Aetherial Annihilation by John Corwin

heard an outboard motor revving nearby. Mounds of floating debris blocked my view, so I couldn't tell where it was coming from. We finally reached relatively open water and were about halfway to the boat when the rumbling motor grew louder behind us.
    "Oh, crap," Elyssa eloquently stated.
    I looked back and saw Jay and his merry band of demon haters riding in a flat-bottomed steel boat and coming straight for us. Every one of them held a rifle of some sort. Elyssa had told me to take it easy, but the sight of those gun-wielding maniacs lit a fire under my ass. I grabbed a paddle and worked it like mad despite the agony in my muscles.
    Elyssa growled. "Why can't people like him just go away?"
    It was slow going, but thankfully, a lot of unpleasant people weighed down Jay's boat. We reached the yacht just as the other craft caught up to us.
    A shot rang out. People cried out and ducked. I turned and glared. Jay grinned smugly and fired another shot into the air.
    "Give us the demon," he shouted. "We'll throw him into the fiery inferno in the ocean and rid the world of his evil."
    I pumped my fist at him. "You're a grade-A certified lunatic, jackass!"
    Another man held up a handful of grenades. "We're going to blow him all to hell."
    Bullets spattered the water all around the small boat. Jay and crew nearly crapped their britches.
    "I've got a better idea," Reese said, the butt of a sleek black automatic rifle pressed against his shoulder. "Why don't you go away and stay away?"
    One of Jay's men whipped a pistol out of a holster. Before he could aim it, a bullet pinged off the handle and sent the gun flying into the water. The man shouted and nursed his hand.
    "I'm a pretty good shot," Reese said. "I could probably ace every one of you from a hundred yards with this rifle." He smiled. "On the other hand, you could just do what I asked and go away."
    "If you want to damn yourselves to hell, then I won't try to save you." Jay stood and glared at Reese. "But you won't stop our holy mission." He jabbed a finger toward the glowing whirlpool of doom. "We will destroy the root of his power."
    Reese snorted. "With grenades and guns?" He shrugged. "Be my guest. Now get out of here, and don't think I won't be watching you."
    "Onward to God's glory!" Jay raised a fist in the air. The man driving the boat gunned it and Jay tumbled backwards with a yelp as his holy chariot bounced away toward the whirlpool.
    Cheers went up from our group.
    I gave Reese a thumb's up. "Nice going, man."
    "My pleasure." He turned away and stopped. "By the way, I stowed the bodies I found onboard in a compartment near the engine room." A sigh. "At least they can get a decent funeral." Reese pressed his lips together, turned, and ascended to the upper deck, presumably to keep an eye on Jay and company.
    We quickly helped everyone board the ship and loaded the supplies. The doctor had found a med kit and managed to awaken the pilot. Though the man was still mostly out of it, he instructed Alon how to operate the yacht and the advanced sonar.
    I walked to the bow with Elyssa and looked to the east where Jay's motorboat was closing on the maelstrom, probably quarter of a mile away by now. "I wonder if they can even scratch the thing with grenades."
    "That's if they don't get sucked into the whirlpool first," Elyssa said.
    I magnified my vision and watched as Jay and the others tied several gray bricks on a small inflatable raft, and I realized they must have gotten their hands on something more powerful than grenades. They were also a bit craftier than I'd given them credit for being.
    If they did destroy the meteor, I wondered what would happen to all the aether. Had the meteor sucked in all the aether, or was it doing something else to it? I really didn't know. Then again, I didn't want to be anywhere near that thing if it blew up.
    Outboard motor fighting the violent eddies, they released the raft. It swirled away toward the gaping maw and was quickly consumed. At