The sun had not yet risen, but Nick could tell it was just about
to peek over the horizon, for the sky was already growing lighter, the stars
fading away with the night.
As it neared dawn, their raft grew closer and closer to the land
they had spotted the night before.
Soon, they were close enough to swim to shore. Nick wished he had the strength to.
AJ did. Before anyone
could stop him, he leaped over the side of the raft, landing with a splash that
sent water splattering onto the four men left inside.
“You okay, AJ?” Howie asked, concerned about his friend’s
safety. AJ was weak; he shouldn’t be
swimming.
“I’m fine, D,” AJ called back, bobbing up and down with the waves.
Howie sighed, but said nothing, not wanting to ruin AJ’s
excitement. Besides, he knew his own
strength. If he got tired, they would
help him back into the raft.
“I’m gonna swim to shore,” AJ announced. “See you there!”
“AJ, wait!” Howie cried, but AJ was already swimming. His strokes were weak and slow, but they were
enough to glide him through the water.
The waves helped, carrying him forward towards the beach.
Nick looked after AJ longingly, wanting to jump in himself. As they got closer and closer, his
anticipation grew, and impulsively, he hurled himself overboard.
“Nicky!” Howie cried in exasperation. He knew he wasn’t leaving the raft, not until
they were on dry land.
“Ahh, this water feels great, Howie!” Nick cried, splashing about
in the salty ocean water. His arms
ached as he flailed them about, but it felt good to soak his hot, scorched skin
in the water.
Howie just smiled and turned to Kevin and Brian, who were still
asleep. “Hey, Bri,” he called softly,
trying to wake him up. To his relief,
Brian’s eyes fluttered open. “We’re
almost there, Rok. We’re almost to the
land,” Howie declared excitedly.
“We are?” Brian sat up and
looked around. The cool night had
helped to revive him a bit. “Wow, we
are!” he exclaimed, breaking into a smile.
Howie grinned, relieved to see Brian smile again. But suddenly, the smile dropped off his face
as he spotted something in the water, right near the spot where AJ was
swimming. It was a fin.
“AJ!” Howie screamed.
“What? What is it?” Brian
asked, looking at Howie in concern.
“It’s a fin! It’s a fin,
look!” Howie cried shrilly, pointing to the triangular gray object, which was
moving towards AJ.
“Oh shit!” Brian gasped, his eyes widening. “AJ!”
“AJ!!” Howie screamed. But
AJ was too far away to hear him. Nick,
however, could.
“What’sa matter?” he yelled, turning around in the water to look
at them.
“Nick, come back!” Brian called frantically. “There’s a shark!”
Nick squinted, trying to make out his words. And then it hit him what Brian had said. “Oh my God, where!?” he cried, twisting
around in the water, terrified. If there
was one thing he was scared of, it was sharks.
“By AJ!” Howie cried, pointing.
“Come on, Nicky, hurry!”
Craning his neck as his body rose and fell with the waves, Nick
spotted the fin, getting closer and closer to AJ, who was nearing the
shore. “AJ!” he screamed, sputtering as
water got into his mouth. “AJ!”
***
AJ was pacing himself, swimming very slowly, determined to make it
to the beach. He stopped when he heard
Nick’s scream and twisted around in the water, squinting to make out the form
of his friend, who was squirming around in the water a ways back, frantically
waving one hand back and forth above his head, to get AJ’s attention.
“You okay?!” AJ called, afraid Nick was drowning or
something.
“Shark!” screamed Nick.
AJ’s eyes widened in terror.
He went into panic-mode and began to carelessly thrash his arms and legs
around, trying to get to shore. Out of
the corner of his eye, he saw it – the shark’s fin. It was gliding through the water just a
short distance away from him.
“Oh shit,” AJ gasped, choking and sputtering as he struggled to
keep his head above the water. He
kicked his legs frantically and flailed his arms, trying to swim. It was not working. He gasped for air and could feel himself
sinking beneath the waves.
“Help me!” AJ screamed.
“Help!!”
***
From back in the raft, Howie could hear his friend’s frightened
pleas, but there was nothing he could do.
They were too far away.
“Brian, start paddling!” he ordered, leaning over the side of the
boat and frantically beginning to paddle with his hands. Brian did the same, but they weren’t going
any faster.
Then, Nick made it to the raft, panting and struggling in the
water. “Help me in,” he gasped, looking
ready to pass out.
Howie and Brian quickly reached over the side and hauled Nick back
into the raft.
“Oh God, where’s AJ?” Nick panted, looking out into the
water. Then he saw his friend,
struggling to swim away from the shark, who had begun to slowly circle around
him.
“Oh my God,” Howie cried, starting to lose it. “Oh my God, AJ!” He stared at the horrible sight of the fin
spiraling closer and closer to his friend.
“I’ve gotta help him!” he cried.
He was about ready to leap out of the raft, when Brian grabbed him
and pulled him back. “No, Howie!” he
yelled. “Don’t be an idiot. You’d never get there in time, and if you did
get close, you’d both be shark food.”
Howie shook his head, panicked tears welling up in his eyes. He buried his face in his hands and
collapsed down into the raft, unable to watch AJ be eaten alive.
***
“Go away!” AJ screamed hysterically, as if the shark coming
towards him would actually respond. “Oh
my God, please!”
But the fin did not turn away.
It came closer… and closer. And
then, it disappeared.
“Oh, God,” AJ sobbed, his whole body shaking with utter
horror. “Where are you, you son of a bitch!?”
He had barely gotten the words out, when something sharp sliced
into his ankle. Before he could even
comprehend what was happening, he was jerked below the surface.
***