The Relic Hunter: (Sam Reilly Book 30) by Christopher Cartwright

Author:Christopher Cartwright [Cartwright, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-One

Sam dropped over the side of the Lukim Solwara.

This time, he was too excited to ask about the prevalence of crocodiles in the area. Tau Gure had found the perfect wreck. If they were to ever find an Immortal Dryococelus it would be at this wreck site.

He felt sure of it.

Sam and Tom quickly released the air from their BCDs, descending quickly to the seabed below. He swallowed hard, equalizing the pressure in his ears, as he approached the seabed. Sam drifted downward, the weight of the ocean pressing around him as he and Tom descended through the dark, volcanic waters off Milne Bay.

The seabed was blanketed in black sand, like a desolate desert stretching endlessly, with only the jagged gash in the earth breaking the monotony. From above, the cleft had looked like a natural arch formed by volcanic forces, but as they descended deeper, the silhouette of a long-forgotten vessel began to materialize.

It was another Toku Daihatsu-class landing craft. Its ghostly frame nearly intact, preserved by the protective embrace of the valley’s steep walls. Barnacles and thick coral encrusted the barge, but Sam could still make out its once-sharp lines, the outline of a vessel that had braved battles long ago.

The surreal sight gave the wreck an otherworldly feel, as though it had been suspended here in time, hidden away from the ravages that had claimed so many others of its kind.

Kicking gently to avoid disturbing the fine layer of silt and sand, Sam and Tom glided over the barge, heading toward what remained of the wheelhouse. They swam silently, their lights cutting through the gloom, illuminating details of the craft – the thick beams, still bearing faint signs of Japanese characters, and the shadowed interior spaces that held stories of their own.

Sam took some photos along the way on his cell phone, which had a custom-built pressurized case. He focused in on the Japanese script etched heavily into the side of the hull. He clicked the Google translate icon. Long ago, Elise had downloaded all the languages in Google’s database, thus allowing him to use the app offline.

He pressed the translate button.

And the ship’s name – translated into English – came into focus.

Akatsuki

He said the name out loud, and then moved toward the wheelhouse.

The house part on board a Toku Daihatsu-class landing craft was a bit of a misnomer Sam decided, given that there was no pilothouse at all. It was just a wheel mounted to a raised pedestal that housed the twin throttles and compass.

The beam of Sam’s flashlight cut through the thick silt, landing on a small, ornate cage that was fixed to the side of the pedestal.

Made of delicately wrought iron, the cage had rusted through in places.

Sam fixed his flashlight on the cage.

The entire thing was held together by a few final threads of steel. It was what he’d imagined once housed the Immortal Dryococelus, but the cage had decayed, its bars eaten through from decades of rust.

Through the underwater radio system,

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