Chapter 3

"Get back below!" Captain Stewart yelled from the bridge.

Paul stood in the doorway of the cabin, afraid and unable to will his legs to move. It was almost pitch black out but he could see that much of the boat's railings had been torn away and the ocean was starting to creep over the sides.

"Get below! Now!" the Captain screamed. The boats engines roared to life and the Captain threw the throttle to full.

"Captain?" was all Paul could muster before one of the other fishermen pushed him back into the cabin and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh god. Oh fuck," said the fisherman.

"What was that? What hit the ship?" Paul rummaged through his belongings, looking for his cell phone.

"It, it was...oh fuck it couldn't be."

"Couldn't be what? Where's the others?"

"They're all gone. It took them!"

"God damnit! What took them?" Paul found his cell phone and powered it on.

"A kraken."

They stared at each other, neither one able to believe what was just said. Paul's phone let out a small chirp indicating it was on and had found a signal. He checked the screen and the phone showed one signal bar.

"Is it working?" The fisherman made his way to the cabin entrance and peered through the small window on the door.

"There's a signal, but it's weak."

"Call someone, anyone. Try to get some help."

Paul dialed his wife. If he wasn't going to survive, he wanted to let her know that he love her. The phone rang twice and then the call dropped. He checked the screen again, no signal. "Fuck. It's gone."

"We're dead. We made it angry and now its going to tear the ship apart," said the fisherman. He grabbed a knife from the tackle box on his bunk. "I'd get a weapon if I were you."

"I don't have a fucking weapon. Are you kidding me? What did you do that this thing wants to kill us?"

"I didn't do it. One of the other guys, he hooked a fish, a big yellow tail, and started reeling it in. The fish put up a fight for a couple minute but then it stopped. He'd thought he lost the fish so he started taking in the rest of his line but then he felt a tug and the line start spooling out real fast. Faster than any yellow tail should be able to take the line. So he fought back. Fuck, he should have just let it go. Next thing we knew, the line stopped spooling out and we saw a huge mass in the water heading right for the ship."

Paul's cell phone rang startling them both. It had picked up a faint signal. Paul looked at the screen. It was his wife call back. He answered the phone.

"Hi honey, saw that you call. You back on dry land already?" asked his wife.

"I don't have a good signal so I need you to listen. We're still out and something attacked the boat. One of the other fishermen thinks its a kraken. I think the captain is trying to get the ship back but it pretty fucked up. I'm not sure if we're going to make it back." Paul began to cry. "I love you."

"Honey? You're bre - what's happ - a krak -"

The phone lost the signal. Again, Paul couldn't move. It took him a moment before he realized the fisherman had left the cabin and the ship's engines had stopped. He looked down and water was beginning to pool on the cabin floor.

Chapter 2

Paul awoke to the captain yelling above deck. He looked over and noticed the gentlemen that was in the bunk across from him was gone. Paul threw on his clothes and borrowed shoes and climbed the ladder up to the deck. The sun had just come up and several of the other fishermen were already fishing off the port side. The rolling swells were more intense than the previous night when the boat set out onto the high seas. So intense that Paul was immediately seasick and he vomited over the side.

"When you're done chumming the water, grab you pole," Captain Stewart said. "I tied off that fancy new lure for you."

Paul wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He felt better, same as he did the previous night when got seasick and threw up over the side. "Thank you." He took his fishing pole from the rack and found a spot on the railing a little ways from the other fishermen. He cast out his line but it didn't go far. He reeled the line back in and tried again. It went a little farther this time, but not by much.

"You're letting off the line too late. Reel it in and try it again." The Captain was leaning against the side of the ship's cabin. Paul tried it, letting off the line sooner and sure enough, the line flew much farther than before. "Good," said the Captain. "Now do that off the other side with the other fishermen. That's where the fish are."

Paul fished for several hours and caught a few fish, none of them spectacular, but he was happy that he caught anything. He got sick over the side again and decided to go below deck for a nap. Paul awoke to the Captain yelling above deck, but something was wrong. He had not been asleep long but when he looked out the cabin door it was dark as night and raining. Sitting on the edge of his bunk he rubber the sleep from his eyes but was knocked to the cabin floor when something hit the side of the ship. He heard more yelling from above and then another booming thud as the ship shook from another hit. Paul hurried up the ladder to the deck just in time to see a massive tentacle drag one of the fishermen off the deck and into the foaming sea.

Chapter 1

The sea breeze was gentle and calm but the salty air stung his eyes and throat. It didn't help that this fall had been unseasonably dry. Paul made his way toward the dock with his borrowed fishing poll, stopping briefly to inspect the brightly colored lures in the tackle shop window. He wasn't sure what, if any advantage one of these lures would provide him on his first deep sea fishing trip, but he would take any advantage he could get.

A bell above the door chimed as Paul entered the tackle shop. The old man behind the counter didn't budge from the morning paper. Paul was overwhelmed by the selection of lures in the display case. He settled on a bright green lure with black stripes and yellow eyes painted on either side. It looked like a lure that would catch the attention of any fish in the sea.

"I'll take this green lure, please."

The old man kept his eyes on his paper. "Naw. You don't want that one," he said.

Paul waited for the old man to offer him a suggestion, but never got one. "What about this pink one. The one that looks like a squid?"

The old man put down his paper and swiveled around on his stool. He pulled a dull lead colored lure from the wall, swiveled back and set it on the counter. "You're fishing for yellow tail, ain't ya?" He pick up his paper and resumed reading. "Color don't matter much to yellow tail. Besides, this one's cheaper."

"Good to know. Thank you," said Paul as he handed his money to the old man. The old man took the money and put it in his pocket, never looking away from his paper.

Making his way towards slip thirty-two, Paul admired the various ships anchored along the way. He'd always dreamed of owning his own sail boat and cruising around the Caribbean. But the idea of becoming independently wealthy enough to do such a thing seem impossible given his current financial state.

"Are you Paul?" A man yell at him from the deck of one of the boats. He was pulling in a line.

"Yes," Paul replied.

"Good. I'm glad I caught you. I'm Captain Stewart. We had to change slips last night and I didn't have any way of contacting you."

"I gave my phone number to the lady taking the reservations. I think her name was Dana."

"I don't have a phone. I figured I could spot you anyway."

"Why's that?"

"Dana told me this was your first trip. Your sandals gave you away. Need shoes on my vessel."

"I may have some back in my car. I'll go check."

"No, no time. You're late as it is. I've got a pair you can use. Get aboard so we can shove off."

Paul handed his fishing pole to the Captain and climbed aboard the ship. "I bought this new lure. I'm not sure how to tie it off to my line."

Captain Stewart, ignoring Paul, placed the pole in a rack with several others and precoded to climb the ladder to the bridge. The ship's engine rumbled to life spewing a healthy puff of diesel exhaust. It stung Paul's eyes and throat far worse than the sea air so he moved to the bow hoping to avoid further aggravation. The boat pulled away from the dock and soon they were on their way.

Prologue

When the recession hit, the country went into shock and people lost their jobs. Paul was one of them. The company he worked for laid him off on a Friday. On Saturday he spent most of the day drinking. His wife thought it amusing at first. He explained to her that he'd received a decent severance package and that he would probably go back to work for his previous employer sooner than later. She accepted that and allowed him this moment of self pity. She also enjoyed the times when he'd had too much to drink as he made a fool of himself and it gave her ammunition to use against him during their next argument.

On Sunday Paul made his plans for the week or at least he thought about it. On Monday he would register to go back to school and then find something, anything, to do for the rest of the week to take his mind off the layoff. At first he he couldn't come up with any decent ideas beyond drinking more and playing video games. There were a number of movies he needed to catch up on, books to read, even writing he could be doing. But none of it seemed that interesting. So Paul decided to do something that he normally wouldn't do. He decided to go fishing. Deep sea fishing.

I'm Just Trying to Piss You Off

1. Kristen Wiig is not funny.

2. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a good movie.

3. Same difference.

4. I only shop at Whole Foods.

5. The Cowboys truly are America's Team.