I frowned at the ground as the bottle faced towards me.
“Ha!” exclaimed my friend Kris. “Okay, Monroe, truth or dare?” he asked while wiggling his eyebrows in a teasing way.
“Hmm… I choose dare of course. We are at a beach. I’m going to have fun. So hit me with your best shot, Kris.”
“I dare you to go outside, tie a rope to the emergency life boat by the mangroves, tie it to a tree, send the raft into water, and sleep there for tonight,” he then looked at me in a joking way and said,” Unless you’re too scared.”
“Ugh, fine I’ll do it. Where’s the rope?”
“It’s in the garage. Oh, and grab that emergency kit from the cabinet. We don’t want you to get hurt do we?” He teased, causing my friends to burst into laughter.
I can sure choose the good friends, huh?
I solemnly walked into the garage for the rope and kit. Gosh, I knew I shouldn’t have said dare! I have to do it or I’ll be endlessly teased.
Oh well, said the optimistic voice in my head, maybe it will be kind of fun!
Um, no it won’t be voice. I’ll be outside in a boat in the water for the entire night. It sounds so pleasant, right voice?
No response from you now, huh?
I slowly made my way to the mangroves and found the bright orange boat. I tied it to the thickest mangrove tree I could find and set the boat afloat. My house for now I suppose.
I settled myself into my boat and let the current take my little “home” as it would.
Huh. What do you know? It’s actually kind of nice. In all truthfulness, it’s making me a bit sleepy.
I might as well get a bit of extra sleep.
***
BOOM!
I woke to the horrendous clash of thunder and the uncontrollable movements of my boat. I jumped up with a jolt and immediately attempted to pull myself to shore. Much to my horror, the rope was preparing to snap.
I quickened my speed, but the rope was faster. It snapped, sending me into the clutches of the storm. The fear of the moment overwhelmed me. Fear’s cold hands were very slowly creeping its way through my body.
The waves were throwing me and everything around me into the air, flying around in the little boat, only managing to stay in due to the thin tarp-like roof on it.
I heard a small pop! Suddenly, all the contents of the small emergency kit began to hop around in the raft with me.
As I was thrown, once again, into the side of the ft, I let out a sharp, pained yelp. It felt as though my flesh was being torn. I looked down in search of the source to see a knife from the kit lodged into my side. Blood was spilling onto the floor of my small home. Blood was spilling onto me, overwhelming my senses. Blood had always made me this way.
I made an attempt to get to the water to clean the wound, but I didn’t quite make it. I lost consciousness, one blood-covered hand in the water.
***
I woke up to a calm, beautiful day. It was the type of day when my friends and I would have made it a fishing day so we could enjoy its serenity.
The difference was the raft was smeared with blood.
I pulled my hand out of the water and carefully wrapped my wound with some cloth bandage I found from the now disastrous-looking emergency kit. It was a painful gash, and it would likely be infected; there’s not anything I could do now though. I need to get my bearings together.
I gathered all the items from the emergency kit and organized them neatly into their original positions in the box.
Suddenly, I felt a rough bump on the left side of my boat. I went to see what was wrong, but the deep blue water gave away nothing.
The hits gradually got rougher and I still was unable to determine their source.
The hits soon had enough force to them that the boat was practically hopping in and out of the water. It was becoming extremely difficult to stay inside the boat.
A particularly harsh slam caused me to fall forward. I tried to stand, but as I did, I looked out to the water. I saw one of the most terrifying things I had ever seen. I saw a shark’s fin peeking out of the water.
Ice cold fear pulsed into my body, paralyzing me on the floor of the boat.
My worst fear is right before me.
Flop.
Flop, splash.
My fear suddenly turned to confusion. What on Earth is that?
It was on the right side of the boat, so I knew it wasn’t the shark. I carefully made my way to the noise.
It was a seal trying to get away from the shark. I quickly realized the shark was coming up behind him fast. It would be on him in seconds.
Without any thought, I quickly grabbed my knife, pulled the seal into the boat, and held out the knife just in time to strike the shark before we became its meal. There was a horrific crunch.
I realized with horror what I’d just done.
I had stabbed it right into the skull, and it was dead.
Had… had I really done that? Had I killed a creature so coldly? Or was this a side effect of dehydration?
I began to feel faint. This was death of an innocent animal, all my fault. There’s so much blood in the water too...
The last thing I heard was the seal barking at the top of its lungs to what seemed to look like a blob in the distance before I fainted.
***
“Boy, are you alright?” said a masculine voice, while someone shook me awake, forcing me into awareness. ”We are here to help. You’re safe now. Your friends sent us out to look for you. That seal of yours called out loud enough for us to spot you.”
Staring at him, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. This is over? How long have I been on this boat?
“Come on lad,” said the stranger,” Let’s get you fixed up.”
I groaned from the pain, relief, and exhaustion. It’s all over now.
I opened my eyes to see the seal looking back at me. I sent him a silent thank you as I watched my savior slip away, never to be seen again I suspect.
I will never forget what he did for me and how much I valued him for it. He saved me and I saved him. We both had made it out alive, and was I ever so grateful for it.
