Shadow of the Shark Page 2

  “Oh, man…,” said Jack, sighing.

  A fresh, salty ocean breeze wafted over them. White sand sparkled in the warm sunlight.

  “This is a good view,” said Annie. “I’ll take a picture. No, even better, a video.” She reached into the pocket of her tunic and pulled out their cell phone. Pointing the phone at the beach, she clicked the “record” button and spoke loudly: “Jack and I are in Cozumel, at a beautiful beach on a nature preserve, and this—”

  “Hey, stop!” said Jack. “What if Mom and Dad see that? You have to erase it.”

  “Oh, you’re right!” said Annie. She laughed as she deleted the video. “No big deal, Mom and Dad, we just took a little detour to Mexico on our way home from the lake.” She put the phone in Jack’s bag. “Okay! No camera on this trip.”

  “Let’s hit the water,” said Jack. As they started across the beach, their flip-flops sank into the fine, sugary sand. Seagulls cawed overhead.

  “It’s easier to go barefoot,” said Annie. She and Jack stopped and put their flip-flops into Jack’s bag.

  “Hey, what’s that?” Annie pointed to a raft lying on the sand.

  “Whoa,” said Jack. They hurried over to the raft. It was made of bamboo poles lashed together with leather strips. A paddle lay beside it. Jack looked around for its owner, but no one was in sight. “Who left it here?”

  “It must belong to the nature preserve,” said Annie. “I’ll bet it’s for tourists to use. Why else would it just be lying here? It’s got a paddle and everything. Want to try it?”

  “What? Put it in the water?” said Jack.

  “Yes,” said Annie. “It’ll be fun! Say yes.”

  “No!” Jack said.

  “Oh, Jack. Please! We can paddle out to the reef. Look how calm the water is! It’ll be super-fun,” said Annie.

  Jack started to say no again, but he stopped. It would actually be super-fun, he thought. “Well, if we take it, we have to stay close to shore, and keep a lookout for its owner, just in case—”

  “Okay, okay,” said Annie. “I’ll row!”

  She grabbed the paddle, and Jack dragged the raft over the wet sand. He pushed it from the bubbling sea-foam into the cool, clear water.

  “She floats!” said Annie.

  Gentle waves lapped the sides of the raft. “Okay, you hop on first,” said Jack. He put their bag on the raft and then held it steady while Annie climbed onto the bamboo poles. The raft kept floating.

  “Good, good…now me,” said Jack as he climbed aboard.

  The raft dipped a bit lower in the water, but it easily held them both.

  “Yay! Now let’s find the reef!” said Annie. “I’ll take us there.” As she began to paddle, the breeze helped push the raft over small ocean swells. “This is a great raft!”

  “I’ll bet the ancient Mayans made them just like this,” said Jack.

  “So who were the ancient Mayans exactly?” said Annie.

  “I don’t know a lot about them,” said Jack. “But I know they had a huge civilization over a thousand years ago. They built pyramids and designed a special calendar.”

  “Well, they sure made good rafts,” said Annie. As she pushed the paddle through the water, the raft moved farther out to sea.

  About a hundred yards out, Jack held up his hand. “Okay, let’s stop here,” he said. “We don’t want to get too far away from land. Let’s look underwater for the reef. The book said it was near the shore.”

  “Right,” said Annie. “You snorkel first. I’ll stay with the raft.”

  “You sure?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” Jack reached into the swim bag. Before he pulled out their snorkel gear, he looked up Cozumel, coral reefs in the travel guide. He read aloud:

  The coral reefs of Cozumel are visited by an average of 1,500 tourists a day. Coral—

  “Really?” Annie interrupted. “I don’t see one single tourist.”

  “I know. I don’t understand that,” said Jack. He kept reading:

  Coral is made of animals, not plants. Since a coral reef is very delicate and takes a very long time to grow, swimmers and snorkelers must avoid touching it or kicking it with their flippers.

  “Makes sense,” said Jack, closing the book. “Look. Don’t touch. Just like at a museum.”

  “Got it,” said Annie.

  Jack put his glasses and the travel guide in the inside pocket of the swim bag. Then he unpacked all their swimming gear. While Annie held the raft steady with the paddle, Jack buckled on one of the life vests, squeezed his feet into flippers, and attached the snorkel to his face mask. Finally he pulled on the mask, covering his eyes and nose, and adjusted the strap. He inhaled through his nose, causing the mask to create a vacuum so water couldn’t seep in.

  “Balance me, so the raft doesn’t flip over,” Jack said to Annie.

  Annie balanced the raft while Jack sat on the edge. As he slipped down into the sea, his life vest kept him from going under. Bobbing in the water, he placed the end of the snorkel tube into his mouth.

  “Have fun!” Annie called.

  Jack waved to her. Then he started swimming facedown along the surface of the water, gently kicking his flippers. Looking through his mask, he saw only a few fish at first. But then he saw more…and more…and more! Suddenly he couldn’t believe his eyes.

  The underwater coral reef was huge, and the world around it was teeming with life. Seaweed waved in the gentle current. Pink and orange coral branched out in all directions. And hundreds of fish, as colorful as jelly beans, swam among the plants and the lacy coral.

  Jack saw sleek, skinny fish, spiny fish, and flat fish. He saw fish that looked like butterflies, porcupines, and spindly stars.

  As he kept swimming and looking through his mask, Jack saw green turtles feeding on algae. He saw huge crabs, jellyfish, and even a stingray among the wavy grasses.

  But nothing Jack saw scared him, and none of the creatures seemed afraid of him, either. With his mask and flippers, Jack figured he looked like just another strange sea animal. A yellow-striped fish darted directly up to his mask, looked him in the eyes, then darted off again. A school of tiny white fish swam over his body, tickling him like feathers.

  As he drifted around the reef, Jack saw orange starfish clustered over the coral ridges and tiny yellow sea horses bobbing near the coral branches. Annie would love those little horses, he thought.

  Annie! Jack had been having such a great time, he’d forgotten all about Annie! Treading water, he pulled the snorkel out of his mouth, lifted his mask, and looked around for her. The raft was far away. The offshore breeze had pushed it farther out to sea. Jack waved and shouted, “Annie!”

  Annie waved back. She paddled toward him.

  “Your turn!” Jack said, gasping, when he reached the raft.

  “How was it?” said Annie, pulling off her tunic.

  “Unbelievable!” said Jack, climbing aboard. “You’re going to love it!” He put his glasses back on and pulled off his flippers. “It’s like a beautiful garden! Turtles! Starfish. And look for the tiny yellow sea horses around the coral!”

  “I can’t wait!” said Annie, cramming her feet into her flippers. “Here.” She handed Jack the paddle. “You have to paddle pretty hard—the wind’s pushing the raft.”

  “I noticed,” said Jack. “Swim toward the beach, and you’ll see the reef. I’ll paddle after you. Then we’ll head back to shore.”

  “Good plan!” Annie pulled on her mask and stuck the snorkel in her mouth. Jack balanced the raft as Annie sat on the edge.

  “Have fun!” said Jack.

  The raft rocked as Annie slid into the water. She started swimming back toward the reef.

  Jack tried to follow close behind her, but the current kept pushing the raft farther out to sea. For a long time, he paddled hard just to stay in place. At one point, the current was so strong the raft turned sideways. Jack struggled to turn it back toward the beach.

  When he got th
e raft under control again, he looked back toward the reef area. He couldn’t see Annie. The waves had gotten higher. The sea seemed vast, and not nearly as safe and friendly.

  Jack looked in every direction. Finally he saw something farther out to sea. Can that be Annie’s snorkel? Why would she swim so far out? he wondered.

  “Jack!”

  He turned around.

  Annie was bobbing on a wave not far from the raft. “It is incredible!” she shouted, holding up her mask. “Totally incredible!”

  “Come on! Get aboard!” Jack yelled. “We have to go back! The current’s too strong! Or maybe the wind! Whatever, we have to get back!”

  Something else was bothering Jack—really bothering him. What was that thing I saw? He wondered. He turned and looked out to sea again.

  Jack froze in horror. That thing was still sticking up out of the water. Now it was closer, and he could see what it was. It was a fin, a large fin. The fin was slicing swiftly through the water, heading straight for them.

  “GET ON THE RAFT!” Jack screamed to Annie. “HURRY!” He began frantically paddling toward her, struggling against the current. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the huge fin still zigzagging toward them.

  “HURRY!” Jack shrieked.

  Annie flung herself toward the raft. Grabbing the side, she gasped for air. “What’s wrong?” she sputtered. “Why are you freaking out?”

  “Just get on board!” he cried.

  “Why?”

  “Don’t ask! Get on! Or die!” he yelled.

  Annie clambered aboard. “What is it?” she asked, pulling off her mask and snorkel. “What did you see?”

  “Look behind us!” Jack shouted. He was still struggling with the paddle, trying to point the raft toward shore.

  “Ahhhh! Shark!” Annie cried. “Jack, a shark!”

  “I know!” said Jack.

  “Let’s go! Go!” cried Annie.

  “I’m trying!” said Jack. He looked over his shoulder. The shark fin moved toward them. Then it started to circle the raft.

  Sharks circle their prey before they attack! Jack remembered. Using all his strength, he tried to turn the raft and head back to shore. But the wind and waves were too strong.

  “Where is it?” cried Annie. “Where did it go?”

  With the waves rising, Jack couldn’t see the shark fin, either. “Maybe it’s gone!” he said.

  “AHHHH!” screamed Annie.

  The shark’s huge head came over the side of the raft, its mouth wide open.

  “AHHHH!” yelled Jack. Without thinking, he raised his paddle and whacked the giant shark on the nose. The shark reared up and dug its jagged teeth into the wooden paddle, ripping it out of Jack’s hand. Then the creature sank back down into the sea, and its fin glided away through the water.

  “It’s gone!” said Annie.

  “Not gone!” cried Jack. “Look!”

  The shark had moved away from the raft, but it was circling them again.

  “We need magic, Jack!” shouted Annie. “We have to use a gold coin!”

  “We can only use them to have fun!” said Jack.

  “You don’t think it would be fun to escape that shark?” said Annie. She pulled out the green velvet purse with the gold coins. She took out one of the three coins and held it up. The magic coin glittered in the Caribbean sunshine. “We wish to have fun escaping that shark!” she shouted. She tossed the coin high into the air. Like a tiny fireworks display, it burst into a shower of fiery red and blue sparks.

  The raft suddenly spun like a top. Then it shot up the face of a large wave.

  “AHHHH!” Jack and Annie screamed.

  The raft crested the wave, slid down the other side, and zoomed farther out to sea. Another swell lifted the raft, then brought it down smoothly. And again, the raft shot across the surface of the water.

  Jack and Annie held on to each other as the raft rolled over one swell after another, rising and dipping in rhythm with the waves. Sea spray blasted them. Salt water sloshed over the sides, but magically Jack and Annie stayed aboard.

  “It’s like the Bullet ride at Wade City Water Park!” Annie cried.

  It is like a water park ride, Jack thought. But he was still in shock. Where’d the shark go? he wondered. Are there other sharks? How will we get back without a paddle?

  “I love this!” shouted Annie, laughing. “It’s so much fun!”

  Finally the exhilaration of the ride overcame Jack’s worries. As if harnessing the wind and current, the raft kept sliding up and down the swells, heading west. Seagulls followed it, shrieking overhead.

  The raft kept roller-coastering across the sea, sliding up and down over more waves. Moving with great speed, the raft seemed to know exactly where to go.

  “Hey, land! Is that land?” Annie said, pointing across the water.

  Jack saw a jagged rocky coastline with a strip of gleaming white sand. “Yes! Yes!” he shouted. “It’s land!”

  The raft slowed down. As it floated toward the distant shore, the sea changed, becoming calm and smooth. The seagulls were silent.

  “Where are we?” Annie asked.

  “I’ll check,” said Jack. He reached into their waterproof bag and pulled out the travel guide. He quickly found a map inside. He pointed to the tip of Cozumel. Then he moved his finger across the Caribbean, landing on the eastern shore of the Yucatán Peninsula. Dotting the shoreline were symbols for hotels and resorts.

  Jack showed the map to Annie. “I think we’ve come to the shore of the Yucatán Peninsula,” he said.

  “Cool,” said Annie.

  Jack read aloud from the guide:

  Vacationers flock to the eastern coast of the Yucatán of Mexico. Along the coast are comfortable luxury spa hotels and four-star Mexican restaurants. Tour buses visit Mayan ruins and hidden sinkholes filled with water.

  “Hidden sinkholes filled with water?” said Jack. “That sounds weird.” He kept reading:

  Cruise ships dock at ports along the coast while ferries take tourists over the Caribbean to Cozumel.

  “Good news,” said Jack. “We can take a ferry back to Cozumel. Then we won’t have to worry about sharks anymore.” He looked around. “I wonder why we haven’t seen any ferries or cruise ships.”

  “Maybe they’re docked in their ports now,” said Annie. “It’s late afternoon. It’ll be dark soon.” The sun was low in the sky. Soon it would sink behind the jagged cliff.

  “Makes sense. I guess we’ll have to catch the ferry first thing tomorrow,” said Jack.

  “Cool, we can stay in one of those comfortable luxury spa hotels the guide talks about,” said Annie. “Doesn’t that sound good?”

  “Yeah, really good,” said Jack. He was ready for a little comfort and luxury.

  “And get dinner, too,” said Annie, “like at a four-star Mexican restaurant.”

  “Great,” said Jack. He loved Mexican food, and he was starving.

  “We’d just be doing our mission,” said Annie.

  “Yep,” said Jack. “Having a good time.”

  “Oh, look!” said Annie, pointing toward shore. “What’s that? Up there!”

  Jack saw stone buildings high on top of the cliff. “I’ll bet those are Mayan ruins,” he said, “like that pyramid we saw in Cozumel.”

  “Look it up,” said Annie.

  Jack flipped through their travel guide until he found a photo that looked like the same rocky cliff with the same stone buildings. “I found it,” he said. He read aloud:

  Yucatán Park is a tourist attraction on the east coast of the Yucatán. In ancient times it was a port city for Mayans sailing around the Caribbean. Today, it’s a theme park that welcomes vacationers from all over the world.

  “A theme park!” said Annie. “What’s the theme?”

  Jack turned the page and saw Mayan dancers in tall feather headdresses. “I think the theme is ancient Mayan life.”

  “Oh, that’s cool,” said Annie.

  J
ack read more:

  Tourists flock to song-and-dance spectaculars that take them through Mayan history. A walking path connects the park to a hotel zone.

  “Wow, song-and-dance spectaculars!” said Annie. “I’d love to see one of those!”

  “I’d love to find a luxury hotel first,” said Jack.

  “Watch out!” said Annie. The raft was heading for a pile of rocks at the edge of the water.

  “Turn!” Jack shouted.

  Amazingly, the raft swerved to the right and missed the rocks. A wave then carried it into a sheltered cove below the cliff. The raft slid over bubbly foam at the edge of the sea and stopped on pebbly wet sand.

  Their magic ride had come to an end.

  “Safe!” said Annie. “Our wish came true. We had a fun ride.”

  “A lot of fun,” said Jack. Even the terrifying shark attack didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore, especially now that they could catch a ferry back to Cozumel in the morning.

  As Jack and Annie packed up their gear, the sun was sinking behind the rocky bluff, turning the sky pink, then purple. Jack’s face was warm with sunburn, but his body felt chilled in the sudden cool air. He was looking forward to settling into a nice hotel room.

  “Okay!” he said. “Let’s find that hotel zone.”

  “Let’s check out the Mayan theme park first,” said Annie.

  “It must be closed by now,” said Jack. “It’s almost nighttime.”

  “Okay,” said Annie, sighing. “But we have to visit it first thing tomorrow before we go back.”

  “Sure,” said Jack. “I’d love to know more about Mayan history.” He and Annie put on their flip-flops and stepped off the raft. “Uh-oh, I just thought of something.”

  “What?” said Annie.

  “We need money,” said Jack.

  “Oh, right, for a hotel and dinner and the theme park,” said Annie.

  “And ferry tickets,” said Jack.