Toka-Ace #1: The Re-Emergence
Chapter 26

The lake was an awfully big place. A too-vague clue to reasonably be able to save people from the real danger that Tovlin presented.

I was flying with Katherine over the water. The moon shimmered over the dark surface.

I’d left the suicide-pill guy in a bathroom and told Adam exactly where to replace him. Adam was going to examine the man and see if he could learn anything that could help us stop Tovlin.

“Tovlin must have placed a bomb on one of the boats on the lake,” Katherine guessed.

“There are so many boats, though. How will we know which one or ones are targets?” I asked.

I was expecting some quick answer, but Katherine had no response.

“I have an idea,” I said. “We can go to the coast guard station and listen out for mayday signals.”

“That’s a good idea,” Katherine agreed. We flew to the coast guard station on Lincoln Memorial Drive. I left Katherine on the roof and I used my powers to get myself inside.

The coast guards and Marines were vigilantly ensuring the safety of the boats on the lake. The fact that everyone was calmly going about his work made me feel somewhat better. It meant that Tovlin had not attacked yet.

Suddenly an SOS came in. The coastal workers hurried to their stations.

The distress call came from a ship.

“Roger, Mayday heard. A rescue ship and rescue ’copter is being dispatched to your coordinates.” the operator said.

It was cool to watch these men and women work to help save people.

For my part, I disappeared into the shadows and emerged on the roof. I swept Katherine up into my arms, willed for my wings to appear and took flight. I flew as fast as I could in the direction of the sinking ship.

“Tovlin’s sinking ships,” Katherine said. We were speeding above the lake.

Then I saw the ship. It was taking on water. Even from the sky I could see the hole. I could also see the people who had been on the ship. Some had made it to lifeboats, but there were others who were thrashing about in the dark water.

My first order of business had to be getting everyone who was not on a lifeboat onto a one. I descended and placed Katherine into a lifeboat. People noticed me and their mouths gaped.

I got some more altitude and swooped down like an eagle snatching a fish out of the water and grabbed a man. I dropped him in a life boat. He landed with a thud that rocked the boat. I didn’t worry; it wouldn’t sink.

One by one I grabbed people who were struggling to stay afloat and plopped them into lifeboats.

The two lifeboats were nearly full. I didn’t notice anyone else in the water. “Is everyone accounted for?” Katherine asked. But no one was paying attention to her. The two lifeboats floated close to each other.

The marveling, awestruck gazes were locked on me as I stood on the edge of the boat.

“Well the coast guard is on the way, so, we’d better get out of here,” I said.

“Right,” Katherine said stepping closer to me.

Suddenly…

FWWOOOMMM!!!

The other boat was launched twenty feet in the air atop an explosion of water.

My stunned eyes followed the arc the boat made. It turned in the air pouring out the people who were inside. They landed hard in the water. The ripples rocked the boat that I was on.

There were screams and curses. I looked where the other boat had been. The water was raining down, and near the point where the boat had been launched, I could see a thick, lizard-like tail disappearing beneath the surface of the water.

“Get started on getting these people to safety,” I said to Katherine.

I dove into the water. The cold was a shock to my skin but it was more tolerable than being near fire. I looked around in the water.

There was a thin beam of moonlight that penetrated the surface, but I could see nothing. I surfaced and jumped onto the side of the boat. Katherine and another man were pulling someone onto the boat. Then I noticed something making a wake in the water. That something was coming towards us very fast.

The surface of the water broke, and there came a roar.

HHHRRRWWWWAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!

I saw the mouth full of razor-sharp teeth set inside the lizard-like head. The monster whipped its head forward and those killing teeth came straight for me. I reacted by firing a shockwave that hit the monster in the mouth. The creature fell back.

“What is that?” someone yelled in surprise.

“Troy! Get us to shore quickly!” Katherine ordered.

I placed my hands on the back of the boat and opened my wings. I fired my shockwaves to propel the boat towards shore. I could see the monster still in pursuit of the boat; it had a crocodile head and rows of flat quills on its back.

I propelled the boat away with my shockwaves. It occurred to me that I didn’t need to worry about the monster getting the other people as long as it was chasing us.

It was exhausting to continuously fire my shockwaves. But we got to shore, a sandy isolated beach, I pushed the boat onto the sand. There was a thick patch of woods that would lead to a street.

“Get out!” I yelled. “Run away!” My arms were vibrating. I shook them back to life.

“Troy, the real fight is about to begin,” Katherine warned. She pointed.

The monster was coming out of the water. It was searching for things to tear apart and devour. It had nothing to set its sights on.

Except for Katherine and me.