The Final Seven

Chapter 9

June 13th, 2014 6:12 P.M. 

After a few hours of swimming, building sandcastles, and relaxing in the sun, Jason ran up to our towels and grabbed the snorkeling equipment.  With arms full, he ran back to me in the water, and handed me my snorkel, goggles, and fins. 

I looked up to the sky, and saw the clouds were beginning to darken, as the weather was turning sour. 

“Jason, we should probably get outta’ here soon.  It looks like it’s going to rain.” 

Jason followed my gaze to the clouds above.  At first he looked disappointed in the weather’s decision to end our date early.  Suddenly, his frown disappeared, and his eyes lit up. 

“Put your gear on.  Things are about to get really cool in here,” he told me. 

I took one last look at the sky, and warily agreed.  “Okay, but let’s make this quick.  I don’t want to get caught out here in the middle of a thunderstorm.” 

Jason grinned.  “Great!  It shouldn’t take too long to happen.”  Jason put on all of his gear, and I followed suit. 

After struggling in the water, I finally got my gear on, and Jason indicated for me to follow him out further into the water.  We swam in tandem toward the edge of the lagoon, and closer to the ocean.  Once we were fifty yards out, Jason held up his hand for us to stop swimming.  He then pointed straight down, indicating that we should dive. 

I took a deep breath and plunged into the water after Jason.  Over many years the untouched ecosystem of the lagoon, had allowed the formation of a beautiful coral habitat.  Fish were swarming in between the small jagged formations, enjoying the beauty as much as we were.  When I could not hold my breath any longer, I swam back to the surface.  Treading the water, Jason was there smiling at me. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” he asked. 

“It’s incredible!” I gasped.  “I’ve never seen so many animals crowded together in one place!” 

“With the coming storm, the fish swim through the opening from the open sea, and seek refuge in the lagoon, where the waters will be calmer.” 

Eager to see more, I dove back underneath the surface, and swam back to the location we were before.  Jason swam beside me, and held my hand as we watched the wildlife.  There were so many species of fish I could not recognize, and they treated us as if we were not even there. 

The peaceful environment allowed a sea turtle to swim lazily below us, a sting ray to coast along the floor, and dozens of other creatures normally hidden among the reef, emerged from their refuge to greet us.  I had never seen nature so pure. 

We rose to the surface, and I looked up at the skies once more.  The clouds had darkened even more, and the rain was soon coming. 

“We should probably be leaving soon,” Jason said with a concerned looked. 

“Yeah, I know.  One more dive, and we will leave.  Okay?” 

He agreed and dove under the water.  I followed back to our secret retreat.  We watched the life for as long as our breath would hold.  As we were beginning to surface, a large black cloud in the water, came from the direction of the ocean.  

A massive school of fish overwhelmed us like a tidal wave.  The fish broke their tight formation, to go around us.  I could feel their slick scales sliding against my arms and legs as the sped past us.  After the fish passed by us, I saw Jason still swimming next to me with a big grin on his face. 

His grin suddenly disappeared, and his eyes went wide with fright.  His vision was trained on something behind me.  I felt the skin on my arms crawl as I felt another presence in the water with us.  No longer were we the only dominant species in our lagoon, another form had arrived to challenge our position. 

I turned quickly to see what was approaching me from behind.  Through the dim light that remained of the sun, I could see another black streak swimming toward us.  Unlike the fish, this form did not move like a cloud of smoke.  It darted in every direction with lightning reflexes.  It was seven feet long, and it followed the fish inside the lagoon, from the open sea.  It used the weather conditions as a perfect corral to set a trap. 

After targeting a number of small fish, the black form turned to us.  My lungs were burning, and I kicked to the surface.  Jason grabbed my hand and pulled me as hard as he could as he kicked to the surface.  As we approached the top, I took one last look behind me. 

The dark form had become clearer as it neared the surface.  The large tiger stripes across his background were beautiful in contrast to his gray skin.  His massive dorsal fin cut through the water like a steaming knife through butter.  The teeth were too numerous to count, but each razor sharp edge seemed to be covered in the snack it had enjoyed moments before.  It looked upon us as if we were the main course. 

I screamed through my snorkel before my head could break the surface.  The shark was within inches of my body, and my body had given up.  Without any more air to circulate in me, my vision darkened, until it turned black, and I lost consciousness.

I didn’t sleep.  I didn’t dream.  There was nothing but pure darkness.

------ Sorry for the delay on updating!!