The Docks

    The night watchmen took the bird by surprise. It caw’ed, and took flight, miles away from the pier. He flicked his flashlight on, and scanned the boats. Empty, as they should be. Turning around, he screamed as a bright white light came in from the side. He waved his arms like a featherless bird, as he felt himself losing balance, but eventually flattened both feet firmly on the wood in the nick of time, avoiding a head on collision with the gear shift of a patron's boat.

    “Jesus, Henry!” Mack said, catching his breath. “You trying to kill me?”

Henry apologized, and clicked off his flashlight. “Didn’t mean to startle you like that.” There was a nervous laughter at first.

Mack scoffed, shook his head while mumbling something obscene. He was a tall man, but usually hunched over. He straightened himself out, sucking in his gut, which usually hung over his belt buckle like a brown sack of rice. 

“Anything unusual?” Mack asked.

“No sir, just you, me, the boats, and the occasional seagull.” Henry picked his nose. “This is good though, right? We don’t really want to run into anything bad, do we?”

“No we don't. But always keep your guard up, rookie. You hear me? I’ve been the main security guard here for over five years. From my experience, you can never expect the night to stay quiet forever. Got it?”

Henry said, “Absolutely, sir.” followed by an awkward silence. Mack kept his flashlight on, and was scanning the same empty boats for the third time, then on the water. The water was flat. Waveless.

“Hey Mack?”

“What?”

“Has anything happened? Like, to you?”

“What?”

“Well, you said you’ve been the main guard for five years. Has any -”

“It’s more like six years. In two months, it will be six years. Just so you know. Helping you keep your facts in order.” 

“Right. Okay. Well?”

“Well what?”

“You said the night never stays quiet. You have experience. I’m asking what those experiences are?”

“Well,” Mack fumbled, “I didn’t really see anything.”

“Really?!”

“It’s more like prepare, kid. Expect the unexpected.” 

“Jeeze.” Henry clipped his flashlight into one of his many pockets. “After your little speech there, I was expecting something juicy, or something.”

“Something juicy? What are you wanting out of this job?”

“Nothing really.” Henry said.

“Nothing!” Mack’s face fumed. “You know kid, I don't know if you're gonna survive this job. You can’t have any expectations here. Anything can fucking happen.”

“Apparently nothing much happens anyway, according to you.”

“Shut your skinny mouth!” Mack said.

“Hey, I’m sorry, man.”

“Don’t be sorry. Be gone. Go patrol the fucking parking lot or something.”
“I did that already. That’s where I just came from before meeting you here.”

“Well go do it again, you smart ass prick.”

“You know what, fuck you man.” Henry said, leaving for the parking lot.

Mack thought: Damn kid. Think’s he can talk to me that way. I’ve been guarding these docks for five years - hell, I’ve been a security guard for over ten years. I’m older! I have seniority! He’s just some short, twenty something year old kid. Probably with a damn juvie record. I’ll show him. I’ll talk to the boss tomorrow, and get that brat fired. That will teach him a valuable lesson.

The dock is set up with seven rows, each one stretching out a half mile long, each one occupied by boats, and yachts belonging to a number of varying financial independence. Mack walks out to the farthest one. The seventh row. Carefully stepping over bird droppings, laced like splattered polka dots. 

From the black waters, the large wet, webbed hand, dug two inch claws into the wood.

Now at the very edge of the last row, Mack shines his light at the calm sea. The silence in the air emanated from its liquid surface. And Mack thought about this lovely, lovely night.

It was behind him. Large black eyes, the size of fists. Sleek blue skin that only seemed sleeker when wet. Wide muscular shoulders. Swollen flexed arms. Bulging abs. Naked with (strangely) human-like genitalia. Long skinny legs, and one large toe with a thick sharp bone jutting out the end. Its roar, like a fused mammal and machinery, forced violently together, bio-mechanical, sharp bladed pings, and pongs, jagged throat muscles, vibrational, and radioactivity evil. The stench was like rotting garbage sitting in the sun for years at a time. He kicked at the creature, cursed at it, cursed Henry, and cursed his whole God damn life, while hoisted, head first into its wide frowning mouth, its multi rows of teeth, 80 teeth per row.

Blood popped through punctures in his back, burning thickly up his throat, melting past his lips, and bursting, gushing through his eyes and ears. Thrashing him about until severed in two. It gulped him down. Ripping slowly, the innards of the lower half. Guts. Intestines. Ripping. Ripped. Munching. Chewing. Bone crunching. Wet, and red. 

The next morning, the bird pecked at something. 

END.