Ok, I see. xP
Story time! :D
Chapter Two wrote:
Jones answered the phone with a brusque “Who’s this?” but as soon as Zach identified himself, Sam’s demeanor changed completely.
“Zachy, my good friend! How are you!?”
Zach winced. “I told you not to call me that, Sam.”
“Call you what?” Sam inquired. By the expression of his voice, Zach could tell he knew exactly what “that” was. Zach emitted a drawn-out sigh.
“You know what I mean, Sam.”
“I do?” he said in a slightly mocking voice. “I- oh! You’re talking about how I called you Za-”
Zach cut him off before he could say more. “Yes, yes, that. Now come on, Sam, stop your fooling, there’s business we must discuss.”
Sam released a much-exaggerated moan. “Business, again? Come now, Zachy, my ally. You need a vacation! You keep on like your going now, and you’ll just end up cracking, like that Steve kid you employed to kill Joe a while back.” Sam chuckled, and then suddenly grew serious. “So, what is this ‘business’ you feel the need to discuss?”
Switching on the engine, Zach shifted to Drive and rumbled out of the driveway to the road, pinning the cell phone between his ear and shoulder to free up his driving hands. “Yeah, so get this. Yesterday I got a call from some guy asking me to kill, of all people, SpongeBob.” The stunned silence on the other line surprised Zach. It was one of the very few times Sam had been without words. “Right. So, I have all the weapons I need, but, considering this guy lives underwater, I’m gonna need some of your help.” The dumbfounded hush continued, as did Zach, as he wove through a maze of back roads to the highway. “I heard you purchased two submarines last year. It would be great if I could borrow one, along with a crew to operate it. I might need some other things too, such as a deep-sea pressure suit and such.” The silence was unnerving, and for a second Zach thought that Sam had hung up on him. “. . . Sam? You there?”
That seemed to wake him from his spell. “Yes, ah, er, yes! So… SpongeBob? Ah…whooh…S…SpongeBob?” A few seconds of stillness followed. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
Zach chuckled as he sped along the highway. “I only wish I was…”
Through the phone Zach could hear Sam asking someone to get him some alcohol. “So you need my submarine…”
“Correct,” Zach verified.
“…to get to the bottom of the ocean…”
“Mmhmm.”
“To kill SpongeBob.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Who, might I add, is an animated character that, for all anyone knows, doesn’t exist.”
“Yes.”
“And you are doing this why!?”
“Hey, the pay ain’t half bad.”
Silence pervaded the connection, disrupted finally by a terrible moan emanated from Sam. “Only for you, Zach, would I be insane enough to agree with this. Just…bring her back safe, would you?”
Zach grinned. He knew that, should anything happen to the submarine, Sam could easily buy 5 more to replace it. However, Sam had a tendency to become extremely attached to anything that came into his possession, and he knew that he would never be forgiven if he ruined Sam’s precious underwater vessel. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of it.”
“And…and the crew, make sure you don’t…kill them or anything.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“And–”
“Sam!” Zach exclaimed. “Don’t worry! I won’t destroy anything.” He turned onto an exit ramp and sped through another series of smaller roads winding through thick forest until he found what he was looking for. Jones had never liked cities or suburbs; he preferred natural beauty. And so he bought out 50 acres of undisturbed land, and built on it an enormous mansion. Zach pulled into an insanely long driveway, and stopped once he reached a massive steel gate.
“All…all right, I suppose I owe you a favor anyway. Tell you what, you come on over to my place right now, and I’ll set you up with your very own ship and crew.”
Zach laughed quietly. “Well sure, I’ll be over in a few seconds.” Before Sam could reply, Zach snapped the phone shut and rolled down his window. Reaching out, he pressed a button on an intercom that was placed on the wall next to his car.
“Hey Sam,” he spoke into it. “I’m here!” A few seconds dragged on, and then with silent acknowledgement the gate in front of him split open, allowing him to pass. Zach pulled up the driveway and parked his vehicle in Jones’ expansive parking lot. He was escorted inside the mansion by one of Sam’s bodyguards, and seated in an ornate room. The seat he reclined on was plush leather, with gold-trimmed mahogany armrests. Spread out around the room were many other pieces of furniture, each of which most likely cost a king’s ransom. The carpet was thick and lavish. Paintings decorated the walls, most of which Zach recognized as famous works. By the time he finished drawing this all in, Sam Jones had entered the room. Jones was a jolly, rotund man with jowly cheeks and eyes that twinkled with clever and malicious intent. His mouth was spread open in a cheerful smile, displaying two rows of pearly whites. Zach rose to his feet and stuck out his hand in greeting. Sam ignored the hand and instead enveloped Zach in a massive bear hug.
“Sam!” Zach gasped.
“Zachy!” Sam answered. “You’re obviously happy to see me!”
“No,” Zach wheezed, “I mean let me go! I can’t…I can’t breath!”
“Oh…terribly sorry, Zachy my friend.” Sam released his hold on Zach, who bent over, gulping in breath.
“Would you stop doing that, Sam?!”
A hurt expression crossed Sam’s face.
Zach glared at him for a few moments, and then sighed. “Oh, I can’t stay mad at you for long, can I Sam? Come now; let us see your beautiful ship, shall we?”
At the mention of submarines, Sam’s face lit up. “Yes, of course!” he exclaimed. “Here, this way, this way.” Sam bid Zach to follow him, and led him through innumerable rooms, and then into a rather bland one. It was hardly a room, however. It was bereft of furniture, paintings, carpets, or any of the other decorations that adorned the room Zach had previously been in. More than anything, it was a simple enclosure of rectangular shape. At the far end of it was an imposing, fortified metal door. In the top right corner nearest to the door, there was a lone security camera with a blinking red LED. On both sides of the entrance there stood two silent sentinels, an M40 cradled in each of their arms. Sam approached the door and entered a code into a keypad located on the door, and with a mechanical hiss it slid open. Behind it was an entirely different world. Guards, crew, and other such personnel scuttled around, headed for one task or another. Mechanics were examining numerous bits of machinery, twisting wrenches or tightening bolts or oiling gears or some such related thing. At the center of all the activity were two sleek, massive watercrafts: submarines. They floated in something that resembled a pool; more specifically it was a body of water surrounded by the platform that Sam and Zach now stood on. As the two headed for the docking station, a question began nagging Zach.
“What exactly do all those machines do?” he questioned, motioning to the numerous blinking instruments that lined the walls, similar to those in his own headquarters.
“Honestly,” Sam replied with a hint of embarrassment, “I don’t know. But one of them makes great cappuccino.”
Zach mumbled something about strange coincidences and let the subject drop. They reached the docking station and boarded the first submarine via a metal gangplank. Sam took it upon himself to give Zach a tour of the vessel.
Sam gave the side of the impressive submarine a good knock as if to signify its strength. “Hardest and lightest alloy on the market. Can withstand up to 8 consecutive torpedo blasts.” They proceeded to the aft of the sub, where a large, imposing gun stood. Surrounding the gun was a bubble-like shield. The barrel of the weapon protruded through the shield. “May not look like much,” said Sam as he patted the transparent safeguard, “but this baby can take a heck of a beating.” He pointed to the heavy weaponry the protective barrier contained. “And that gun packs a real punch. Shoots pretty much anything; we stocked it with harpoons just for you.” There was an identical device on the opposite side of the ship. After mentioning a few other unimportant things, Sam led Zach down the hatch into the innards of the vessel.
Two hours later, a beaming Sam and an exhausted Zach emerged from the ship.
“So,” Sam inquired, “You liked it, did you not?”
“Your generosity is unsurpassed, Sam,” Zach replied, looking at the sub with admiration. “I appreciate this more than you can know. And don’t worry, I’ll bring her back safe.” He grinned.
At the mention of the safety of his vessel, however, Sam’s mood darkened visibly. “Yeah, you’d better,” he grumbled, evoking an amused chuckle from Zach.
“You and your war machines…” Zach joked. “Anyway, let’s get this show on the road.”
Sam shook his head as if to rid himself of his nervousness. “Yes, yes, of course! Your crew is ready to go.” He turned and motioned to a crewman who was discussing something related to those mysterious blinking machines with another grimy-looking sea scrub. “Hey Morton! Get the crew together…You’re headin’ out!” Sam yelled. Morton’s head swiveled around until it found the source of the call, and then bobbed quickly to signify that he had heard. He went through a door nearby and disappeared from sight. Sam turned to Zach. “Ok, you’re all set. Might as well get in there now and get cozy. The crew will be here in a few minutes.”
Zach was about to comply when something struck him. “My gun bag!” he exclaimed. “It’s still in my car. Hold on, I’ll go get it.” He was stopped mid-stride by Sam’s muscular arm. Zach turned in confusion to look at Sam, who had mischievous grin on his face.
“I’ve already had it put into the sub. It should be in your quarters,” Sam assured him.
“But…it was in my car trunk! And I had locked it too…” Sam’s grin widened as one of his bodyguards approached and handed him a key that looked exactly like Zach’s key to the Mazda. Zach gaped in astonishment, groping for where he had left his key: in his back left pocket. Empty. He thoroughly checked all his other pockets, but in vain.
“You swiped it off me!” he exclaimed incredulously.
“Ah, not quite,” Sam corrected. “My bodyguard swiped it off you.” He took the key that had been handed to him and handed it to Zach. “He’s from Brooklyn,” he added with a smirk. Zach hastily snatched the key back, stuffing it back into his back pocket. As an afterthought, he removed it and placed it in his front pocket instead.
“Sam…” Zach started, but stopped himself short as he looked up to see that Sam had already fled his way back across the gangplank. He watched with annoyance and slight amusement as he grabbed a cup of cappuccino and exited through the door they had come through earlier. Right before he was out of sight, he spun around and stuck out his tongue. Zach could hear his uproarious laughter all the way across the room as he turned back around and darted out of view. Zach sighed in bewilderment.
How the heck do I meet people like this… he thought to himself in wonderment. Setting the thought aside for perusing at a later time, he entered the submarine and located his bed (as well as his duffel bag). As he checked to make sure all the contents of the bag were still there, he could hear the crew noisily entering the sub. Zach sat on his bed and decided to take quick nap. His missions sometimes resulted in him going without sleep for days. He would need as much energy as possible. As he began to take off his shoes, he felt the hum of the engines starting, and felt the submarine beginning to descend. Suddenly, a startling thought struck him. If Sam’s mansion was in the middle of the suburbs…then how the heck did he have a submarine?! Unable to shake this question from his mind, he stood and walked to the captain’s quarters. Throwing etiquette to the wind, he burst in, to find the captain sitting at his desk sipping a cup of cappuccino.
“How–”
“–are we in a submarine in the middle of a forest?” the captain finished. “You don’t know how many times I’ve been asked that question. Here, follow me.” He stood and exited his cabin, still sipping his cappuccino. Zach obediently followed, until they came to the control room. It was overwhelmingly high-tech, with numerous panels and buttons that were constantly flashing and beeping. There were three desk-like consoles which, the captain informed him, separately controlled the weaponry, piloting, and communications. They approached the piloting station at which sat a man busily concerning himself with an array of levers and pedals in front of him. The captain pointed out a screen to Zach, who moved closer to examine it. It seemed to be receiving a feed from a camera on the outside of the submarine. What Zach saw shocked him. They seemed to be traveling through some type of tunnel. As far as Zach could see, the submarine was surrounded by smooth rock.
“Wh-…What the heck is that?”
The captain gave a knowing grin, and began to explain. “You see, your friend Mr. Jones has been looking forward to purchasing his submarines for quite a while. The only problem is, as you could see, he lives in the suburbs, which is quite a problem when you want to own a water-based vehicle. Now, rather than simply purchasing a sea-side building to store them in, Mr. Jones decided he’d be a bit more creative. And so he hired 8 of the most hard-working and commended construction companies on the planet, and paid them extravagant sums to do this.”
“And…What is this, exactly?”
“Simply put, a tunnel. Massive, as you can see. Runs all the way to the ocean.”
Zach gaped in astonishment. “That…That’s got to be…illegal, or something!”
The captain let out an uproarious laugh. “Trust me, son, Mr. Jones has done much worse than build an illegal underground tunnel. Anyway, what the government doesn’t know doesn’t hurt it.” He said the final part with a malicious smirk.
Zach couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s audacity. “Yeah,” he said, “that’s Sam for ya.”
The captain gave him a brief tour of the rest of the control room, and then they both retired to their cabins. Zach rechecked his bag to make sure everything was still in its place. Satisfied, he slipped under the rough covers of his cot and settled in. He was on his way. To kill a sponge. At this thought he again burst out laughing, and then drifted into a light doze.
Chapter Three wrote:
Zach was awakened by one of the crew members.
“Hey pal, ride’s over. Cap’n said he wanted to see you in the control room.”
Zach groggily nodded, and managed to stumble out of his cot. Grabbing his gun bag, he blearily made his way to the control room and found the captain standing in front of the piloting control panel. The skipper had a strange look on his face as he directed Zach’s attention to the screen of the outside camera feed.
“Would you mind telling me,” he asked, “what the heck that is?”
By the camera feed Zach could tell they had reached the bottom of the ocean. The grainy picture on the screen displayed a murky ocean floor. There was one other thing on the screen, which was the main object of Zach’s attention.
It seemed to be a glass dome, with a heavy-duty door extending from it. Inside of the see-through dome he could see, of all things, a massive tree. Grass covered the rest of the ground, and a picnic table decorated the landscape.
“It’s…ah….” Honestly, Zach had absolutely no idea what it was. “It appears to be a pressurized chamber of sorts…it seems to be filled with air. That door probably has a de-pressurizing chamber behind it.”
The captain turned, a strange grin on his face. “What the heck are you getting us into?” He chuckled and shook his head, motioning over a crew member “Anyway, we’d better get you suited up and out there. Follow Morton here; he’ll get you in order.”
Zach followed Morton into the depths of the submarine, until they finally reached a room filled with underwater gear and one large, high-tech looking door.
“Here’s the suit you requested,” Morton said from behind Zach. Zach turned around to see Morton standing in front of a strange-looking outfit. It looked similar to a wetsuit, except with numerous gadgets branching off. The helmet was small and compact, and had a wide piece of plastic as a visor.
“Completely fog-proof,” Morton informed him, ‘and strong enough to resist about 3,500 pounds of pressure.’
Looking at the flimsy piece of plastic, Zach found that extremely hard to believe. The body of the outfit looked, as Zach had before noticed, much like a wetsuit. Morton told him that it was exceptionally comfortable and flexible, but at the same time was sturdy enough to withstand extreme pressure. Coming up off of the shoulders were two small flashlights. Strapped across the waist was a belt, which Zach planned to use to hold his many weapons. Two massive tanks were strapped to the back of it, and a tube joined both of them and the helmet together. Finally, on the wrist of the suit was a small, bracelet-like device with two buttons, one larger than the other.
Morton pointed it out. “That would control your Heads Up Display, or your HUD. Press the large button once to activate it, and press it again to turn it off. When it is on, you will see from the inside of your helmet numerous bits of information. Here, put this on,” he said, handing Zach the helmet. Zach complied. Morton pressed the button, and all of the sudden, the visor of the helmet sprang to life. Numbers and images were spread out along the edge, still leaving Zach enough room to see. “If you look in the bottom left corner of your visor,” Morton instructed, “you will see a basic image of your suit. Currently it should be colored green, which signifies that everything is OK. Yellow means a possible danger, orange means an imminent danger, and red….well, if the suit is red, then you’re pretty much screwed.” He laughed, but the humor was lost on Zach. “Anyway, everything you see means something. To the left of your vision are your vital signs. Top left is the remaining power in your two flashlights, across the top should be the levels of oxygen in the two tanks, top right is a simple timer that shows how long you have until your oxygen runs out, right should display the structure strength of the suit, the bottom right is a simplistic radar, and along the bottom is the current status of your radio connections. You will be connected to this submarine as well as Mr. Jones’ mansions, one of which you were at earlier, and another in Great Britain. There’s also a connection to Mr. Jones, through which he may call you whenever and from wherever he chooses. The name of each station should be colored. Green means that the connection is open and ready to transmit. Red means that the station is unavailable. When you wish to activate your radio, simply press the smaller button on the controller and speak. The helmet is soundproof and our lines are secure, so you needn’t worry about being overheard.
“And that should be about it. Call me when you’ve changed into it,” Morton said, and exited the room. Zach undressed and slipped into the suit, expecting the two tanks to be weighty, but instead finding that they were surprisingly light. Reaching into his gun bag, he took the two pistols and attached them to his belt, as well as the knife. Finally, he took out the harpoon gun and slung it across his back. After he had completely dressed, he called Morton back into the room.
“Alrighty then, let’s get you out there!” Morton said, slapping a large button on the wall. Hydraulics hissed and groaned as the large door in the wall slowly began to open. “Welcome,” Morton said with a grin, “to the flood room.” They walked through the door and into a smaller room. It had large drain-like things lining the farthest wall, which resembled the door they had just come through. “The flood room,” Morton went on to explain, “is the one and only safe way to exit this submarine while it is underwater. Let me explain. Very soon, I will exit this room, and close the massive door we just entered. Then, those drains will slowly bring in water from the outside of the submarine, until this room is completely filled with water. Don’t worry, though. Those tanks on your back will sustain you for about 2 hours each. Anyway, once the chamber is completely filled with water, that wall over there,” at this he motioned towards the wall covered with the drains, “will open up, and you will be able to just float out of the submarine without being crushed by the water pressure or anything.” He grinned, and thumped Zach on the shoulder. “Good luck, champ.” He turned and left the chamber, and soon Zach heard the door closing behind him. It sealed shut, and water began to spill through the drains on the outer wall. It quickly rose to his knees, then his waist, then his chest. In a matter of a few short seconds, he was completely submerged in water. Just then, a voice spoke to Zach.
“Hey Mister Telmar, this is Morton. I’m in the control center of the submarine right now, talking to you through the radio channel. Remember, to talk on the radio, just press the smaller button on the device attached to your wrist. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that the outer door will be opening in about 40 seconds. The chamber just needs to finish pressurizing. Once the door is open, just walk out of the chamber. The drop to the ocean floor should be no more than two or three feet. And don’t worry about floating to the surface; that suit you’re wearing is heavy enough to keep you grounded. The environment out there is a lot different than up-top…just remember that. If anything goes wrong, come directly back to the submarine. Let us know you’re coming ahead of time, so we can have the chamber ready for you. Ok, the door should be opening just a few seconds. Have fun.”
A muffled hiss reached Zach’s ears, and the wall in front of him began to swing outward. Behind it lay a stunning sight. Much to Zach’s surprise, the water was almost crystal clear. Light from far above danced beautiful reflections across the ocean floor. Coral reefs abounded, as well as many other marine plants. Zach walked forward, but stopped at the edge of the chamber. Something was out of the ordinary. As Zach continued to examine his surroundings, he realized that in fact many things were out of the ordinary. To start, there was the large transparent igloo-like enclosure that Zach had seen previously in the submarine’s control room. Additionally, the ocean floor which at first had appeared to be the closest thing to perfect was visibly less than that. Something was marring its surface. Zach bent his knees to get a closer look, and then drew back in shock. Footprints! At the bottom of the ocean? He shook his head in wonderment. Something else drew his attention. Something that looked not unlike a paved road ran past the submarine about twenty yards off. Suddenly, a noise rang out, disrupting the tranquility. It sounded…like a propeller! Could it be another submarine? Zach decided it would be best to stay put. Whatever it was, it would reveal itself in due time. And reveal itself it did. The noise appeared to be coming from a small object in the distance, and it seemed to be following the general path of the paved road Zach had noticed just moments ago. A few minutes passed, and the object grew closer. Time drew on, and finally Zach could see what it was. It took him a few seconds for his mind to register what he was seeing. It appeared to be a boat, but much smaller. It had four wheels positioned on its underside as if it were a car. As it went past, Zach could see a small propeller twirling viciously behind it, obviously the source of the noise he was hearing. But the thing that most shocked Zach was who was driving this ***** vehicle; or what, rather. It was not unlike a fish, though it had human-like characteristics. It had two eyes and a mouth, as well as two holes for ears, all arranged in a fashion similar to that which you would see on a normal human being. On its head was, of all things, a fedora. Zach had been so much in shock that he hadn’t realized the vehicle had stopped. The creature turned and looked intently at Zach for a fleeting second, tipped its hat, and sped off, leaving Zach completely speechless.
After a few seconds, Zach managed to recover. He took a moment to psych himself, and then took his first step into the most insane experience of his entire life.
. I can see that you have quite a bit of talent. 4 questions: is this your first story?, have you ever thought of entering in a book or story competition?, if you have did you win? and finally....WHEN CAN WE EXPECT THE WHOLE ZACH TELMAR STORY??? 
I like Alex-Rider-type stories. Keep going!
>.>