When the shark exploded out of the water, Kevin was certain their end had come.
“Row faster!” he yelled, coughing as water and saliva drooled from the side of his mouth. His wide eyes darted between his younger brother who was pulling desperately at the oars and the great white shark slicing through the water toward them.
When he suggested they go snorkeling that evening, Daniel was reluctant so he bribed him by promising him three hours playing his latest Xbox game afterwards. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to his brother.
They had been swimming close to the ocean floor when the sight of a rusted iron chest poked out from beneath the sand caught their eyes. Together, they dug out it out and forced their way to the surface with it.
They were close to their boat when Daniel saw the massive shark gliding with terrifying calm towards them.
“Drop the chest, Kevin,” Daniel shouted, letting go of his end.
“No. Are you crazy?” Kevin snapped. The chest weight pulled him beneath the surface for a moment, water rushing into his mouth and nose as he struggled to hold on. “Finders, keepers.”
Daniel reached the boat firsted and quickly climbed in. He stretched out his hands and pulled Kevin and the chest onto the boat. He snatched up the oars and began to row fast, his biceps shaking as he propelled them close to the shore.
Kevin held onto the rusted chest, breathing heavily as he glanced over his shoulder. The shark was getting close. “We should have brought the motorboat instead of this damn rowboat.”
In a blink, the shark disappeared. Then the boat pushed forward suddenly as the shark slammed it's body against the side, almost toppling them into the water. The young men screamed and rowed even faster.
The shark vanished again and they saw It's shadow circling their boat underneath. But they were close to the shore.
“Don't stop rowing, Daniel,” Kevin yelled, his voice breaking, when the shark slammed into them again and the impact sent the brothers into the air while the boat split into bits. Pain speared their bodies as they landed hard on the wet beach sand with grunts and groans.
The heavy thud of the rusted chest beside them kept them from slipping into unconsciousness.
They raised their head, glimpsing the shark's angry look before it turned and disappeared beneath the waves.
“That's the last time I go snorkeling with you at night, you bastard,” Daniel wheezed before he passed out.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "row faster!”.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Image credit: Diego Sandoval from pexels
