Match 3

BRUCE VS. BIG MIC: BATTLE OFF THE BEACH

The twenty-five foot great white shark, nicknamed "Bruce", was hungry. Despite the name that the creatures' that called themselves "humans" had given her, she was very much female. As if any male of her species could reach her stupendous size! Cruising slowly through the water waters of coastal Australia, the mis-named fish took in the ocean, sensing any creature in a range of miles. Her senses were beyond incredible, more impressive that those of any other creature on Earth. If there was a living being absolutely anywhere near her, she could find it. With a flick of her caudal fin, the huge fish propelled herself towards the biggest prey item around- an lone adult bull orca. Increasing her cruising speed, she began tracking the marine mammal, narrowing her senses to focus solely on her prey. Because she had never met a beast that was a match for her, not even the shark-killer she was targeting, she could afford to do that.

She was a fairly intelligent animal. But, she was also very simple. She didn't actually think much, she usually just did. And that was had worked out just fine for her. After about half a hour of traveling, she began to close in on her prey. The orca came into her sight, a dark speck in a blue world. She approached the warm-blooded creature confidently, but not without her tactics. She made sure to stay behind the orca. Although her countershading made her hard to see from all angles, the huge dolphin's echolocation would be a problem is she strayed parallel or ahead of the creature. As she drew closer to the marine mammal, she began to pump her powerful, crescent-shaped caudal fin faster and faster. Soon her great mass was speeding towards the dolphin at over twenty-five miles per hour, a biological torpedo locked onto its unknowing target. As she closed the distance between her and her prey, the orca suddenly became aware of her approach and tried to escape, tail fluke sweeping downward desperately. Too late. Her jaws extended, a battering ram of gums and teeth, and her eyes rolled up into her head to protect them.

CRUNCH!

More than two tons of fish slammed into the dolphin's side. Her jaws closed instantaneously. Although her bite force wasn't very impressive, her serrated teeth easily sheared through skin, flesh, and blubber. Squealing in terror, the orca speed away, leaving behind both a large part of itself and a crimson trail. She made no attempt to chase after it. She swallowed the bloody chunk of flesh in her mouth with a few violent jerks of her head. Causally, she began to lazily follow the path of blood the fleeing mammal had created. She would follow the injured dolphin in her own time, knowing it would soon die from blood loss. It had been a good twenty feet long, a meal that would feed her for weeks, even months.

Tracking her meal, the warm-bodied fish entered some very shallow waters, apparently an attempt by the orca to loose her. The so-called killer whale had entered the water around a small she didn't know is that she was also entering the territory of an equally huge predator.

As she moved further into the shallow waters of the island, she came across a huge cloud of blood in the water. Orca blood. Another carnivore had attack and killed her prey. Something similar to anger formed inside her. Fearlessly moving forward, she followed the strongest scent of blood hoping to confront the thief. Her ampullae of Lorenzini suddenly detected the magnetic field of an approaching creature. Turning to face the beast that stole her kill, her lateral line confirmed the thief's presence. As the violator's image became clear through the crystal-clear water, Bruce found herself looking at a creature she had never encountered before. It was big. Even bigger than her, at over thirty feet long. It had a shape alien to her, long and serpentine with short limbs hanging from its side. Instead of glittering fish scales or the smooth rubbery skin of a marine mammal, a rougher coat of pebbled scales covered its body, bone-enforced scutes protecting its back. Its jaws were long and slender, lined with conical teeth. A long, muscular tail trailed behind it, pushing it's almost two-ton body through the water. Unlike her pitch-black doll eyes, it had eyes that were bright and vivid. Dragon's eyes.

It was the enormous male saltwater crocodile, known in myths as "Big Mic", century-old ruler of this area, both land and sea. And he was not a welcoming ruler.

Slowly circling one another, the two superpredators sized each other up and hoping the other would retreat. Of course, neither did. Both knew no fear. It was Big Mic who made the first move. Sweep of his powerful tail in a broad arc, the huge reptile launched himself at Bruce, mouth agape. The female shark easily evaded the crocodile with a flash of her caudal fin. Big Mic's fearsome jaws snapped shut on empty water. Banking quickly, Bruce rammed her snout into the reptile's ribs, giving him an exploratory pump. With one motion, Big Mic twisted his body away from her snout and delivered a powerful blow along her side with his tail. Bruce bolted away, surprised by the fast retaliation. Circling back around, the big fish swam beneath the dinosaurian creature and gave another exploratory bump to the beast's underside. Big Mic burst forward to leave the shark behind. Bruce followed easily overtaking the amphibious giant. Swimming over the irritated reptile, the great white brushed her snout against Big Mic's back. The enraged crocodile swung his head at the nuzzling fish, its mouth open wide in outrage. Bruce, broke away from the ancient creature. Her curiosity fulfilled, the white shark turned back to the scaly amphibian, now ready to go on the attack. Her investigation of the creature had revealed that while the crocodile's back was armored, its sides and belly were soft. Perfect targets.

Charging at the reptile, Bruce opened her mouth to take the first bite. Big Mic's body worked like lightning trying to escape the shark's serrated teeth. Bruce's lethal jaws closed on the end of the reptile's tail. Shaking her head viciously, the fish ripped off the tip of the crocodilian's tail. Bubbles escaped Big Mic's maw in a silent scream of pain. Swinging around the vengeful crocodile closed his jaws on Bruce's tail, biting down just before her caudal fin. As a force roughly equal to the reptile's weight was delivered to her spine, the female fish thrashed wildly in pain, but was unable to escape the reptile's grip. Taking advantage of this fact, Big Mic went into a death roll, spinning the great fish violently. As Bruce was manhandled by the crocodile, she managed to pull free from the rotating reptile's jaws. Disorientated, the shark watched as Big Mic stop his roll and right himself. The bite had severed her spinal column, but, because of its location, it wouldn't hinder her movement. Finally regaining her bearings, Bruce rushed towards the saurian creature. The crocodile charged to meet her. Easily outmaneuvering the less mobile creature, the great white twisted around the amphibious beast. The shark bit down hard on Big Mic's forelimb. Deadly teeth ripping and tearing, Bruce shook her head vigorously. The shark's teeth dug deeper into the crocodilian's flesh, but were unable to break the bone.. In a desperate move, Big Mic death rolled, tearing his limb off. His advanced circulatory system immediately shut off blood flow to the area, minimizing blood loss. The agonized reptile let himself sink to the bottom as Bruce hungrily devoured his severed forearm. Pushing off the bottom, Big mic lunged at the fish. The giant amphibian gripped one of the great white's pectoral fins in his jaws. With a quick twist of his armored head, the reptile ripped the fin off. The crocodile made a swift retreat as Bruce snapped at him, spitting out the unappetizing piece of cartilage.

Driven into a frenzy by the bloody water, Bruce attempted to chase down the injured beast. She only succeed in swimming in a wide circle. Something like horror filled the fish. She couldn't swim. Without the full lift that her pectoral fins provided she was helpless. And Big Mic knew it. Circled the crippled shark, the crocodile darted in to nip and bite at the fish, taunting her. After growing bored of this, he simply grabbed Bruce's tail and began to tow her ashore. Passing over a reef, the thrashing shark smashed several coral beds. The crocodile pulled the struggling fish further away from the open sea, the giant's now still body skidding across the sandy seabed. The shark had died from suffocation. Sharks were unable to pump water over their gills and had to keep swimming to breath. Finally reaching the shore, the enormous reptile dragged his equally enormous catch onto the beach, staining the sand with its blood. He pulled the big fish next to the orca he had finished off earlier. Big Mic was exhausted. The battle and blood loss had taken its toll of the ancient crocodile. Ripping open the dead shark's stomach, the saurian threw back its head and gulped down some of the creature's innards. Laying his head on the warm sand and began to drift off into sleep. He'd finnish his meal later. Today had turned out so much food, he wouldn't have to hunt for months. The shark was a bit bland, but the killer whale was delicious. Nice and fatty. Very filling. It was probably the blubber. In fact, it was probably better than human...

As the sun was still high in the afternoon sky, Big Mic slept.