The Shark

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Denise had a bad feeling about this trip. She thought that this kind of thing only happened in the movies…or that it was a silly made up superstition. Ever since John announced the idea of going on a trip to the Bahamas, she was really looking forward to it. 

Instead, she felt a piercing dread in her chest. She never was able to shake off this feeling leading up to the trip, but she never told John about what she was experiencing. She didn't want to ruin his excitement, so she chalked it up to bad nerves, and ignored her gut feeling. 

They were currently in the hotel, getting ready to go swimming in the beach. Denise put on her best swimsuit, and she smiled when John kissed her on the back of the neck. 

"You smell good, babe."

"You're just making an excuse to put your hands on me," Denise replied. 

"Maybe."

He kissed her cheek, and hurried over to the bathroom to finish up. Denise was happy that she couldn't keep the smile off her face. Perhaps she really was stressing out over nothing, and this trip was going to go quite well. John got ready, they left the hotel, and they walked hand in hand to the beach. Denise closed her eyes, enjoying the light breeze. She was grateful for any sort of wind as of right now, the sun was a massive killer. 

Luckily, she brought sunscreen for the both of them, but she wasn't sure it would be enough. She was willing to spray the entire bottle on both of them, to ensure that they will be able to avoid a lot of sunburns. They arrived at the beach, and Denise was content to see so many people all enjoying themselves in the ocean. 

There was a whole line of umbrellas and chairs, with plenty of people all resting in the shade, or having fun in the water. John and Denise picked a spot near the water, and Denise applied sunscreen on both of them. John ran to the water, right after she was finished with him. She rolled her eyes when John let out a yell, hopping into the ocean. 

He acted like such a kid sometimes, but Denise couldn't help but find it adorable. She was damn lucky to find someone like him. She was spraying her arms when one word made her heart stop. She whipped her head toward the ocean when that stranger yelled that one word out again:

"SHARK!"

People were running out of the water, desperately trying to get to the shore. Denise saw a glimpse of a shark fin, and she gasped when she realized that the shark was heading right for John. She ran toward the water, not caring about her own safety. 

"JOHN! GET OUT OF THE WATER!"

John's eyes were as wide as the colorful dinner plates that Denise got him for last Christmas. She screamed when John was suddenly pulled into the water. The blue was now becoming red, and without thinking, Denise ran straight to where John was taken. He shot back up into the water, struggling and yelling. Denise saw the shark's eye appear, it's teeth embedded deep into John's leg. 

She didn't know how she was going to save him, but she had to try. She was not expecting to lift up the sunscreen and spray the substance directly into the shark's black eye. Denise did not even realize that she was still carrying the can. The shark instantly let go of John, and he fell back into the water. 

The shark fin was now heading away from the beach, much to the relief of Denise. Several men ran past Denise, and they quickly started to drag John back to the shore. One of these men was the lifeguard. He was screaming at the other man to call 911, and he took off his shirt to apply pressure to John's leg. 

The wounds looked absolutely horrible, but Denise knew that John would live. She dropped the sunscreen, and held tightly to John's hand, as he clenched his teeth together, tears in his eyes. 

"I'm here, baby. I'm here."

She held onto John, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The bad feeling did not affect Denise when she saw the shark. Or when she ran into the ocean to save his life. It was what she saw when the shark let go. She thought she was imagining things, but she saw it very clearly. 

She wondered how the hospital would react to his wounds. 

They were not from a regular shark's teeth. Not one bit. 

The shark had a straight set of teeth. 

A set of human teeth. 

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn