Caesar by Michael Cole

Author:Michael Cole [Cole, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Propelled by water jetted from its syphon, the large cephalopod traveled east. The thunderous vibrations that drove so many other species away managed to attract the large predator. The reshaping of the seabed was to its liking, for it was becoming a jagged, mountainous area with plenty of places to hide. Intelligent and patient, it was the type of predator that usually preferred to ambush prey.

Its mantle was ten feet from its rear fins to its beak. Its six arms were over triple that, stretching to thirty-two feet. Made of pure muscle, those arms were capable of crushing the skull of a sixty-foot iron whale. The cephalopod was the only creature in this ocean that kept those whales from achieving the rank of apex predator.

For its own sustenance, the cephalopod preferred smaller prey. Lurking in the reefs near the west hemisphere islands, it enjoyed ambushing fish, lobsters, and sometimes other species of squids. There was no moral consideration for where its protein came from. It was a predator first and foremost, as even its own siblings had learned the hard way in the days following their birth.

It crossed the deep gorges and approached the shallows. The seabed steepened as it neared the island. Sprawled across the bottom were large rock fragments, providing plenty of hiding spots.

The cephalopod chose not to explore, rather drawn to water distortions in the shallows. Ascending the slope, it identified the source of the movement as being a small swarm of mantids. They were gathered on a section of rock that was leveled out, leading into the northeast shoreline. Little scavengers, they were picking at tiny scraps that accumulated in the area, totally oblivious to the new arrival.

Gently, the cephalopod clung to the bottom. Using its tentacles, it gently crawled in their direction, its frontmost arms coiled and ready to strike. Its color shifted, allowing it to blend with its environment. As far as the mantids were concerned, it was just another rock that was inexplicably moving in their direction.

Only when a few of their members were snatched by the tentacles did the colony realize the danger. The two unlucky mantids dug at the arms with their forelegs, failing to cut into the thick leathery skin. Their attempts to bite also proved futile, despite the ferocious cutting power of their mandibles.

Its beak, shaped like that of a parrot, opened wide and clamped down on the first mantid. The shell imploded, rupturing the crustacean’s insides. Tasting the delicious blood, the cephalopod proceeded to suction the meat from the shell. The result was a thin, transparent exoskeleton being tossed aside.

It fed on its second victim in the exact same manner. Vacuuming the meat from the exoskeleton, the cephalopod crawled toward the shoreline. A few mantid fragments lay near a large rock. They were mostly legs, with a few sections of carapace and abdominal regions. Whatever killed these creatures was much more violent in its methods.

Though it preferred to hunt, the hungry cephalopod was happy to scavenge. Even the legs contained a tiny bit of meat.

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