The Arcturus Man

  “JARED, IT’S A SHARK. A REALLY BIG ONE! GET BACK HERE,” she screamed out to him.

  Jared gave her the OK sign. He took a breath and submerged. He swam toward the boat under water. It was at least fifty feet. He couldn’t see the bull anywhere. He came up on the starboard side.

  “Do you see her? Where did she go?” he asked.

  “Are you crazy? Get in the boat right now,” she said.

  Jared hyperventilated and dove again. He swam back to where he had seen the bull shark. Jenny watched him disappear below the surface in disbelief. She kept her head. She remembered seeing several rifles in the small closet in their cabin. She ran down and found a rifle. She didn’t know what kind of rifle it was, but she could shoot and she knew how to load. She found the shells and filled a clip as quickly as she could. These were very big bullets.

  She ran back to the open deck, inserted the clip, and pulled back on the slide to chamber the first round. She couldn’t see the shark. She couldn’t see Jared. Suddenly he surfaced.

  Jared still hadn’t spotted the shark. It might be circling. It might have cruised away. He looked back at the boat. He had to laugh. It was a cute sight. Jenny was standing naked with an M-14 at the ready. He smiled and waved at her.

  She yelled as loud as she could. “GET BACK TO THE BOAT.”

  He waved at her again and dove. It was play time. He badly need play time. More importantly, he was starving for an adrenaline fix. Before he could get oriented, the bull shark exploded on him. It brushed him at the hip and was gone again as quickly as it appeared. He had to pay more attention to the shark. Jenny was a distraction. He took several deep breathes and dove, deep this time. He went to the bottom. He was twenty feet down. The bull was circling. He saw the dirty white underbelly as she swam directly over him. She knew where he was as she quickly changed her direction and then, quickly changed direction again. She was swimming in decreasing circles. Jared could hold his breath a long time. He was completely calm. He knew that staying near the bottom would limit the shark’s attack angle. She might not even attack once she got close. He was wrong about that.

  She made a sharp turn. He saw her pectoral fins flatten slightly, trailing backwards. She was attacking.

  Jared didn’t move. He waited until she was on him when he stiff-armed the massive body much as a running back would do in football. He slid off to the right. His hand was scrapped and now was bleeding. That was a problem. The blood was not good. She made another fast turn as soon as she passed him. She was coming back. Jared kicked his flippers and porpoised toward her. This time he flung his arms and legs out as wide as possible. The sudden change in his apparent size confused the bull. She turned again. It was another charge. Jared could see a thin crimson cloud coming from his scrapped hand. She sensed his blood in the water and accelerated. No human could swim as fast as Jared, but he was no match for this bull shark. She came like a bullet.

  Jared dropped to the sea floor. An instant before the shark would have been on him, he used the sea floor to propel him upwards. He stiffed arm her again and rotated quickly to an almost riding position. He jammed his fingers into her left eye. His other hand racked her gills. A protective membrane had already closed over the eye, but the affects on the shark were clear. She exploded away from him. She swam at least a hundred meters before she turned back to him.

  Jared surfaced and drew a quick breath and dove again. He didn’t look to see how Jenny was taking this. He spun around several times. He couldn’t see where the bull was. He knew that she knew exactly where he was. He kept turning in one spot hoping he would see her before she was on him. There was nothing. Most of the fish were gone as well. He swam back to the bottom to wait for the attack. He waited eight minutes until he began to feel the pressure in his lungs to breathe again. The exertion was depleting his oxygen. He was vulnerable when he surfaced so he held on for another three minutes. He could usually hold his breath longer, but the adrenaline in his system had caused him to use up a lot of oxygen. He had to surface now.

  He broke the surface near the boat.

  “Do you see her?” asked Jared.

  “NO. NO. GET OUT OF THE WATER! GET OUT NOW! I thought it got you. You were under so long,” yelled Jenny.

  “Climb up to the fly bridge and tell me if you see her.”

  “YOU IDIOT,” screamed Jenny. She climbed up as high as she could. She couldn’t see the immense shadow she had seen before.

  “I don’t see the shark. That just means I don’t see it. It’s still there, somewhere,” she said.

  Jared dove again. He still couldn’t see her. He swam back to the boat and climbed on the boat. He picked up the rifle that Jenny had dropped, removed the clip, and ejected the round that had been chambered.

  She scurried down the ladder.

  “What is wrong with you? You have some kind of death wish?” asked Jenny.

  “Sometimes.” He picked up her discarded towel and began to dry off. He was grinning. Jenny was in disbelief.

  “Sometimes? What the Hell does that mean?” asked Jenny.

  “I needed this. I need a jolt sometimes. It’s my version of electric shock treatment,” he said.

  “I couldn’t see what was happening down there. Don’t you understand that? You were under so long, I thought you drowned.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “Don’t you care about me in even the smallest way? Couldn’t you imagine what I was feeling while you were down there?”

  “I’m really sorry. I am an insensitive bastard sometimes,” he said.

  “You really are.”

  “I love you Jenny. Forgive me.”

  “YOU BASTARD!” She punched him in the shoulder as hard as she could. Then she saw his hand. “You’re hurt.”

  He grabbed her and hugged her close. He kissed her. It was a hard kiss. They held it a long time.

  She finally pushed herself away.

  “Well, did you beat the heck out of it?” she asked.

  “I think I did.”

  “Let me get the first aid kit. Looks like you need to be patched together again.” She grabbed her blouse and put it on as she climbed down into the galley. She came back with the kit and pulled out antiseptic and bandages.

  “Give me your hand. And put on some pants or something,” she said.

  Jared held out his hand. She cleaned the abrasions with a damp towel and sprayed his hand with the antiseptic. She unrolled a bandage.

  “Just get me the New Skin…you know, the liquid bandage. These are just superficial abrasions. I don’t think I need a bandage,” he said.

  She found it and painted his scrapes.

  “Don’t ever do anything like that again,” said Jenny.

  “I don’t know if I can keep that promise. We met while I was free climbing a cliff for the very same reason,” he said.

  “You just about killed yourself that time too.”

  “I’ll try not to. Honest!”

  “You better,” said Jenny.

  “I love you Jenny. I don’t ever want to see you hurt or frightened. I’m really sorry.”

  He pulled her closer. She kissed him. It was an even harder and deeper kiss. He picked her up in his arms and carried her down to their cabin. They made love. Things were wonderful again. Jared had his adrenaline fix and now his libido fix. He was coming out of his doldrums. Jenny sensed the change in him and was beginning to understand him a little, but just a little.

  Jared got up a little before midnight. Jenny was still sleeping. He went into the main cabin and began doing a little magic. He bought some things while they were in Florida and hid them from Jenny. When he was ready he went back to the sleeping cabin.

  “Wake up Jenny?”

  She opened her eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothings wrong. Get out of bed. I have something to show you,” he said.

  She looked at the clock. It was one in the morning.

  “What is it? What do you need to show me?” she asked.

 
; “Just come. You’ll like it,” he said.

  She pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself. He took her hand and led her to the main cabin and galley. As she stepped in, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Jared had a small fake Christmas tree standing on top of the fold-down dining table. The galley was decorated with strings of lights and tinsel. A funny little Santa Claus was hanging from the ceiling. He turned on the CD player. It was playing Christmas music. It was Barbara Streisand.

  “Merry Christmas, Jenny,” said Jared.

  “Christmas? Is it Christmas? I guess it is. This is wonderful Jared. This is so wonderful,” said Jenny. Her exuberance was muted for a moment as she thought of Krissy, her mother, and Lars putting up her mother’s Christmas tree. The tree would be full of her favorite ornaments. Some were made by her, Krissy and Lars when they were kids. Others were specially bought for the tree during family outings and vacations. A few were from Sweden. Each ornament was a memory. Each ornament had a special significance in their lives. The best were the one’s handmade by Mormor and her father. She missed it all so much.

  “I really need to talk to my family. Do you think it would be OK? I don’t want to be the cause of them finding us.”

  “Of course. Not to worry. Please call them. I checked and we’re not in range of a transmitter. You are going to have to use the SAT phone again,” said Jared. He pulled out a metal case from under the storage bin and took out the satellite phone. He carried it out to the deck and set it up.

  “It’s a little tricky so let me dial the number for you. Watch how I do it,” said Jared. He dialed out, handed the phone to Jenny, and then went down to the cabin.

  Jenny came down about twenty minutes later.

  “That was so wonderful to talk to all of them. They were all at my mom’s house as I thought they would be,” said Jenny.

  She hugged him and put her head on his shoulder. She looked at the little tree. It was a beautiful little tree. Jared had done this for her. The old Jared was back. She prayed that night that the old Jared would stay longer this time.

  Chapter Twenty-One – To Kuna Yala

  At Sea Late December – Late Afternoon

  Jared pulled up anchor and headed west. There was no wind. The sun was boiling in the ocean. The moon was going to be full tonight. He decided to risk sailing at night. There weren’t many shallows in this region. They were about a hundred miles west of Key West. He wanted to get past the western tip of Cuba before they anchored for the night. He wanted to give Cuba a wide berth. Their patrol boats could be aggressive. He charted a course that kept them well into international waters.

  Jenny brought up some coffee.

  “Thanks. Is this the Jamaican Blue Mountain or the other stuff?” asked Jared. “Jamaican! Where are we?”

  “We’re north of Cuba. I’m going to take her west past Cuba and then turn south.” “You said we would be in Panama in four days?”

  “Four, maybe three. I’m trying for three. The engine seems to be doing its job. I

  think I can push it a little. Jenny, there are some CDs beneath the TV in that little cabinet. Why don’t you watch a movie for a while?”

  “OK, let me know if you want me to relieve you,” she said.

  “Will do.”

  Jenny went down into the galley. She closed the hatch behind her. They used the

  air conditioner as little as possible, but this was a hot night. A few minutes later he could hear the TV. She found a movie she liked. By eleven o’clock, they still hadn’t rounded Cuba. Jared found a shallow bank and anchored for the night. He went down to the cabin and found Jenny asleep in his bed. She moved back to their cabin. He had been hoping she would. He undressed and slowly climbed in beside her. Her perfume found him in the darkness. She had perfume on. That was very special. He didn’t know if it was the bull shark or if it was making love to Jenny, but his depression was gone. He felt good again.

  Next Morning

  Jared was up early. It wasn’t quite six. He didn’t want to wake Jenny so he used the aft shower and head. He turned on the shower. Jenny walked in on him.

  “You said we needed to conserve water,” she said.

  “Yes, that is very very important,” he said.

  “Then move over a bit.”

  He gave her a soft, gentle kiss. It was an innocent kiss. Her lips lightly brushed across his. They soaped each other down and kissed again. Caressing her soapy breasts and hard nipples was something he never tired of. She was wet. She felt so different wet. The feel of her was thrilling. Jared was aroused. This was the first time that Jared ever made love to a woman standing up and the first time in a shower. He wanted to do this again. Soon! No words were spoken. It was raw passion. Jenny made squealing noises as she came to orgasm. Jared came too but the feeling of having given pleasure to Jenny was the best reward.

  Pleasing anyone had never been a very bright star in his constellation. It was a concept he had rarely thought about. At most, morality was a cultural approbation for Jared, not a mandate. He felt he was free to pick and choose among the various mores of society. So too, love was only cultural--up until now, at least. In general, people didn’t matter to him. Up until now! It was so different with Jenny. He hadn’t felt this way the other times they made love. Why was it different this time? He didn’t know. He wasn’t accustomed to not knowing…not understanding. It was unsettling and pleasing at the same time. Normally, there was no indecision in Jared’s life. Every effect had a cause. If the cause wasn’t understood, it was to be studied until it was understood. Jenny and his feelings for Jenny were a mystery to Jared and Jared had very few mysteries in his life. The only other anomaly in his life was not understanding his place in this world. That was inscrutable. For the moment those were the only things in Jared’s life that could not be understood. Did it matter? He was happy. That was a rare feeling too. She had made him feel happy before, but could he be even happier. He had to stop thinking about it.

  They went back to the cabin and dressed.

  “I think it’s my turn to make breakfast,” he said.

  “Great. Then I’ll do some laundry.” She gathered up some of their clothes and took them into the galley. There was a small closed-cycle clothes washer under the gas stove.

  She turned back to Jared. “By the way, thank you for Christmas. That was very thoughtful and sweet,” she said.

  Jared just smiled and nodded his acceptance of the compliment. He set up a card table on the aft deck and set up breakfast. He brought out a French press. His Capresso coffee machine had been great, but it was gone now. It might have been a rationalization, but he thought that nothing beats a French press for strong coffee. He needed strong coffee this morning. He began to think about his feelings for Jenny.

  He had to stop thing about things he couldn’t resolve. The answers would come to him when they were ready.

  Now it was almost eight and the temperature was already in the high seventies. It was going to be a scorcher today.

  Jenny came up wearing tight khaki shorts and nothing else.

  “It’s going to be hot. It’s not fair that you men get to go shirtless and I can’t.”

  “My all means, you must go shirtless too then,” said Jared.

  She gave him a quick kiss and then sat down for breakfast. Jared made scrambled eggs with chives and smoked bacon.

  “No more fish for a while, OK?” she said.

  “No fish,” he replied.

  “Wow, this is strong coffee. It tastes a little gritty…but it’s good. Very good!”

  “You’ve never used a French press before?”

  “I think I’ve seen Krissy use one. She is a real coffee hound.”

  They talked for a while. The conversation wasn’t about the men after them or what they would do in Panama. It was about the Caribbean and the beautiful islands Jenny had seen. It was about the wonderful weather and that she couldn’t believe that it was December, and what the weather must be like in Maine.
They talked almost an hour. It dawned on Jared that this was what domestic life was probably like. It was very nice.

  They gathered the dishes and washed them together. Jared washed and Jenny dried. It was a warm and genuine familial feeling. He liked it. It was something new for him. He was accustomed to living alone, but this was very nice. Soon, it might all change again. He didn’t want to think about that.

  Jared pulled in the anchor and they were on their way again. About an hour later, Jenny brought up more coffee for Jared. She had used the French press.

  “I found the instructions in the junk drawer,” she said.

  “It’s perfect. Thanks.”

  She strung a line across the aft deck and hung up their wet clothes. Her red panties blew in the wind like a flag. Jared saluted each time he passed. Jenny just laughed.

  Jared pushed the cruiser hard and by eleven in the evening they were approaching the Swan Islands. It was a fifteen-hour day, but they were making very good time. Time was critical. They anchored for the night off of Little Swan. A boat came out to check their papers, but it was a formality. Jared paid a small fee. He locked the hatches for the night. Jared and Jenny made love again. It wasn’t as exciting as it had been in the shower, but it was still very good.

  In the morning they were both up early again. There wasn’t much available on the island but they were able to fill up their water reservoir and bring on some basic provisions. Jared topped off the gas tanks. There was no problem paying with American dollars.

  It was going to be another fifteen hour day. Jared wanted to get to Isla de San Andrés by late evening. He had been there many years ago and although it was Colombian, he remembered it as a nice quiet place. There was very little commercial development and no international hotel chains, Starbucks, or McDonalds. He pulled up anchor and headed south. The engine oil pressure was high and the temperature was within norms. He throttled up slightly, adding about 2 or 3 knots per hour. Jenny came up and she took over the controls for a while.