Taken By The Shark

“Oh, you don’t?” he chuckled. “Yet I remember your mother’s reaction just like it was yesterday. I had to chase after her for the entire week before she’d agree to be my bride.”

“Chelsea loves the ocean already,” said Mark with a smile. “If I told her she could become a part of it forever, she’d be even more ready to pounce on me than she is already.”

“Is she untouched, then?” he clarified. “The magic doesn’t work on someone who has been with another. And you know that the choice must be hers. It’s never a good idea to transform a girl without warning her about it first. Ultimately their resistance could kill them.”

“Then you will allow it?” Mark asked him.

“I want to get a look at her first,” he said. “Can you bring her down for a dive?”

“I could, old man,” he said. “But only a couple hundred feet. Are you sure you want to go up there? I only ever hear you say how much you hate it near the top.”

“I will go there to see this girl,” he said with a nod. “You must bring her down and send a message while you are there. When I see her, I will know if she is worthy of such a gift.”

“Yes, father,” he agreed, and swam away again without another word.

*****

Mark donned his wet suit again and put on a pair of flippers. Then he spoke into the communicator rather than typing. “Chels, are you sleeping?”

No, I’m very awake. I can’t stop thinking about last night.

“Will you come diving with me?” he asked. “Just the two of us? We’ll bring a light and you can see how beautiful the sea is at night. Please say yes.”

I’ll be right there.

Now that he’d invited her, Mark was starting to feel really nervous about this whole thing. Maybe it was too soon to be making such a big decision? Maybe he would be scaring off the best thing that ever happened to him? And, his father might believe that he’d be moving back down in the deep end as soon as his wish was granted. Was it wrong of him not to mention he didn’t intend anything of the sort?

But all his doubts crumbled to dust at his feet just as soon as Chelsea arrived. He had to act natural so she wouldn’t realize something was going on, because she was probably one of the smartest humans he’d ever known. She would notice for sure.

“Hi,” she said as she walked over to him. “You were already out? Your hair’s wet.”

“Yeah, I’ve already been,” he said, smiling at her. She laughed at the hungry look in his eyes and moved forward to give him a kiss. “Hmm, and that’s exactly what was missing.”

“What?” she asked softly and she rubbed her nose to his, standing on her tiptoes to reach.

“Sweet Chelsea kisses,” he grinned. “Glad to see you wore your wet suit. Shall we?”

After donning the rest of the necessary gear, they each checked the other’s tanks and then climbed off the edge of Mark’s boat. Chelsea followed where Mark led, each of them holding a bright light in one hand to penetrate the darkness. It was beautiful down there. The deep-water corals and the small fish looked almost surreal in the darkness, with only small portions brightening up when the light hit them.

They were examining one of the coral patches when Chelsea’s danger-sense went off. Glancing around, she realized with a start that the two of them were surrounded by about four tiger sharks. She gasped, the airtight mask trying to suction to her face. She blew out the breath hard, creating a flurry of bubbles.

Mark’s hand found hers, and he gave it a little squeeze as he drew her closer to his side, watching their visitors warily. The two of them stayed still as they waited to see what the predators had in mind.

One of the sharks moved in, and suddenly bit at Chelsea’s tank, ripping the pack right off of her. Startled, she held her breath as she moved to retrieve it, thinking this was awfully odd behavior for a shark. Wouldn’t it have normally bitten her if she was considered prey, or ignored her if she wasn’t?

She tried to stay calm as she caught at the tank and brought it back to her side, but she couldn’t use the broken strap so she’d have to hold onto the gear and swim all at the same time. She couldn’t help but speculate on the fact that nobody knew they were down here. If these sharks got them, nobody would even know about it.

“Father? We are diving now. Who are these idiots who have come to meet us? You haven’t sent assassins to kill my girl have you?” Mark demanded using their telepathic link.

“What do you mean?” Paribdus asked. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me you’re there. What’s going on?”

“We’re under attack, that’s what’s going on,” he told him. “They look like tiger sharks, but I know better. But if you didn’t send them, then who did?”

“I have no idea, but I’ll summon the guards,” he said. “We’ll be there within a very few minutes.”

“That’s too long,” he said. “These guys mean business right now.”

The whole time Mark was having this conversation he had been placing himself between Chelsea and the sharks, and none of them had attempted to attack him. They would have been foolish indeed if they had, considering his true identity, and Mark assumed by their behavior that they must be well aware.

One of them dodged past Mark, however, and yanked Chelsea’s tank from her hand, dragging her along with it because she refused to let go. Mark had already stripped off his own tank, and now he rushed after Chelsea, trying to share. He didn’t really need it, but she didn’t know that.

Before she let go, however, the shark had swam quickly over to the coral wall they’d been examining and hit the tank right into it. Chelsea couldn’t slow down quickly enough, so she hit her head as well and got knocked out.