Chapter Seventeen
Day Eight, Morning
Four days had passed since the shark attacked Sam. Throughout the night, Kate wrestled with his escalating temperature, employing wet towels and Tylenol. The last two hours were a harrowing vigil as she observed him shivering uncontrollably. Her hope that they would be rescued in time to save Sam was dwindling.
The relentless need to kill the shark consumed Kate’s mind. She had extensive shark knowledge and concentrated on devising a plan. The creature stalking them exhibited relentless aggression, charging the boat almost hourly. Kate’s ideas, though often seeming ridiculous, led to potential solutions, and she left no possibility unexplored.
Great whites had to swim to keep water passing through their mouth and out their gills to collect oxygen. She concluded that drowning the shark was the only viable option and to do that she had to stop it from swimming. Shooting a spear through its dorsal fin was the first step. She would then target its eyes—a vulnerable spot due to the lack of eyelids. The implements onboard were not the best but the smelly thawed meat would make a good bait to distract the shark.
They ate the last of the eggs for breakfast. Sam requested coffee, which she considered a positive sign after the night he had.
“You’re deep in thought,” he said after taking a sip and resting the mug on his lap.
“I want to kill the shark,” she told him, speaking softly while Ryan played with plastic marine animals.
He took another sip before handing her the mug. She rested it beside her.
“Help will get here today,” he said with confidence Kate didn’t feel. “We’ll be long gone before the shark knows it.”
She couldn’t return his smile. The lessons she learned from her father, while aboard boats when she was young, told her it would get worse before things got better and all she could do was prepare.
“I think we’ll be rescued today too,” she said. “I also thought that yesterday. We need to keep Ryan safe, and to do that, I’m being proactive.”
She told him her thoughts on possibly injuring the shark or killing it.
“The anchor needs to be pulled up and redropped anyway. I can use the chain and possibly tie the spearfishing line to it. With his size, he can tow the anchor, but I was thinking maybe I could secure him to the side of the yacht where he would drown.”
“Maybe we should just leave him alone,” Sam suggested.
“This is the backup plan. We have the Sea-Doo, which I could use to go for help. I would carry an extra gas can to make it to another boat or the coastline,” she contemplated aloud. “I would need to be strapped on, but I could do it just not with the shark out there.”
“What if I went?” he asked.
She looked at him, and sadness filled her. She cupped his cheek. “You’re not in good enough shape. If we’re not rescued today, I’m taking out the shark, and then we can figure out the rest.”
The shark hit the boat again.
“He doesn’t give up,” she said, feeling helpless once more.
“Come here.” Sam pulled her against his chest. “We will get out of this and have a great story to tell our grandchildren.”
For Kate, the contact was exactly what she needed. She loved this man so much. She would insist they go to couples therapy, which Sam had asked for in the beginning, and she had refused. They would come out the other side with a stronger marriage, and she would no longer stand in the way of healing.
She squeezed him back and simply rested against him for several peaceful minutes.
“Ryan and I need to wash and change. We have a good system for bringing up the water from the engine room. Would you like another bed bath?”
“Honestly, I need to sleep again. Even the coffee isn’t keeping me awake.”
She didn’t mention he only took three small sips. Kate smiled against his chest, enjoying their closeness. His skin was thankfully cool. Sam squeezed her before he relaxed his arms, and she wiggled away and hoisted herself to her wheelchair.
“Come on, Ryan, we need soap, water, and a bristly brush to get the stink off you.”
“Mooom,” Ryan complained.
“Hey, you said I was stinky yesterday. I’m just returning the favor.”
Sam was chuckling softly when they left the galley.
Using the same procedure that had been working for them, Kate sat on the floor at the hatch and helped Ryan downward as far as she could.
“Mom.” The one word sounded worried.
Kate scooted closer and poked her head down the hatch.
“There’s water on the floor,” Ryan said and pointed the solar light downward.
Fuck. It was a word she never thought or used until now, and thankfully, she said it in her head and not aloud. She took a calming breath so Ryan couldn’t hear the worry in her voice.
“Come on up, and we’ll get the bath water later.”
“Is the shark going to eat us?” Ryan asked when she was sitting next to her mom.
“No way. Why do you think I got the spearguns out?” Kate replied. “That shark will not hurt you. Your father will protect you too. We have the Sea-Doo and a life raft if we are really desperate. People are looking for us, and today is the day.”
“I’m scared.”
Kate turned slightly and placed her hands on the sides of Ryan’s face, looking her straight in the eyes.
“I won’t lie to you. This is scary, but I promise, the shark will not get you. The yacht can take on a lot of water, and we also have an emergency bilge hand pump for times like this when the power goes out.”
“There are sharp knives in the galley too,” Ryan said.
“Exactly, and we need to be thinking about those things. If we plan for every situation, we’ll be ready for whatever that stupid shark does.”
Ryan wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “It is a stupid shark.”
One disaster averted. Thankfully, Ryan had no idea how terrified Kate was. Her best guess was three inches of water in the engine room. The shark had discovered a weakness in the hull and exploited it.
Her family’s time was running out.