It was a beautiful night.
Nothing new, to say the least. One of the perks of living in the South. It was all Douglas needed: the ocean, his boat and the starry sky up above. No wind, no noise but the waves crashing against the hull and the line of his fishing rods around him, no whinny kids like the ones he had at home, no boss to tell him what to do and where to go… Nothing new in the South, for sure, but he hadn't had the chance to enjoy any of it for a long time.
Heaven.
Douglas laid back in his chair. He had always loved the ocean. Born and raised in Beaufort - SC, he had never imagined doing anything but what his Pops and his own Pops before him had ever done: fishing. But his little company had had trouble coping with the giants that settled a few years before and the fish alone was not enough anymore…
He pushed the thought to the back of his head. He had enough time to worry about it at work or in bed to spoil his quality moment at sea. Douglas turned his eyes to the moon and enjoyed its silver and soothing glow. Maybe he could catch a shark tonight. A huge, fat shark he could sell at a good price. A shark he could parade with at the club to make the boys jealous. A shark that would teach his ungrateful kids that their dad was still to be respected… He smiled broadly, and, with a sigh, he tipped down his cap on his eyes.
He was awakened by the tingling of a bell. One of his rods was being tickled by some sea creature. Douglas waited a second before he heard the noise again. Just to make sure. Slowly, carefully, he strapped in the sling and secured it to the boat. Hurry made the fish scared. Hurry, made the fisherman poor. When the bell tingled faster, his blood froze…
*tinkling* Soon…
*tinklingling* Almost…
*tinklinglingling* There!
He grabbed the rod and pulled in one strong blow to hook the beast. It was strong, it fought, but Douglas was there for blood! He reeled vigorously to bring it to the surface. He could feel it, the animal was strong! Maybe his shark was at the end of the line! Douglas was almost pulled from the boat, after the beast tried to escape. He smiled. Sweat was burning his eyes, his throat burned from the effort and his hands were tense.
But suddenly, it stopped… His line was not broken, nor was the rod. It simply… Stopped.
"What the Hell…?"
Douglas reeled again to bring his catch to the surface. The silence fell on the ocean like a blanket, and all the fisher could hear was the beating of his heart in his ears. In the light of the moon, he perceived the silhouette of the creature at the end of the line. But when he brought it above the water, his face paled.
He had indeed caught a shark.
But he had only caught its head.
With no body attached to it.
"What the…"
There were teeth marks on the cut. Douglas brought it on the deck and turned on the light to have a better look at it. What kind of animal could be able to cut a 4-foot-long shark like this…?
His reflexion was interrupted by a sudden shock against the hull. He fell in a clash of rods and string and laid down in shock. When he recovered, he unstrapped quickly before grabbing a flashlight and running to the rail. He looked at the black waters and held his breath.
On the ocean, there are no shadows. But it seemed to Douglas that every ripple of the water was part of a terrifying sea monster and the beam of his flashlight was not large enough to cover all the surface.
He calmed down a second the boat was violently rocked from side to side. He tried to hold on to the rail, but his hand slipped.
After he crashed into the water, silence fell again on the ocean.
It was once again a beautiful night