by Watts, Russ
“Ava? Are you okay?”
She nodded, but the look on her face suggested otherwise. She looked across at Jonah and I could see he was struggling in the wheelhouse. Even Weir was helping him. Both men were by the console. I couldn’t see what they were doing, but I understood they were trying to control the trawler. I could hear the whine of the engine as the boat struggled against whatever was beneath it.
“Christ, Jonah, what the hell is going on?” shouted Ava. “What should I do? Gills is—”
Just then whatever was beneath the boat seemed to let go and we lurched back down to the ocean, the boat rocking violently as we hit the water. I twisted to grab Pippa and Chelsea knowing the starboard side of the boat might even go under the water, and we hit the ocean with such force that it took my breath away again. The impact of the boat hitting the water sent shudders through my body. I heard Pippa and Chelsea scream as the surface rushed up to meet us and then suddenly we were in the ocean. I felt the cold water pull at me and I tried to wrap my arms around Chelsea. She slipped from my grasp and I frantically reached for her. Letting go of the grab rail was a mistake. Instantly I was sucked out into the ocean. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the saltiness stung my eyes and it quickly became dark. The clouded sky offered little light and once I was submerged the weak sunlight only penetrated the water a couple of feet. I caught glimpses of the boat righting itself and Pippa hanging onto the rail. I caught a glimpse of Ava on deck falling toward the railing, and then I saw the underside of the hull. The water became darker quickly and I kicked hard, trying to propel myself upwards. The coldness of the ocean was hardly unexpected but it was still a shock. My clothes felt like lead weights and my lungs were burning. I couldn’t believe I had fallen in. Trying not to panic I stopped kicking for a moment and let the ocean take me. My body was being tossed around like a rag in a washing machine and I had to hope that Chelsea had managed to hang on. If I was the only one who had fallen in I was going to feel beyond stupid. As the water calmed around me, I opened my eyes. I wasn’t even sure which way was up and I had to get my bearings so I could swim back up. When I opened my eyes, my heart exploded with fear and my blood ran cold.
A shark was swimming around the boat. And not just any shark, but the shark. It appeared to be the one that had killed the orca pod as it was at least as big. The massive creature seemed to move lazily as if it had all the time in the world. I caught sight of the monster slowly moving away from the hull as the saltwater pinched at my eyes. Its sleek body moved silently through the water, but I had no doubt that it was longer than the Tukino and about twice the size. The shark’s gray body disappeared quickly into the murky ocean and I knew I was lucky it was swimming away from me. If it had been going the other way I had no doubt I would’ve been on the menu. But how long did I have before it returned?
CHAPTER 11
I pushed myself upward, straining with every muscle I had to reach the surface. I was struggling to hold my breath and every kick of my legs felt like it was taking too long. The ocean wanted me to stay, to join Davey Jones and the half of the world it had already claimed.
“Luke? Luke!”
I heard the shouts as I burst free and sucked in a mouthful of air. Spluttering, I tried not to think about what was potentially swimming beneath me. I needed oxygen first and foremost. My body ached for it and I shook my head as I gratefully breathed in a mouthful of clean air.
“Where are they?”
The boat listed before me and although I tried to see who was up there calling out, I couldn’t see. Waves kept crashing around me and it was hard to stay afloat. Kicking and using my arms was testing my strength, and with the weight of my clothes threatening to suck me back under, it took everything I had not to panic.
“Luke, grab the life saver.”
I heard something splash in the water close by and spotted the ring which had saved Manny just a few days ago. I began to swim toward it, all too aware of how exposed I was, and what was lurking in the ocean depths somewhere close by.
“Chelsea?”
Pippa’s voice sounded frantic. I grabbed the ring and wiped my face. For the first time since being plunged into the cold water I could see the boat. It was intact at least. I’d feared the shark may have ripped a hole in the hull. Perhaps it was just being inquisitive and had figured out the trawler wasn’t as tasty as whale meat. Pippa, Manny and Gills were lined up by the safety rail, their eyes fixed on me. Gills had his hands wrapped around the rope that was attached to the life saver, and began to pull me in.
“Luke, have you seen her?” asked Pippa. “Where is she?”
Dread filled me as I realized Chelsea must have slipped into the water as well. I looked around me and tried to find her. Nothing had changed. The buildings were still and silent, the ocean dark and menacing, and there was no sign of life anywhere. I couldn’t let them pull me back on board without her, so I let go of the life saver and plunged my head under the water. I heard cries of frustration from the others, but there was no way I could return knowing she was still out there.
My eyes stung again and I blinked rapidly, trying to see her. She couldn’t have gone far from me. The water was just as difficult to swim through underneath and I barely got six feet when I saw something. Beneath the hull a shape gradually began to form. It was like a shadow, forming slowly in front of me. It was large, larger than the hull, and I suspected the Megalodon had returned. If it was coming back we had little time to avoid it. I had to find Chelsea and get back on the boat quickly.
“I can’t see her,” I shouted, as my head broke the surface.
“What about Jonah?” Gills asked.
I was stunned. If he was in the water too we were going to run out of time. I didn’t even know if the others had seen what I had, or if they knew what had hit the boat.
“Luke, you have to… you have to—”
I saw Pippa breakdown, her hands clinging onto the railing as tears fell down her face. My heart ached to see her like that. I felt terrible knowing Chelsea was in the ocean. She might not be my daughter, but she had always been my priority, even over Pippa. Suddenly, something brushed against my leg and I pulled away fearing the worst, terrified that something with big teeth was about to grab me.
“There!” yelled Manny. “Right there”!
I took a deep breath and sank under the water again. Floating right beneath me was Chelsea’s lifeless body. Her sandy hair waved at me slowly and her closed eyes suggested she was in a deep sleep. Her spread-eagled arms made her look content, but I had precious little time to marvel at how peaceful she looked. I kicked furiously and managed to reach her, wrapping one arm around her waist. I spun around and as I dragged her to the surface I caught sight of the shark once more, swimming dangerously close to the bottom of the hull.
“Take her!” I yelled as we broke free of the water that kept trying to pull us back under. I grabbed the life saver again and put it over Chelsea’s head. Hearing Pippa scream sent shivers down my spine. I was already on edge knowing the shark was beneath us, and Chelsea didn’t appear to be breathing. I tried to think things through logically. Get Chelsea on the boat and then get the hell away from here. One of the crew had to know CPR. Just get Chelsea back on the boat.
As Gills and Manny pulled at the heavy rope, I pushed the ring toward the boat. It felt like hours, yet in reality it took no time at all before we were at the side of the Tukino. I pushed Chelsea upward as the others reached down and pulled her up. Once more I was sent under the surface. Bubbles erupted around me as the trawler’s engine kicked into life.
“Wait!” ordered Gills from above me. “Weir, just fucking wait!”
I couldn’t see what was going on up there, and as I reached up for help I felt arms grab me. Finally, I was pulled up onto the deck and I collapsed in a soggy heap.
“Is she..?”
“She’ll be okay,” said Ava leaning over me.
She swept the wet hair from my face and I rolled over to my side to
see Gills and Pippa nursing Chelsea back to life.
Ava rubbed my back. “Gills brought her round. Thank God. Are you okay, Luke?”
I felt exhausted. My arms and legs hurt, throbbing and aching, and my back was sending sharp jolts of pain to my brain. As I lay there on the boat I just stared at Chelsea. We had come so close to losing her. It could have ended up so horribly different. What was I thinking? Bringing her and Pippa onto the boat had been a stupid idea, my idea, and the sooner we found somewhere safe to live again the better.
I coughed as another shiver ran down my cold back. “I’m fine,” I lied. “Is everyone okay?” I turned to look at Ava, but she avoided my eyes. I was freezing cold, but when Ava turned away from me I felt like I was atop Everest, breathless and turned to stone. “Who?”
Ava bit her lip. “It’s Jonah. We can’t find him. Weir wants to leave.”
I sat up and coughed again. It felt like the entire ocean had gone down my throat and I spat the foul-tasting saliva in my mouth onto the deck. “Fucking idiot.”
“Don’t,” said Ava, as I stood.
She knew instinctively what I was thinking. Weir had taken control of the boat. It was just what he wanted. Even as we stood there, Chelsea still crying and me still recovering, I could see him turning the wheel. I could hear the engine powering up as he prepared to leave.
“Hey, man.” Manny was still stood by the railing, peering over the side into the murky water. “You good?”
I nodded. “Any sign of him?”
Manny shook his head despondently and shrugged. “Nothing.”
I looked at Ava. “I owe Jonah. He came to help me and my family when we needed him. I can’t let him go like this. I owe him more than just leaving him out there.”
Ava made an attempt to grab my shoulder, but I shook her off and marched towards Weir. “Keep looking,” I told Manny. “Ava, help him. We’re not leaving without him.”
Weir smiled as I approached the wheelhouse, looking as if he had won a battle instead of starting a war.
“You need to wait, Weir. Jonah is down there. Give us two minutes more and we can find him. You saw what happened to Chelsea. We found her, we can find him. It isn’t over for Jonah, not yet. He deserves more respect than this.”
Weir pulled harder on the wheel and I felt the boat turn around.
“I’m not asking again. Wait.”
Weir looked at me with utter disdain and sniffed. “Too bad. I liked Jonah but he wasn’t a friend, he was a colleague. The Captain’s gone, and that means I’m in charge of this boat and crew. The safest course of action is to retreat until we know what hit us. We could be taking on water. Jonah would do exactly the same if it were me. We’re leaving until—”
“Until you find a fucking backbone? That’s going to be a long wait.” I lunged for the console but Weir pulled a gun out from under his oilskins, pointing it right at my chest.
“Touch that again, grease-monkey, and you’ll be joining our dear departed Captain.”
“Weir, do you even know what is going on? You know what hit us don’t you?”
Weir shrugged. “Probably struck a tanker or truck. Doesn’t matter now. We’re free of it.”
It gave me no satisfaction to tell him he was wrong. “That wasn’t a truck. That was a shark. Not just a shark, but a Megalodon.”
For one moment Weir looked at me differently. He believed me. I know he did. But then the old Weir took over. “You lubbers are all the same. You don’t know anything about what’s out here. You’re full of bull, just like Lance. I feel bad for Jonah, but I know he would get us moving. I’ve seen—”
“There, in the water!” Ava’s voice caused me to turn away from Weir. She was pointing into the water as Gills and Manny raced next to her. “I see him.”
Forgetting Weir, I ran to Ava. I saw Jonah too. He was alive, swimming toward us. “Christ, get that life saver to him, quickly,” I shouted before I realized Gills had already grabbed it.
Watching Jonah struggle against the rough seas I wondered if I should jump in to help. I was freezing cold and soaked through already, so what did it matter if I got wetter? I kicked off my shoes and grabbed the rail.
“Luke, you can’t go back in there,” said Ava, studying my face. Her blue eyes sank into mine and I hesitated. “You need to get warm. Pippa’s taking Chelsea down to her bunk. You should go too. Let me deal with this.”
Manny kicked off his shoes next to me. “I’ll go.”
Watching Manny prepare to jump into the ocean I had to admit I felt relieved that he had offered to go. It wasn’t the cold or the water that put me off going back in, but the knowledge of what was down there. I hadn’t imagined the shark. I hadn’t ballooned it up in my head to a size bigger than it actually was; the Megalodon was real and it was down there somewhere.
“No,” I said, “you can’t go, Manny. There’s something down there.”
I saw Jonah struggling to reach the life saver and I felt awful for him. But was it worth more of us risking our lives to save him? Ava and Manny waited for me to explain, looking at me as if I was mad.
“The Megalodon,” I revealed. “I saw it. That’s what hit us. It’s down there right now.” I waited for the inevitable questions, or for them to tell me that I had probably imagined it. But Manny simply nodded as if it was the most obvious explanation for it all, whilst Ava simply turned to the ocean and screamed at Jonah.
“Hurry, Jonah. Hurry!”
Jonah was weak. He was old and fully clothed, and the waves were pushing him back, propelling him further away from the boat. Weir, to his credit, had stopped the boat, but it wasn’t doing Jonah any good. His energy had been sapped and he wasn’t going to make the life saver. Every time he took a breath I could see him fighting back the water that threatened to engulf him.
“Fuck it,” I said, and I climbed up over the safety rail.
“Luke, don’t.”
I should’ve listened to Ava’s words, but I ignored them and dived into the ocean. Even though I was cold the icy water still shocked me when I hit it. I held my breath and went under, aiming to come up as close to Jonah as I could. When I was submerged I opened my eyes and nearly died of shock. The Megalodon was right beneath us, coming up at the boat. I saw its huge gaping jaws lined with tremendous teeth, sharp enough to rip open anything, including the metal underbelly of a small trawler. Its sleek body barreled through the water at surprising speed and I knew the boat was done for. At that speed it would tear a hole right through the hull and sink us for sure. Somehow, it diverted itself away at the last moment. I don’t know if it was because I had jumped in and distracted it, but something caught its attention and instead of crashing right through the boat it merely glanced off it. The shark’s fin struck the underside of the Tukino. I heard the impact and felt the pressure wave hit me the moment it struck. Then the shark turned and swam right past me. Maybe I was too small for it, maybe it was just playing with us, but whatever the reason, it ignored me. It was barely fifteen feet away and as it swept by me I felt its powerful strength. Its body was long and graceful, fins as tall as the apartment complex I had grown up in. The motion of the beast flying by me disturbed the water and it felt as if a hurricane had hit us. I was tossed back and forth with no control over where I ended up. The most terrifying aspect of the monster were the eyes, deep black orbs that seemed to penetrate into my soul; they showed no remorse or intelligence, just a belligerent creature with an appetite for destruction and death.
As the giant shark’s tail whipped past me I broke the surface and gasped. The fin was receding into the distance now. Was it leaving? Had the shark had enough of toying with us, or was it just steeling itself to come back for more? I saw the life saver within reach and Jonah just a few more feet away. A rain had begun to fall now making it difficult to see and I wiped my face, afraid that if I took my eyes off him we would lose him again. Voices behind me were calling and crying out, but their words were drowned out by the falling rain that splat
tered against the surface of the sea like icy bullets.
“Jonah, come to me,” I yelled. “Hurry, Jonah.”
The ocean water around me felt different, thicker. I realized it was turning bright red, washing around me like dye. I mentally checked myself over but felt no pain.
“Jonah?”
He didn’t answer me. I heard a faint gurgle and swam toward him. The red water splashed my face and stung my eyes. I knew what it was, what it had to be, but I couldn’t think about that. I splashed through it, drenching myself in cold water and warm blood, the sinking feeling in my stomach propelling me onwards. I had to get Jonah out of there before the shark came back.
“Jonah, hold on,” I said urgently. His face was pale and drawn, and his eyes labored to focus on me. I grabbed the life saver and pushed it down over his head just as I had done with Chelsea. He wrapped his arms around it and I signaled for the others to pull him up. I swam with him as far as I could, unaware of exactly what his injuries were. It was only when we reached the trawler, and Gills and Manny pulled him up, that I saw both of his legs were gone. As Jonah dangled above me, fleshy entrails and intestines fell from his waist. The shark had severed him in two, slicing off his legs and leaving only the upper half of his body. More blood rained down on me as they pulled him into the boat, and the smell of death soaked my head.
Ava and Manny helped me up and then the horrible reality of what had happened sunk in. Jonah lay on the deck, or at least what was left of him. Gills knelt beside him as blood pooled around them, spilling over the deck as the boat began to turn. Jonah mumbled something as Gills took his hands.
Ava whispered something in my ear as she hugged me.
“I know,” I replied quietly. “It’ll be over soon.”
Jonah was splayed out on the deck of his boat gutted like one of the fish he used to catch. His innards were exposed for all to see, and the life was literally draining out of him before my eyes. His eyes rolled back and Gills leant over him, whispering something in his ear that was only audible between the two of them. I hoped it was a prayer or some words of consolation. There was nothing we could do for him. We all knew it, not that it made it any easier to accept. Jonah had been like a father to me, and I expected Ava felt similarly. The crew had known him for years. Jonah wasn’t supposed to die like this, not cut in half gasping for breath on his own boat.