The Creeping Kelp by William Meikle, Wayne Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

and pale, looking apprehensively down at the water below.
    “Don’t worry, dear,” Jim said, stepping up beside her and steadying her with a hand on her arm. “I’ve been doing this for years and haven’t lost anybody yet.”
    Even as he said it, something came over the Cobb and snaked around the old woman’s ankle. Jim got an impression of a long snake, but far quicker than anything he’d ever seen. It tightened around her leg with an audible sucking andtugged, once.
    The elderly tourist squealed and made a grab for Jim. Instinctively, he backed away.  Then, disgusted at his cowardice, he stepped forward again, reaching for her outstretched hand.
    He was too late. She fell forward, her chin cracking on the edge of the Cobb. Blood flew. Jim tasted copper as it splashed against his face. The fallen woman stretched out a hand towards him again. He bent to take it. Their fingers touched... but that was as close as he got. The tentacle tugged again and with a final, despairing wail, she was gone.
    Her husband rushed forward, shouting her name.
    “Ellen!”
    Jim didn’t have time to hold him back. The old man leaned over the edge. “Ellen!” he called again. There was no reply. He turned to Jim.
    “What have you done with her? Get her back, right now, or I’ll have you arrested.”
    Jim had no idea how to reply to that. His own mind was still full of the image of the black snake and he could still taste the woman’s blood in his mouth.
    I need to get them out of here right now.
    He reached over to the old man.
    “Come on sir. I need to call the authorities.”
    The old man turned, snarling.  Once again, Jim stepped back, fearful of an impending punch. The blow never came. The old man’s look changed from anger to surprise as an inch-thick black tendril wrapped tight around his neck and pulled . The sound of the man’s neck breaking echoed along the pier. He still had the surprised look in his eyes as he was dragged away out of sight.
    That was the signal for Jim’s well-organised party to turn into a running rout along the Cobb.
    “Form an orderly line,” Jim shouted before realising just how stupid that sounded. He was at the end of the group as they started to run, but was soon overtaking the oldest without stopping to check on them. The group fled down an avenue of terror. High tentacles rose above them, swaying on either side like grass in the wind. One slapped on the Cobb and Jim was dismayed to see the old stone crumble beneath it. It didn’t stop there. The tentacle seemed to writhe and curl and as it moved, it dug a deep groove in the Cobb.
    It’s as if it’s eating the stone.
    Jim saw that he’d have to jump over the prone tentacle. He didn’t think twice and leapt, feeling his left-foot touch something soft and yielding. He heard a cry. An elderly lady had stopped on the other side of the tentacle, unwilling, or unable, to jump over.
     “Come on,” Jim shouted, barely slowing in his flight.
    She just stood, shaking her head from side to side. The tentacle started to slide across the Cobb towards her.
    Come on!
    He stopped in his run, but before he could even start to make his way to her rescue, the old lady was engulfed in black coils. Something squirted redly and Jim turned away, once again tasting blood in his mouth.
    As he turned, he saw that his group was now twenty yards ahead. One was faster than the rest. He sped yards ahead, but lost his footing on the uneven rock of the upper Cobb and fell to one side. Even before he hit the ground, two tentacles had him, one at the leg and the other at the arm. A tug of war ensued over the screaming man, until, almost mercifully, one of the tendrils proved stronger and tore the body from the other. It left an arm behind, which dangled above the tourists, dripping blood on them as they fled under it.
    The avenue was narrowing all the time as more tentacles rose to join the forest.
    We’re not going to make it.
    From the corner of his eye he saw