There's Something in the Water

"Mate?" Lightly calls out from thirty feet away.

"Yeah buddy?" I call back.

"There's a wave! A big one! Do you want it?" Lightly asks.

"Are you sure?" I ask, unable to help the smile due to his generosity.

"I'm tired! Go for it Juke," he calls back.

I turn my head to find this incredible wave forming behind us both. It’s massive. Intimidating even. I turn and paddle with all my might, the water warm, the sun blazing. I turn my head one last time and see Lightly on his board with his feet dangling off it. He waves to me and holds his left hand in the air in the iconic hang loose fashion.

I love Lightly. He’s my best friend. The dude is blonde, wild, loud, and charismatic. I've only known him for a year or two. We met while working on the same yacht that was owned by this stiff millionaire. The job sucked but it paid well.

Now we're here.

Australia...

It's finally off the bucket list.

We've saved up our whole lives for this.

I catch the wave and stand. My feet are vibrating. The power underneath me and around me is unreal. My heart could beat right out of my chest right now. I rip and curl and carve. It's probably the best wave I've had all day. Maybe ever...

I fall into the water, full of adrenaline and fire and pop back up with a grin, hooting and hollering. I hope Lightly saw that. I get back on my board and look for Lightly only to find the water around me empty. I could have sworn there were other people in the water with us. Maybe the wave took me in really far.  

At first, I don't think anything of it. Lightly loves to mess around. He loves to play into all the clichés. He's the first to grab your foot when you're in shallow water. He's well known for hiding behind a door and scaring the absolute ---- out of you as you walk past. The dude has even hidden under my bed and grabbed my ankle. I swear I jumped ten feet into the air when he did that.

He's a menace.

An absolute menace.

I look around for a second and still see nothing. My arms rake out in goosebumps and the skin on the back of my neck prickles.  

"Lightly!"

Nothing...

"Lightly!"

 Still nothing...

"Corbin Lightly!"

Now I'm getting annoyed. Whatever joke he's trying to pull isn't funny anymore. He knows better than to joke around for too long.

"Corbin!"

Something touches my foot but barely. I smile, assuming it's Lightly and look down only to see a dark shape deep in the water. My heart drops. I pull my feet up and lay on my belly immediately.

"Juke!"

I hear Lightly out of nowhere. He's suddenly on the beach. He left me. How could he leave me? We have a rule about this. It’s our biggest rule.

"How did you get to the beach so fast?" I shout.

 "Do you see it?" He asks, but his voice is somehow in my ear.

 "See what?" I ask in reply.

 "Can you see it Juke?" Lightly asks instead.

 I look down and the figure is now unmistakable.

 "I see it," I whisper, terrified that if I speak too loudly, this dark shadow will get me.

I feel like I've been here before. Something is wrong. I don't feel right.

"Swim for it!" Lightly yells, his voice sending a shiver down my spine.

I paddle as hard as I can. My arms stretch out, my legs kick hard, but every time I look behind me there's nothing but an impending darkness.

"Hurry Juke! Hurry!"

I'm trying!

When I look towards the beach, I've made no progress. Lightly is still as small in the distance as he was ten seconds ago. I paddle harder but it's like I'm stuck. I can’t move. I’m flailing in the water. I’m splashing, making all this noise, attracting God knows what.

"Lightly!" I call. “Help me man!”

"Juke! It's behind you!" Lightly yells.

I look behind me and see nothing but teeth.

The sound of something hitting my bedroom window jolts me awake. I’m covered in sweat and padding around my bed expecting to feel nothing but water and sand. There's a knock at my door and I jump.

"Yo, Juke?" Lightly says, sounding half asleep.

"Come in," I reply, grateful to hear his calm and steady voice.

Lightly walks in wearing nothing but his board shorts. “Dude you look wrecked,” he teases.

I run my hands up my face.

"So, I'm thinking breakfast and a quick surf, yeah?" He adds.

My stomach fills with dread. "No." I shake my head. "No surfing."

"Mate, we're in West Aussie. We have to surf," Lightly smiles.

"Not today," I return adamantly.

Lightly furrows his big bushy eyebrows. "Bad feeling?"

I nod.

"Like last time?" He asks.

I nod again.

"I'll take your word for it," he replies.

I look down at my leg, or at least where it should be.

"Thanks," I whisper, still shaken.

Lightly and I grab lunch later in the day, right across the beach, only to find a street filled with chaos an hour later. Police officers. Firetrucks. Ambulances. There are people in bathing suits sitting on the sidewalk crying.

"Juke," Lightly whispers. “Holy crap.”

"Don't," I reply.

I look out towards the empty ocean, the sight familiar. Lightly leaves my side and grabs the shoulder of a man passing by. I listen to their exchange.

"What happened?" Lightly asks the stranger.

"There was something in the water," he replies, his accent French and his belly big. "We tried to get everyone out of the water, but it was too late. A young woman has been bitten by a requin."

The stranger walks away. Lightly looks at me but I'm still staring at the beach. "From now on, we're not surfing unless you give the go ahead."

"Deal," I return.