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“Because there is a highway to Hell, but only a stairway to Heaven.”
Some people will continue to make stupid decisions until one eventually kills them.
“You know who one of my favorite military leaders is, Dr. Bentley? It’s this funny looking little Brit guy called Winston Churchill. Gave a rousing little speech one day about never surrendering.”
“All civilizations fall. It’s not a matter of if, but when,”
“Fish in a bottle,” Cate said, shaking her head sadly. “Ever heard the story of the biologist who gave an octopus a puzzle once. He placed a small fish in a jar, and screwed the lid tight. Now, the octopus had never seen a jar before, and didn’t know how it operated. But it wanted the fish real bad.” She sighed. “It took the octopus ten minutes to work out how to undo the jar, and then it ate the fish.” “Oh god, we’d be the fish.” Jennifer giggled. “We’d be the tuna in a can.”
Satisfied at last, its tentacles eased back below the surface without a ripple and then the rubbery mass dove into deeper water, to digest its last meal or wait for more to come.
“Scare it off?” Jennifer giggled dementedly. “Did you see that fucking thing? It’s as big as a jumbo jet. And you think throwing a firecracker will scare it off.”
“Heads up,” he yelled, watching the water as he ran. He saw the mottled stain spreading beneath the surface. Luminous circles began to flare, and the creature’s body changed from green-black to a brick red, and then to a muddy brown, as he guessed the massive cephalopod’s chromataphores were firing, matching its excitement level. Why not? It was enjoying the game, Alex knew, especially as it got to eat its toys at the end.
The creature continued to boil from the water, coiling and tangling like a handful of monstrous worms knotting and crawling over each other. The acrid smell was overpowering. Suddenly, the idea that a single remaining grenade would send it packing seemed a hideous joke.
“Dear Minister, do you know how many nuclear warheads China has?” Banguuo asked. Wanlin stayed motionless, and Banguuo responded for him. “About 280.” He tilted his head. “Do you know how many nuclear warheads, including tactical, strategic, and nondeployed weapons, the Americans have?” Banguuo waited for a moment, and then smiled with little humor. “Approximately 4,800.”
“We stay in the vortex, we can make it. Best news I heard all day.” Casey grinned. “Nobody, but nobody back home is going to be able to top this.” She put her face back to the periscope visor once again, and her eyes went wide. “Oh fuck – incoming!”
Carmack lowered his glasses, his face drained of color. “The thing that all sailors dread – the sinker of ships, the monster from the abyss – the Kraken.” The thing rose once more, and then seemed to swell, flowing like liquid up and over the Ma’anshan’s superstructure. Tentacles wrapped the ship from stern to bow, their tips thin as a wrist, but where they joined the bulbous body they were as thick as redwood trees.
