Time stood still for one brief moment as the taxi with Tom and Runt hung in the air between rocky cliff and turbulent surf. Images of Bob’s frantic attempts to stop the car were still burned inside Tom’s mind. He didn’t know how to react in such a bizarre circumstance. He had never really been involved anything as dangerous as this. He was used to grading papers, writing pop quizzes on a chalkboard and giving lectures on wars and important events in history. He wasn’t a thrill seeker at all, as a matter-of-fact, if he had known that today was going to turn out this way he wouldn’t have gotten out of bed when Marten had honked his horn in the front driveway of his house. The only thing he could think to do in this scenario was hold on to something tight, and hope that by some strange miracle they would make it out alive.
Terror and chaos swept through the atmosphere of the enclosed cab as it plummeted into the violent surf below. Tom turned and watched as the green water and jagged rocks rushed forward to greet them. Their pointed, ugly peeks looked like serrated shark teeth sticking out of the sea. Runt was screaming at the top of his lungs.
“Hold on!” yelled Tom.
The cab slammed into one of the ugly black boulders sticking out of the foaming surf. The impact completely broke through the whole front driver side of the cab and caused Runt and Tom to hit the Plexiglas paneling hard. The thick glass cracked slightly as the vehicle continued to scrape down the rough surface of the boulder. Cold ocean water was now pouring into the car from every crevice. The sudden water weight began to drag them down further. Soon the whole car would be full. Tom was going to push himself up off the paneling and help Runt when a powerful wave struck the top of the taxi and threw it against the cliff face behind them. The whole frame of the cab bent outward with protest resulting in all the windows shattering into a hundred pieces.
Tom took in one last breath before the whole thing was encompassed with turbulent blue sea water. The taxi started to twirl wildly in all directions as the rip current moved over its mangled frame. Tom gripped onto the twisted steel of the door and closed his eyes tightly. His heart was beating in his chest and his stomach knotted. The sound of rushing water and bending metal was the only thing that he could hear. Rocks and debris were clawing at the framework and ripping it to shreds.
Tom opened his eyes in time to see a massive rock face coming straight towards him. He knew that this was going to be the one that would kill him. He knew that his life was over as soon as they made contact. There would be nothing left to identify his body as Tom Hoffman or a human being, for that matter. The force of the impact would rip his body to shreds.
The cab slammed up against the boulder and snapped like a dried twig. Automotive parts went flying everywhere; doors, seats, and tires exploded outward in a display of shimmering metal. The framework screamed out one last time as if in mortal pain. Then, without speaking, it sunk and was lost forever. Tom was sent hurling into a violent underwater stream. The current dragged him at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour. He went careening through the sand and seaweed. Sharp coral slashed at his clothes and skin in all directions; he felt like crying out in pain, but kept his mouth firmly shut so no water would leak into his mouth. Just when it looked like all was lost, just when it felt he would give up, the wild currant stopped abruptly and let him go.
Tom floated for a bit then sank like a petrified log. He opened his light brown eyes and stared weakly up at the surface of the water. Light was now dancing and skipping off the ocean like a pebble on a placid lake. It looked majestic and beautiful, as if god had painted some queer new sky for him to look at. The greens and blues seemed to complement each other in a kaleidoscope of grandeur. Tom thought that it was like what watching the northern lights was like.
A bubble rose up from his nose and floated gracefully to the surface. He watched it go with enamored eyes. Then reality set in. He would die if he didn’t get to the surface soon. Tom pushed himself up off the ground and jumped for the oceanic sky above. He floated upward, kicking his feet rapidly back and forth as he went, his lungs were beginning to constrict and burn inside his chest. The desire to take a breath was eating at his mind like a cancer. It started off as a slight impulse, and then gradually got more severe.
If he didn’t make it to the surface in time he would be sucking in water like the fish, which would mean a grim trip back down to the bottom. He would sink like a bag of cement. Tom started to claw at the sea violently. His primal instincts were beginning to jump from within him. Just as it seemed that he was about to breath in the seawater, his head tore through the surface. He gasped and took in phenomenal breaths of air. His mind was singing with relief. Tom didn’t even care when the icy breeze hit his wet face. The oxygen had brought sweet relief to his mind and lungs. Breathing had never felt so amazing or appreciated in his life. He wouldn’t have traded it for all the gold in the world.
Tom kicked his feet and treaded water for a minute. He looked around him at all the waves. His rejoicing slowly faded from his face. Something was missing. Where was Runt? The president of Scar Co. had been right there with him before the impact.
“Runt!” yelled Tom a little short of breath, realizing that speaking burned his lungs. He continued to call out, regardless. “Runt, where are you?” He started violently swimming in a random direction, searching for his lost friend. Nothing seemed to really move except for the up and down of the water, and all was quiet over the deep, as if the car hitting the water’s surface moments ago hadn’t even made a ripple. The sound of the wind blowing in his ears was the only thing he could hear. He shook his head and started to sob dry tears. Runt was gone. He couldn’t believe it. The ocean had devoured him.
“I’ll miss you, Runt,” said Tom to the silence, his thoughts reflecting on his lost friend. His chest started heaving with uncontrollable emotion. His hatred for the people that had done this to them rose up in his chest and made his sobbing bitter. He began to sink with each sob and forced himself to gain his composure. Who would have thought that the antique business would lead to such dangers?
“I hope you find your way back home, my friend. I hope all is well with you on the other side.”
He floated over to a piece of drifted wood and rested his body over it. He felt weak and alone suddenly, like an insignificant speck in comparison to this vast ocean. Everything they had planned for was destroyed. It was over.
Tom put his head on the piece of driftwood and stared blankly out over the sea. A weird resolve was beginning to stir in his chest. He couldn’t let the bad guys win. He couldn’t give up so easily,
“I’ll make things better. I’ll find the island first. I’ll redeem you, Runt; you have not died in vain. I’ll make sure of that.”
Tom continued to stare off into the distance. He must have been about half a mile from the coast. His mind began to race with a hundred different questions. Who was Bob Morgan? Why did Shark Inc. want to kill them? He wondered how he would get out of this situation, because with all of his injuries, swimming was out of the question. How would he explain Runt’s death to everyone?
Tom kept thinking and thinking until his mind finally relaxed and he drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep.
* * *
Tom woke up to a burning pain all over the back of his neck. The hot, dry throbbing seemed to flash on and off rapidly. He lifted a hand and gripped the tender skin slightly. He winced and gritted his teeth. It felt like someone had taken a hot iron to him during his rest. The sun was high in the western sky and seemed to be pulling moisture rapidly out of everything it touched.
Tom’s lips were cracked and bleeding. His hair was matted and dry. He shook his head back and forth to try and relieve the water that was resting in his auditory canals. How he hated having swimmers ear, everything sounded like it was muffled. He lifted a hand and pulled his earlobes down and waited patiently as his hearing came back. When he was done, he looked out over the sea. His heart sank as he saw Aggerton City in the distance. The city looked small and the fog made it apparent that he had drifted farther out during his sleep.
Tom gripped his head and groaned. He felt miserable and sick. He wanted to die. There was nothing he could do; the coast was too far to swim to.
He looked out over to the ocean. His eyes slowly got wider as he noticed a long blood trail leading from the coast. His wounds had made a dark jagged line on the canvas of the blue sea. His heart sank into his chest and his mind went numb. This could attract various ocean creatures. As he thought this, something big grazed his leg. Tom jumped and looked down into the water. He was not alone anymore. Something was down there examining him.
Tom’s breathing started to pick up and his thoughts came together in a frenzy of grim revelation. His blood could have attracted anything, but fear of Anchor Sharks, above all else, shot through his mind. He had watched a very interesting documentary on the giant creatures. They were unique sea hunters that like to stalk their prey for hours before killing them. He remembered the nature man on TV say that they also grew to about the size of a small semi-truck, and could be distinguished by their deep red colored skin and their anchor-like swimming patterns.
Something big grazed by Tom’s right leg again. He yelled out as fear shot through him like a bolt of lightning. His eyes quickly landed on a bright red fin. It slowly began to emerge from the water like a periscope on a submarine. Tom started to kick away from the massive creature as it circled him. He tore off a piece of the driftwood that was holding him up as he tried to swallow the panic rising up in his chest. The Anchor Shark’s massive body began dispelling the water as it moved closer to the surface. This was never a good sign; this meant that it was ready to feed. This meant Tom’s time was up.
“Oh crap,” said Tom. He held up the pointed piece of drift wood in the shark’s direction. This fight would be over in seconds. He would be torn apart, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. Tom readied himself.
The creature turned and started its death charge. Its massive head poked up out of the water like a giant red balloon, its bright white jaw was opened wide. The sight was incredibly frightening to behold, this thing must have been the size of a van.
Tom dropped the piece of driftwood and cried out. He turned onto his stomach and kicked rapidly in the opposite direction. Tom wasn’t sure how far beneath him he saw it, but as he paddled he caught a glimpse of a pair of glowering red eyes, peeking up at him from the depths of the water. A moment of puzzlement washed over Tom but his attention was swiftly brought back to the shark that was now within five feet and was about to pierce him with its sharp teeth. Suddenly a giant harpoon spear sailed through the air and slammed into the nose of the creature with deadly force. The pointed metal pole tore straight through the brain cavity of the creature and killed it instantly. It went limp, and veered to the right just barely missing Tom, who began to swim in the opposite direction to get out of the way of the massive shark.
Behind him he could hear the sound of a big motorboat and people cheering. He turned and watched as they approached. The engines cut off and the boat drifted to a stop. Tom watched with awe as the thing pulled up beside him. He could see only three people on the ship. Two girls and one boy, one of the girls was standing behind a massive spear gun. She spotted Tom.
“Hey, there’s someone in the water over here!” She cried.
Tom waved his hands.
“Help me!”
“Brian, pull the ship over there,” she pointed. “Let’s get him out of the water. This is not a good place to be swimming.”
The boat’s engines roared up and propelled the boat to coast over to him. In moments Tom was on the ship lying on his back. He closed his eyes and started to breathe in and out. The three people were looking down at him.
“Is he dead?” asked Brian.
“Yeah, he’s dead, Bri,” said the girl to his left in a sarcastic tone. “That’s why he’s breathing… because he’s dead. Come on think before you say something. It’s obvious he’s still alive.”
Brian looked over to her.
“Well he’s not in good condition… looks close to death to me.”
“Who are you people?” asked Tom in a weak voice, his eyes were still closed. His throat was dry and strained at the words.
One of the girls knelt down beside him. She examined his resting position.
“Wow, you look like crap.” She turned to Brian. “Go and get the first and kit. Let’s patch up some of these cuts and gabs.”
Brian left to retrieve the kit. She turned to the other girl behind her.
“Maren, let’s get him to a more comfortable spot. I don’t want him dying on us.” They both grabbed Tom and hauled him to the back of the boat. They placed him on a cushioned bench underneath a tarp away from the sun. He was burning up and mumbling.
“How did you get this far out here without a boat?” asked Maren.
Tom opened his eyes and gazed at her. He felt like throwing up.
“I fell off a cliff… in a taxi cab…” He took in a deep breath. It was amazing how tired he was. “I need to get back to the shore… I need to–”
“You need to rest, that’s what you need. You’re undoubtedly suffering from heatstroke,” the girl named Maren said as she looked over to the other girl. “Rose, do you know if we have some water around here?”
Rose nodded her head.
“Yeah, I’ll grab some... But what should we do about the Anchor Shark? It’s still floating in the water.”
“We can get the watch out of it later. For now this guy needs help.”
She nodded and ran off to get some water. Brian returned with a first aid kit. He opened it up and started binding Tom’s wounds.
“Wow, this guys in bad shape.” He looked up at Tom. “What’s your name?”
Tom cleared his throat.
“My name is Tom Hoff….” He swallowed and winced, his limbs were on fire it seemed. “Hoffman.”
“Well, Tom, today looks like your lucky day. It’s amazing that you didn’t die. These are shark infested waters.” He pulled out some more antiseptic and covered Tom’s sunburned skin with it. Rose came up from behind carrying a jug of water. She sat by Tom and helped him drink it.
“Should we take him to a doctor?”
Brian frowned.
“I don’t know, maybe my father’s personal physician can take a look at him and give us a diagnosis.”
“Are you saying that we should take him home with us?” asked Maren. She sounded a little apprehensive. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know your father doesn’t like visitors. He’s totally crazy.”
Rose chuckled at this.
“Well, we could put him back where we found him. I am sure the sharks wouldn’t mind.” She put the water jug down.
No one laughed.
“Yeah, we’ll take him home,” said Brian. “I want to know what happened to him. We’ll just tell my father that he was floating out here and we picked him up.”
Tom had fallen from consciousness and was sleeping now. He looked better than before.
“Then it’s settled. He’s coming home with us,” said Rose. She couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “I am going to see if I can get that Anchor Shark out off the water.” She walked over to the edge of the boat and grabbed a steel chain and hook.
Maren followed her with a bounce in her step.
“I’ll set up the pulley system and run it over the boat. I want to know if this is the same shark.”
“I’ll stay with Tom, here,” said Brian as he put the antiseptic back into the first aid kit. “He needs looking after.”
Maren stopped and looked back at him.
“You would look after him instead of helping with the difficult work, you sissy boy!”
Rose started laughing.
Brian looked annoyed.
“Shut up you two!”
Maren started laughing.
“Are you going to help us or not?”
Brian sighed.
“I’ll be there in a minute.” He picked up the first add kit. “Let me clean up here.”
Authors Note: Hope you liked the chapter… we need to put some more interesting information in these authors notes… we’ve got fan art for this chapter on the way. We’ll post chapter twelve next Friday!
No comments:
Post a Comment