Suspending Reality (92 page)

The fin approached, and it was now only a few feet away. I screamed. Would this be my final moment? The beast slowed down and sank underneath us like a submerging submarine. A shudder ran through me. I watched in disbelief as the menacing shadow glided below
. So I make it through a horrible thunderstorm and lose my parents only to be eaten by a shark in the end? Oh, this can’t be happening.

I clutched Jack’s arm and gasped. “It’s so…it’s as long as a school bus.” Pulling my legs up as high as I could, I blinked. It looked as though the giant shadow had split in two. I blinked again and pointed a shaking finger. In a high-pitched voice, I began to count more monstrous fins breaking the surface of the ocean. “I see two…four…ten…” More monstrous fins rose out of the ocean. “Guys! Guys! We need to get out of here,” I screamed louder as the sharks circled. “We’re in shark-infested water! They’re…they’re everywhere!”

“Crap! Keep on swimming,” Jack shouted.

I waited for Mike to take off, but he didn’t move. “What are you waiting for?” I asked him in a strained voice.

His eyes bulged. “They’re blocking our path to shore!”

I gasped.

Jack held up a clenched fist. “Fight! If one attacks, give it a hard blow on its snout, eyes, or gills.”

A large dorsal fin passed inches from my feet. I shuddered as the shark glided through the water like a torpedo.

“Casey, ditch your silver ring!” said Jack.

“What?” I gulped. “Why?”

“It’s too shiny. They’ll mistake it for fish scales.” 

Without any further questions, I slipped the band off.

“Lose the necklace too!” added Mike.

“My locket? But—” 

He nodded. “Hurry!” 

With trembling fingers, I ripped the chain off. I held my locket and my ring tightly in my hand. The water turned clear, and I could see long, sleek shapes darting past us.

Mike stroked the skin of a passing shark. “Its belly’s white.”

“It
is
a Great White,” whispered Jack.

“What’re you doing, Mike?” I asked, my stomach clenching.

“If it’s going to eat me, then I at least deserve a chance to touch it.”

“You’re nuts!” I yelled. It was official: Mike would continue to be reckless, even when faced with death.

Giant locomotives swam past me. My hands closed into fists, and I was prepared to fight. This has to be a dream, some kind of nightmare. I pressed my eyes shut and reopened them, but the sharks still surrounded me.

SMACK!
When the shark hit, I felt a crushing blow to my chest, like getting sacked when I played football with the guys. I sank a few feet beneath the surface and noticed the glint of silver as my locket and ring sank into the depths below me. Sharp pain radiated through my body, and it wasn’t until a salty rush of water gushed into my mouth that I jerked back to reality and began kicking and flailing my arms. I emerged, sputtering water.

“You okay?” Mike asked, his lips pressed together in a hard line.

“Casey!” shouted Jack, eyes wide.

My chest heaved and I sucked in giant gulps of air. I touched Jack’s chest gingerly. “I’m okay…I think. Why the games? They keep swimming around us, and bumping into us. Why haven’t they just eaten us?” I shuddered at the thought. “Not that I want them too.”

“They don’t know what we are,” said Jack. “They’re curious. It’s how sharks investigate.”

Every horrible shark story I had ever heard or seen on the Syfy Channel about mega-sharks played out in my head. I glanced at the circling dorsal fins. “We’ll have to swim past them. It’s our only chance…or else we’re dead!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” said Mike.

With a giant kick, I took off through the water. As I did, a shark rose out of the water and swam toward me, filling my vision with its beady black eyes, huge fin, and flared gills. Its giant tail sliced the water with slow side-to-side strokes. I had planned on getting up close and personal with numerous sea creatures while on vacation, but a close encounter with nature’s most efficient killing machine wasn’t one of them.

Terrifying jaws stretched open, revealing three rows of razor-sharp teeth. My heartbeat doubled—no, tripled—as I stared helplessly right into the creature’s jaws. My eyes widened as I let out a long, piercing scream. The beast’s body arched upward and then slammed fiercely back down into the ocean. Spirals of water shot high in the air, and then rained down over me. The deluge of water created intense waves that rocked me back and forth. I gasped as the monster disappeared into the ocean depths.

“Stay where you are, Casey!” Mike shouted. “Its instinct is to go after scared animals, the ones that run away. I’ll throw it off by swimming right up to it.”

I gripped Mike’s forearm and shook my head. “That’s a crazy idea.”

“No way! Quit being an idiot, Mike!” said Jack. “If that shark doesn’t get you, the others will.”

Mike took off his shark tooth necklace and held it like a dagger. “If I have to, I’ll blind the sucker with one of his uncle’s teeth!”

Jack’s terrified voice cut through the air. “It’s coming back this way!”

“I’m sure this’ll work,” Mike mumbled as he plunged after the creature.

“No!” I said.

Jack yelled for him to come back, but Mike didn’t.

A flash of blue-gray glided under me. I leaned forward in the water, scanning the depths. With great speed, a massive and distorted image shot toward me. My heart lurched. Death was imminent.
This is it!
The shark’s huge mouth hung agape, exposing those terrifying, gnashing teeth. Its mouth was so big that it wouldn’t even have to chew; I’d be eaten in one gulp.

Suddenly, a blue-gray creature popped its head out of the water, sprinkling droplets on my  face. Opening its great mouth, it emitted a
squeak
and a series of rattling sounds, like someone clicking their tongue. Instantly recognizing the beast as a friendly one, I let out the breath frozen in my lungs. I giggled with relief; it wasn’t a shark, but a bottlenose dolphin.

Mike swam toward me, his loud voice piercing the air. “The shark I was chasing…it’s gone.”

I smiled as more dolphins breached high out of the water like acrobats performing a show. A large adult dolphin squeaked louder than the rest. It slapped the water with its tail and urgently nudged Mike.

“Okay, okay! I’m going back,” said Mike. “Bad idea to face the shark.” The mammal herded him back to me and Jack, in the same way a cowboy rounds up his cattle.

I wrapped my arms around Mike. “What am I going to do with you?” I hugged him tightly.
Why does he pull such crazy stunts? If something happens to him while he’s trying to protect me, I’d never be able to live with myself.

I felt a shove on my arm, like bumping into a wet inner tube, followed by a gentle poke in the side. Turning, I saw a dolphin. It seemed to be smiling at me, and unlike the mouthful of teeth on the shark, the dolphin’s just looked like a big, goofy grin.

It was as if the friendly dolphins knew we were in trouble and needed help. The other dolphins drew closer, pushing me, Mike, and Jack toward one another. Slapping their tail flukes against the surface of the water, the creatures swam in tight circles, closing us off from the sharks and creating a defensive barrier, like offensive linemen protecting their quarterback. The sea bubbled and splashed as more
clicks
,
whistle
s, and
squeals
filled the air. I threw up an arm to shield my face from all of the saltwater.

My mouth dropped as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes. Other dolphins made clapping sounds with their jaws and ganged up on the sharks. Repeatedly, they used their long, pointed snouts to ram the sharks, poking them in their gray gills and massive white bellies. A wave of relief swept over me as the sharks turned and swam out of sight. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart.

When I turned to face Mike and Jack, their smiles said it all: Against all odds, we’d survived. We all slapped each other on the back, giving out high-fives. The dolphins squeaked and leapt high into the air; they somersaulted and dove back into the sea, their waves splashing over my entire body. It reminded me again of some spectacular show at Sea World.

I let my fingers run over the smooth skin of a passing dolphin. “I owe everything to these guys. Gazing down the throat of a shark wasn’t on my to-do list for this trip, that’s for sure.”

Mike laughed and gave one of our newfound marine friends a pat on the head. “Yeah, it’s funny. I guess Flipper saved us from Jaws. If I had any fish, I’d give him and his friends like a million of them.”

“There are stories of dolphins rescuing humans, clear back to the times of ancient Greece,” said Jack. “No one knows
why
they protect us, but for some reason they do.”

A hopeful smile danced on Mike’s lips. “Do you think one will give me a ride through the waves? You know…like, I could hang onto its fins.”

“Seriously?” asked Jack.

“Yeah.” Mike flashed his perfect smile.

I couldn’t help but smile, too, as the dolphins swam circles around us before taking off. I waved goodbye to my good Sea-maritans as they quickly vanished into the distance.

“C’mon guys, let’s get moving.” I started swimming for shore, with my two friends right behind me. We’d been saved once, but those sharks could come back any minute and there’d be no second chance. 

After what seemed like hours of slogging through the waves, I broke into a smile. “Hey, I can finally touch the bottom!”

“Me too!” Jack shot me his easygoing grin.

The sand felt thick as it oozed over the top of my tennis shoes. “Nothing’s more wonderful than feeling solid ground under your feet.”

Mike moved swiftly through the water. “Totally. I’m starving after all that swimming.”

“Yeah, me too,” I said, “but I’m in no mood for seafood after almost becoming it.”

“Right. First thing I’m going to do is find a burger joint.”

Flapping wings, buzzing, and sudden movement caught my eye. “Look!” I pointed to the three glittering jewels flying in the sky.

Jack whipped his head around. “What the heck?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes as the marvelous colors drew closer and closer at incredible speeds. A loud
buzz
, like a swarm of a million bumblebees, grew in volume. Elongated bodies, transparent wings, and multifaceted eyes glistened in the glow of the two suns. I gasped. “What’re those?”

“Dragonflies,” said Mike, his voice filled with awe. “Big, giant ones.”

Every muscle in my body tensed. The miniature helicopters had to be the size of remote-controlled airplanes with three-foot wingspans. A blast of wind and spray hit my face, and I ducked my head as the red, blue, and green insects buzzed past me.

Mike’s jaw dropped. “Man, did you see them? One of their bodies had to be as thick as my arm!”

“We’ll talk about this more on shore.” With a burst of energy, Jack took off.

“C’mon on…let’s catch him!” said Mike, overflowing with enthusiasm.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “But…guys…we’re…we’re heading straight where those giant bugs came from.”

***

    
Pebbles shifted under my shoes as I waded to shore. My arms felt heavy and numb. The pain in my legs intensified with the stifling weight of my wet clothes. I panted from the effort.
Only a few more feet to go.

When my feet touched land, I shouted in victory, then collapsed from exhaustion. A surge of relief flooded through me, tinged with regret that my parents weren’t there. I thought of my locket at the bottom of the ocean, and wished I’d thought, in my moment of panic, to place it in my pocket for safekeeping, especially since it was a family heirloom, passed down to me from my grandma. My mom and dad had taken the necklace to the mall and inserted my favorite family portrait as a sixteenth-birthday present. I longed to see their faces again. At that moment, though, all I could think of was to get out of the water; how great it would feel to lie on a warm beach and dry off. My labored breathing eased, though my lungs still burned and my head pounded.

Gentle waves lapped at the shoreline, inches from my face. I felt the gritty sand against my cheek. Rolling onto my back, I drew in a lungful of fresh air and let the suns beat down on my skin. My eyes fluttered open against the glaring light. I knew I had to get up, but I just lay there, unable to move.

Mike crawled out of the water and fell, face-first, into the white sand. Jack struggled to stand and tumbled down next to me. I inhaled the salty scent of the ocean, with its hint of coconut. Cheerful bird songs echoed through the air. Monkeys squealed, and a symphony of insects sounded in my ears.

“We’re here…wherever “here” is.” Mike stood but then stumbled to his knees, spitting out sand and wiping it from his cheeks. He turned and faced the unbroken stretch of shoreline. “Looks like nobody’s been here for ages.”

I searched the skies for a helicopter or plane, any sign of human life.
Surely someone has figured out our location and will come for us soon. It’s only a matter of time, right?
But with no supplies, time wasn’t on our side. My muscles ached from fatigue, but I forced myself upright. “Where’s the search party? I don’t want to be stuck on this rock with those huge bugs.”