Deadly Whiteness

– What the hell is this?! – he just said but felt at once that the deck returned to the correct position.

Having stood up he again was quite perplexed.

It seemed that the wave which had hit their ship, was holding them, because the end of the mast of the navy ship appeared at the same level with his eyes.

No… the mast has just disappeared and their light ship was dragged by the stern towards a large screw-shaped crater…

Professor was not too frightened by the wave which had shaken their ship because everything got stabilized again. Such things happen, solitary waves sometimes appear from nowhere. But the wave was not important, at least not squally.

The morning light could be seen in the porthole and he wanted to look at the clock when a heart-rending shriek was heard at the deck.

In two seconds professor, who had rushed to the deck, collided with Christian. The latter moved him from the way and rushed to the deck cabin. And almost at once the engine started working with all its power.

All the rest also appeared on the deck, almost naked.

– What happened, Professor? What?

– I don’t understand myself! – he went into the deck-house where Christian was already standing at the steering-wheel.

– Can you explain to me what is happening?

– Let us get away from here, Marc! To the shallow waters! Order everybody to get to crew’s quarters! At once!

Tuccert, still not understanding, ordered the fellows not to come out of the crew’s quarters and only now noticed that there were three of them, not four.

– And where is our watchman, Chris? – having fully awakened from his sleep and ununderstandable mess he asked. – And whom are we running from? My God, what’s happened to you? Your face looks like white paper.

His assistant made an effort, overcoming a lump in his throat, and than spoke in an unnaturally distinct voice:

– Marc, the lad is already dead.

– What have you said?!

– An albino squid. A giant tentacle… raised over the ship and licked him like a speck of dust.

– Are you in your right mind?

– Almost. Though one can get crazy of such horror. Our ship is like a grain for such a creature.

– Get away from the wheel!

– What?

– Get away from the wheel at once!

– Marc, if we do not move to shallow waters as soon as possible…

– Get to the boat with the lads and rush there at full speed.

– Listen, it is impossible to save him! I can bet, he perished in the moment when the tentacle got him.

– And I bet I will kill you if you do not obey my order!

When the boat rattled Tuccert had already replaced the steering-wheel and turned the ship in the opposite direction. “That’s good, – he thought, – at such speed they will soon get not only to shallow waters but to the nearest islands. I wish I had learned more from Chris. A giant squid? What was it actually?”

The door of the deck cabin was suddenly opened.

– Everything is all right, Marc. I’ve sent them.

– Chris! What the… Why have you stayed?

The latter looked at the panel with the clock and compass.

– Take a little to the right… In four minutes we’ll be in the place again.

Tuccert suddenly felt burning shame. How could he let himself speak in such a tone with his best and most devoted student in his life a few minutes ago? In reality he insulted him accusing him of cowardice. Insulted the man devoted to him, with whom, if one remembered the fifteen years of their joint work, they went through a lot of difficulties. He reproached him with faint-heartedness for the attempt to save the rest of the crew.

– You, well – said the professor in a low voice, – tell me, please, what could you notice?

– It was just a second and a half, Marc. I rushed out just a little earlier than you. The lad was standing at the fodder as though looking into the water. And at once… in about eighty feet from the fodder the ocean foamed up in a stream as though a huge geyser started working and then a huge white tentacle rose in the air. Of fantastic size, Marc.

– Try to remember the size.

– Diameter near water… not less than ten feet.

Professor shuddered.

– And that end which rushed from the height and seized the lad was about four feet. It squeezed him across his body, so only his head and legs could be seen. It again arched up, and all this disappeared under water with an unnatural speed.

– Chris, if the tentacle has ten feet in diameter, the whole length of the squid must be not less than six hundred feet. This follows from its anatomical structure, – professor shook his head. – I can’t imagine anything like that.

– Though it is you who are the author of the theory about gigantic marine invertebrates which are hidden from us.

– But I haven’t prepared myself for a meeting with one, as you can see.

– I don’t want to frighten both of us, Marc, but I didn’t mean that the tentacle’s diameter was ten feet at its basis.

– I don’t understand, what do you mean?

– The basis is the body. But nothing like that appeared near water. It seemed that the tentacle was coming out somewhere from the depth.

– It means that it is just its intermediary length?

– It looks so. Put out the engine, we are at the place.

– Whatever will be, will be! – Professor took his binoculars out of the case and went out to the deck. – One should see everything, Chris, and I pray God that he should help our boy.

Low sloping waves were opening the vast expanse of the ocean’s surface…