A Killer Whale’S Revenge

By Michael L. Kryder

As construction begins on the largest marine amusement park in the world, the abuse of killer whales continues, both during capture and in captivity. As the parks head biologist, Mark Tillsdale, and eight crew members head into the waters that surround Santa Catalina Island to hunt orcas during their migration season, one whale fails to escape their net.

After a three-year-old orca is captured and torn from his family, the young male is quickly deemed unsuitable for training, killed, and thrown back into the sea. When the mother orca and her pod find her offsprings carcass, they vow revenge. Soon, ocean justice begins as the pod brutally attacks and kills humans along the California coast. After a mature male orca escapes from a marine amusement park and joins the pod, the killing continues, even as marine biologists, land-based law enforcement, the Coast Guard, and others attempt to fight back. Unfortunately they are all about to discover that what human cruelty unleashed, no man can stop.

In this gripping tale, a mother whale and her pod become bloodthirsty murders after her offspring is brutally killed by staff from a marine amusement park.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532021183

Michael L. Kryder

Michael L. Kryder earned bachelor's degrees in chemistry and mathematics from Arizona State University and spent over forty years in the retail field. Michael has two adult children and currently lives in Florida. A Killer Whale’s Revenge is his fourth novel.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

T here was a 56-foot early model Hatteras yacht anchored off the east side of Catalina Island just south of Avalon harbor. The ocean was calm with low, very slow moving swells caused by the water surging against the cliffs several hundred yards from the Island. The sun was almost straight up in the sky, and it was almost lunch time. The guys sat on the back deck having a Corona while the women stayed cool floating in the water with their life preservers. The boat drifted slowly in a half arch attached to the anchor line.

Glenn commented to Tim it’s almost noon and barely a breeze on the water Tim just put the bottle up to his lips when he heard his wife Ellen screaming. She was yelling frantically, Something got Mary, get me out of here, get me out of here, hurry, hurry. Ellen was panicked and awkwardly trying to swim as fast as she could, but the life preserver made it hard to swing her arms. Tim immediately got up from the deck chair and went to the stern; he reached down and unlatched the bolt on the aft gunnel door leading to the swim platform on the back deck. Tim was waiting for Ellen to reach the side so he could help her up; all the time she was still screaming, Something took Mary, get me out of here. Glenn looked at Tim What the hell happened? Where is she? Where’d she go?

All of a sudden a killer whale plunged to the surface about 30 yards from the side of the boat. By now Glenn was standing on the side of the deck scanning the surface of the water when he saw the whale. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Mary was cross ways in the whale’s mouth. The life preserver was shredded, but still attached. Her left arm was barely hanging on by some skin and muscles. Her left leg was severed mid-thigh. She tried to scream, but it was only faint sounds, help me, help me. The blood was spreading out on the surface of the water like a black drifting cloud. It formed a large pool around the area. The whale spit her out like a bad piece of meat. She was just lying on the surface, barely moving. Glenn could see two dorsal fins coming straight at Mary.

Tim had Ellen now safely on board. He scurried up the ladder to the fly bridge. He was drawing up the anchor with the automatic windless. Simultaneously he started the twin engines.

One of the two killer whales grabbed Mary again. The second one was tearing at her limbs. Tim pushed down hard on the throttle and headed the boat towards the two killer whales that had Mary. The whales released her and disappeared beneath the water. Tim cut the engine and let the boat drift over to where Mary was lying on the surface of the water. She would sink but the remains of the life preserver kept Mary’s body on the surface.

Glenn was leaning off the side of the boat when Tim moved next to him and was reaching down to help get a hold of Mary’s body. They pulled it over the side and placed it on the deck. They also managed to pull the remains of her leg onto the deck. Glenn leaned over the gunnel as he vomited into the ocean.

Glenn dropped down on the deck next to Mary. He was sobbing and mumbling to himself, why, why, my Mary. Tim finally got a hold of himself enough go back up to the fly bridge and get on the radio. May Day May Day, we have been attacked by Killer whales, may day, may day, please come in. You could hear a little static and then a voice came on. This is the harbor master in the Port of Avalon, where are you located, I repeat, where are you located?

Tim pushed the button on the mic and told the harbor master, We are approximately two miles south of Avalon bay and several hundred yards off shore. Please bring medical personnel with you. We have an injured person. Tim couldn’t bring himself to say what they really had. The harbor master didn’t ask any questions about the whale attack, only directions to the boat.

Within a half hour a speeding boat was heading towards them. Tim could see several people on board. It was not a cruiser, more like a small PT boat with a large open aft deck. On the side of the boat in large blue letters, Catalina Harbor Master. As the boat approached, he slowed up and finally cut the twin outboards. Tim was standing on the side to catch the bow as it drifted up next to the cabin cruiser.

The first person jumped over the side and landed on the deck. He immediately placed his hand over his mouth and was just starring at Mary’s remains. The second person from the harbor master’s boat came on board. They both couldn’t believe what they saw. One of the personnel asked to use the radio. Tim pointed up to the fly bridge.

Alice, Alice come in, this is Marvin, come in Alice. Finally she answered. Marvin told her they had an emergency, to call the coast guard, he needed to talk with them.

The medical personnel were talking with Glenn and Ellen. He finally gave them some pills after taking their vital signs.

He gave them something to help calm them down, Glenn was now in shock and almost completely incoherent. They took Ellen down below and placed her on the forward bunk in the cabin. They placed Glenn on the seat at the table down below. Marv got a tarp from the harbor boat and covered the remains. The Harbor Master left the medical personnel on the cruiser and told Tim to follow him back to the harbor.

They docked the two boats right next to each other. Marv immediately took everyone up to the offices and got them away from the boats.

It was about an hour when the coast guard and medical examiner arrived. They had to come all the way via helicopter from Los Angeles Harbor. Marv met them at the landing and took the medical examiner over to the cruiser. The coast guard personnel took Tim into an isolated office and was asking questions as to everything that happened. Don was the chief coast guard person and asked most of the questions.

Before everyone left for the mainland that afternoon, Don and a group of investigators questioned the attack. They asked Tim and Ellen repeatedly if they could have been mistaken and if it had been a group of sharks that were responsible for the attack. The witnesses were emphatic. It had been a group of killer whales; their black and white markings were unmistakable. Sharks don’t come flying out of the water with people in their mouths. The huge teeth were visible in the mouth, and the sizes of the killer whales were huge. No, it had to be killer whales. The coast guard officer called Ocean World of the Pacific, which was currently under construction, because it had one of the most renowned marine biologists in the country.

Back on the mainland the medical examiner was there along with the Coast Guard and several law enforcement officers to meet with Mark Tillsdale, the corporate head marine biologist at Ocean World of the Pacific. Everyone at the meeting still found it very hard to believe the women had been attacked by a pod of orcas. This was the first incident of its kind ever reported and totally beyond anyone’s imagination. The probability was almost impossible. All of the human encounters with Orcas in the wild had never resulted in an attack in which Orcas killed a human.

Mark had asked the medical examiner if he could visit when the autopsy was completed. He wanted a copy of the report and wanted the medical examiner to go over his findings. He asked Don with the coast guard if he wanted to accompany him on the visit. Don readily agreed. The medical examiner told them it would be late afternoon before he would have anything to report. Mark asked him if 3 O’clock would be okay. He told Don he would pick him up around 2:30 tomorrow. Don shook his head in agreement.

The next day Mark and Don show up at the medical examiners facility. As they entered they could smell the odor of the autopsy room and the smell of all the chemicals. The medical examiner met them in the visitor’s receiving room just outside the autopsy room and told them to sign in and then follow him. As they entered the main room they could see the body remains laid out on the stainless-steel table and a stand next to it with all the instruments.

The medical examiner took them through the method of the autopsy and showed them the results of what an attack by killer whales produced on the body. The bones were crushed and the tissues were torn, not severed as with sharp shark teeth. Where the whale had held the torso in its mouth, on the left side the teeth had crushed the chest just below the neck, almost severing the head. The right side had crushed the lower waist and hip area. It became evident that an attack by sharks was completely ruled out. Don was feeling a little upset and had to go sit down in the receiving room. The medical examiner made his final remarks to Mark and then walked Mark out where Don was sitting. He handed each of them a copy of the autopsy report and said if they need anything else let him know.

CHAPTER 2

I t had been over a year since Ocean World Corporation had gotten the $ 180,000,000 loan for the construction of Ocean World of the Pacific . It would be their thirteenth park and the largest Ocean World Park ever built. It was being built on four square miles of land on the California coast located just north of Laguna Beach and south of Newport Beach just west of Interstate 5.

It will have four of the largest seawater aquarium tanks in the world. They will contain several species of whales including orcas and humpbacks. One tank will have a selection of sharks including great whites. Another tank will contain large species of fish including Bluefin and yellowfin tuna, sun fish, and manta rays. Other tanks, eight in all, will house the remaining variety of fish and several species of sea turtles.

The park will contain more sea mammals and fish on display than anywhere in the world. It will be six months before it opens to the public.

There is to be an automated tram that will run underground, traveling next to the underwater windows of all the aquariums on the opposite side from the foot traffic. The automated trams will be equipped with a sound system that will give all the information about the sea creatures as they stopped for a few minutes next to each aquarium.

Throughout the park grounds will be a twenty-foot-wide river flowing at the bottom of a shallow canal. The canal will be bordered by a short wall and railing extending four feet over the river for safety. The river will have alligators and crocodiles kept in separate areas of the canal. There will be a small platform arena for an alligator show where the trainers will handle and feed the alligators.

There will be exhibits of manatees, walruses, and penguins. There will be selected exhibits of more exotic mammals like Narwhales. Overall there will be over a hundred main exhibits and shows with more than four hundred and fifty different species of sea life. There will be a sea petting zoo for the kids to touch, handle, pet, and in some cases feed the sea animals. The park will contain young porpoises, sea rays, sea otters, small sharks of different species, and a variety of crustaceans. The park will have a large auditorium with a movie theatre that will seat four hundred people to show a variety of educational films scheduled throughout the day on the different species and interesting facts about the park.

Part of the construction includes an ocean harbor protected by a cement break wall directly down from the park along the sea coast. It will include a large multi-docking facility for all the research and capture vessels. There will be a 600-foot rail system that will have trams running from the docks up to the park for transporting live specimens and supplies. There will also be specially designed containers to transport the large sea mammals that will keep the water level constant and the animals alive.

The park will employ some 2500 people including four marine biologists. Mark Tillsdale, head biologist, will be on special assignment from the corporate office to oversee the parks construction and grand opening. Mark is a world-renowned biologist who will be in charge of all the sea life. This will include the full scope from capture to training. A special staff of marine veterinarians will maintain the health of the sea creatures. There will be a special unit of water maintenance technicians to insure the quality of seawater and its circulation within all the aquariums. Park maintenance technicians. Restaurant and booth staff for three large restaurants. One of the restaurants will be a large needle tower 450 feet high overlooking the entire park with a panoramic view of the coastline. It will have a solar light enhanced with a battery system that will be activated at night that will serve as a lighthouse identifying the coastline for ships. It was hoped that it will become one of the great landmarks of the California coast.

• Thirty concession stands.

• There would also be twenty-four restrooms strategically placed throughout the park. You can’t have enough restrooms.

• A large information center at the entrance with a rental facility for mobile carts and wheelchairs.

• There would be three first-aid stations – one with a full-time medical staff including a doctor – placed in prominent areas.

• There would be 1.5miles of winding parkway trails.

• There would be a trolley system for those who didn’t want to walk or were unable to walk the distance.

• There would be guided tours by trained marine personnel for those who wanted to be educated on all the sea life.

Now that the park was six months from opening, all the aquariums had been completed. This time frame allowed for all the collection and capture of the vast assortment of animals for the park. This would also allow for the acclimation and training of all the sea mammals for the shows. The aquariums needed several months to stabilize the sea life environment in the tanks.

There were two main capture vessels, one 210 feet long and the other 190 feet long. They had been completely outfitted for the collecting of sea life. The 190 foot vessel will be transferred from the San Diego Park, on loan for the first six months. On board each of the vessels are two forty-foot tanks to accommodate the whales and other large mammals. There is a trucking and transportation system with pallets that has plastic lined containers with a battery-operated aerating system and cooling unit to sustain the smaller species while in transport. Many of the fish will be trucked or flown in from all over the U.S. and others from areas around the world.

Also, during this last six months of construction, the hiring and training process was in full swing. Each division of park personnel would be thoroughly trained in their various functions. In some cases, an additional 200 trained personnel will be transferred from four of the other parks. All the personnel will be managed under the park’s administration division headed by Bill Edmond.

The construction and development of Ocean World of the Pacific was the largest undertaking of a marine amusement park anywhere in the world.

CHAPTER 3

M ark Tillsdale and Nick Herrington, the captain of the larger Golden West capture vessel, were getting ready to make their first maiden voyage for the park. The route will take them around Catalina and the other south Channel Islands just off the coast of California heading north towards the Monterey and Santa Barbara bay areas. This marked the route for the spring migration of transient killer whales. Nick Herrington was a large man, six foot three, two hundred and fifty pounds. A gentle giant. He had a soft unassuming way about him. He had deep brown eyes and dark brown hair. His skin was tanned and weathered from being out at sea. The job was hard on the family. He had two boys now in high school, but he was gone for extended periods of time. The search and capture of marine animals took him far and wide throughout the Pacific Ocean, south off the Mexican coast and north to Alaska’s bearing sea.

The main vessel housed two large Zodiac boats carried on the stern. They will be used to run a large extra-reinforced fishing net around the killer whale pod. Once the whales were netted, they could sort out the smaller orcas, which will then be tranquilized and put into the large holding tanks for delivery to the park. This was a very touchy process. If the whales were over tranquilized they could suffocate in the water. The dose had to be just enough to calm them down during transport.

Sharon was the marine biologist working for Mark. She was in charge of all the training and care for all the marine mammals, including the killer whales. She will accompany the capture vessel on their first trip. Sharon was transferred from the San Diego facility a month ago. She also happens to be Mark’s fiancée. They’d gotten engaged last year just before the construction of the park had started.

This will be the second marriage for Mark but the first for Sharon. Sharon had first taken notice of Mark several years ago. Mark had been the company’s chief marine biologist and had traveled throughout the parks insuring park standards and training. Mark was a handsome man in his mid-forties, with blondish brown hair, hazel eyes, and a great smile, and he was well-tanned. Mark was 190 pounds and broad-shouldered. He stands at six foot one and is very athletic.

Mark is normally a quite sort, doesn’t engage much in small talk, although he does have a great sense of humor. Sharon, on the other hand, is only five foot four inches but very well endowed, which made things like putting on her dive suit a little more awkward. Sharon has short dark brown hair, big brown bedroom eyes, full lips, and is also very well-tanned. She is way above average on the hottie scale. She just turned 34 a week ago. Her looks are disarming. Sharon probably has the highest IO of anyone throughout Ocean World parks. She graduated summa cum laude from UCLA, which was a tremendous accomplishment. She has a very outgoing personality. It more than makes up for Mark being so reserved.

The Golden West is nicely equipped to be a whale capture vessel: The ship has:

• Eight crew members:

○ The captain.

○ Three biologists.

○ Four deck hands that run the capture operation and maintain the vessel. One of them is also the cook and one is also the engine mechanic. When not in capture mode, they do their main jobs.

• Great accommodations. Staterooms that could accommodate two people each. They were small rooms, a bit tight, but were very well equipped. They were very much above standard for a vessel like this.

• Food – very important. There is a large galley for cooking and a mess area that seats twelve. On each trip the pantry and freezers are always well stocked and there is always fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and a large selection of drinks available.

• There are two large, roomy showers and two well-placed heads.

• The pilot house has all the latest computerized technology including:

○ A GPS tracking and navigation system.

○ Several radar systems.

○ Auto pilot.

○ Several very accurate sonar systems.

○ While it’s not electronic, let’s not forget a nice, big, comfortable captain’s chair.

• Maybe most importantly, the deck has a full crane system with a sling for hauling the catch from the nets and placing them gently into the holding tanks and for loading supplies and equipment on board.

• The deck has a full flood light system for night work.

• The ship is painted a glossy white with red trim along the gunnels.

• The ship’s name, Golden West, was very prominently painted on the stern in large gold letters and in smaller letters on each side of the bow.

• Two large diesel engines powered a double prop system that gave the ship a top speed of thirty five knots.

• A third large diesel engine powered the electric generators. It was designed to also be converted to the prop power system in an emergency, if one of the main drive engines failed.

By eight o’clock in the morning, the ship was underway. It was a beautiful day with calm seas and a bright sunny ocean that glistened like a mirror across the surface. The sky was a clear blue canopy, not a cloud in sight. The ship’s bow sliced through the water.

The crew and guests were down in the mess having a pancake breakfast with bacon and sausage. Mark loaded his pancakes with lots of butter and a good coating of syrup. The melted butter and syrup combination ran together, covering the pancakes and overflowing onto the sides of the plate. As he cut each bite, he very gently dipped it into the excess mixture and tried to get it into his mouth without running down his chin and onto his shirt. Not too graceful but very delicious. Sharon just looked at him and smiled. He grinned and tried to keep his mouth shut while chewing the whole time with his mouth full.

It was early afternoon, and about twenty miles north of Catalina, they spotted their first pod of killer whales. The ship immediately went into action. The Zodiacs slid off the stern and slowly headed for the whales. The pod consisted of ten orcas slowly cruising, heading north. The capture vessel stayed far behind and to the right of the pod. They didn’t want to spook them. When the Zodiacs got several hundred yards in front of the pod, the Zodiac with the net made a long swing around towards the direction the pod was moving. The other Zodiac headed so that it was directly behind the pod but not too close. They wanted to drive the pod into the net. Just then the pod started to change its