Underwater (BoyxBoy)

Prologue

***

I lay on my board face down, my fingers knitted together loosely. The sun heated the back of my wetsuit, warming my skin through the thick material.

My chin was resting on my hands and my eyes were closed. Just listening to the quiet movements of the water sent me to a deeper, more peaceful mindset. I'd paddled out far. The shore was distant enough for me to not hear the noises. There were some surfers ahead of me, but they were much closer to beach, waiting to catch a good wave.

I stayed still for a while. A few stray clouds would occasionally blanket the sunlight causing a slight chill in the air until they passed.

I tried to not think of the competition tomorrow. It was my first real one, and surfers from all over the world would be attending. I'd been the youngest contestant who qualified, the next youngest being a freshman in college. The reporters had already set up their news tents along the cliffs, and the chatter in town was of shared excitement. Even the kids from the nearby elementary schools would come with their teachers during their lunch breaks to watch.

Around an hour had passed and I lifted myself to a seating position, my legs dipping into the cool water on either side of me.

I raised my hand to cover the sun and estimated that I had about half an hour before I needed to pick up my younger sister from school. She'd probably spend the car ride home telling me about a new type of jellyfish her third grade teacher had taught her about.

The thought made me smile as I lay facedown on my board, beginning to paddle back towards the shore. I could start to hear the noises of the waves crashing ahead, and felt the slow methodical surges of the water pulling me towards the beach.

I saw a familiar brown haired boy on a board ahead of me. Kieran was waiting to catch a wave, laughing with a few other familiar faces. I felt a small smile creep onto my face, how hadn't I seen him earlier?

I was getting within earshot and thought of yelling something to them, before my left forearm hit something solid. There were no rocks this far out... I tried pulling it from the water but it was caught on something, and a searing pain quickly shot through my arm.

I pulled, my jaw dropping in panic, but instead I felt a short but strong tug.

I felt myself sliding on my surfboard and quickly held on to one side, seeing a row of sharp white daggers embedded in my arm under the surface.

I froze for a minute, this wasn't happening. This hadn't happened to anyone in Santa Cruz in years.

This isn't happening.

What's the first thing you do if you're ever attacked by a shark? The voice of my old Junior Guards instructor rang in my head and my mind sped to find the answer. Hit it's snout...

I let go of the other side of the board and my body slid towards the shark as it tried to pull me under, before I used all my strength to hit it's snout as hard as I could.

I felt it's teeth drag against my skin, tearing it open beneath my wetsuit before it let go, disappearing beneath the surface and out of sight.

I held my arm at a distance over my board, afraid it'd detach from my body. My heart pounded as I watched the blood in shock... It dripped through my wetsuit, pouring onto the board and mixing with the water...

It was flowing faster and faster, and I looked ahead of me... The shore seemed to have gotten farther away. My vision was blurring.

You need to get to the shore...

I saw a few heads turn up ahead, looking at me. Someone waved, I think it's him...

I wanted to warn them, but I couldn't muster up any air to speak. The metallic smell of my own blood was disorienting me, making me feel sick.