Sol Ildenson Part III

“Anything else I need to know?”

“Dy has already eaten Emnet.”

“What?” I frowned. “The whale that we took in for medical treatment?”

“Yes. The head was in Dy’s stomach, the tail in Dylan’s mouth.” Nashley had a terrified face. Her words were what Eric had tried to tell me before he was interrupted. I quickly stopped them from turning on the surveillance camera at that time. I knew very well how it was going to be because this wasn’t the first time. “They seem to be targeting the whale calves in our aquaculture area. If we release them, there will likely be no hope for survival.”

“What’s next then?”

“What’s next…? …What is next?” Eric frowned at me. He looked at me, making everybody else immediately lower their eyes. “How could you say, ‘What’s next then?’ when they devastated the submarines, the equipment, our staff, and on top of that, are waiting intently for a chance to eat the whales in our care.”

“But no one died. If that had happened, I would have heard you say that you’re sorry and that there was casualty during the mission.”

“What about the dead whale?”

“That was a natural matter. We couldn’t possibly have stopped them.”

“So, there have to be casualties before you can acknowledge that they are dangerous.”

“What do you suggest then? Did you forget that this is a center for research on the ecosystem of the deep sea?” I gave him a smirk, but everyone knew that I was starting an argument. “It means we need to study every subject as planned. Dylan and Dy are the main reason my father established this research center.”

I turned on the monitoring screen showing the image of the shark brothers whose bodies were almost 90 feet long. They both had an enormous set of jaws. They also were approximately ten times bigger in size compared to other sharks. Their lifespan was longer than all of the staff combined. Not a soul on earth had expected them to reside here.

They were megalodons. Sharks from millions of years ago that were supposed to be extinct already.

“Without them, this research center would probably have been demolished with explosives already, and everyone, including you, would lose their jobs.” I made a gesture indicating the extent of what I could do. “But they are here, so it is my duty to carry on towards my father’s goal. Do you understand?”

“…”

“As for the submarines, do you think that even if we didn’t send the U-4, they wouldn’t destroy them? Apart from studying them, we must study what is deep under the sea. Do not forget our purpose, Eric.”

“…”

“And don’t say something to imply that we need to kill them again, because they are worth more than you.” My expression remained indifferent. I placed the coffee he had made for me on the table. The amiable mood in the room vanished immediately when we crossed swords. Eric was that kind of person—stubborn and hardheaded. He always claimed that caring for the monsters of the sea was not the right thing to do.

Megalodons were supposed to die, not swimming around here.

“Go back to work and don’t let me hear you run your mouth again.”

Walking out of the room, I shook my head and lit a cigarette. A curl of white smoke rose up when I exhaled. I sat down on top of the tall water tank, the only place where nearly the entirety of the sea could be viewed best. When I was in a bad mood or feeling troubled, I came up, I would sit here watching the sea creatures, big and small, swimming round. They somewhat helped relieve my annoyance.

If the bigger ones appeared, the smaller ones would hurriedly flee like they were snatched out of orbit.

The long fins that appeared above the water served as a warning that no one could leave this place. If anyone tried to step outside…

They would suffer the most unfortunate death.

‘We must give them love, son. They are pitiful.’

‘Will they hurt us?’

‘If we don’t hurt them, they won’t do anything.’

‘…’

‘You must love them like you love your own life, Sol.’

The white smoke spread out when I blew it away. Fragmented memories poured through my head. They reminded me of how I was bound. Many times, I wanted to dissolve the research team and run far away, but after a few minutes, I would realize that I could not do that.

The souls of my dead parents would likely weep.

They would likely be disappointed if I were to abandon the last thing which they had left for me.

“Dad wouldn’t be able to take it if I left them,” I murmured and took a drag of the cigarette, pumping the nicotine into my lungs and then exhaling. I caught the older megalodon’s eyes. Dy was a bit bigger than Dylan. His fin had a notch that had occurred due to an indiscriminate attack of his two years ago. He had destroyed a cargo ship ferrying methamphetamines across the sea.

The ship had been abandoned under the sea. As for the people…

They had died scattered throughout the sea.

You might be able to imagine how depressing it was. Limbs were everywhere when we reached the scene. We meant to offer them help, but we failed in the end. When the police came to investigate, we needed to keep things quiet.

We couldn’t tell them that megalodons had killed them.

Though I was almost a hundred percent sure that they wouldn’t believe our words, there were those that had an interest in this matter.

I surely wouldn’t let that kind of accident happen one more time.

Plop!

I threw a silver coin down into the sea to catch Dy’s attention before he swam away. He must have been hungry, judging by his fidgety actions. I glanced about and found what had drawn him around here.

A whale calf that we had been rearing had been separated from its mother two months ago. To protect it from being eaten, we had built a huge pool surrounded by the strongest possible wire mesh fence to prevent the brothers from destroying it in order to enter and feed. At the very least, we needed to wait for the whale to grow a little and then, we might release it somewhere else.

However, as long as it could make a sound, it would still be a scrumptious meal for the killing machines.

“Poor thing.” I sighed over the sight of the big fish which was trying to bash against the walkway so he could get in here. Actually, there was a pool that was connected to the sea. It was used to keep injured sharks for medical treatment. Some were captured to be studied in order to develop new medicines. Once in a while, however, we would let them come in.

No one would want to be scared to death seeing Dy or Dylan slip in.

“Oh, Sol, what are you doing sitting there?”

Ack!

“You are going to fall. Please come down!” I gave Bernard a wave. He was cleaning the walkway not that far from where Dy was swimming. He shielded the sunlight with his hands so he could see me sitting on the highest spot of the research center. It was almost as tall as our signal tower.

“I was thinking of jumping in and having a swim.”

“Huh?!?”

“I want to swim for a bit.” I shouted to him, pointing my fingers at the pool below. It was the pool we used for catching sharks. The security light was red, so it was currently closed. “Do you want to go for a swim with me, Bernard?”

“Oh my! That’s not a good idea. I’m not good at swimming.”

“Hmmph.”

“You’ll be dragged off and eaten by the sharks swimming alone, Sol. Woah!”

Splash!

“Bernard!” I had almost laughed at his teasing words, but instead, my eyes went wide when he fell down into the sea due to Dy’s powerful blow. The sound of the water splashing was enough to grab the attention of the dangerous creature. It took in the sight of the person who wasn’t skilled at swimming. He struggled to make his way out of the water, but his clothes and his weight were not of any help in saving his own life.

He became a still, excellent target.

“Damn it!” I cursed, jumping into the pool below. I hurriedly swam up to the walkway to get to Bernard. I raced against the shark’s speed and bit my hand so blood would drip out. I held my breath and squeezed the cut so blood would spatter down into the sea. The smell of blood would confuse the shark. I leaped down into the sea again from the other side in the hope that Dy would follow the bait.

But I’d forgotten that, aside from Dy, there was another one that was also ready to attack.

Fin rose above the water, indicating that Dylan was heading straight toward me.