. A great tentacle whirled around his waist and pulled him screaming into the raging sea.

As the stranded first mate watched, the old vessel went down by the stern.

“Periscope depth mam.”

Wilma gazed through the viewer at the distant island of Guam.

“Any message for us?”

“No mam,” Vanderhofen replied.

A sudden dark shape came into view and she increased the magnification. She clearly saw a struggling man just off their port bow.

“Surface and get a grappling hook on deck now!”

As the conning broke through the water, the struggling man held out a desperate arm.

“Help!”

The hatches opened and three crewmen appeared.

“There he is,” the captain pointed.

“Just hold on to this mate.”

The struggling man grabbed the hook tightly and was slowly hauled aboard.

“Get him to the doc now,” Wilma said. “All ahead full.”

She found him shivering in the medical area as the doc checked him over.

“He should be alright. Just in shock I think.”

“Find him some dry clothes,” she ordered.

“Thanks for taking me in.”

“That’s what we are here for. What were you doing in the drink?”

“My vessel went down. Something came out of the sea and crushed it like matchwood.”

The doc shook his head sadly.

“Obviously post shock trauma.”

“I’m not imagining it,” he insisted.

“What’s your name by the way?”

“Viktor.”

She smiled.

“Okay Viktor. Once you have dried up, come to the com and tell us
what happened. The guard will show you the way.”

Half an hour later, Viktor had cheered up.

“Lovely vessel mam.”

“She certainly is. This is my second in command Vanderhofen.”

They shook hands.

“What happened exactly?” she asked gently.

“We were shark fishing when some kind of tentacle animal sank us.”

“How many of you were there?” Vanderhofen asked.

“Just the captain. We have worked together for donkey’s years.”

Wilma turned to sonar.

“Anything upon that scope?”

“No mam. As clear as a whistle.”

“Damn strange that it simply disappeared.”

“I agree number two. We’ll drop Viktor off at Guam before heading
out again.”

“I need to see this thing dead,” the sailor insisted.

“I can understand,” Wilma said. “However we are a military outfit and can’t go on a fishing expedition.”

The fisherman shook his head.

“Whatever took my ship will strike again mam. I would rather you stopped it before then.”

She nodded.

“Take him to a cabin and continue to Guam at full speed.”

They contacted the coastguard and handed him over just beyond the reef. As they set off again the sailor cursed.

“I tried to warn you!”
...
“Where to now mam?” the helmsman asked.

“We will return to the position where we found our friend. Take us down fifty.”

As the vessel sank beneath the waves, four miles to the north a trawler was happily pulling in the nets.

“Nearly there captain.”

“That’s good. That is our last one for today. Home for supper eh?”

The mechanical winch suddenly seized up.

“Damn,” the sailor hissed. “Sorry sir, something’s caught in the net.”

He was about to cut the line when a tentacle swept across the deck.
Its suckers smashed the wheelhouse as the brown body surfaced.

“Everyone to the boats!” the sailor yelled as a second tentacle rose out of the ocean.

As they scrambled for safety, the tentacles held firm to the bow and slowly dragged her under.
...
Within the command area, the sonar operator piped up.

“I’m picking up something unusual mam. It’s very faint.”

“Range?” Vanderhofen asked.

“About four miles off the port bow sir.”

“I think we had better take a look mam.”

“I agree with you. Best speed.”

As they approached, rising to periscope depth, the captain viewed a sea of debris.

“We arrived too late. Seems that the fisherman’s warning was true after all.”

“Any survivors?” Vanderhofen asked.

“None that I can see from here. Bring us to the surface and I’ll poke around.”

She scrambled up the ladder with the binoculars as her second in command followed. As she scanned the rolling ocean, Vanderhofen pointed.

“Over to the north mam.”

“What is it?”

She handed the field glasses over and waited.

“It looks like an octopus mam. A ruddy large one too.”

As he watched, he realised something.

“It’s heading straight for us.”

“Down you go and hit the collision alarm pronto.”

As she joined him, the klaxon sounded.

“This is the captain. Brace yourselves.”

Moments later the great vessel heeled over knocking crewmembers to the floor. Before they could stand, two bolts inside the berths area popped, sending water jets crashing against the near wall.

As tentacles gripped the stricken craft and began pulling it under, the intercom activated. As Captain Harris listened, she became grim.

“Get yourself to the cabins and check out the leek.”

As he dashed off a helmsman yelled, “Depth two hundred mam.”
...
Vanderhofen reached the cabins at the same time as Murray and the team of engineers. Water had risen to ankle level as they removed spanners from the toolbox.

“We have to stop this,” Vanderhofen said calmly.

“No worries sir. We can handle it.”

The spanners gripped the valve and after a few minutes of turning, the leak was stopped.

“What about the water?” Vanderhofen asked.

“We’ll bail it into the bilge tanks and expel it from there.”

Vanderhofen dashed back as the latest depth report came in.

“One K mam.”

“Much damage?”

“Just a pinprick that’s all. Any ideas?”

“Just one,” she muttered activating the com.

“Murray, I need you to rig the hull for live wiring.”

“What about the water mam?”

“We can deal with that later man.”

Murray returned to the reactor room and set about switching the load towards the hull. When he was ready, he reported in.

“Go ahead Murray,” Wilma replied.

As seconds passed, the immense voltage passed through the hull and the animal let them go. The helmsman shouted, “We are free mam.”

“That’s great. Now we need to load tube one.”

“Our weapons are not designed to hunt fish mam,” Vanderhofen reminded her.

“It’s a risk we have to take sir.”

Once the torpedo was loaded, she gave the order.

“Fish running hot and steady mam.”

They counted seconds, seconds into minutes but no crump came.

The sonar operator shook his head.

“The damn thing missed mam. Now changing course and acquiring new target.”

“You mean us?” Vanderhofen asked.

“It’s coming straight for us sir.”

“Deploy countermeasures, bow left thirty degrees.”

As three spinning boomerangs hurtled from the vessel, the sub moved in the opposite direction.

“It’s falling for the decoys,” sonar reported.

“Hang on!” the captain ordered.

A loud crump was quickly followed by the concussion wave. The sub was rocked heavily, and a torpedo crashed onto one of the loaders.
His chest was fatally crushed as the stabilisers compensated at last.

“I want damage reports right now,” Wilma ordered.

When these came in, she sighed.

“Losing just one man was lucky in my view.”

“What now captain?”

She glanced at the sonar operator.

“We are relying upon you mister.”

“Target has gone mam.”

“Damn this fishing trip.”

The boat moved on as the animal watched from a safe distance. As the stern went by, it moved behind to follow.

“Contact again mam.”

“Where?”

“Three points to our rear mam. The ruddy thing is tailing us.”

Vanderhofen tapped her shoulder.

“It thinks we are wounded.”

“We may be able to take advantage of that number two.”

She stood before the electronic map and pointed.

“That is the Guam canyon. Nice place for a visit I hear.”

“You have a plan?”

“We enter and fire a torpedo at the wall. As we make our escape that fish just might be buried.”

The second officer became suddenly uneasy.

“I need not remind you what our fate will be if this boat is trapped.”

“You should have more faith sir.”

She turned to the helm.

“Ahead south-east and dive to twenty K.”

After five minutes she asked, “Sonar. Are we still being followed?”

“Yes mam. The animal is keeping a healthy distance though.”

“Helm, how long to the canyon?”

“At our present rate of descent, six minutes mam.”

She brimmed with confidence.

“Steady as she goes.”

As the vessel entered the deep canyon the second officer said, “We have a crush depth remember.”

She nudged him in the ribs.

“Thanks for reminding me.”

She paused a moment.

“Load tubes one and two. Prepare to fire on my command.”

As the minutes ticked by the sonar operator barked a clear warning.

“Canyon wall dead ahead mam.”

“Fire one and two. Bow planes up fifty.”

As the weapons streaked toward the towering wall of rock, the bow rose rapidly.

A massive explosion tore the wall apart as the ship heeled under the hammer blows of the concussion wave.

When the ship had stabilised once more the sonar operator grinned.

“Contact lost mam. The bugger got crushed after all.”

Wilma took the com.

“All hands, damage reports on the double.”

As they rose rapidly, only cuts and bruises reached her ears.

“That was quite a gamble mam,” Vanderhofen said.

She smiled at him.

“Wasn’t it just...”