The shadow came at them, hundreds of sharks, a nightmare in the water. As if they’d swum into a cave, the water blotted completely dark as the oncoming beasts approached. Sharks of all types and even other fish with bloody appetites came at them. Kalina, for the first time, knew how humans felt when they feared the ocean and what might attack from below.
“They’re coming!” she yelled.
“Fight hard and be relentless,” Faith said. “The only chance we have is to scare them too bad to keep coming at us. Give them enough of th
eir own blood, and they’ll give up on ours.”
She had a point. Sharks weren’t vindictive. They were simply hungry. If they shed enough blood, those sharks would attack each other, biting into any bleeding body in the water.
A shark shot up from the bottom, then another and another.
“Below!” Kalina announced.
Hightail and Squid, their nervousness made evident by their nonstop chatter, handled the situation well. They moved around quickly and welcomed the sharks from the side, ripping into them and sending their blood out in waves. Other sharks attacked the bleeding ones.
“It worked,” Kalina said. “Sharks are attacking the injured ones.”
“So, we just need to keep kicking ass,” Squid said.
“I can help,” Rafe insisted.
“If it comes down to it, you might have to,” Faith replied, “but for now, stay put.”
“Let us handle this, babe,” Kalina said.
If he moved from their center, he’d be as vulnerable as the other sharks being eaten behind them now. More sharks shot in from the sides, but Hailey and Oscar were well-versed in war tactics and left the sharks bleeding behind them again. This time, the blood was a disadvantage. All the sharks seemed to shoot in at once, careless as to what they were biting, only ravenous in their desire for more blood. Kalina took a bite to the side and turned to bite back. The shark backed off, but another jumped into its place. She snapped at it, but this shark was faster, and bit her fin, ripping off a small piece.
Fuck!
She fought and fought hard. She killed two smaller sharks, giving those around her the blood they sought, but when she looked back, her friends were ahead of her. She’d accidentally fallen behind. And sharks were all over her. They came at her from all directions, their teeth sinking into her. She snapped left and swam right and dove and rose and twisted and turned, gnashing her teeth into anything she could find.
Through blood-filled vision, she saw the others being attacked too. Blood was everywhere. It seeped in through her nostrils and filled her jaws. She was getting weaker and pain radiated from every part of her body. The bites felt more like nibbles and she feared it was because her life had flowed out from the wounds, leaving her floating dangerously close to death. All she wanted was to survive this and hold Rafe again. To love and be loved. She wanted to marry him. To have his babies. To talk to her brother. To get to know him. To learn about her family. This was what they must have meant when they said life passed before your eyes at the moment of death. She was dying. She knew that. She no longer felt pain. Not even fear. It had become acceptance.
“Get the fuck off my sister!” growled Keelan Kane.
Kalina couldn’t make out much, but she saw a great white form move past her. She heard his grunts and profanity as he ate every shark in sight.
“Family is blood. Family is life,” he chanted. “And you fucked with my family.”
The world went dark.
“Swim with me, now,” Kane’s voice whispered. “You can do this. Stay with me and we’ll make it.”
“The sharks?” she asked, her head swimming with a numbness that seemed to be moving slowly through the rest of her body.
“They’re gone,” he replied. “They scattered as soon as I started killing them.”
She knew she should have been grateful or should have thanked him at least, but she couldn’t concentrate enough. Other voices came to her, worried friends. Rafe was somewhere in the distance asking if she was going to make it. She wanted to tell him no. She was too close to death, but she couldn’t even get those words to formulate fully in her mind. She was too weak. Kino was there by her side, his voice as soothing as it ever was. He’d always been there for her. He was family.
“You’re gonna be okay,” he promised. “We’re going to get you to Horace. Keep your fins moving and we’ll be there soon. We’ll guide you.”
“Rafe?” she managed to squeak out.
“He’ll be okay too,” Kino promised. “This was a tough fight, huh? Damn, it was a good one. But we’re gonna make it. Like we always do.”
“Can’t see,” Kalina said.
I can’t see anything. Why can’t I see?