Theo the Street Kid and the Extraordinary Competition

Chapter 20 - Stage One: Horrifying Things Lurk Deep Underwater

 Diving deeper and deeper into the abyss, Theo followed his submarine. If it weren't for the submarine's light, it would have been completely dark.
As Theo dove, he noticed gigantic squids and enormous octopus floating around.
He tried not to look at or think about them.
He was certain that if he left them alone, they would leave him alone.
About halfway down, Theo panicked when he saw a great white shark approach him.
The cold-blooded animal opens its mouth, revealing sharp teeth. It was monstrous, as big as a school bus.
Theo ignored the shark and hurried his descent.
The shark sped up.
His heart beating wildly, Theo summoned a burst of energy.
The shark was about to ram right into Theo, but his speed paid off. He narrowly evaded the shark.
Still on high alert, he looked up.
It turned out the shark had been chasing an octopus all along.
As the two sea creatures duked it out, a relieved Theo continued his descent.
When he finally made it to the bottom of the ocean, he felt lost. Sure, he was now standing on firm seabed, but the giant clams were nowhere to be seen.
He saw nothing but kelp, barnacles and the occasional stingray.
He looked at the camera man and female reporter standing comfortably in the submarine.
They mouthed something to him, but he couldn't figure out what.
Maybe they were lost too.
He knew he had only an hour's worth of oxygen in his tank, so he had to hurry. It had already been at least twenty minutes, so time was running out.
As he scanned the ocean floor, one arm suddenly wrapped itself around him.
At first, he thought it was some sort of octopus, but when he craned his neck, he saw it was Senator Chammy.
The man's other hand was trying to detach Theo's oxygen tank.
Realizing that the Senator was trying to kill him, Theo struggled to get away, but the man had too much of a stranglehold on him.
This nightmare scenario brought back horrible memories of Mr. Joob's attempted rape.
Theo glanced down at his whistle, willing it to glow.
And glow it did.
At that moment, a stingray slammed into the Senator, knocking him off Theo.
Relieved, Theo used this opportunity to escape. He swam as far away from the murderous politician as he could.
His swim flippers propelling him forward, only one thought entered his mind: the other contestants were even more dangerous than man-eating sea creatures.
He'd rather face killer whales and octopuses any day over his fellow competitors.

***

Senator Chammy cursed under his breath. He couldn't believe his misfortune. Some stupid stingray had thwarted his plan to murder the young boy and take out an opponent.
He had been so close to detaching Theo's oxygen tank too.
Oh well, he thought. I have to get to the clams.
He surveyed the ocean floor.
He was nowhere near the giant clams.
He had to get there, seize a Pearl of Lao Tzu, return to the surface and cross the finish line before the others.
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Chammy had been a spoiled brat as a little boy. The son of a popular senator, Chammy was elected on his father's famous last name, riding on his father's coattails into office when his old man retired.
But the election had been so close that several recounts had to take place. It helped enormously that his father bribed the members of the Independent Electoral Commission, creating a huge controversy.
But amid massive protests, the Commission ruled in Chammy's favour and the bright-faced young man took his position as a senator.
But that hadn't been enough for him.
He wasn't in the leadership of the Egalisian Royalist Party and thus, was relegated to an unimportant role as a backbencher, which meant fewer lobbyists would bribe him. It was not a lucrative position to be in.
So when he heard of this contest, he immediately jumped at the chance to be close to the King.
Chammy was already a multi-millionaire many times over, what with his trust fund and his father's inheritance and all that. But he still wanted to add more money to his coffers. He wanted to be one of the world's few billionaires.
Holding an official royal position meant being close to the King and having his ear. And having the King's ear meant being able to help wealthy lobbyists influence political decisions, which in turn, would help funnel even more money his way.
It would be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
But first, he needed to win this contest.
And that meant eliminating as many opponents as possible.
In the murky waters, he scanned the sea floor.
He thought he saw a glimmer in the distance, so he swam in that direction.
When he arrived, his heart leapt.
Giant clams dotted the ocean floor, their mouths gaping open with glittering pearls, each one as big as a basketball.
A huge grin burst onto the slimy senator's face.
There were at least twenty-five clams in a row.
Approaching a giant clam carefully, Chammy reached in slowly and placed one hand on a pearl.
Then, he plucked it out and placed it onto the ocean floor.
Senator Chammy was over the moon. He couldn't believe it had been that easy.
Now, it was time to return to the surface.
But he was a greedy man and although the referee had said to take only one, a scheme began to hatch in Chammy's mind.
Wait a minute, he thought. There are so many giant clams on the sea floor. Each one must be worth at least $500,000. If I carried three or four away with me, I can sell them and make more money than the $1,000,000 the King would pay me.
And so, he got to work.
He managed to take a second pearl successfully, but it was when he approached the third clam that he ran into trouble.
He placed his hand on the third pearl and tried to take it out of the clam, but it wouldn't budge.
He pulled and pulled and pulled, but he couldn't move it.
And so, he climbed into the clam, hoping that having his feet inside the clam would stabilize him and increase his strength.
And that was when it happened.
As soon as he was entirely inside the giant clam, it clamped shut on him, trapping him.
It was now pitch black.
The giant clam then began spewing forth acidic digestive juices, covering the senator from head to toe.
Chammy realized what was happening, but it was too late.
So that's what Mr. Sottia meant when he said the giant clams aren't ordinary clams, the Senator thought.
The special monstrous giant clam was digesting him alive - flesh and bones and blood and all.