by Watts, Russ
I thought he was going to tell us he had spotted the shark’s fin, so was surprised to see him pointing to the starboard of the boat. Up ahead on the horizon, there was a small boat. We were aiming right for it, and as it became clearer it became apparent that it wasn’t even a boat. There was a man waving at us from what appeared to be nothing more than a dinghy.
“You’re kidding me,” said Gills, as he ran across the deck to Weir.
“What the hell are they doing out here?” I asked.
“You think he’ll stop for them?”
I didn’t need to know who Manny was referring to. Gills would stop to help anyone, but Weir? I doubted it.
“No. He wants to get to shallow water in case the shark’s following us. Can’t say I blame him.”
“But we haven’t seen it for a few minutes now. It might have gone. The Atlantic Ocean is a big place.”
“Yeah, and that means there are a lot of places for it to hide. Look at how it came up on us back there. It hit us from underneath without us even knowing it was there. How do we know it’s not there now?”
Manny wiped the raindrops from his face. The patter of rain as it fell on the deck was soothing, like nature’s music, but I was on edge. I hadn’t meant to snap at Manny and thankfully he didn’t react.
“Hey, brother, we don’t know shit. Let’s be honest. But we can’t let Weir go right past that guy. You said yourself that we don’t know if the shark is still with us. A guy in a rubber dinghy is easy pickings for that monster. We have to help him. Hell, we’re going right past him. It would be rude not to pick him up.”
I really didn’t want another fight with Weir, especially not when it seemed as if I had just got him onside. Manny was right. I knew what Gills and Ava would do, and what Jonah would do too. We had to stop, no matter what the consequences.
I was about to go when Manny grabbed my arm. “Oh damn, look.”
Shielding my eyes from the rain I leant over the rail. Manny was pointing at something and it took a second for my eyes to find it. About a hundred feet away was the unmistakable outline of the shark’s fin. The large triangle sped through the water and it wasn’t coming for our boat, but for the dinghy up ahead.
“Shoot, we’ll never make it,” I whispered. I felt Manny’s hand tighten around my elbow.
As the shark neared the dinghy, the fin quickly disappeared. I wanted to believe that meant the shark had gone, perhaps changing its mind and coming for us, but I suspected the worst. The man in the dinghy kept waving and his voice began to drift over the waves to us. I heard him call for help. There was nothing more, at least nothing I could hear. I prepared myself to look away, not wanting to see the inevitable carnage, but before I did, a second figure emerged from the dinghy: a woman.
The Megalodon blasted out of the sea sending a huge plume of water into the air fifty feet high. The magnificent creature erupted like a geyser that had been pent up for a thousand years, its ferocity and power obvious to all of us. I assumed it would simply come up beneath the little boat and devour the whole thing in one gulp, yet it came up beside it, showering the man and woman with salt and fear. The creature jumped above them in an arc and drenched their dinghy in shadow. We were too far away to see the shock and terror on their faces, but I could imagine the fear they felt when that monster emerged from the ocean. Even from this far away, I knew it meant death for them. The shark’s glistening white and gray body slammed down on top of the dinghy with such force that it must have been obliterated. The resulting crash as the shark reentered the ocean sent a huge wave toward us, and I steadied myself on the safety rail. I scoured the ocean for the two inhabitants of the wrecked craft, but all I could see was the tumultuous water raging and roiling as if it were on fire.
“We’re too late,” said Manny. “We couldn’t have done anything for them. Jesus.”
The shark’s fin reappeared and little bits of the dinghy began to float to the surface. The sea had been whipped up into a frenzy and the shark seemed even more animated than before. Was it not satiated by the couple it had just eaten? Had the whales not satisfied its urge to kill? The fin disappeared once more and the disturbed water began to settle. I guessed it was returning to the depths, perhaps preparing to come after us again.
“Let’s go,” I said. I turned to Manny, unable to watch the thing anymore. “Weir needs to make that shallow water. Those two people are gone. They’re dead. Let’s make sure that—”
Manny’s eyes wandered from me to the ocean and suddenly widened. “Luke, wait. I think… I think one of them is still alive.”
CHAPTER 13
Peering through the rain I couldn’t believe that anyone could have survived the attack, and yet Manny was right. In the distance there was a figure in the sea, one arm above their head waving at us. The Tukino was rapidly approaching the area where the dinghy had been destroyed, which meant the shark was close. But if we attempted to rescue them it would put us at risk of an encounter with the shark ourselves. As soon as I considered leaving them to save ourselves, I knew that I couldn’t do it. Leaving them behind was certain death. If the shark didn’t take them then they would drown. There were no other boats around here and land was a long way off.
“We have to get them,” said Manny, reading my mind. “I’m going to talk to Weir.”
As it turned out we weren’t the only ones. When we reached the wheelhouse we found Gills and Ava already there, pestering him to stop.
“You cannot leave them, Weir,” said Ava firmly. “What if it was one of us out there?”
“Look, we can do it quickly.” Gills already held the life saver in his hands. “It doesn’t even take us off course. We only have to stop for a second and—”
“And then what?” Weir showed no sign that he was going to slow down and help them. “Then we’re a sitting duck. You saw that monster? You want to die too? No. We carry on.”
“Weir, for Christ’s sake, stop the boat,” pleaded Ava.
“You can’t do this, Weir,” said Manny. “Come on, man, we’re all in this together. Let’s—”
“No. This isn’t a democracy. You can’t accept that? Then get the fuck off my boat.” Weir still held a gun in one hand. “We’re seconds away from the shoals and safety. I’m not about to jeopardize that for some idiots out here in a dinghy. They’re stupid enough to get themselves killed, that’s their problem.”
It seemed that Weir’s recent diplomacy had vanished and he was back to his usual blustery self.
“Weir, look around. There’s no sign of the shark.” I nervously glanced at the ocean. It was true there was no sign of it, but I knew it was still out there somewhere. “It would’ve used up a ton of energy in smashing that boat up. I’ll bet we have a few minutes before it resurfaces for another go. Enough time to rescue that person.”
“You willing to bet your life on that?”
I gritted my teeth. Weir’s smirk had returned and I was beginning to remember everything I hated about the man.
“You want to rescue that fool, grease-monkey, go ahead. Jump in. Gills will toss you the life saver. We’ll shelter at the shoals a while and come back for you in a few hours. Good luck.”
It was almost too late. The person in the water was clearly visible now, surrounded by the remnants of their boat. I could see now it was a woman. She was so close that I could hear her pleas for help. However dangerous it was, we had to help. I couldn’t just let her go like that.
I slowly and reluctantly raised the flare gun, pointing it at Weir. I assumed it would still work in the rain, although I had no intention of shooting him. I just wanted to shock him, to let him know that he couldn’t play God with people’s lives like that.
Weir laughed. There was no fear on his face as I held the gun up.
“You’d better be sure about what you’re thinking. That gun looks dangerously like it’s pointed at me. You know what we do with mutineers, boy?”
“Weir, just stop this,” said Ava.
Sh
e put her hand on my extended arm. I didn’t know if she was trying to reassure me that I was doing the right thing, or that I should lower the gun. I kept my arm steady and could feel her trembling. I was sure she could feel me trembling too. I kept my eyes on Weir though. He could just as easily shoot me and turn the deck into a bloodbath. Slowly, Weir’s eyes turned to settle on all of us. He looked finally at Gills and then turned us toward the woman.
“Fine. You get one chance at this. And if I see anything of that shark we’re gone, whether she’s aboard or not.”
Weir throttled down the engine and I lowered the flare gun. I exhaled quietly, not wanting to let him know that I was scared. That was the first time I’d pointed a gun at anyone and I hoped it would be the last. I stepped back, not taking my eyes off Weir. I didn’t trust him one bit. He had relinquished this time, but it had been a close call. It was really only because every one of us had gone against him. He was like a cornered animal, ready to lash out, and I knew it would be best to keep clear of him for a while. If Jonah trusted him, then there had to be a good man inside him somewhere. I was struggling to find him though.
As I monitored Weir, the others ran to help the woman. Ava grabbed a dry blanket as Manny and Gills raced across the slippery deck. Gills shouted out instructions to Weir so that we got as close as possible to the woman, and then Manny threw the life saver into the water. The rainwater trickled down my cold body and I was beginning to feel jealous of Pippa and Chelsea who were still down in their bunks.
“Go!” shouted Gills.
The woman they’d hauled up onto the boat collapsed onto the deck and Weir instantly throttled the engine up. The whole rescue only seemed to take a minute. Manny and Gills helped the crying woman up as Ava draped the thick blanket around her shoulders. I looked around the boat, scanning every direction, but saw nothing of the shark. Perhaps it had realized where we were going and knew it couldn’t follow. The woman was distraught. She was shaking and crying, and uttering something in Spanish. She had long brown hair that was tangled around her shoulders and wore cut-off jeans and a red vest that clung to her skin. She was far too young to be out in these treacherous waters. Ava tried to calm her down and get her warm, but the woman was getting more and more animated.
“She okay?” I asked Manny, as our boat roared back to life.
“Physically, she’s okay, just a few cuts and bruises. But I have no idea what she’s going on about. Sounds like Spanish or Portuguese to me.”
As the boat took us away from the remains of her dinghy, she raced to the safety rail, throwing off her blanket and pointing out to sea.
“No, no, stay. Por favor? El padre… no. Socorro!”
I felt bad for the poor girl. She looked like she was barely out of her teens and probably had no idea what was going on. Her wide brown eyes looked from the crew to me.
“Can somebody please shut her up?” asked Weir. “And can I get a little help, Gills. If that’s not too much to ask?”
Resisting the temptation to plant my fist into Weir’s face, I crossed to the girl as Gills went to help Weir. As I approached I began to think she wasn’t even out of her teens. She had that natural slender frame that adorned so many girls around their mid-teens, and an innocence etched across her face that I recognized from Chelsea.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” I said. I kept my voice low and non-threatening. She looked scared out of her mind. “Luke. I’m Luke,” I said, patting my chest. “You?”
“Estelle. Por favor—”
I could see her struggling for the right words.
“Your boat?” I pointed out to the sea behind us. “Your boat is gone, Estelle. I’m sorry for your friend. You’re safe with us. Safe on this boat. Safe, understand?”
“Luke. Luke, por favor, el padre. Hay que volver. Hay que encontrarlo. Mi padre no sabe nadar.”
The girl turned and looked at the water. Her shoulders slumped and I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder.
“She said something about her father. She wants to go back for him.” Ava tugged down her red beanie and glanced at me. “I learnt a little Spanish once. I can’t understand everything she says but… enough.”
I understood too. Estelle and her father had been on the dinghy together for some reason. Now that he was gone she felt alone, surrounded by strangers. There was little I could do to calm her down. The harsh fact was that her father was dead.
“Estelle,” began Ava, “you are… salvo. Salvo, okay? Your padre is… he is… muerto.”
Estelle said something so quiet I could barely hear it. “No lo puedo creer. Muerto. Ay no!”
“I think she understands.” Ava sighed and draped the blanket around the young girl’s shoulders. There was no reaction from her. Estelle simply kept staring at the spot where her dinghy had gone down. “But processing it may take a little longer.”
“She’ll be okay now. Thanks, Ava.”
Ava shrugged and rubbed Estelle’s back.
“You know, I think—”
“Save it,” said Ava. She refused to meet my gaze. “You should check on Pippa and Chelsea. Make sure they’re okay down there. I’ll stay here with Estelle.”
I could tell from her voice that Ava was blocking me out. I didn’t detect any anger in her tone, but the inference was clear. She wanted me to leave her alone. I trudged solemnly back to the cabin, trying not to look at Jonah’s body. How were we going to explain that to Estelle? Manny met me at the cabin door. The rain still fell and he was sheltering inside.
“Hey, man, how is she?” asked Manny, as I entered the wheelhouse trying not to look at Weir.
“She’s in shock, I think. She’s cold and I left Ava looking after her. The girl’s just lost her father. Estelle. Her name’s Estelle. She doesn’t seem to know much English. I guess we’ll look after her as best we can until she figures out what she wants to do.” I felt exhausted and slumped down on a seat. I grabbed an oily rag and wiped my face. It was already coated with blood and rain, so it made no difference. I just wanted to feel dry again. “I have no idea what they were doing out there like that. Her father must have had good reason to take his daughter out to sea on a dinghy, but I can’t imagine what.”
Manny smiled and nodded. “Right. Estelle, huh? You know, Luke, I actually meant Ava when I asked how she was.”
“Ava?” I threw the dirty rag away and stood up. I had to check on my family. “She’s fine, I guess. I should go talk to Pippa, let her know what’s going on.”
I went down the steps, eager to get away from Weir and to talk to Pippa. Manny followed me down, and when we reached the bottom of the stairs he stopped me by the galley.
“Luke, you can’t fool me. What’s going on with you and her?”
I tried to get to the bunkroom, but Manny stood in my way, refusing to move. I ran my hands over my head, through my hair, and wiped my damp palms on my pants. “Sheesh, that’s a million dollar question.” I smiled at Manny. It was good to have a friend with me. I hadn’t spent enough time with him since we’d gotten onto the Tukino. I truthfully had no idea where me and Ava were, or what I could tell Manny. Jonah had warned me from getting involved and it was obvious that Pippa resented her. But Jonah was dead and Pippa was right when she said I had to live my own life. Was Ava even still interested? After everything that had gone on, I could understand if she wanted to back off before things became too much. How on earth would you even have a relationship with someone whilst living with six other people on a trawler? “Manny, it’s… it’s complicated.”
Manny chuckled. “When isn’t it?”
I looked into the galley where the ocean lashed against the solitary window. Upstairs I knew that Ava was comforting Estelle, Gills and Weir were navigating us to the shoals, and the dark sky was only getting darker. The rain was pelting the trawler and the deck, soaking the blanket that covered Jonah’s body. Life was complicated. I thought this boat would be the answer to everything, that with Pippa and Chelsea we would be able to make a fresh start.
I hadn’t counted on giant man-eating sharks. At least that was one thing going in our favor. The shark hadn’t reappeared after destroying the dinghy. I hadn’t seen the fin, or any sign of it out there, although admittedly it was so gloomy that it was getting hard to see far at all.
“Go,” said Manny. “Talk to her. She’s into you. I can tell.”
I shook my head and kept my voice quiet. “No, I have to talk to Pippa. She’s been stuck down here looking after Chelsea, while we’ve been dealing with this. I should—”
“I’ll go.” Manny pushed me back toward the steps. “Talk to Ava and then get some dry clothes on. For the love of God, Luke, you look like a drowned rat.”
I feebly protested but Manny kept pushing me up the stairs. “Okay, okay, I’m going. Just don’t say anything to Pippa about Ava, please? She’s got enough on her plate without me making things any harder for her.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just go and—”
The boat lurched wildly and it felt like we had slammed into another boat.
“What the hell was that?” asked Manny.
I turned and charged up the stairs, Manny bounding after me. I rushed past Weir and Gills, racing out onto the deck.
“Luke, hold on,” said Manny.
I looked at him stood in the open doorway of the wheelhouse and then turned to find Ava. The deck was awash with water and I couldn’t see her or Estelle. I began to panic.
“Ava? What’s..?”
The booming noise hit my ears and I hit the deck as our boat suddenly slowed. The trawler started to lean to the starboard and blood-soaked rainwater that had pooled on the deck around Jonah’s body splashed my face, cascading over me in a torrent. I slid helplessly toward the edge of the boat and grabbed onto a discarded piece of netting. I slid my fingers into it and held on tight as the boat veered off course.
“Weir, what the fuck?” I yelled.
I heard glass breaking and then wood stretching in ways it wasn’t meant to. It sounded like the boat was being torn apart and I instantly knew what it was. The shark was back.