Any Jason Statam action scene is gold, not touching his fight against the megs in the open ocean! Who else found it cool these movies focus on his diving experience rather than his fighting awesomeness? I didn't even know he had been on the British diving team till 2018.
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Rigas swatted through the foliage, keeping as much distance from the monsters as possible! Just go eat bad guys! Help us out here!
Then there was the business of holding onto the phone and needing a split second to check for a signal. Her eyes alighted on a storage shed. Bypassing the propane tank, she flew through the door. Rigas kept her shoulder on it, fumbling for the lock. One of the lizards rammed the door. It was steel, but what did that matter to scales equipped for 25,000 feet of pressure!? She dug in her heels, dropping the phone for the deadbolt; it was useless if she got eaten.
The lizards barged the door another time and Rigas sensed her strength lagging. Suddenly a tall shoulder joined her, sealing the door and allowing her to do the deadbolt. Rigas jumped back instantly, weapon raised. The merc was leaner, weighed down in a vest of magazines and grenades. He undid one and hook lined it through the window above the door. The scrapping continued another second, before the explosion cut them off.
Both their chests eased; but the guns remained up and aimed at one another. Rigas first question was where the phone lay. Second, did he recognize her from Mana One? "I- don't know what's going on; I'm just... trying to stay alive."
Not the first time she'd gone covert today. But hey, if it lead to survival-
"Nice try, Rigas." the merc chuckled, lunging for her. Rigas fired immediately into his thigh. Any reaction suppressed, he knocked her farther into the shed. The floor was a sifted mix of sand and dirt, cushioning their fall. Rigas butted her gun into the merc's throat. She repeated the blow twice to gain ground and push herself up. He slumped to the side, gagging... but kept a hand on her ankle, trying to keep her off balance. Rigas somehow spotted the phone then, dusty but in one piece near a lawn mower.
Shoot him! Rigas fumbled to control the gun but recalled the dangers lurking outside. There were only so many rounds...
The button stuck out with its red-hot color, alongside the garage door. Immediately telling Rigas what it was. She sprang forward, sweeping the phone up. She jumped onto the workbench running underneath a window; open, just like the one above the side door. She glared at the merc, hitting the button. With a harsh grinding sound, the garage door rolled open. Rigas stuck to her corner, until the first lizard clawed its way into the shed. Leading more in with it. This drew the merc's attention and looping the gun to her shoulder, Rigas shimmied through the window like lightening. A token of being small and wiry, she had discovered in her teen years.
The merc was screaming now, making it his last stand while Rigas free-fell to the ground. Her knees screamed, but she ran several yards before turning back. Don't miss!
The third shot hit her mark; the propane tank! Both it and the shed blew, knocking Rigas back. Hands to her ears, she fought for breath. Concentrate; don't black out.
She held up the phone, still clutched in her hand. Then laughed. "I got a signal."
Something burned across her body and Rigas came to realize the debris falling from the sky. Rigas batted wildly, only to pull back cinged and bleeding fingers. Rigas lifted up to see what- a smoking, charred lizard leg!
Stomach curdling, Rigas kicked it away. And started dialing.
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NO! Meiying stopped the word in her throat. She held tight to the binoculars with her sweaty palms. One of the megalodons- the impressive alpha- had burst from beneath the water. With the scarred body stark against the horizon, Jonas had all but disappeared beneath it. Having drawn them past the marker buoys, he was already a dot. But that was more then she was seeing of Mom right now. Meiying needed to offer herself some solace or worry would drive her mad. Was this what Mom and Jonas had wanted to avoid all along with her?
She let a breath out as the jet ski roared over a wave. The beta's fin was closing in, emerging from the water, jaws ready-
BOOM!
Red skimmed the surface as the beta toppled and sank beneath the frothing waves. Meiying shuttered and lowered the binoculars. She'd had enough of the gore. People gawked from the beach while others continue to escape the water, confused and cowering on the safety of the sand. All the while, shots infrequently erupted from the jungle where DJ and Rigas had disappeared. Meiying fought the restlessness, even while a part of her was glad to be sitting out. Had it even sunk in yet, everything that had happened? There hasn't been time.
PHOOM!
Meiying jumped at the jolt that shivered through the tower. She ran around the corner to spot black smoke and flame ascending over the trees. An unpleasant calm followed it; as though the earth had ceased breathing. Meiying felt the same confusion; and burning concern. What had gone off? WHO had set it off... and who might have been killed?
She was brought back at the sound of snarling. Her higher view showed several of the amphibious lizards fleeing the jungle. They stumbled into one another, hissing through viper teeth as wicked looking as their stripes- then spotted the tourists! Meiying's mind filled with another form of no! She ducked inside, the screams returning as she searched. "I saw it! I saw-"
A flare gun! Meiying broke open the case, stuffing the second and third rounds into her pocket. She ran back outside. A lizard was cornering a pair of brothers, the older throwing rocks at it. Meiying steadied her arms on the bamboo railing. She guided it to line up with the scaly head. Breathe... FIRE!
The flare zinged through the air, exploding onto the lizard's back. The animal reeled back, screeching as it writhed along the sand in pain. Meiying blinked in disbelief. I mean, I was aiming for the head...
"Hey!" the older brother waved up, alerting Meiying to the other lizards- who were now focused on her! Meiying swallowed and felt for the next flare, afraid to look away. A leaner one reached the steps, beady slits of eyes on her. Claws clicked on the wood, its tongue in and out of its needle teeth. Where was the other? Were they circling her?
Meiying hopped the railing, but her shaky legs failed the landing. She pushed up, slipped and tried again, all the while clutching the second flare. She was so flustered she couldn't stand!
"Run!" the teen boy urged now, the lizard above them, preparing to spring as she loaded. The lizard's mouth gaped, as though laughing, and pounced! Meiying sucked in a breath, firing into the black throat. She yelped at the blood spray as it fell at her feet. Twitching, but dead!
"Yeah!" came the wild laugh behind her. "Who says .50 caliber is an impractical round?!"
Meiying flipped on her stomach, astounded and relieved at the sight of DJ. Her chest eased, catching his hand to stand up. "DJ-"
"You okay?" he inspected her sanded clothes, then bumped the nozzle of the flare gun with his own firearm. "You held 'em off! Nice work!"
"Where's Rigas?" Meiying asked, mind on the earlier explosion. DJ looked in that direction. "Oh, it's all good-"
Meiying screamed as a single gunshot knocked DJ face first. It revealed Montes, stalking over the rocks toward her. Meiying edged away, but there was only the tower and bay behind her. She raised the flare gun, but he was quicker, dwarfing her wrist with his hand. He glared down, amused. "Spirit runs in the family, huh?"
Meiying tensed to run, but her body was kindling next to his. Montes lifted his chin, to where Mom and Jonas continued to fight the monsters. "Let's get a better view."
He jerked her alongside him, stopping long enough to unclip the walkie talkie from DJ's hip. Meiying clawed at Montes' fingers, needing only an inch. I can run faster! He would've shot me already, I have a chance!
And it made no sense, but she felt guilty for breaking her promise about the lifeguard tower.
"Don't!" Montes squeezed her arm, almost turning her shoulder numb. The malice oozing from him stopped Meiying's efforts and he continued dragging her down the beach. Many of the onlookers shrunk back, startled. An older woman cried out in Thai- as though scolding him! This boldened her husband and a few others to push in on Montes, demanding Montes release her.
"¡Muévete!" Montes blasted his gun and one of the men fell, holding his stomach. This communicated everything and cleared the path for them up to the docks. Meiying looked back, watching a crowd form around him. Montes shook her. "See what happens when people play hero."
"Where-" Meiying stumbled up a step. Montes pointed back inland and slowly, one of the helicopters they'd seen was cresting the trees. Was it coming to them? Why?
"I kill Taylor." Montes was back to suffocating her shoulder. "Then we take a ride."
His first sentence worried Meiying more as they moved out to the sundeck. "He has to kill the meg!"
"And I have to kill him." Montes stated back, eyes on the helicopter going out to sea... toward Jonas? What if Mom or Uncle Jiuming pops up?
"People are dying!" Meiying pulled back from him. Montes twisted his grip, getting their faces close. "Ese es el punto. Your papa ruins lives, little one. Bout time someone returned the favor."
He forced her forward and Meiying scrapped her knees on the deck. She hesitated... water on either side, she could jump; but who else might Montes shoot? Meiying hurried up, shoulders squared at Montes. He held her glare, putting the walkie talkie to his mouth. "Taylor."
Would he even be in range? Meiying hoped not; but she also wanted Jonas to come beat this guy blind.
"Little busy here, DJ."
Her chest fell. Montes held the walkie out, yanking Meiying's arm when she backed away. She whimpered. "Jo-Jonas."
Montes grinned. "Too busy now, Taylor?"
Silence as Meiying wrenched away. Jonas' voice came back in a growl. "Now I know you're a coward."
Montes smirked, unphased. He paused his muzzle right over Meiying's heart, to where she could feel every pound of the muscle. "Make your way back or I lure them in with her blood."
No answer. Meiying hated herself. Hated that Montes had only one goal in mind. When Jonas could very well die before making it to shore.
Jump! Meiying edged to the side of the deck. It's not so far-
The thought barely finished before a violent jolt sent both to their knees.
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The entertainment decks extended almost a mile off the shores of Fun Island. Chains were the meager roots belting them to the ocean floor. The shape, the glint of the chains, or the panic of the population had drawn the kraken in. It truly stretched its legs now. Suyin noticed the polished beak in the middle of its great size. And that's where she was steering the DSV. The airlock had released Jiuming and Mac into the restless waters, ready for her to corral it close enough for them to attach the bombs.
It had better work!
"In position." Jiuming came over their comms. Mac gargling something sarcastic to cover their fears. Like astronauts, they hovered above the bottom. Suyin positioned the DSV's hook, feeling the pulse of her finger on the joystick. It all compacted loudly in her ears as she declared. "Fire!"
She shot above their heads, the hook embedding in the mushy body of the kraken. This produced an eerie wail as Suyin thrust the engines in reverse. The resistance was plenty heavy, but she was noticeable enough to send the tentacles their way. Mechanical arms ready, Suyin drove them forward. They clamped down and iron and muscle were wrestling. The DSV couldn't match it in strength, but distraction was the main point. Still in reverse, Suyin flipped the DSV, thus twisting the kraken's arms across each other. She fought the dizziness, propelling the DSV forward. "Hurry, Brother!"
The tug, then slack surprised the kraken. It jerked left, then right- away from the sundeck. Suyin pin holed her sight, the muted colors too much for her senses. Just breathe!
"It's coming!"
Rigas' voice pulled her out of her head. What?
"Jonas is leading the alpha toward the docks!"
Why? Suyin stretched for the walkie. Why would he-
"DJ... he was shot." Rigas was rambling. "And I can't find Meiying!"
Suyin's whole body tensed. She abandoned the walkie and hit the shock switch instead. Voltage shot off the DSV and up the 2 or 3 tentacles trying to trap her. Another screech came through the bubbles, but she soon came loose, gunning the DSV away from the stunned octopus. She grabbed the walkie talkie and switched the channel. "Jonas?!"
No answer. But he was alive... right? Suyin glanced at the surface, before checking the back. Her eyes widened at the sight of the rifle. It had a scope... and bullets.