The Judas Strain Read Free

alone.
    A sharp bark startled Susan, causing her to jump. She had not known she was still a bit tense. Apparently the strange, wary behavior of the reef life below had infected her.
    “Oy! Oscar!” the professor called.
    Only now did Susan notice the lack of their fourth crewmate on the yacht. The dog barked again. The pudgy Queensland heeler belonged to the professor. Getting on in age and a tad arthritic, the dog was usually found sprawled in any patch of sunlight it could find.
    “I’ll see to him,” Applegate said. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds all cozied up. Besides, I could use a trip to the head. Make a bit more room for another Foster’s before I find my bed.”
    The professor gained his feet with a groan and headed toward the bow, intending to circle to the far side—but he stopped, staring off toward the east, toward the darker skies.
    Oscar barked again.
    Applegate did not scold him this time. Instead, he called over to Susan and Gregg, his voice low and serious. “You should come see this.”
    Susan scooted up and onto her feet. Gregg followed. They joined the professor.
    “Bloody hell…” her husband mumbled.
    “I think you may have found what drove those dolphins out of the seas,” Applegate said.
    To the east, a wide swath of the ocean glowed with a ghostly luminescence, rising and falling with the waves. The silvery sheen rolled and eddied. The old dog stood at the starboard rail and barked, trailing into a low growl at the sight.
    “What the hell is that?” Gregg asked.
    Susan answered as she crossed closer. “I’ve heard of such manifestations. They’re called milky seas . Ships have reported glows like this in the Indian Ocean, going all the way back to Jules Verne. In 1995, a satellite even picked up one of the blooms, covering hundreds of square miles. This is a small one.”
    “Small, my ass,” her husband grunted. “But what exactly is it? Some type of red tide?”
    She shook her head. “Not exactly. Red tides are algal blooms. These glows are caused by bioluminescent bacteria, probably feeding off algae or some other substrate. There’s no danger. But I’d like to—”
    A sudden knock sounded beneath the boat, as if something large had struck it from below. Oscar’s barking became more heated. The dog danced back and forth along the rails, trying to poke his head through the posts.
    All three of them joined the dog and looked below.
    The glowing edge of the milky sea lapped at the yacht’s keel. From the depths below, a large shape rolled into view, belly up, but still squirming, teeth gnashing. It was a massive tiger shark, over six meters. The glowing waters frothed over its form, bubbling and turning the milky water into red wine.
    Susan realized it wasn’t water that was bubbling over the shark’s belly, but its own flesh , boiling off in wide patches. The horrible sight sank away. But across the milky seas, other shapes rolled to the surface, thrashing or already dead: porpoises, sea turtles, fish by the hundreds.
    Applegate took a step away from the rail. “It seems these bacteria have found more than just algae to feed on.”
    Gregg turned to stare at her. “Susan…”
    She could not look away from the deadly vista. Despite the horror, she could not deny a twinge of scientific curiosity.
    “Susan…”
    She finally turned to him, slightly irritated.
    “You were diving,” he explained, and pointed. “In that water. All day.”
    “So? We were all in the water at least some time. Even Oscar did some dog-paddling.”
    Her husband would not meet her gaze. He remained focused on where she was scratching her forearm. The wet suit sometimes chafed her limbs. But the worry in his tight face drew her attention to her forearm. Her skin was pebbled in a severe rash, made worse by her scratching.
    As she stared, bruising red welts bloomed on her skin.
    “Susan…”
    She gaped in disbelief. “Dear God…”
    But she also knew the horrible truth.
    “It’s…it’s