Beside the Brook (22 page)

“Tyler!” Kirsten knew if he made it back to the boat she would be on her own. Tyler would leave her to her own defenses. It would be another convenience for him if she was eaten alive.

Kirsten watched in horror as Tyler’s body jerked back in the water with such force that he disappeared beneath the surface momentarily. The shark rolled with Tyler’s body in the water. Kirsten saw the flash of its cream belly before it released him. A moment later Tyler resurfaced, sputtering and screaming. His eyes were wide, the

whites showing in disbelief. The shark had disappeared, but Kirsten wondered if it was just circling for another attack, or whether it had decided Tyler wasn’t really food and had moved on.

“Tyler, get to the boat, now!” Kirsten yelled. She tried to stay calm; told herself it was necessary if she wanted to avoid the same fate. She took a deep breath and let it seep between her lips, then moved through the water as quickly as she could without making too much of a disturbance. She saw Tyler reach the back of the boat, claw at the white fiberglass surface there in panic as he tried pull himself up. But the edge of the boat was too high and he couldn’t reach it. The ladder was still tucked neatly away inside the boat and there were no ropes over the side to grab on to. If he had been uninjured he may have been able to propel himself up out of the water. Kirsten finally reached Tyler. Ignoring the dull throb in her own arm she tried to take hold of him by the arms. He lunged at her; nearly forced her under again, but she managed to stay afloat. The pain in her arm flared and she winced. The water around them had become a murky red puddle and she knew Tyler was badly hurt. There was too much blood for it to just be a surface wound.

“Keep still!” Kirsten commanded as she tried to get past the panic in his eyes.

“Jesus, the fucking thing bit me.” His brown eyes were still saucers of disbelief.

“I know. Tyler, you
have
to calm down. Your heart’s going so fast it’s going to speed up your blood loss. Where did it get you?”

Tyler seemed to calm almost instantly. “My thigh. The bastard got my leg.”

“Okay we have to get you out of the water.”

“God Kirsty, I feel like I’m going to pass out.” Tyler’s face turned ashen and Kirsten shook him by the shoulders.

“You can’t pass out, Tyler. I can’t get you out of the water on my own.”

“Huh.” Tyler laughed at the irony. “You can’t get back on the boat anyway, can you?”

He looked down at her arm. “How are you going to pull yourself up with one arm?”

“Well we have to get you out of the water.” Kirsten gazed around for a solution.

“If we can get around the other side of the platform there’s a ladder. From there you’ll be able to get back onto the boat.”

“On the other side?” She looked annoyed. “Tyler, why did you tie the boat on this side, if the ladder is way over the other side?”

Tyler gave her a weak smile. “Well, I didn’t think we’d end up in the drink like this, did I?”

Kirsten scowled. “You know I’m still thinking if the roles were reversed you’d leave me here to die.”

Tyler closed his eyes. For a moment Kirsten thought he had lost consciousness, until he spoke, “You know you’re probably right.” He opened his eyes. “Why don’t you leave me here?”

“Because, I’m not you.”

“Kirsten, I’m so sorry.” Tyler started to shiver and Kirsten knew he was going into shock.

“We have to get you out of the water.” She moved around behind him. “Can you swim?”

“I don’t know if I can. Leave me here and get to the ladder. Once you’re on the boat we can figure out a way to get me up there. If you’re lucky the little bastard will come back and finish me off and you won’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“Tyler, don’t say that.” Kirsten’s voice was stern. “You’re not going to die so stop talking that way.”

Tyler reached out and touched her hand. His fingers were cold and they trembled against her. “If I get out of this, I will make it up to you, Kirsty. I know what I did was wrong, to you, to Brook. If you get me out of this I’ll get help. I need help.” His eyes held so much sadness that tears welled up in Kirsten’s eyes. “Please help me, Kirsten.”

“I will.” Kirsten touched his face and smiled. “You’re going to be fine, just hang on. You’re not allowed to pass out while I’m gone okay?”

Tyler nodded and Kirsten turned away. She did her best to move through the water swiftly and felt much better once she was between the boat and the oversized salmon nets. She felt as though they gave her some protection, however knowing the fish had lured the shark in the first place it brought little comfort. It took her at least ten minutes to work her way around the nets. Her arm throbbed and she leaned to her good side, using her left arm and both legs to propel her through the water. Getting her body up the ladder proved to be another mission. It was a rope ladder with wooden slatted steps, and it swayed to and fro in the water as she climbed with one arm. She slipped a few times and crashed into the boards above, but finally she was able to climb high enough to pull her weight onto her stomach then roll onto the floating platform. She stood and walked carefully back around the opposite side of the nets. The platform swayed under her feet and she moved with caution, knowing if she traveled too fast she would lose her balance and end up back in the water.

“Tyler,” she yelled frantically as the boat came into view at the other end. There was no answer. She scrambled over the side of the boat, ran to the stern and peered over the edge. Tyler was still there, barely conscious, his eyes closed and head just above the water line.

“Tyler!” His eyes opened and took a moment to focus before they settled on her face above him.

“You look like an angel.” His lips hardly moved as he talked, making him sound like someone intoxicated. She knew he was running out of time. She cleared the boxes away from the loading hatch, slid the board from its hold and cast it aside with little thought. This left a gaping hole in the stern and she was able to reach down to water level. She stretched out to grab Tyler but he was still too far away.

“I can’t reach you, Ty. You gotta try and get over here so I can help you onto the boat.”

Tyler used his arms as best he could to push himself through the water toward her. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His body was shutting down.

“Come on, Tyler. Just a little bit further.” Kirsten stretched out as far as she could and finally caught the fabric of his shirt sleeve. She pulled him the rest of the way. She stretched his arms over the lip of the boat, but was unable to pull him up out of the water with one arm. Using both arms she reached over his back and took hold of the waistline of his jeans. Sucking in her breath she closed her eyes, trying to think just about Tyler and not her injured arm. He was hurt and he was going to die if she didn’t help him. When the adrenaline began to flow she gritted her teeth and pulled as hard as she could. Later she couldn’t recall who yelped louder, her or Tyler, but eventually his body slid from the water, onto the deck of the pleasure craft. As she opened her eyes the first thing that came to mind was that someone had been gutting fish. There was so much blood. It ran over the deck and down through the slots at the back of the boat. Tyler moaned as she rolled him over, his eyes closed once more.

“Tyler, stay with me.” Kirsten unbuttoned her shirt and carefully removed it. She knew there were major arteries in the thigh and if she didn’t stop the bleeding it would mean his life. She stared at his face, pale and listless in the fading light. Maybe it was already too late. The remains of day still held some heat but a cool breeze wafted over the bay and cooled her wet skin.

“I just-,” Tyler whispered, “wanna sleep a l-little.”

“No,” Kirsten knelt beside him. Wrapping the shirt around his leg she secured it over the tear in his pants. She averted her eyes, couldn’t bring herself to look too closely at the wound in case the sight made her faint. What good would she be then? “Lucky you weren’t wearing shorts mate,” Kirsten joked as she tried to keep Tyler focused on her words. “He obviously didn’t like the taste of your jeans otherwise he might have been back to get the rest of you.”

Tyler smiled but kept his eyes closed. “Juss as well these are my ole jeans,” he slurred.

“There you go.” Kirsten smiled, relieved to hear the humour in his voice, even though he sounded as if he were stoned out of his tree. She jumped to her feet and climbed down into the cabin to find a blanket. Plucking one from a narrow couch she returned and placed it over Tyler, tucking it in under his sides. If she could get his body temperature up then he might just have a chance. Then she remembered the radio. What if Jamie hadn’t heard them? What if nobody knew where they were?

“I’m going to call for help. Tyler. You just wait there.”

Tyler’s eyes opened and he lifted one hand, took hold of Kirsten by the wrist.

“Wait,” he said. “I don’t want to die alone.”

Kirsten began to sob, big salty tears streaming down her face and falling onto Tyler as she bent over him.

“You’re not going to die.” In the distance Kirsten could hear the hum of a diesel boat engine. She slumped back down on the deck and Tyler rolled to put his head onto her legs. She stroked his hair and smiled.

“Someone’s coming. It’s going to be okay.”

“Mmm.” He closed his eyes and buried his face in her lap.

“Don’t you go to sleep on me,” Kirsten ordered. “You know you have a big debt to repay me and I’m not letting you get off lightly.”

“You’re so b-bossy,” Tyler sighed. “I’m so glad you’re n-not my n-nanny.”

The sun had almost disappeared as the boat approached. Kirsten felt the wake push their craft from side to side and she peered into the darkness. There was no mistaking who had come for them when she heard the voice call out.

“Kirsten.”

Her heart leapt and fresh tears sprang to her eyes. “Jamie!”

A bright light flooded the deck and Kirsten shielded her face with her arm until her eyes adjusted. In a matter of seconds Jamie crossed from one boat to the other and was down on the deck next to Kirsten. He dragged her out from under Tyler and she yelped as he squeezed her broken arm.

“Jesus, Kirsty. What happened?”

“He was attacked by a shark,” Kirsten sobbed as she peered up at her knight in shining armour. “We have to get him to hospital.”

Jamie knelt, placing himself between Kirsten and Tyler. Kirsten peered over his shoulder, but Jamie’s body threw a dark shadow over Tyler’s face and she couldn’t see anything.

“Kirsten I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do for Tyler. It’s too late,” Jamie whispered.

“No!” Kirsten shrieked in alarm. “He was just talking to me a few minutes ago. He’s just sleeping.”

“He’s not breathing, Kirst, and there’s no pulse.”

“No!” She tried to push Jamie out of the way. Why was he lying? Jamie stood, turned and took Kirsten around the waist.

“Kirsty, he’s gone.”

“He’s not.” She beat at his chest, tried to push him away. “We have to help him.”

“Stop!” Jamie pinned her arms to her side and drew her into his chest. “He’s gone, Kirsty. It’s too late.”

Kirsten collapsed against him. Sobs wracked her body and she cried into the warmth of Jamie’s jacket. He held her tight in his arms, his lips firm against the top of her head as she poured her emotions into him.

“It’s okay,” Jamie soothed.

“It’s not okay,” Kirsty sobbed, her face hidden inside the soft cocoon of Jamie’s embrace. “This is my fault, Jamie.”

Jamie clucked his tongue and lifted Kirsten’s chin so that her face was tilted to his own. “Don’t you dare say it. You know as well as I do Tyler brought this all on himself.”

In the distance came the soft hum of another boat approaching.

“The coastguard and probably the police,” Jamie whispered.

“How much do they know?”

“Only what I had to tell them to get them out here.”

“How much did you hear, Jamie?” Kirsten wiped her face.

“I heard everything up to where Tyler asked you what you were going to do. After that you got too far away from the radio. I knew something was wrong when everything went quiet. I tried to call back on other frequencies but you must have jammed the radio. I couldn’t get through and I was already heading back to the house, so I went down to Sam Gordon’s place and borrowed the boat.” He pushed the hair out of Kirsten’s face, his eyes filled with concern. “Jesus, Kirsty. I was sure I was going to find
your
body here, not Tyler’s. What on earth possessed you to come out here with Tyler on your own?”

“You were so mad at me. I just wanted to put things right. I needed to know what had really happened. It was the only thing I could think of to do.” She put her good arm around Jamie’s neck and he squeezed her to him.

“God, Kirsten.” He breathed into her hair. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

Another light appeared as the third boat approached and they heard voices.

“Wait here.” Jamie released Kirsten but she grabbed him by the wrist before he could go.

“Jamie?”

“What?”

“Don’t tell them everything.”

“What do you mean?” He frowned.

“I don’t want Beth to know-,” she paused, “you know, everything. There’s no need. Please.”

Jamie looked confused for a moment. “But . . .”

“Please Jamie,” Kirsten pleaded. “It’s over. Let him die in peace. Beth doesn’t need to know.”

“Okay.”

The chain of events which followed seemed to meld into a blur for Kirsten. She let Jamie take charge and she answered the questions she was asked, omitting anything that would incriminate Tyler. She didn’t have to lie; neither of them did. The facts were she had fallen over board and Tyler had been attacked by a shark. It didn’t seem suspicious and so they were not asked anything they had to falsify. She watched as they carried Tyler’s lifeless form from the deck of the boat and covered him with a blanket. She cried and Jamie took her in his arms. Tyler was gone.

“Come on; let’s get you out of here.” Jamie led her to the other boat, wrapped a blanket around her for warmth. “I’m going to take you home.”