Shaun Jeffrey - Fangtooth

“Pull,” he shouted, but Rocky seemed to lack the strength to heave. Jen kicked with her legs to assist, but she wasn’t moving very fast.

He hoped the shape in the water was just a piece of seaweed or driftwood, but when it moved counter to the waves, it dashed his hopes.

The creature was back.

In the beam of the boat’s searchlight, the creature’s head looked like a shiny black carapace and its two beady eyes glinted. It rose and fell in the waves, its attention fixed on Jen as she struggled to swim towards the boat.

Jack felt a pang of fear, but he had made Jen a promise, and he wasn’t about to break it. “ Over here, you son of a bitch ,” he screamed, waving his arms.

Whether it hadn’t heard or wasn’t interested, the creature continued towards Jen. She turned at the sound of Jack’s voice, and her eyes grew wide as she saw the creature gliding towards her.

She screamed.

“Pull faster,” Jack shouted, but Rocky was either oblivious or was feeling too sick to respond.

Seeing no other option, Jack plunged into the water. Despite being cold and wet already, the sea was freezing. He started to swim, fighting the overwhelming lethargy that invaded his body. The incessant waves rolled over him, submerging his head and he came up each time gasping for breath. White froth floated around him like the rabid salivations of the beast he was trying to attract.

What the hell was he doing out here, offering himself up as live bait? If the creature attacked, he knew he stood little to no chance of fighting it off. But he couldn’t let Jen die. He had felt a connection between them, and that was enough. Besides, he couldn’t stand by and let someone die while doing nothing to help.

Summoning all his strength, he ploughed through the waves, kicking furiously while his arms swept through the water. A powerful swimmer in the local pool, he found swimming fully clothed in the sea sapped his strength.

Caught in the swell, it was hard to see much, and he couldn’t see the creature anywhere.

Jen was now about ten feet away, hanging onto the lifebuoy, and Rocky looked as though he had given up on pulling her anymore as he hung with his head over the side of the boat.

He heard the engines turning over, saw Zander in the wheelhouse struggling to maintain the boat’s position – he knew Zander wasn’t going to wait around forever.

When he reached Jen’s side, Jack said, “You’ve got to swim.”

Jen looked at him with wide, fear-filled eyes. “We’re going to die,” she wailed.

A wave washed over Jack, filling his mouth with saltwater. He coughed and choked; bone weary, he struggled to tread water. “Don’t think like that. Just swim for the boat.”

He looked around for the creature. Where was the blasted thing? He tried not to think it could be directly under him, in the dark expanse of water, but it was hard not to when his legs were dangling below the surface. Something buffeted his side; he thought it was the creature and panic washed through him. Even when he realised it was only a wave, he couldn’t relax. They were sitting ducks out here – had to get aboard the boat as fast as they could.

“Rocky,” Jack shouted, “goddamn it, pull, you son of a bitch.”

Rocky raised his head, and despite his sickly demeanour, Jack could see his words had elicited a response, the set of his jaw now locked in anger. He looked about to respond, when his expression changed. His eyes grew wider, his jaw going slack, frown lines wrinkling his brow. He pointed, his hand shaking.

“There’s something in the water,” he shouted.

Jack didn’t think Rocky would win medals any time soon. He grimaced and battled to keep his and Jen’s heads above the rolling waves before turning to look where Rocky indicated. And there it was, less than eight feet away, its enormous jaw open to reveal the wicked curve of its long, pointed teeth. Water rolled from its head, following the course of the ridges that covered its surface. The light from the searchlight illuminated the creature; its dark shell gleamed in the light.

The next minute, the creature ducked below the surface. Absolute terror raced through Jack’s veins. He scanned the water, but there was no sign of it. Any minute he expected to feel its teeth attach themselves to his legs, to bite through skin, muscle, flesh and bone as it dragged him down into the depths. Thinking he was drawing his last few breaths, he embraced Jen, using the lifebuoy to keep him afloat.

Then, without warning, he was moving through the water. He looked up to see Zander pulling on the rope. The tendons on the skipper’s neck stood out, and the muscles in his forearms flexed. He appeared to have braced himself against the side of the boat, and he gritted his teeth and pulled for all he was worth, hauling hand over hand.

Jack and Jen helped by kicking with their feet, but Jack didn’t feel they were moving fast enough. He could see Zander was pulling as hard as he could, his face red with exertion, but he wasn’t strong enough.

Rocky then appeared beside Zander and grabbed the rope. With a brief nod of his head towards Jack and Jen, he started to help.

At the back of his mind, Jack knew there was no one at the helm, and that the boat was floating towards the rocks, but he tried to dismiss the thought, the more pressing matter of the creature paramount.

With Rocky’s help, they moved swiftly, slicing through the waves until they reached the boat. Water sluiced through wide gaps in the side of the boat, runoffs for the water on deck. The boat’s masts and booms swayed as the boat lurched to one side. Jack felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he thought the boat was about to capsize. Next moment, the vessel righted itself, and Zander called out, “Heave.”

But they were too heavy. He heard Zander cursing, but from his position in the water, he was unable to see him. Realizing if they were to stand any chance of surviving, he had to let go of the lifebuoy. Jack kissed Jen quickly on the cheek, tasting the saltwater on her skin, and then let go. He immediately sank down into the water, and without his added weight, he watched as Jen rose out of the sea.

Alone in the water, fear penetrated his body, and he wondered why the hell he had let go. It was crazy.

The cold water was making his body go numb, and he could no longer feel his fingers. He wondered if his mind would go the same way, numb to the pain that would surely follow, and he closed his eyes and waited.

“Grab hold, and be quick about it,” Zander said.

Jack opened his eyes and looked up to see the lifebuoy hanging above his head. He reached out and grabbed it, and a sense of relief washed through him as he slipped one arm and his head through the hole in the centre.

He heard a splash in the water behind him, and his heart missed a beat. The creature was coming. He could feel his temples pound, his breath coming in rapid little bursts. Then he was out of the water, his free arm slamming into the side of the boat and sending a nerve-jarring pain up to his shoulder.

Ignoring the pain, he lifted his legs clear of the water and walked up the side of the vessel as the others pulled.

Seconds later, he lay on the deck, panting. Sodden through to the skin, he felt cold and miserable. But at least he was still alive.

Zander crouched down and grabbed Jack by the scruff of his neck. “What the blazes was that thing, kid?”

Jack struggled to breathe. “I don’t know,” he gasped.

“How many of them are there?”

“One, we’ve only seen one.”

“Make that two,” Jen said, pointing out to sea. Zander dropped Jack on the deck.

“I count… three,” Rocky said as he fought not to be sick.

Jack jumped to his feet and stared out to sea. He counted quickly. “There’s four, no five. Hold on, there’s another one. Jesus, there are loads of them.”