Cut & Run

by Nic Lomax

  ‘It’s like being in Jurassic Park’ he muttered open jawed, as the sharp features of the land intoxicated him with its beauty. Once they had cleared the interior the vista of the ocean opened up before them as the taxi emerged from the jungle, and Kai couldn’t hide his excitement.

  ‘Stu we’ve just found paradise!’

  ‘You’re not wrong brother, I’m just gutted I won’t be able to hit that surf with you.’

  The taxi pulled into the village which was a maze of old colonial buildings, luxury apartment blocks and makeshift shanties which literally made use of any and all scrap material that lay around. The thing which really caught Kai’s eye and filled him with unease was the amount of “LOCALS ONLY” graffiti which covered the walls and street signs that led to the beach. His suspicions were confirmed as the taxi driver, once they paid, told them to “stay away from the main bay” as dangers were not just in the water, but on the palm fringed beach too. The cab pulled away back on to the road spraying them both with gravel and dust and Kai coughed and rubbed his eyes.

  ‘I can see it’s going to be an interesting few months here dude’ he said, grabbing his board and bag as they headed over to their new pad. Once inside, they were stoked to find their accommodation was comfortable and most importantly, had a sea view. Kai didn’t hang around though, he was desperate to get a look at the reef which lay beyond the jungle just a little further west. ‘I’m going to check it out man and grab some supplies while I’m out’ he said grabbing his wallet.

  ‘That’s cool, I’m gonna kick back. My shoulders twinging like a bitch. Be careful brother, and keep a low profile.’

  Kai was glad to get a little time out from his and Stu’s growing bromance. The hot sun beat down hard on his skin and he praised the dwindling shadows from the scant trees that lay along the roadside, which provided a little sanctuary. A side alley took him down to towards the beach and he passed a couple of bars and cafes where all the occupants seemed to stare, but not smile. He ventured on unphased. His attention was drawn to the sounds being omitted from the thunderous surf as it impaled itself on the coral reef. Kai quickened his pace, like a lion would when entering chase with its prey. He kicked off his flip flops and sped through the hot sand as he left the palms that fringed the beach. It was a sight that couldn’t be equalled. A vision that he would hold within his soul until he expelled his final breath. Beyond the beach which drew away from the river mouth, were visible lines of waves that continued to trundle down the coral point with such perfection that Poseidon himself would be proud.

  Kai was torn back to the moment from someone shouting behind him, ‘you can look but you can’t touch brother,’ Kai spun round to see a small group of guys emerge from the tree line. The guy who led them was short but broad with a clear athletic build. His tattoos covered his chest and were intricate in detail, portraying creole tribal markings. Kai held his ground as the pack circled round him.

  ‘What you doing here?’

  ‘Just admiring the view and thinking how nice it would be to slice up a few of those beauties’ he said defiantly.

  ‘Well keep dreaming’ a younger guy grunted. Kai was sizing each individual and developing a plan of attack within his mind when she emerged from behind a palm. His focus was immediately diverted to her slim tanned body which hypnotised him as she slowly paced over.

  She spoke with a husky charm that cut the atmosphere in half and his opponents down with delicate fury. ‘Really guy’s six on one? Not really promoting us as a tourist friendly destination’

  ‘Back off Celeste, this is our beach’.

  She laughed and brushed her hair away from her face. ‘Just let the guy off, he’d probably drown out there anyway!’

  Kai took this statement as his release from the situation and slowly backed away from the group. ‘She’s right’ he said giving her a cheeky wink ‘I think I will try somewhere further up the coast’.

  ‘You do that blondie! And stay away from here’

  ‘Not fucking likely’ he muttered under his breath. Once he made the tree line, he glanced back at the surf break that was shrouded with the bunch of Neanderthal brethren that upheld the rites of passage. He almost laughed out loud. He was damned if he had flow to the other side of the planet not to ride those waves. The girl, Celeste, was a diamond in the rough. She had saved him from a beating, that was for sure, and he was going to make it his mission to get to know her, and hopefully gaze into those dark brown eyes once more.

  Kai arrived back and was grateful that Stu had the air-conditioning fired up to the max.

  ‘Dude where have you been man? I thought you had got a kicking for sure! So how was the break? Was it all we imagined it would be?’

  ‘Oh yes! It relentlessly peels down the reef, it’s fast too! I think you could be barrelled for huge sections at a time!’ Kai’s elation seemed to drain away from his face as he took breath and composed his next statement, and he knew Stu could see it coming. ‘The only down side is, I have already met a few members of the white shorts and let’s put it this way, they weren’t too happy that I just rocked up…’

  Stu cut him off, ‘dude I told you to keep a low profile, you’re going to be out there alone for the foreseeable, and now they know your face and hair! It’s not like you blend in!’

  Kai sat back in his chair and cracked open a nice cold beer that he had purchased earlier from the local store and grinned. ‘Well actually bro I think I may have an ally out there and the bonus is she is smoking hot!’

  Stu retorted with his usual jealous dismissal ‘Yeah right man! Be careful this chick doesn’t take you for a fool bro.’

  Kai couldn’t be bothered dignifying this with a response. He knew how stressed out Stu was due to his injury. It was not just a physical ailment, it was a mental blow for his friend too knowing that the honey pot was just out of reach, and he could smell its sweetness. Kai was pleased as the sun began to sink towards the horizon, casting its recessing glows against the huge cumulus nimbus clouds strewn across the sky. A sudden flash on the horizon spelled the arrival of a tropical storm, and Kai knew it wasn’t going to be the only trouble brewing in the ocean this week. He turned to Stu who was frying up some noodles in the galley style kitchen.

  ‘I’m going to head out there at first light and see if I can get a few waves without them catching me. If they’re anything like the goons we’ve met on the road, with all this wave consistency and frequency of swell I think they will be lazy.’

  ‘That’s true my friend, but we have a rule in America and anywhere with this water temperature, which is, never surf at dusk, dawn or after a downpour, as that’s the best time to get eaten by a shark’. It was the only word that could cut through Kai’s bravado like a knife through butter. It was a risk that was for certain, but a risk worth taking.

  As the dark of the night drew in and the storm rumbled around the bay, Kai and Stu admired natures show from the comfort of the balcony. Only the occasional fruit bat marred the view with their haunting vampire like bodies slicing and swooping through the humid air.

  ‘I feel like we are in another world’ said Kai finishing his second beer.

  Stu paused before he responded and wiped the sweat from his brow. ‘Indeed my friend, this is a world where you could be crowned king of the waves and just as easily be cut down. I think you should play it with caution until you get the number on these white short guys. I’ve got a bad feeling.’

  Kai looked at his feet, which were getting attacked by a number of mosquitos. It appeared that the general locality was trying to take him down. ‘If I don’t go, I will never know! And on that note, I’m going to crash’.

  Chapter 10

  Tropic Thunder

  The alarm on Kai’s phone rang out through the sparsely decorated apartment and echoed around the walls. Combined with a poor night sleep and general disorientation, Kai was not on his best form as he fumbled in the darkness for his board shorts. To top things off he stubbed his toe against the wa
ll as he was about to leave and let out a yelp.

  ‘Fucks sake’ he whispered through gritted teeth. He opened the door to find Stu was already waiting outside the apartment and adding a fresh layer of warm water wax to Kai’s board.

  ‘Sup chief?’ he said as Kai stood there looking in slight bewilderment. ‘What, you thought I was going to just let you go out there alone? No way bro! I’m gonna wait on the beach and make sure those goons don’t gang up on you!’

  Kai was grateful for the company and wasn’t going to argue. They slipped on to the beach and made their way around the coast, hugging the line of the palms, just in case they were being watched. All the while, Kai kept an eye on the break line which was just becoming visible as the first rays of dawn burst from the east. When they were directly opposite the reef pass where Kai could easily paddle through and access the forbidden wave, he strapped on his leash and crept into the ocean. It was a pleasure to be immersed in water that was so warm, it not only kept his heart rate down, but it also eliminated the cramps that the icy Atlantic brought on with its frigid grip. Kai felt like a king as he paddled out, he only looked back to gain a bearing of land where he could just make out Stu loitering under the palm trees. Every now and then he would stiffen up as he passed over a coral head which loomed ominously out of the crystal clear waters. It felt so sharky and suddenly as he left the sanctuary of the lagoon and headed out on to the break line he felt very alone and vulnerable to the ocean, and the hidden beasts that lay beneath.

  ‘Calm the fuck down’ he said out loud to himself. He had to concentrate on the waves, they were the ultimate threat as they surged in from the deep only to erupt onto the reef. Kai took ten minutes just to figure out the correct positioning and the swell period in which he could time every set that came through. It was roughly a seventeen second lull in between sets, and this would give him time to compose himself for the potential ride of his life. His first wave was a beauty, he took off fairly late and caught a rail in the face just before the wave curled over and sucked him on to the coral. He became lodged in the pocket of the barrel and the speed became immeasurable, the spray almost transcended into something else as the sunrise lit up the wave. As he shot out of the barrel with great pace, the wave had bent slightly round the reef line and offered a ramp to which Kai took off, arching his body and spinning an aerial reverse spin. He crashed off the back and hooted loudly in the morning air.

  It was only then that he realised he had travelled well over two hundred meters on the wave and was really far inside, which made the paddle back to his original position a bit of a trek. He paddled on now aware that dawn was well and truly breaking as the sun saluted him. He could still make out the pass through the spray and thought he could see Stu on the beach. He decided on one more wave as the entire process on the reef had taken thirty minutes just to find his feet, and he knew he was pushing his luck already. The next set of Indian swell seemed to take an age to arrive and Kai sat motionless in the flat spot perched on his board. His hairs instantly pricked up on the back of his neck and his heart raced as he saw the fin gliding through the water, no more than ten metres from his position. The images of teeth and death came thick and fast in his mind, his heart pounded and he became frozen with fear. He scanned the near waters for the shark and its impending attack. The dolphin broke the surface just metres away and Kai’s fears began to melt into the waters surrounding him. ‘Jesus Christ’ he said out loud. He turned and paddled toward the incoming set wave eager to make his escape back to the lagoon. He took off with ease and sliced the face like a knight in battle, and quickly remembered to pull off earlier so he could make it through the pass. It was then he saw the figure paddling toward his position. At first he didn’t know how to react. He could paddle quicker than most and could make his escape, but ‘why run?’ he thought.

  As the figure came closer Kai was pleased to see it was a female form and one that he recognised. Celeste paddled with a strong elegance and as she came closer, Kai was able to admire her stunning body which was only scantily clad in a pink bikini. No more than a metre away she paused and popped in to a seating position. She remained smiling before she spoke and the motion of the waves that pushed through the pass gently moved her tanned breasts which Kai was drawn to.

  ‘You just couldn’t take no for an answer then?’ she said in a teasing manner.

  ‘When I want something really bad I just have to go for it’ he said in a corny response.

  ‘Well it won’t be long before the rest of the crew head down so you better make yourself scarce. Those were some nice moves by the way!’ Kai took the compliment in his stride and decided to push things a little.

  ‘It’s Celeste isn’t it? Do you fancy a drink later?’

  Celeste laughed out loud ‘whoa! You really do want to get in trouble don’t you! Look you’re really sweet, but you need to get out of here now and if by chance you happen to be in the ‘The Bay’ bar later around ten, then maybe we’ll meet again!’

  Kai winked and paddled off back into the lagoon. He paused for a second to look back and check out her arse as she crept over the next incoming wave. This distraction had cost him dearly, as the noise of shouts and hoots drew his attention back toward shore.

  There was nowhere to hide as he paddled toward the beach, the calmness of the lagoon made his movements clearly visible to the pack of angry locals who lined the shore in wait. Kai knew he was in for it, but paddled on at a consistent and strong pace. His pulse rate had quickened and he could feel the endorphins being released as the fear built within. As soon as he reached the shallows he released his leash, and let his board float clear of the impending brawl. He didn’t really hear the shouts from his attackers as time seemed to once again linger. He hadn’t realised that he had reached into the clear waters and grabbed a large lump of coral. However he did witness the first blow he drew down on the assailant’s head quickly drawing blood and sending him into the water. Kai managed to get three more hits in before a kick to the face had rendered him temporarily disabled. The darkness of concussion threatened to set in like a tropical cyclone brewing on the horizon and temporary blindness or the blood seeping into his eye meant he could only hear Stu bellowing at the top of his lungs, ‘you fucks call this a fight? Bring it on!

  Kai wiped his brow to see Stu wielding a large lump of driftwood, viciously swiping at any of the mob that came within range. He had taken down three of them before Kai made it out of the water and together they managed to warn off the last guy who glared at them as he went to aid his fellow downed crew members. Kai and Stu both took this vague victory and turned to flee. And as they made their retreat they could hear the mixture of groans and future threats being carried away on the steady offshore wind.

  ‘That didn’t go exactly as I had planned,’ Kai spat breathlessly as he continued to run. ‘I may have scored with that chick though!’

  ‘Fuck me Kai, you nearly get killed and you’re still thinking about your dick!’

  Kai grinned and they continued their escape. They didn’t pause until they made their way down the palm fringed path that led to the house. ‘Maybe I need to get a new hobby!’

  ‘No dude I think we do need to find a new spot though, this shits getting out of control’

  Kai was cursing the air as he realised his board had probably been snapped in two by the psycho locals. ‘No chance man, I mean effectively we won and they won’t expect us to return.’

  Stu looked dumbfounded by Kai brash response.

  ‘Plus you know the saying,’ he said cleaning the wound he had sustained.

  ‘What’s that then?’ Stu said inquisitively.

  ‘If you can’t beat them, join them!’

  Kai and Stu spent the rest of the day at a more sedate pace. Lounging in the burning sun and taking frequent long distance paddles within the lagoon to build stamina. There was an element of training that Stu had begun teaching his apprentice that was an old Hawaiian tradition, it involved holding down a la
rge rock or boulder and running over the seabed. It instilled confidence underwater and also extended the capacity one could be beneath the big blue. Kai managed to control his heart rate and stay under for four or so minutes. As the sun began to take its sunken position under the horizon it was time to vacate their training ground as it was not advisable to be around when sharks returned to the shallows to hunt, and Kai also had to get ready for his late night rendezvous.

  The monsoon style rains returned to the island with a dark vengeance and the landmass soon became masked in a huge electrical storm, the warm rain beating down turning the dry river beds into raging torrents. Kai sat on the balcony sipping a cold beer when he suddenly realised it was time to head out.

  ‘Don’t wait up Stu!’ he said, as he ventured into the night.

  The air was hot and dense as he walked toward the fabled drinking hole and the electricity could be felt and heard as it rumbled around the tropical hills behind him. Kai was drenched when he finally stumbled upon the bar, and he was almost turned away at the door by the local bouncer until he produced a one hundred rupee note which gained his entry. Kai sauntered straight to the bar and scoped the place to see if Celeste had already arrived. He couldn’t see her anywhere and ordered a beer, he was just cursing himself on the inside as he was late when he noticed her at the door. She truly was a sight to behold, dressed in a short denim skirt and low cut top, with her deep tan and hair flowing over her shoulders which was dampened from the storm. Kai wasn’t the only guy to notice her, in fact every bloke in the bar pretty much checked her out.

  She casually walked towards him with a playful smile on her face, every step she took closer to him increased his heart rate until he felt like he was going to explode. She stopped just short of him and took a seat at the bar ordering a spiced rum and orange.