Chapter Twenty-Seven

Day Nine, Late Afternoon

Cold settled into Kate's bones as the shock of ice water surrounded her. This far out, the ocean's depth kept the water colder. The sound of her heart exploded in her ears. She shot back to the surface for air and checked on Ryan. Her daughter faced the starboard side, her focus fully on the shark.

"Is it still attached to the lines?" Kate shouted to get her attention.

Little head nods were her answer. Ryan's fear made her incapable of verbal communication, and Kate understood. She was surprised her daughter had held it together for so long. It was now or never.

Following several deep breaths, Kate dove deep to get under the boat. Using her arms to give her more depth, she glanced at the hull as she swam beneath it. There were visible dents but she couldn't see the damage that was allowing water into the engine compartment. She swam on, it was too late for the yacht.

The shark's body loomed ahead of her. He was enormous. The perspective from the deck didn't do him justice. His white underbelly merged with the gray upper body and looked to be painted freehand. Their yacht was sixty feet long, and the shark was easily one-third that size which made her recalculate his length. He might be a twenty footer. Scars marred his skin giving testament to his age and his battles for survival.

She swam deeper, thankful for all the hours she'd spent in pools doing physical therapy. Her legs drifted behind her as her long, powerful arms pulled against the water, and she moved forward. She had almost passed beneath the shark when it noticed her. One dark eye focused.

He reacted and hit the yacht again trying to get loose. He'd recognized her and kept her in his peripheral as he fought. With a powerful pull of her arms, Kate shot forward looking for the chain. She saw a flash in the water and went deeper. Her lungs screamed for air. She refused to go up until she had the chain in her hand. Finally, her hand connected, and she grasped the cold metal as tightly as she could. With no air in her lungs, she went deeper, her vision blurred, and her chest craved air so badly it hurt. She reached the rope attached to the end of the chain and used everything she had to gain the surface. He twisted and lunged in her direction as she flew upward. Another spear snapped. Kate's brain only saw the huge open jaws with rows of teeth reaching for her.

She hit the surface about four yards from the shark. Kate sucked in several deep breaths before she went under again. Her eyes remained glued to the shark to be sure it was still secure. She swam deeper and passed below it and then beneath the boat. When the shark was behind her, she refused to turn and look. How many cables were holding him? She surfaced.

"He's breaking away," Ryan screamed.

Kate grabbed the swim platform and hauled her wet body on board. They didn't have time to start over. She had to secure him right now.

"Take the rope and don't drop it," Kate said as she handed it to Ryan.

Kate dragged herself across the platform and grasped her wheelchair. Faster than she'd ever accomplished it, she hefted herself into the seat not caring that her arms were screaming from everything she'd put them through. She frantically sucked in air.

"Mom?" Ryan asked.

Kate lifted her hand and smiled. "Hand me the rope," she wheezed.

Ryan gave her the soggy material. Kate wheeled slowly to the port side, the list making it nearly impossible. When she could grasp the middle rail, she circled the rope once around the upper rail, and began pulling. Ryan helped, and they quickly came to the chain. The yacht shook from the force of the fighting shark. With the chain in her lap, she wheeled to the starboard side and struggled to get closer to the shark.

"Come on," she groaned as she gave it everything she had and traveled on the unsteady surface that wanted to pitch her into the water again. Once she was in place, she tied the end of the chain to a cleat. As the shark's ability to move were curtailed, it thrashed harder. As soon as it rested, Kate tightened the chain on the cleat until the chain around the shark was as snug as she could make it.

"Grab me another spear from the container," Kate yelled.

She lifted the speargun into her lap and waited for Ryan.

"There's only one," Ryan said when she ran back to her mom.

Kate quickly cut and tied a cable to one of the spears and the end to an unused T-bracket. She slid the spear into the chamber, pulled and attached the rubber, and took aim. The shark went still, and she hit the dorsal fin, lower than the earlier strike. The yacht groaned, and they listed to the starboard side with a grinding noise. They were taking on water quickly now.

Kate tightened the attached cord and then the chain. She leaned through the rail and grabbed a section of the net. The shark didn't budge, but Kate knew it wasn't dead. She manipulated the net as far over the shark's head as she could without falling into the water on top of it.

The shark exploded upward and splashed back down before it went into an extended rage. The sudden force of the action caused the yacht to groan again. Kate knew the sound. Anyone who had spent months at sea dreaded what it meant.

When the shark went still again, she was ready. She circled the chain as tightly as possible around the cleat, which secured it more firmly around the middle of the shark's body. She carefully tightened one of the spear lines but the yacht tilted too much to tighten the others.

"We need to get to the life raft," Kate yelled. If she were thrown onto the shark, it would kill her. Another groan, and the boat went lower into the water, almost going completely to its side. The wheelchair stopped her from moving up the steep deck. She rapidly scrambled from the chair and dragged herself each agonizing foot away from the shark.

"Undo your safety line and hold onto the rail," she told Ryan. Kate made it to her daughter, sat up and grabbed the canvas bag holding the raft. She grunted as she pushed it closer to the water. The way the yacht listed so high on the port side meant they would need to go into the ocean to gain entry to the raft.

She pushed the canvas through the rungs of the rail while holding the cord that inflated it. Once it was through, she pulled until she met resistance. At that point, she gave it a firm tug which activated the canisters that filled the raft's compartments with air.

The raft hung halfway off the side of the boat as it inflated. Kate fed out the line and the raft hit the water. The shark thrashed again, but the water level was too high, and the yacht too heavy. It stopped after a few seconds.

"Come here," she told Ryan, who moved closer. "Sit down beside me."

Ryan, with pure trust in her mother, innocently moved next to her. Kate grabbed hold of her daughter tightly and without a word, rolled beneath the railing. The rope holding the raft came with them, and they landed with a splash in the water. Ryan came up screaming.

"It's okay, it's okay," Kate repeated to try and calm her. "Up you go," she said situating Ryan at the opening. Kate needed her arms to tread water, so she sank as she pushed Ryan upward into the raft.

"Take my arms and help me in," Kate said when her head was above the surface again.

Ryan continued sobbing, but she grabbed Kate and tried to help her into the raft. Kate's arms were at the breaking point, or so it felt. She didn't have enough energy to pull herself up and on board.

"Mommy, the shark," Ryan yelled.

Kate went beneath the water and spun around. She peered beneath the boat, expecting it to come at her from below. She saw movement as the yacht rocked. The shark was still attached to the yacht, but it was doing everything it could to get away. Kate came up and looked into her daughter's terrified eyes.

"I'm going to push the raft further from the boat," Kate said.

She tugged with one hand and swam with the other. She was past the point of exhaustion, and she didn't think she would make it into the raft. Ryan let out a blood curdling scream and Kate wondered if she would feel anything before she died.