Octopocalypse by Bailey Joseph J

Author:Bailey, Joseph J. [Bailey, Joseph J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Joseph J. Bailey
Published: 2014-09-07T07:00:00+00:00

His hands gripped the podium so tightly that his knuckles were white. His palms were sweating.

He hated speaking before groups.

Especially when they were actually listening to him.

Yelling for order or to give directions was an entirely different matter.

As he cleared his throat, the multicolored array of microphones attached to the stand responded with a healthy whine of feedback.

“Thank you all for coming.”

He wasn’t thankful.

Far from it.

Although their jobs were important, the media merely complicated his job. They were very good at getting in the way.

“This is a difficult time for everyone.”

It would be a bit less difficult if all these people would go home…

He needed to focus and take control. Leverage what he could to turn the situation around as much as possible.

And quit grumbling.

“We have faced one tragedy after another. One impossibly improbable situation after another.

“We now border an alien world. One we don’t really understand and cannot yet risk exploring.

“Please respect this danger.

“It is real.

“We have already lost more than enough.”

Indicating Major Ganlin with a wave of his arm, he said, “With Major Ganlin’s help and her able troops, we are attempting to secure the beachfront. The CHP will be assisting in this effort. Your help in avoiding the coast, as difficult and inconvenient as this may be, is much appreciated.

“Major beach access points are closed.

“The beach is off-limits.

“Please let us get the situation under control and understood before venturing out or pushing the boundaries.

“We have a team exploring why this happened and what can be done to remedy the situation.

“We will need time to make this work. Please give it to us so that we can give you your beach back.”

He felt like a second-rate politician giving a tired stump speech.

“Are there any questions?”

He didn’t want to ask.

But he had to.

“Officer Hayes…”

“Sheriff Hayes…”

“Mr. Hayes!”

The mob around him clamored for information, raising voices, shouting over one another until finally one lucky winner got to ask their question. Acknowledging the victor, a well-groomed lady from KFMB in San Diego, he let her ask her question.

“What can you tell us about the attacks and the victims of the unfortunate events?”

A big question there… two in fact. She could get quite a bit from him with such an open-ended line of inquiry… if he let her.

He was in a giving mood.

“The first known incident claimed the life of a fisherman on the bay and appears to have been the result of an attack by a group of Humboldt squids. The incident was instigated by shining a signal light into the water in order to draw their attention.

“The second incident involved two young men on the very pier behind me.” Directing his attention to the nearby protestors that the Guard had cordoned off from the news conference, he added, “One I would recommend you avoid for the time being. Again, the victim was fishing. A giant octopus of some sort flew out of the water and claimed one of the teenagers’ lives.

“A third incident involved a jogger that never returned from her evening run.

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