Taniwha: The Begininning

By Lasco Atkins

A band of sailors arrive on the shores of Aotearoa with the sole goal of bringing the beast back to the civilised world as a trophy. They attempt trade with the local village which ends in disaster. Shane Finnegan comes out the hero successfully killing the Taniwha.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9780244637200

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Taniwha: The Begininning

Taniwha:The Beginning

CHAPTER 1 – BIGSY

A period ship sails quietly through the pre-dawn night. Tendrils of thick mist hang beneath the Southern Cross, dancing to the slow swells of the South Pacific seas. The sailors aboard are on a voyage to gather any truth about possible new creatures or supernatural stories said to inhabit New Zealand. The night watchman is high up above in his lookout searching for any signs of life/light. He is tired. Bigsy comes up from the lower deck scratching his backside and fidgeting constantly. The night watchman calls down to his mate once he hears him from above.

‘Oi Bigsy, you got da runs again, hav ya?’

‘Ah, leave me alone damn you. (mumbling to himself) These bloody cramps, (grumble) ooooh.’

Up in his basket the night watchman chuckles to himself, and then lights up his pipe briefly, cupping it against the constant wind. He places it back into his pocket, and fighting against fatigue, shuts his eyes to dream for just one moment more...

On the front of the ship beneath the (female) figure-head, Bigsy is bending over; pulling his pants down to his ankles. Gargles and groans are heard from his stomach, he clenches his belly tight as if in pain. He is defecating between the grills, on a small platform not more than a metre square, used by the crew for number two.  After a minute passes, Bigsy hears a weird noise from the sea beneath him, he tries to stand up a little bit maybe hoping to see into the darkness. He then peers up at the Night watchman to see if maybe he was playing a trick on him somehow, but he has his back turned towards him. Bigsy quietly tries calling up to him to get his attention.

Bigsy whispers, ‘heh, Jimmy. Did you hear dat? I swear I just ‘erd sumthin’ odd!’

The night watchman cannot hear him from up top, since he has nodded off already. He is positioned in a way that he is sitting turned away from him.

Bigsy tries to contact his mate again. ‘Oi, sssssspppptttt! Can u hear me or no?’

Below deck in the sleeping quarters of the ship, sailor’s Johnson and Lionel stir as they faintly hear noises coming from the outside of the ship’s hull. Nothing too loud, yet unsure if it’s the waves smacking the wooden boards or if they are in a half dream state still. They nod back off to sleep unaware of the potential danger literally metres away.

Outside a massive Kraken