Sea Creature (Victor Methos) – ukázka
Na ukázku první kapitola z knihy Sea Creature, kterou napsal Victor Methos a která mě dost zklamala (to jako ta kniha, ne ta první kapitola). Tady už bohužel budete ochuzeni o většinu gramatických chyb, které se snažím opravovat, a nebude tak evidentní, že co se stalo v této kapitole, na tom už ve zbytku knihy nezáleží, ale aspoň to dá představu o jazyce a příběhu knihy.
Literatura:
- METHOS, Victor: Sea Creature. Lexington: CreateSpace, 2012. 298 str. ISBN 978-14-7006-462-4.
The great beast hovered motionless in the blackness of the sea.
A warm current was passing through and it began twisting slightly with the force, as if it were part of the ocean landscape, a fixture inseparable from the water. Its eight arms were coiled tightly underneath, two long tentacles dangling beneath them. This far below the surface it glowed a faint red, a mechanism to attract prey.
It hadn’t eaten for days since it was now too large for any of the local sea-life to provide adequate sustenance. But it was patient. It could wait for weeks without food.
There was tumult nearby. It could pick up the slightest trace of motion and its boulder-sized eye slowly opened, catching a glimpse of a six foot tuna that swam in a circle around it, investigating the flashing red light. As the tuna passed in front of it, the beast shot out with one of its tentacles, wrapping it around the tuna’s midsection. Each tentacle was armed with hundreds of sucker rings, a serrated tooth-like hook in the center. It was designed to tear into meat and not be removed unless the prey was willing to part with a massive hunk of flesh.
It easily tore the tuna in half, bringing the meat underneath the arms and to a giant beak that swallowed the pieces whole.
The tuna only served to peak its hunger and it remained motionless, attempting to pick up the slightest vibrations. Suddenly, far above on the surface, it heard the thrashing of a large animal. It began to rise…
“Mary Beth!” Lauren yelled.
It was dusk and the sun had nearly set, the stars beginning to sparkle in the sky, but she could still see Mary Beth paddling farther from shore with Andrew and it made her heart race. Viña del Mar was by far the most luxurious and safest of all summer area resorts in Chile, but the tides were still as strong as anywhere else on the coast.
Her mother had told her Mary Beth was her responsibility. She was far too impetuous and foolhardy considering her station in life, her mother had always warned her. Lauren was the responsible one, the one her parents always turned to when they needed to find out what mischief the girls were up to.
The canoe was painted yellow, easy not to lose sight of, and the wood was thick, but Lauren was frightened that a strong current could overpower it and send it off farther to sea. And then she would have to explain to her mother how Mary Beth had to be dragged back to shore by their bodyguards. And where were those damn guards now? She had a suspicion Mary Beth had sent them on an errand to be alone with Andrew.
Mary Beth looked back to shore and waved to her sister. She couldn’t hear what she was yelling but she laughed: no doubt her sister was worried.
“Should we go back?” Andrew said.
“She always worries. When we were little girls she was always warning me not to ride my horses or play with boys or go far away from the estate by myself. She reminds me of mother that way.”
“Your mother,” Andrew said with a shake of his head, “quite the character. Do you know she came to my father’s house, screaming her head off, because she found one of my letters in your room?”
Mary Beth laughed, leaning back onto the canoe and putting one leg into the water, letting it drag across the surface. Andrew paddled softly and looked at her bare leg. It was smooth and milky white and her feet were perfect. He looked back to shore and wondered if anyone could see.
“Pull your swimsuit up,” he said, his eyes locking on to hers.
She smiled and playfully wrapped her fingers around her waist, tugging at her bikini as it rose up, revealing her hips.
“Higher.”
She reached underneath and pulled her bikini to the side.
“Now take it off.”
Mary Beth leaned her head back, the moon becoming bright in the sky and illuminating her face. She slipped off her bikini. “What do you think?” she whispered.
There was no reply.
She looked down and saw that she was alone on the canoe, the paddle lying limp across the seats. The sea was still as glass.
“Andrew?”
She looked down over the water. He was a trickster and she could see him getting her excited and then slipping into the ocean, peaking her excitement and only making her want him more.
“Darling,” she said, sitting up and leaning over the side, “I have a present for you.”
There was only the silence of the ocean, not even small waves lapping against the wood of the canoe. It was a silence she hadn’t heard out here before and the hairs on her neck stood up. She looked back to shore; it was far and she couldn’t see if her sister was still there or had gone back to the hotel.
“Andrew, this isn’t funny. I’m paddling back to shore if you don’t come out right now.”
There was a scraping noise, something underneath the canoe. It sounded like flesh against wood. He was underneath.
“I’m leaving now, you can swim back.”
There was another sound, the surface being broken as something came up. Across from her, on the other side of the canoe, she saw a glowing tentacle reach up and slither its way over the wooden seats. It was slick and white, turning briefly a blood red before losing its color again. It left a slimy trail along the wood. It began to go to the left and then circled to the right, searching.
Her heart stopped. She screamed and the tentacle thrust forward around her legs and another came from behind and wrapped itself around her face and throat. She felt lightness as she was lifted in the air and the cool water of the sea against her skin as she was pulled under.
A moment later, the canoe was dragged underneath the surface, and the ocean went still again…
