Baskergrand The Nautilus

Chapter The Man In The Suit



''Help me get the coffin from the carriage first, Percival,'' Charles requested a favour from Percival. Percival got up from the sand and walked over to Charles' carriage with him to retrieve the coffin. Garth was still hiding behind a tree within the thick, dense woods around Tuckerby Bay.

'What are they doing now?' Garth wondered, peeking his head over some bushes.

''I wonder how long the body's been down there,'' Percival said as they took hold of the coffin. Percival held onto the front, whilst Charles held it from the back. Garth's eyes widened when he saw the pair handling a coffin.

''What-what are they doing with that?'' Garth asked aloud in a whisper. He moved slightly closer towards them, trying to make as little noise as possible so attention was not brought to his presence. Charles and Percival set the coffin down on the sand, then Percival walked back over to the Nautilus so he could go inside it again.

''Remember Percival; just collect the body and come straight back up. Don't go through that black rift again,'' Charles ordered Percival.

''I won't. Besides, I want to get back before supper, I think I've had enough of an adventure for today,'' Percival replied whilst he was slipping into the Nautilus.

''All right, then,'' Charles said before Percival's face disappeared behind the dark visor. Garth observed the men carefully. He watched as Percival entered the water as Charles stood alone on the bay.

''He's going back in to the water? What for?'' Garth questioned aloud to himself.

''Oxygen levels at ninety nine percent. Depth pressure at a safe level. Visor transparency initiated,'' the suit reported to Percival. He concentrated on swimming further down to where the body was.

''There it is,'' he said once he had spotted it.

''Oxygen levels at ninety six percent. Depth pressure at a cautionary level. Return to a safe level as soon as possible,'' the suit warned. Percival swam further until he was face to face with the body.

''I'm taking you back up with me,'' Percival spoke to the floating corpse.

''Oxygen levels at ninety two percent. Depth pressure at a cautionary level. Return to a safe level as soon as possible,'' the suit admonished. Percival grabbed a hold of the waist of the body and tried to drag it out, but the legs were trapped firmly in place in between two rocks.

''How can I get you out?'' Percival queried aloud. He looked at the problematic rocks, and contemplated on what he should do.

''Oxygen levels at eighty eight percent. Depth pressure at severe level. Return to a safe level as soon as possible,'' the suit alerted him.

''I know, I know it is severe,'' Percival spoke back to the suit. As he stared at the rocks, an idea sprang to his mind.

''Sever! Sever the rocks!'' he exclaimed. ''Oh, but how?'' he asked. He was at a loss on how to sever the rocks.

''Calculating preferable option of weapon for removal of current obstacle,'' the suit spoke to him.

''What?'' Percival was caught off-guard.

''Preferable option selected; laser cannon,'' the suit said. Suddenly, the Nautilus came to life, and the left arm hovered over the rocks that were trapping the legs of the corpse.

''Laser cannon in operation, please shield the eyes whilst in the vicinity of operation. Visor transparency offline,'' the suit further spoke, before the wrist of the left arm opened up, and procured a small device that shot a powerful, light blue laser beam at the rocks. It began cutting the rock from the bottom, leaving Percival in awe of the the new function he had discovered from the suit.

''Amazing!'' he gushed as the laser finished its task, and the rock that had been cut broke away. The body's legs became free, and it began to float upwards.

''Oh, you're coming with me now,'' Percival spoke to the corpse. He seized it and held onto it by the chest before he swam back up to the surface with it.

''Oh, great! You got it,'' Charles said once he saw Percival return with the body. Percival dragged the body to shore before he came out of the suit.

''Oh...no...'' Garth gasped in disbelief. He had witnessed Percival emerge with the dead body, and was even more confused as to what was happening.

''Let's get it into the coffin. We can take it to a doctor's first thing in the morning,'' Charles directed, as Percival and Charles loaded the man's corpse into the coffin.

''I wonder how he ended up down there,'' Percival ruminated aloud. Charles looked at him.

''...Yes, I conjecture that as well,'' Charles said. They both stared at the body, whilst Garth was staring at the pair.

''Percival...what have you done?'' Garth asked aloud, bemused as to the situation he had encountered.

'Did Percival...kill that man?' he thought.


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