I stare into the gaping maw of a deep water sharks and the question arises – should I stay or should I go?
But how did I get here?
Two hours ago, Fearghas and I were galloping down the beach, seemingly into the setting two suns. Salty breeze tore at my dark violet hair and I’ve never felt so alive in all my ten years of life. Fearghas galloped happily as if he was in a race, kicking up red sand all around us. It was perfect.
As we followed the curving beach around Fye Island we came upon an unexpected sight that made me yank on Fearghas’ chain reins to stop him.
“What on Uhna…”
A large wooden ship was being thrown in the air with people screaming on its decks. The Fyoon ocean’s water churned from something large and terrible in its depths.
A deep water shark’s dozens of tentacles rose from the water, slamming into the ship and breaking through its inadequate wooden railings. Sailors jumped off the ship to their certain death, fear causing them to go mad.
A tremendous body jumped out of the water swallowing the shrieking men in one gulp and disappearing under the surface. Its wide tail crashing into the ship and tearing it clean half.
“We have to do something…” I murmured and kicked my heels into Fearghas’ side before I even finished the thought.
I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew I couldn’t stay on the beach and watch everyone get killed by that old deep water shark who was infamous for its bloodthirst and its cruel ways of playing with its food.
Fearghas, without hesitation galloped into the water, switching from running gait to swimming seamlessly, cutting through the waves caused by the deep water shark circling the broken ship.
A broken wooden plank, the length of my arm, swam by Fearghas and I picked it up on instinct.
When the large flat head, with its gaping mouth full of rows of sharp fangs, resurfaced I chucked the plank at its head.
It hit the shark right in the middle of its black orb eye.
The creature shrieked and thrashed falling backward and away from the ship.
“Hurry!” I shouted at the people swimming away from the ship and kicked Fearghas’ side to get closer. My heart was beating so fast, I felt I would choke on it.
“This is insanity…” I muttered and swiped a wet strand of hair out of my face with a shaking hand.
“We have to get the shark away from the ship,” I said to Fearghas. As if he understood, my battle horse started to swim away from the ship in an angle, toward the deeper waters.
Suddenly, Fearghas neighed and something large lifted us up a few hundred feet, straight into the air, as the shark jumped out of the water with us stuck in the jungle of its waving tentacles.
It threw its dark and slimy body backward so fast and so hard that I flew out of Fearghas’ saddle, falling head first into the ocean.
The cold water hit back like a brick wall, knocking all the air out of my lungs.
I must have lost consciousness for a few seconds because the next thing I saw was the open mouth of the deep water shark rushing toward me.
I knew I couldn’t outswim the beast. My ten years old body was no match against it.
Father was right. He predicted this would happen if I kept riding Fearghas against his wishes. Not as much the deep water shark, but the dying part.
Then suddenly something bit down on the back of my shirt, and I was yanked back, away from the deep water shark, thrown onto Fearghas’ back.
I grabbed Fearghas’ neck, leaning forward, while he swam toward the shore as fast as his powerful body could.
When I looked back, I saw the double fins of the shark rise out of the surface behind us, a sign that it was about to attack.
“Faster Fearghas! Faster!”
Fearghas kicked his legs and with a burst of speed we managed to outswim the beast, trotting out of the water just in time. The deep water shark turned away from us, spraying us with a flash of his big tail, swimming away from the shore the last second before it would have ended up stranded on the sandy beach.
“Thank you…” a weak voice said from my right.
It was an old man who said it, lying on his back next to twenty men of various ages. All sailors.
“Thank you little girl for saving us. Thank you for staying.”