Shipwrecked

Chapter Six

As soon as we saw fish swimming around us, Sam cast his pole. I heard the string unwinding as Sam's index and thumb finger slowly guided its exit until he suddenly stopped it. Satisfied, he placed it into a small metal cylinder hole then sat down.

I tried my best to mimic his actions, and to my relief (and his annoyance) I had a perfect cast. Together we sat on the slightly elevated platform overlooking the sea, and specifically the see through string hanging from our rods.

"How do we know when we catch something?" I finally asked. The boredom was starting to settle in.

"The string will jerk downwards slightly, and then if the motion quickens you have a bite. It is a marathon, not a sprint," Sam informed leaning back in his chair, trying to hold back his scoff.

"Like that?" I asked as his string drifted down a little bit, before the string began to jerk down so hard the pole nearly snapped.

"Exactly like that," Sam said as he lunged forward grabbing his pole. He began to reel, then adjust the string, reel, then pull back his pole. It was like watching an intense fight scene... but just between a boy and a fish. I would never admit it, but I loved it.

Finally, Sam pulls back one final time and a fish flops onto the deck. It immediately starts to squirm like a worm up and down. The scales were a gray, but almost silver color except for its blue top and yellow eyes. I knew right away it was a Bluefish.

"He's a bit small," I say pointing at the fish. "It has to be around 15 to 18 pounds, nearly half the size of a full grown adult fish.

"You think genius?" Sam grumbled as he threw back in the water. "Who knew I needed to bring along a want to be a marine biologist to learn that?"

As I watched the fish be thrown overboard, I almost missed the motion of my pole nearly flying out of its holder. Sam and I both rushed forwards, but my hands got there first. As I began to pull back and reel, I felt Sam's eyes burning into me - waiting for me to make a mistake.

I nearly made it too as I felt a huge pull causing me to move forward until the front of my toes were touching the railing. I kept fighting pull and reel, pull and reel.

Sam let out a small laughter, "I hope you catch a shoe."

"Hey," I say, giving him a quick look, "Even a shoe would probably be bigger than your baby fish."

"Yeah right," Sam mumbled back before crossing his arms in distaste. For some reason, I just loved to see him so frustrated.

With one final pull, I fall backwards onto my butt and my pole flies out of my hands. I see Sam stump on the handle to prevent it from going overboard, but my attention is less focused on him and instead the ginormous fish attached to the string.

The fish mirrored the same look as Sam's except for the size. Mine was nearly double his.

"You were saying?" I said with a smile.

I thought he would keep the stern look on his face from earlier but instead he cut the line and held the fish up by the mouth with a smile nearly as bright as mine.

"Dude, this is a great catch," Sam commented as he continued to observe the fish. "You got to take a picture and show Liam."

I never really noticed this side of him - it was weird. But, of course, I let him hand me the fish and take my photo on his phone. I would never miss a chance to gloat on my brother.

Liam helped me throw it overboard and then we continued fishing for a while without much luck. We each had a few pulls, but none that led to a second jerk. After his third recast, Sam finally just took off the bait and threw what was left on the water.

"I think your fish went and warned all of his friends," Sam complained. "I am going to go check the forecast upstairs real fast to make sure we still have clear skies."

I did notice the breeze getting a bit stronger and colder, but I did not think much of it. Except for my stomach starting to turn a bit with the stronger waves crashing against the side of the boat, everything seemed fine. But as if to confirm his suspicions, a loud thunder boomed from the distance.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," I said as I reeled in my pole too. He grabbed both poles and tucked them inside a small cabinet, before climbing back upstairs to the windowed area.

As we fished, Sam and I got to know each other a bit. Not the deep kind of conversations that build a friendship, but the light hearted kind that lead me to believe he is just as obnoxious as I already thought. I learned about his nightlife which included going to parties, drag racing, and dates with numerous women (none of them he would ask to be his girlfriend). I also learned his favorite color was gold - like how more snuck up can you get?

My thoughts were soon interrupted by Sam yelling down from above, "Can you come here real fast?"

I groaned before climbing up the ladder and heading inside the control room. The walls were lined with fine wood and glass so clear I could see my reflection perfectly. It was smaller than I thought, but I guess rich people probably didn't spend a lot of time inside it actually operating it. Except Sailor Sam evidently.

He was staring very intently at this large screen that looked just like a weather radar the news would play in the mornings.

"What is it?" I said crossing my arms. I leaned next to him to try and see all the blobs which were yellow, orange, red, and a small purple dot..We were probably about to get hit with some rain, but I was already a bit damp from the occasional spray for the sea.

Sam pointed at the screen and then looked at me in disbelief, "Do you see that cute little purple dot right there? The one that means severe weather storms?"

"Yeah, I am not stupid," I scoffed back, crossing my arms. "What about it?"

"Well, that is where we are," I could feel the panic in his voice build, "And we are about an hour from shore."

My eyes quickly met with Sam's and my heart began to race. "Well, what do we do?" I say trying to hide the panic in my voice.

"I am going to go cut the anchor, honestly, we don't have time to spare trying to pull it up. Can you go grab all the loose stuff on deck and toss them down below? Like the chairs, cushions, and stuff? I will help you in a second," Sam responded as he already began rushing down towards where we were just fishing minutes before.

The confidence in his commands helped ease my concern as I quickly began grabbing things and stacking them in my arms. I heard the sound of a chain dragging and watched as our anchor was removed.

I felt like everything was going to be okay, unfortunately that feeling did not last long.