The Delve

                THE DELVE

                by Chris Calderon

        The Captain steered the submarine deep into the furthest depths of the ocean with his pet monkey on his shoulder. They were searching for a goblet of legend. It was said to be guarded by a small aquatic gnome who protected an ancient gate to a subterranean cave that held it. All the signs of rock statues covered in coral pointed the way. Each one corresponded with the crude drawings on the map. The landmark of this mysterious goblet was guarded by a legendary giant fish-like beast. Through all his travels he’d seen things not explainable by man but never a fanged-fish as large one drawn on the parchment. If he had to guess it was 30 feet high.

The Captain’s dark vessel approached a cave guarded by a small-long-haired man. The front of the cave resembled a gate. He lowered the submarine in front of the small armed man who held a trident. The Captain thought of the only thing he could and showed the gnome the map he’d discovered through the glassed portal. The small long-haired man looked at The Captain through and then the map. He then stood straight and nodded allowing him passage. The Captain immediately steered the ship forward into the cave.

He hit the high powered beams as the submarine delved further into the darkness. Eyes peered in front of the ship followed by two rows of fanged teeth. The white grin terrified The Captain but he reacted on instinct and pressed the button on the dashboard to release the star pointed missiles underneath. The gigantic green and blue scaled monster twisted its body forward as it bit down on the top of the gold plated roof. The Captain held the ship steady by grabbing the wheel tight. On his shoulders, the monkey yelled in fear holding on tight to its master.

The giant fish creature bit down upon the metal once more scraping the shell. Inside some of the instrument panels flashed various colors. The Captain pounded his fist on the dash. He pushed the steering wheel forward and jerked it to the right simultaneously.

The ship was free and it turned fast searching for sights on the big scaly beast. He caught the oval black pupils reflecting the lights of the submarine’s headlights. Knowing it would be his only chance he fired the torpedoes into the blackness between its two eyes. Its body wiggled and shook. The shell bursted and a flack of light tore through some of the rock and dirty filled the cavern. The Captain knew this could be a problem so he activated the debri vacuums from the push of a gold button. The beast laid on its belly in the murky floor of the cave.

The monstrous scaly body swirled and spun into a fine mist, then dissipated into the floating dirt and sand. A green glow radiated in the cave coming from a small metal grail on the cave floor. The Captain drove his ship forward, a treasure hard won.