Uncovering The Greatest, Most Destructive Creature, The Oceans Have Ever Known

Settling into place at coordinates that were being kept classified the U.S.S. Aurora dropped anchor and prepared for what was sure to be a boring couple of days. They were assigned to recon a suspected area in the south Pacific as N.A.S.A. and the E.S.A. monitored a large meteorite that was going to splash down near their location. From where they dropped anchor they suspected they had a ten-mile safe margin from the impact zone, as long as the geeks at N.A.S.A. were correctly predicting the impact coordinates.

Walking into the bridge, telling his men to stand at ease, Lt. Commander Jordan Quinn sipped on a cup of coffee as he stared out over the calm seas. It was time to let the science team set up their gear, and allow his crew to enjoy the downtime. Jordan grabbed the ship-wide mic off the mount in front of him and keyed it for an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Lt. Commander Quinn. We've now reached our location. The remainder of our time out in the sun is now in the hands of the scientific community. Crew members may have use of the launches, skis, and enjoy themselves the best they can when not on shift," he announced to the ship and a bridge of smiling crewmembers. "Remember, pay attention folks. The rest of the world is still just as on edge as it was when we left port."

With that, Jordan left the bridge to go down to meet the scientists that they were charged with babysitting. Jordan worked his way to the stern of the ship, where the geeks were already setting up their gear. He was clueless why they needed as much as they brought with them, expecting the gear to wash over the edge at the first sign of bad weather. It was his ship and he wanted to see what exactly they were doing. As he stood to the side, watching the three-person team, Jordan was surprised when the ship's alarms rang out.

"What the hell?" he mumbled.

Jordan ran back to the bridge, followed by Allie Drakov, the head of the N.A.S.A. team the navy let hitch a ride. Allie was the only member of the team that had clearance to be on the bridge, something the bridge crew found questionable considering Jordan never issued that level of clearance to passengers. Jordan entered the bridge followed by the attractive scientist, asking for a report.

"Lt. Commander," the chief of the boat announced, "radar has a bogie coming in within the next five minutes. Its' estimated speed is 21,000 miles per hour. It's tracking to a location 50 miles south of here."

Jordan looked at the calm seas, realizing that things were going to get a lot choppier real fast. He sounded the alarm to stations, ordering his crew to prepare for the emergency that was to come. Rushing over to the radar, he looked at the bogie, seeing the size of the thing. He realized that this was much more dangerous than a simple chunk of meteorite, or even a meteor in its' entirety. This was an asteroid and at the speed it was traveling it would most certainly smack into the ocean in six minutes.

"Dr. Drakov, get your team down below, now!"

"What's happening?" she asked.

Jordan grabbed the doctor by the arm and put her in front of the radar. Pointing at the rapidly moving blip, he told her that what was next was not going to be a pleasant little vacation on the water.

"What's happening doctor, is that in 6 minutes that's going to splashdown in the ocean and probably kill us all. We're far too close for what's coming and this ship isn't big enough," he said, fear in his voice. "This mission has put my entire crew at risk, and they won't even know why."

The blip disappeared on the radar as it smacked down, crashing into the ocean at incredible speed, and with the force of New York City smashing into the ground. As the crew pulled up the anchors and began to get the engines fired up to get out of the path of the rogue wave that sped towards their coordinates, the scientific crew huddled below deck. The engine room was churning as they attempted to push the Aurora far past its' capabilities. The ship was only going to manage 70 knots, no matter what they did.

"Is there anything I can do?" Allie asked, popping her head into the bridge.

Jordan looked over his shoulder, annoyed that she was there. "Get back below deck doctor!"

Three minutes after the impact the ship's bridge crew could see the two hundred feet high, mile-long, wall of water as it bore down on them with winds of ferocious fury pushing the birds, the clouds, and the ship. As the wave caught up with them, the ship pushing harder and faster than it had in its' time at sea, Lt. Commander Quinn grabbed the overhead mic and announced, "This is Commander Quinn, ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

The wave crashed down onto the Aurora with the fiery of Poseidon's angry hand, bouncing the million tons of steel around, thrashing it side to side, like a pool toy in a crowded waterpark. The Aurora rocked around, side to side, nearly capsizing as it was completely on its port side before a wave pushed it upright. The tsunami passed them. They had survived.

As the Aurora crew and its' passengers began assessing damages, the world beneath them, just fifty miles away, was changed. The asteroid struck the ocean floor, kicking up a million tons of bedrock as it punched through the floor and into a massive system of thermally heated ocean unknown to humans. Heat began to rise from the opened up ocean floor, sending millions of gallons of warm water through the depths of the Pacific. An entirely new ecosystem kept hidden for thousands of years, now began to intermix with our world.

Twelve hours after the impact, the waters had calmed and the oceans were steady. The Aurora, against the wishes of her commander, was ordered into the area where the asteroid struck. As the crew continued to work on the engines and repair the damages to the interior of the ship, the alarms went off on the bridge. The sonar detected a bogie.

"Ensign, what have we got?"

"I don't know sir, but whatever it is, it's coming up fast and it's huge."

"Dr. Drakov," Jordan asked, "What do you make of this?"

Allie put on a headset and began listening for sounds. As she listened, she began to make out different signatures in the ocean, one of them distinct and getting louder. Its rhythmic pattern was familiar. She felt like she should have... "It can't be!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

Allie ran out onto the port bow, grabbing a pair of binoculars as she left the bridge. Jordan followed her, along with the chief of the boat, both of the old sailors confused. Whatever had gotten her attention turned her ghost white, and excited like a child at Christmas.

"Dr. Drakov! What is it?" demanded Jordan.

"It's biological gentlemen, a sharks' heartbeat has a distinct sound. But, there's only one shark to ever exist on the planet that would be able to move that fast."

As the swell of water alongside the boat moved past them Dr. Drakov realized that her worst fear was correct. The asteroid striking into the ocean floor had unearthed a creature of pure instinct. Deep in the ocean, deeper than humankind had explored, the beast had been hiding since the dawn of the last ice age. If there was an ecosystem there with enough to support it, its' existence would be a marvel of modern science. The thirty-first extinct beast to return to the world was also the last beast the world ever wanted to see again.

With a massive splash from the water, Dr. Drakov, Lt. Commander Quinn, and the chief of the boat, Roger Rollins stared at the most destructive creature in the history of the oceans, a living, breathing, hunting, eating, and wrecking everything in its' way, Megalodon, the largest shark to ever live.

"Jesus Christ, COB, sound red alert," Jordan ordered, shocked at what he witnessed.

"Yes sir," said Roger Rollins as he ran off to the bridge, still unsure of what he was seeing.

Jordan looked at the doctor, his head in a haze. "What do we do now?"

"Pray, we pray, and call everybody," stammered Dr. Drakov, "Everybody Commander Quinn, we call everybody."

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Megalodon is the scariest what if out there. The question of what if they reappeared is startling to imagine. I hope you enjoyed my story and if so, please consider pressing the small heart below.