Chapter 2: Flames Inside
There are many things a courageous and carefree boy like Ben Tennyson can accomplish. He could get called out in the middle of a classroom by a teacher and not feel stressed or any anxiety. He could break something expensive in a museum and not feel any remorse. And with his Omnitrix, he can even be the sole hero of Earth who stands amongst others to defend the planet from the toughest of galactic foes. Yet being kind, was just not part of all the things he could do.
Max had come back several minutes earlier with a large white plastic bag full of custom sandwiches and a few smaller bags of potato chips. He had carried them along the dock and had run into Ben just standing in one spot and not moving. Trying to figure out if everything was alright with his grandson, Max simply got a: "I'm fine," notion and they both continued down until they arrived at the boat he had rented. He hoped Ben would feel willing to talk later.
Gwen was sitting in the back on a low-placed white leather seat. They were bright in the sun and very hot to touch from the lack of shade. Ben walked over to a seat perpendicular to where she was sitting, not even daring to look at her. He just couldn't. It took two years to actually realize what he had been doing wrong, and now that he knew, there was just no way he could apologize for all the times that he had made her feel bad.
The two sat in the leather benches and kept their gazes away from each other. Their bodies rocked back in forth in sync with the waves pressing against the bottom of the boat. The movements were not anything sudden, but Ben could already feel his stomach getting quesy from it all.
Max had been digging in the white plastic bag for something. "Okay then, I've got you both a real treat. They had a special on a Canadian Bacon and ranch, and I just thought that it would give you guys something light so you wouldn't sick out here."
Both Ben and Gwen turned to look at the man in front of them sitting at the driver's seat underneath a shaded pull-back roof.
"I'm not hungry," Gwen answered, her body was quite full. But not with food – with hatred.
Ben finally got the will to look at her. He did so with an angry stare and she simply huffed. "Me neither," the brunette boy replied, crossing his arms and also turning away from his cousin.
Max watched with a solemn expression. "Oh boy..." He knew just exactly what attitudes like those meant, and he knew that he should just leave them alone. Swiftly, he spun back around in the captain's chair and started the boat.
Quickly, the wobbles from the waves that used to be the only thing controlling their movement were followed by a steady rumbling. The engine had started and it was quite loud – just shy of being the same noise a lawnmower makes.
"Grandpa," Gwen said, "could this thing be any louder?"
"Sorry, but I can't do anything about it now. Besides, I'm only going to have the engine on while we're moving. As soon as we get to a good fishing spot, I'll make sure to shut it off. Believe me, fish would definitely not like this noise."
"Yeah I hope so. How far are we going out anyways?"
Max put one hand to his chin and raised his eyes in thought. He was trying to make a decent estimate of how far to ride out to get a good spot, but not too far as to use more gas getting there and not having enough to return.
"Probably five or eight miles. Just depends how many it takes until we can't see land anymore."
Gwen looked skeptical. "Isn't that dangerous? What if you don't know the way back?"
"No," he replied and tapped a glass dial that lie flat on one of the boat's dashboards. "This is a compass. When we start heading back, I'll know which direction to go. Right now land is to the west, so when we're all ready to go we just have to move in that direction."
The orange-haired girl simply nodded and lounged back into her seat wishing that the sun wasn't being so brutal on that day.
Just before Max moved the throttle up to go he remembered something . "Ben, could you untie that tether over there. Wouldn't want to leave and bring the whole dock with us." He pointed to a docking pole next to the boat.
Grumbling some words of protest or other, he stood up and walked to the far side of the deck. There he began to untie a thick and brisk rope that had been tied to one of the boat's rings and wrapped around the wooden dock.
After about a minute of fumbling with the rope, Ben finally got it off of the boat and they were free to reign the ocean.
"All good Grandpa," he announced and move to sit back down.
"Great," the older man responded and put the boat in forward motion.
It moved with a rough jump on the water, coming up over one wave and falling back down as the it broke. The sound it made in motion was even more annoying than what it made in idle. The engine now sounded like an angry dog growling who had been stalking its prey and was now ready to pounce. Not the best noise to have to listen to for possibly twenty minutes.
Ben had sat, instead, next to Gwen. He had hoped that some way he would be able to apologize, or at least start to make up, for what he had done before. He really wanted her to see that he was not the same immature little boy she had first met during that summer vacation. But instead of giving him that chance, she scooted down the seat a little more.
"Aw come on Gwen, this isn't fair," he protested, barely able to hear his own voice over the noise. Apparently she could though.
As she moved down the seat, Ben followed her. Putting his hands to one side, he used them and his own feet to move sideways in a quick motion.
"Stop following me and leave me alone," she barked.
"Hey! I'm just trying to..."
He stopped in the middle of his sentence. Apologizing to anyone was not in his nature, and he had never actually, and sincerely, said he was sorry for anything he had done.
"Trying to what?" Gwen repeated his words. "Trying to find something else to tease me with? When are you going to grow up Ben?"
Once more, Ben opened his mouth to speak – yet a churning feeling was making its way throughout his now feeble body. No words floated along his tongue, and none were caught at the back of his throat. He was not going to say anything.
Sighing, he closed his mouth – having not said a single word – and slid away from her. His stomach felt twisted and grotesque while his heart felt heavy with a burden that was not in his power to lift. He ached to make up with her, but he could not.
Instead Ben sat back and rested his head at the top of the white leathery boat seat. The sun beat down on his exposed face and neck, making a warm sensation mask his chilling feelings. Water would occasionally splash up and into the boat – sometimes hitting him and cooling down the heat the sun had built up on him. This process would continue over and over again so long as they sat in the boat.
Gwen sat still and stiff – she had hoped Ben would apologize and she had hoped that the strong resentment she held towards him would melt away as if she were holding ice cream up to the sun. But he did not.
She turned back around to face the busy city that they were now drifting away from. People and cars looked no bigger than bull ants and scattered around the city for whatever hurried reason they had. Gwen sighed with relief, as they were far away from such nonsense now. Most of it at least.
Ben, she thought as her eyes swept over the glistening blue ocean water, why can't you ever be normal for once. Why can't you mature?
She allowed her thoughts to bring herself back into her school life. Sure she had large group of friends and hung out with a lot of the sports players, but that didn't mean she wasn't also a book worm. Gwen loved to read and learn, and turning each page of a good fiction was like opening a Christmas present over and over again. The way plots could change or characters could act just intrigued her – especially how much she might get attached to a fictional being.
That was not the only thing that she recalled from her school life. Quite a few boys would always try to charm her with simple trinkets or some feat they had accomplished. It was all for not, and she never gave in to any of it. Besides, she had thought, I don't even really know any of them. It's not like...they ever went on a vacation with me and fought aliens – saving me whenever I was in danger.
She grimaced at the person her mind was coming towards. Slowly, Gwen turned her head to glance at Ben, who was now leaning over the boat's edge and dipping his hand in the water.
"Ben! Stop or you might fall off!" she found herself gasping with worry.
He took his hand from the ocean and looked over his shoulder – rolling his eyes. "Oh, now you care about what I'm doing."
"Well no..." she stuttered, "it's just that, if you fall over then Grandpa will have to turn around to get you. It would take us longer to start fishing."
"Yeah, like you are just so excited about throwing a poll in the water and waiting until something bites it."
Gwen shook her head. "You don't throw the poll, you doofus. You toss the lining and the hook goes in the water."
"Oh! So-o-o sorry miss know-it-all."
"You're such a jerk!" she screamed back, unfolding her arms in a rage fit. "You know, I'm glad I haven't seen you in so long. I actually miss being away from you!"
That made Ben stop and fully turn his body around. The air around them seemed to go silent and the boat's motor was now tuned out from their conversation. The brunette boy's eyes got large and pitiful, as if he had watched something of extreme horror happen right in front of him.
"Really...?" he asked.
"Y-y..." Gwen tried to respond but she found that her mouth was no longer under her control. The words that some part of her wanted to say were being blocked out by another part of her. A gentler side, a truthful side.
Ben watched as his cousin's head fell from its upright position and looked downwards. He knew that she was not going to say anymore and that their chat session had ended. He took a deep breath, feeling so angry at himself for always making Gwen feel annoyed, sad, or angry. All he really wanted to cause was to make her feel safe around him – happy and comfortable.
"It's just so hard..." he whispered, his voice drowned by the ambient noises.
They rode along the water for several more minutes. In that time none of the three spoke to each other and kept to themselves. Occasionally Max would look over his shoulder – in hopes that his grandchildren would eventually say something to the other or at least act as though they were enjoying their time together. But that moment was just not apparent.
It only took a few more moments of silence before Max became uncomfortable with it all. He decided that the best way to get at least one of them up and moving was to give them something to do.
"Hey uh, Ben." He called out, stopping and making sure Ben looked up at him. He did so slowly. "Do you want to try driving the boat?"
The boy's green eyes had looked drawn and weary, but once the offer was made to him they seemed to liven up just a bit. "I...are you being serious?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."
Ben jumped out of the white leather seat, looking as though he had been given a new life. "Alright! This is gonna be so cool!"
Max was glad that there was a bit of new life on board, but he could not help but feel a bit timid about the new driver. Ben was not exactly the best person at being careful, but then again, it was only a boat. How much harm could he cause?
Sitting down in the driver's seat, Ben rested both of his hands on the boat's steering wheel. "Okay so I just turn this if anything gets in the way, and," he stopped and put one of his hands on the throttle, "pull this up or down to go faster or slow down. Right?"
"Well," his grandfather started, looking over the boy's form and comprehending his understanding, "those are the general purposes. So it looks like you have it all down."
Even Gwen, who had been pouting on the seat behind them, looked up to see if her cousin actually did understand how to drive the boat. She was a bit surprised when he seemed to maneuver everything just right and was not arrogantly trying to show off.
Max patted Ben on the shoulder before retiring to a seat beside his granddaughter.
"So Gwen...what's got you down?" He decided that if he could put Ben in a better mood, he could at least try it with her too.
She glanced over at her grandfather, putting one arm up over her forehead to block the sun's brightness. "It's nothing, really Grandpa."
"Oh come on now, I know you and Ben were arguing earlier – I just couldn't hear about what."
"No, I'm not mad because of that. It's something else...I'll get over it...I hope." she whispered the last two words to herself.
Max cocked an eyebrow, wishing that she would be more open to him. It is hard to help people or try to help them if that person does not completely explain their peril. He sighed and leaned back, throwing one arm over the seat to get into a comfortable position. It was not until now did he realize how brutal the sun was. Sweat beads formed at the top of his head, where his short-buzzed hair was lined.
Unexpectedly, the boat began to slow down with a stutter and eventually came to a complete halt. Soon the loud and obnoxious sound of the motor died out and they were left with the silence of waves crashing into the bottom of the boat.
"Ben, keep going. I can still see the tops of the some of the city's skyscrapers."
The boy turned around and shrugged. "I didn't do it, honest."
Max stood up and stretched, a bit disappointed that he only got a minute to rest in the leather bench. He walked over towards the boat controls and checked the throttle to make sure it was not pulled back towards the middle. It was still launched halfway forward. Nothing wrong there.
"Ah," he muttered with surprise, "we're out of gas. I completely forgot to check the dial before we left."
"So does that mean we're stuck out here?"
"Of course not. There's always some extra gas cans in the storage."
Ben glanced from one side to the other. "Uh Grandpa...this boat is really small. I doubt there would be a storage anywhere."
"Every boat has its storage place. I'll show you." He turned and looked at Gwen. "Could you stand up for me?"
She obeyed and stood, getting off of the seat which, other than the spot she had been covering, was hot from being baked in the sun.
Max lifted the bench up with ease and revealed a compartment with one large, red gas can that had a yellow tube coming out from the front of it – probably to make pouring more accurate.
He lifted the can out of the dank place under the open seat. "Alright, now we just need to figure out where to actually put all of this fuel. Ben, Gwen," he called their names, "walk around the boat and see if you can find a gas tank on the side of the boat anywhere."
Ben got up from the driver's seat and went around one side of the boat, quickly looking for what his grandfather had asked. Gwen did so as well, but not with much interest. She trudged slowly and drowsily along the opposite side and hardly even glanced over the edge of the boat.
"Hey over here!" Ben called, waving his arm.
The two other searchers walked over to where he was and looked over that side of the boat. Sure enough, there was a little white plate with a three letter word on it: "Gas".
"Good job, Ben. Now just move over a little so I can get this done and we can head on back out."
Max flipped open the metal and popped the cap off of the gas canister, and finally he began to pour the liquid into the large opening.
"Ben, go sit by the ignition and get ready to turn it when I say so."
The brunette boy nodded and headed over towards where the boat's controls were stationed. He sat down in the captain's chair and waited for his signal.
Gwen watched as the greenish-brown liquid fell into the boat's gas tank and how the sun made such dark colors sparkle with bright intensity. It was not amazing to her, but she was quite bored and it gave her eyes something pretty to look at.
She leaned over a bit to rest her body along the side of the boat, but had not realized how hot the surface of it was.
"Ow!" she cried in surprise.
Ben, who was supposed to listen for a signal, misinterpreted Gwen's words for: "now".
"Alright!" he called to his grandfather.
Max, while continuing to pour the gas, squinted his eyes in confusion. He did not understand why Ben had said anything yet. Soon, his heart almost stopped as he realized what had happened.
"No Ben not y-"
The boy had already turned the ignition twice. On his third try, the sound of the engine began to cloud the air with loud noises and rumble the boat – but the gas tank was still open and Max was still pouring liquid into the container.
When an engine uses fuel, it burns it to release energy that is needed to power the system. That is exactly what happened.
The boat's engine began to ignite the fuel that it was given, but because the gas tank lid was still open, back-draft caused the sparks to be pulled towards the inner source of oil – igniting the entire lot of it.
"Agh!" Max cried out as flames spewed out of the open lid and started to creep up the liquid that was coming down from the gas canister. Quickly, he dropped the can into the water to avoid it bursting in his hand. It never made it safely into the blue ocean and exploded on the side of the boat.
Ben was all in confusion because the instant he heard the engine start, his grandfather had cried out and the sound of an explosion followed. The boy turned around only to meet eyes with an enormous fire.
"What's going one!" he yelled in horror.
"Look for buckets!" Max called out as he tried to use a towel he brought along with him to slap out the fire. It would do no good.
Ben got up and ran around the small boat, looking for some sort of container that would hold water. All the while, Gwen was silent but her hands were close to her mouth in fear. She had not expected to be in such danger so far from home.
"There are no buckets!" Ben barked.
"Then you know what to do."
Max's grandson nodded – he did know exactly what to do at a time like this. Almost instantly, his arm with the Omnitrix on it was up in front of his eyes – glowing green. He turned the large extending dial until an image of a fish-like creature was apparent. Pushing down the dial to let the device know that is what he needed, he whispered to himself.
"Please let me be Rip Jaws...don't screw up."
In a flash of green light, Ben Tennyson was gone and the young boy had been replaced with a tall, green fish man. His jaw was extremely large and had long, sharp teeth protruding from it. The eyes that were just above his nose were a very light shade of cyan. Along the sides of his neck were slits that served as gills so he could breathe fluently under water.
"Alright, time to fight this fire." Rip Jaws said confidently – in a voice that sounded extremely deep and scratchy.
Quickly, he jumped off the boat and into the water, letting the cool sensation flow throughout his body. It was definitely a nice change from being above the surface and getting cooked in the blazing sun. But he knew that he would not be able to stay under any longer. The boat, which had Gwen and his grandfather aboard, was burning at a deadly pace.
Rip Jaws allowed his head to pop out from under the water, his mouth now full of the blue liquid. He took a second to take in the sight before him – just to make sure he knew exactly where to use his new-found weapon.
Max was still slapping at the fire with a white towel – which was definitely not going to suffice. And Gwen was standing in the middle of the deck, not exactly sure what to do about any of it. The fire, which had grown immensely in size, was creeping around the boat – almost surrounding his family and would soon come in to swallow them. However, he knew that wasn't going to happen as soon as his fish eyes set their gaze on two cylinder containers sitting at the head of the boat – just in front of the control station.
"Uh oh..." he said, "why hadn't I seen those before!"
There were two propane tanks, which almost looked like fire extinguishers, and they were just in the path of the fire. If they went ablaze, there would be nothing left of the boat.
He tried to plummet water at the flames that were riding along side the boat, but as soon as they were out, new ones would take their place. The oil source that the fire had just could not be put to rest by water – it had to be burnt out, and that would take some time.
"Grandpa! Gwen! Get off the boat!"
It was no use, they could not hear his words over the loud crackling noises of the fire. He continued to watch as the line of flames crept on the side of the boat, inching closer and closer to the propane tanks. Threatening to assault those who were unaware of the danger.
There was no more time to get their attention. If they could not see the threat that was imminent, then he would have to take matters into his own hands. Rip Jaws plunged under the water and took in a mouthful of the ocean's salty liquid. Soon he reappeared at the surface – spitting large amounts at the flames in attempt to stop them.
Dark smoke would come from recently put out flames, but they would soon relight and continue on their deadly path. There was no stopping them, and there was now only one visible option.
Kicking his feet and using his fins to push off of the water with all his super-might, Rip Jaws jumped off of the water and high into the air. His eyes glanced at the line of heat that was merely feet away from its final destination.
Using the strength his alien form had given him, Rip Jaws glided over the boat in mid-air like a dolphin diving through a hoop. Swiftly, he took hold of his grandfather as well as a scared Gwen.
The next moment, they were all three under the ocean water, and just in time. Max was the last person to plunge into the ocean, and as soon as he did, an enormous rumble was created – sending large waves toppling over them. Debris quickly followed, plaguing the air with large planks and plastic architecture.
Suddenly, the grip around the two who had been rescued was released, and they floated to the top. Rip Jaws had let go of them.
Gwen was the first to appear above the water. Her breathing was quick and quivering.
"Grandpa!" she cried frantically, turning her head from one side to another. All that was around her were parts of the boat, and some were still ablaze.
A splash emitted from just behind her and she was glad to see who it was. Max's face was also weary and unexplainable.
"What...what happened? And where's Ben?" he asked, rubbing the side of his head.
"I don't know...he pulled us into the water, but after the explosion...I don't know."
Her grandfather looked grave and helpless. He took a moment to regain his thoughts and get a better mental standing. Scanning over the explosion site, he assumed that something on the boat must have been there to make it all happen that Ben had seen, and they did not.
It doesn't matter now, he thought reluctantly, it's over.
His eyes rolled around from one location to another, searching for his grandson. Soon, a dire realization struck him and he now feared for the worst.
"Ben!" he yelled out, lifting up a few metal sheets from the water – hoping he would not find what he was looking for under it. "Gwen, give me a hand and look around for him. He was just here!"
"Ben!" Gwen called, shaping her hands in front of her mouth to amplify her voice.
Max moved over to a large plastic boat covering that had been strewn away by the full-force explosion. It was heavy, but still there was nothing to be found underneath it but more smaller parts.
"Benjamin!" his voiced rumbled over the sea, but again no response would come.
"Grandpa...I don't think he's here..." Gwen vaguely offered.
The older man shook his head while wadding in the deep water. "He has to be. He just pulled us off the boat before...that happened."
She knew her grandfather was right, and Ben had to be close by, but she was afraid of exactly what they might find. Her vivid imagination blocked out such gruesome thoughts that even sent chills down her spine.
Suddenly, Max began to feel the water getting slightly warmer as well as feel something sticky brush up against his arms as they moved in the ocean. Curious, he looked down towards the place where he felt the odd sensation. As soon as he spotted what it was, he almost began to weep.
Dark as a sunset sky, and warm as a newborn, blood started to surround the old man as he kept stationary. He knew, for sure, that it definitely was not his blood, because he noticed a trail leading a few feet away that stopped just before a large part of the broken ship.
One might think that Max Tennyson would have completely shut down, and refused to do anymore on that spot, but that was just not the case. He slowly paddled his floating body over to the source of the blood stream.
Gwen watched with one hand covering her mouth – afraid to even take a breath – and another grabbing onto a small rectangular piece of the boat for support.
Every noise – seagulls, waves, wind – it all seemed to die down and become silent. The only sound that Gwen was able to hear were the soft wades of her grandfather moving closer and closer to the piece of ship that she knew would not reveal anything good.
Finally, Max arrived at the capsized piece of metal that was covering what he already knew to be the truth. Stalling any longer, he thought, would not help anyone.
Using both his muscular arms, Max pulled up on the heavy structure and slowly began to move it away from whatever was causing the red water. It came up with ease, as most of it was already under water and things tend to be lighter when not completely in air.
A loud splash was made when it finally fell completely into the ocean, causing water to fly up and coat his face. He solemnly wiped it out of his vision, and soon the blurs of water were cleared from his eyes and he could now face what he knew to be in front of him even without sight.
Ben Tennyson lie lopsided on a long wooden piece of the captain's center. His body was not twisted in any way, and he seemingly had no broken bones. However, his eyes were shut and his breathing was barely audible – unless it was the wind Max was hearing, then Ben was not breathing at all.
But that was not what was causing such red blood to emit from the boy's body. The eyes of a drowsy grandfather moved to the center of his unconscious – or even lifeless – grandson. Just to the side of his stomach something stuck out – something dark green and splintered.
It was a shard of the wood that had housed the boat's controls. It looked as though it had impaled him deeply. A red circle was formed on his white and black shirt – staining the bright color.
Max shut his eyes for a moment, but he believed in everything that was in front of him. He was not in denial – as he was sure that would simply make everything worse.
He pulled the plank that Ben was sprawled out upon over towards him and began to swim back towards Gwen. Not a single emotion was present on his aged face, nor did a single tear stray from his eyes. He looked like nothing had happened.
Gwen, who had been too distant to view what had been under the capsized boat piece, laid her eyes on what was being pulled by her grandfather. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened – she looked as though all the life force was being pulled out of her body.
Max might have been able to resist the urge of tears, but the young, fragile girl was not. A liquid – saltier and more harmful than the ocean water itself – began to stream down her soft cheeks, but not a noise came from her mouth.
She had told Ben, years before, that she wanted to be there – on the day that he would get his butt kicked and beat. That she wanted to see him beg for help. Now those feelings seemed so distant and wrong.
Something, which she was still not understanding, made her stomach twist and tingle whenever her eyes met his closed ones – but not in a good way. She did not even dare look at the wound that pierced his stomach.
"Gwen stop!" came a strict voice. It was Max.
She sobbed at the sound of another human. "Stop what...?"
"You need to stop crying..." he whispered without much tone.
"Grandpa! Ben is dead right here in front of me. I can't stop crying! You...you just don't understand! Just look at you! You're acting like nothing happened!" Each sentence was screamed and yelled with hatred for the man that was now in front of her. She hated that he seemed to not care – to not notice that his grandson seemed to be dead right beneath his arms.
Max swallowed, a newly formed lump in his throat. "Gwen...I"
"You what? You don't care that such a good person got killed saving you!"
"That's not it!" he shouted back in a voice Gwen had never heard him use before. It was aggressive and angry.
She backed away from him, now frightened. Her long, and bright, orange hair floated in the water behind her. Her bangs, now soaked with water, covered her eyes – distorting her vision. But she made no attempt to move them. All her will seemed to be drained.
"I'm sorry..." he apologized. "It's just that...if I break down now we might not be able to get out of all of this."
Gwen looked around. She could not see the city that they had departed from – it was gone and they were not sure which direction they had come now. The sun was high in the sky, directly above them at the center and would not serve as a good exception for a compass – which they had lost in the explosion.
She took a deep breath. He's right... she thought, I need to stay calm.
But she could not. Each time she began to calm herself and regain mental control, her thoughts kept dragging themselves back to the boy who had always risked his life to save hers. Looking back, it all seemed so simple and like he would never fail – or get hurt. They had been so careless, because they did not believe anything could happen to them. Now look.
Waves brushed up against her chest, splashing light trickles of water up onto her chin and face.
"I can't..." she breathed.
Max did not move or respond. He did not expect her to be able to stay calm. He knew that, even if she did not know herself, she cared for Ben a lot more than she would let on. And he also understood what it felt like to lose someone so close.
"Come over here," he gestured with his hand.
At first, she did not move and almost refused to get closer to him. But, reluctantly, she finally swam over. When she got near, he took her arm gently and placed her on the board – beside Ben.
She glanced over to her cousin and quickly spun her head back around, squeezing her eyes closed tightly – trying to block out the image of his blood-stained body.
"Don't look," Max whispered and began to pull the small plank with his two grandchildren on. He started to swim in a direction that – he hoped – was back towards the town.
At first he was sure that they would make it through the horrible disaster, but suddenly he began to feel a presence around him – and then something dire flew into his mind.
His body froze and his eyes widened. Turning his head around, he looked at the trail of blood that they were leaving behind – but that was not all he saw.
A gray triangle floated atop the water almost five yards behind them. It moved with a swiftness that would make a professional gymnastic look like nothing.
Max knew exactly what was under the water beneath the fin, but he had not expected it to appear so soon. His plan of returning back to whatever land he thought he was heading towards, was now crumbled and a new fear was brought upon him.
Gwen also took to noticing what he was staring at. When she had first saw her cousin, she thought that she was more scared than her body would allow – but seeing the fin drew a new anxiety she was sure did not exist.
She slowly shook her head from one side to the other, in disbelief. "Grandpa..."
"Gwen – listen to me," he said, "don't think about what you're going to hear behind you."
Time was something they now had very little of – and Max barely had any at all, and he knew it. The young, innocent girl – who's hair tread the water so fairly – felt her stomach cramp. She did not understand what her grandfather was trying to tell her.
"Whatever happens, " he continued, "make sure you and Ben get safely to shore. Once you're there, get your cousin help. He will be fine so long as you don't try to remove the wood. Do you understand me?"
"But Grandpa I need your help to get there. I can't...I can't swim that far."
"Listen!" he yelled, grabbing both of her arms and shoving his face near hers. "I'm not giving you an option. Just keep close to the board and rest on it whenever you have to."
He did not give her a chance to resent his words or hold him back. Quickly, he shoved her body back along the plastic floating board beside Ben's body. Soon, they could both here waves in the water begin to get stronger and crash loudly.
A few times, Max was pulled under by the water – having nothing to grab onto and no bottom surface to stand on, he struggled to get back to the surface.
Spitting out water, he watched a girl with such bright orange hair and a tear-filled face, swim away – but continuously looking back over her shoulder.
"Go now!" he shouted with false anger. He knew that he needed to make her feel scared of him, or at least angry – or else she might try to come back.
For the first time since he saw Ben lying impaled under the capsized ship piece...tears stung his eyes with more intensity than that of a wasp.
Max breathed a large breath, quivering and heaving. Turning around to face the incoming threat, he smiled faintly.
"Heh," he said to himself, "just this morning I was hoping to take my grandchildren on a nice relaxing fishing trip. Now..." he stopped, almost ready to drown with sadness, "now I'm just hoping they both stay alive."
Just then, the water before him opened up like a gaping hole and he could see the jaw line of a monstrous shark. Its teeth yellow and stained from eating fresh prey and letting blood wash away the traces of devouring such defenseless animals.
The beast seemed to glare at him with hungry eyes that could tell stories of many successful hunts. He met them with his own – threatening it that he would not go down as easy as the other things it might have killed. Its fin at the top of its body – which was now fully visible – seemed to stretch no smaller than three feet. The blue skin that housed its vital organs were wet and slippery with water and algae. Max Tennyson knew he was outmatched and knew exactly what was in store for him, and he was ready to purchase.
Gwen kicked her feet with no mercy for how much her muscles would be aching later. Behind her, she could hear splashing noises and yelling from a familiar man.
"No matter what...no matter what," she repeated to herself over and over – keeping her eyes shut tightly.
She kicked her feet harder and made them come up over the water more just to try and drown out the horrible and sickening sounds that went on behind her. It was too late now, she thought, and the best thing she could do was keep going in hopes of finding help soon.
Wait...what am I doing! She yelled to herself, Grandpa...he would never leave me like I'm leaving him.
Gwen turned around ready to do whatever it would take to keep Max with her – not ready to leave him behind. But when her eyes met the scene of debris that she had started at, her mind became boggled.
There was nothing left, and because of her furious kicking she did not take notice of the quietness that had come. Parts of the boat lie strewn across the blue ocean top and some still littered with unforgettable flames.
No words came to her, not even a thought. Her eyes scanned the entire area for her grandfather, who – just minutes ago – had been behind her.
Instantly, many things ran into her brain and found themselves interpreted as hopeful thoughts. One was to think she was dreaming, but Gwen dismissed it easily. Dreams, she thought, were clouded and not as clear as what she was looking at. Everything was much too clear and real to be a dream.
"It's your fault!" she yelled at the body of Ben, slapping his arm with frustration. "It's always your fault you dweeb. You moron. You..."
She could not come up with another insult. Each thing she would say about him would only pain her even more. He was the last thing she had to cling onto in reality and taunting him did her no good.
Droplets of salted tears trickled down her red face. Her long strands of hair rubbed against the whites of her eyes and made them itchy. Gwen resisted the urge to move anymore, and she only lie on the board she was told to float along with – her arms crossed and her head planted in them. Dead. That was the only way she could describe her state of health. There was no life in her body – no happiness. Only pain, sadness and despair.
Waves began to get stronger and she could feel the pull of a rip current – dragging them farther out to nowhere. Water crashed over her head, but no longer did she care. All she wanted to do was float along side the one person who she could never leave – and sleep. To never awake.
If you have been reading thus far, please review this story - telling if you liked it or not. Reviews are like food. They are needed to survive. I would not write stories and publish them if I did not expect people to read them. So once again, please review this - even if it is just some anonymous review and you do not have an account.