Barracuda

Taylor eavesdropped on their conversation as a knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach.

“Relax, Eliza, nobody knows where Barracuda is,” John said as he unfolded her arms across her chest. “No one’s been able to find it since the big storm.”

“Good,” Eliza said relieved. “If Taylor found it, more Kaiju would come to kill Taylor and claim it.”

“I stepped away from the CIA to become the town’s police captain because I fell in love with your mother and with the two of you. I might not be perfect, but I would lay my own life on the line to make sure that nothing would ever harm either of you.”

“I know, John,” said Eliza. “I’m simply scared because the trident might bring out the worst in him. He was raised as a human but using Barracuda could make him just as bloodthirsty as the other Kaiju.”

“I agree, Eliza. I have been training him hand-to-hand combat so when the time comes that he will need the trident, he will not have to rely on it for all his battles and lose himself to the trident’s pull. The greatest battle Taylor will face will be keeping his humanity.”

“Speaking of battles, what haven’t you told me about the missing cops?”

“You want to keep Taylor on a leash at this stage of his life, fine, but I’m eighteen. You have trained me to defend myself. I can do something out there. I can help keep this town safe from Kaiju or any threat.”

John took a couple of breaths before laying his hand on his stepdaughter’s shoulder.

“I know you would take care of yourself, Eliza. We have been over this before. I need you safe to keep your brother safe. When the time comes, you will have your chance. I promise.”

Eliza embraced John with a hug that solidified their trust.

At that moment, John’s phone rang. He quickly picked it up and read the text that more officers had gone missing.

“We’ll talk about this later,” John reassured as he patted Elisa’s shoulder. “Don’t wait for me for dinner. I will just order something. This is probably going to be a long night.”

“Old man, you do know fast food is terrible for your cholesterol, right?” Eliza teased.

“It’s better than that interesting meatloaf you’ve made for the past two weeks,” John winked at her.

Elisa picked up a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it at him. They laughed as John

Taylor eavesdropped on their conversation as a knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach.

“Relax, Eliza, nobody knows where Barracuda is,” John said as he unfolded her arms across her chest. “No one’s been able to find it since the big storm.”

“Good,” Eliza said relieved. “If Taylor found it, more Kaiju would come to kill Taylor and claim it.”

“I stepped away from the CIA to become the town’s police captain because I fell in love with your mother and with the two of you. I might not be perfect, but I would lay my own life on the line to make sure that nothing would ever harm either of you.”

“I know, John,” said Eliza. “I’m simply scared because the trident might bring out the worst in him. He was raised as a human but using Barracuda could make him just as bloodthirsty as the other Kaiju.”

“I agree, Eliza. I have been training him hand-to-hand combat so when the time comes that he will need the trident, he will not have to rely on it for all his battles and lose himself to the trident’s pull. The greatest battle Taylor will face will be keeping his humanity.”

“Speaking of battles, what haven’t you told me about the missing cops?”

“You want to keep Taylor on a leash at this stage of his life, fine, but I’m eighteen. You have trained me to defend myself. I can do something out there. I can help keep this town safe from Kaiju or any threat.”

John took a couple of breaths before laying his hand on his stepdaughter’s shoulder.

“I know you would take care of yourself, Eliza. We have been over this before. I need you safe to keep your brother safe. When the time comes, you will have your chance. I promise.”

Eliza embraced John with a hug that solidified their trust.

At that moment, John’s phone rang. He quickly picked it up and read the text that more officers had gone missing.

“We’ll talk about this later,” John reassured as he patted Elisa’s shoulder. “Don’t wait for me for dinner. I will just order something. This is probably going to be a long night.”

“Old man, you do know fast food is terrible for your cholesterol, right?” Eliza teased.

“It’s better than that interesting meatloaf you’ve made for the past two weeks,” John winked at her.

Elisa picked up a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it at him. They laughed as John swatted it away and ran out of the door. Taylor quietly left the stairwell and escaped to his room. He flopped onto his bed and stared at his wrist. He pulled down his sleeve as an outline of a blue trident began to appear on his arm.

swatted it away and ran out of the door. Taylor quietly left the stairwell and escaped to his room. He flopped onto his bed and stared at his wrist. He pulled down his sleeve as an outline of a blue trident began to appear on his arm.

“Barracuda,” Taylor whispered.

The next day, Taylor painted on another abandoned building’s brick wall at the docks. The squawks of seagulls and the mild dampness in the air were like white noise to Taylor as he rehashed last night’s conversation.

“So much for not keeping secrets,”

“Hey,” a mysterious voice called out to Taylor.

Taylor stopped spraying and whipped around to see Bonnie approach.

“Look, if you’re here to narc on me like those jerks from yesterday, all these buildings are abandoned. No one should be ticked off if I paint them,” warned Taylor.

“Hell, dude, I’m not a narc,” Bonnie said. She pointed at her camera and continued, “I’m a photographer. My name is Bonnie, Bonnie Gates.”

Taylor set the can down on the ground and extended his hand to her as he said, “Taylor Yoshida, a graffiti artist.”

“So, I’ve heard. No offense, but you have an infamous reputation around here.”

Taylor walked back to his spray cans and continued his mural as she asked, “That’s a Kraken, right?”

“Yeah! Most people do not know what a Kraken is,” Taylor answered with surprise.

“My mom was big on mythology. She was a librarian for the old library back in the day. She told me about these fantastic creatures and monsters she called Kaiju.”

Taylor dropped his spray can.

“What’s wrong?” Bonnie asked. “Was it something I said?”

“It’s nothing. I should get home.”

Taylor shoveled his spray cans into his bag and rolled off on his skateboard.

Bonnie saw that one spray can was left behind. She picked it up and skated after him on her skateboard.

As she turned to the corner, she saw Taylor and called as she pursued him, “Hey, wait up! You forgot a --”

The young photographer stumbled over her words when she saw what had stopped Taylor. A few feet in front of him stood a ten-foot-tall jellyfish-like monster that sparked with volts of electricity across its humanoid frame.

“Holy crap,” she said as both stood paralyzed with fear at the sight of the disturbing creature.

“Run!” Taylor shouted to Bonnie at the sight of the strange monster.

Taylor ran with Bonnie at his side to escape the bizarre behemoth that chased them along the docks.

“What the hell is that?” Bonnie asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Taylor answered. “Just keep moving.”

“What made you think I was going to stop?”

The creature spat large globs of electrified gel and blocked off the teenagers’ attempt to escape.

Sweat rolled down Bonnie’s forehead as the creature stepped closer and closer to their cornered position. A strange seal on the creature’s left arm caught Taylor’s eye. It was a woman with the body of a snake and the wings of a demon whose long hair was encircled.

“Echidna,” Taylor uttered at the devastating monster.

“Echidna?”

The gelatinous monster arched its back.

“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked Taylor.

The creature expelled its venom directly at the two teenagers. Taylor ran in front of Bonnie and held out his two hands.

“Playtime’s over,” Taylor said as he generated a force field of aquatic, turquoise energy that deflected the creature’s poison and splattered it on the walls.

Each drop of acid burned through the brick exterior of the abandoned building and Bonnie’s eyes bulged with suspense.