75 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
75 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
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The water is cold in the early summer in Long Island, NY. I shiver as I wade
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up to my belly. In one quick movement I dive in, touch the sandy ocean bottom
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and come up. I turn over on my back and begin swimming. As my arms circle
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backwards ripples of water wash over my bare breasts. A sea breeze chills me,
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sending gooseflesh over my legs and hardening my nipples. I look up and see
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the stars of the evening sky are slightly obscured by wispy grey clouds. The
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moon, however, is full and sheds highlights on the water.
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I swim more vigorously and then stop, about 150 yards out, to catch my breath
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before heading back. I stop my backstroke and lie still, floating, feeling
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warm from the swim. The depth of the water below me is probably a little over
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40 feet. I let my legs drop deeper and I start to tread water. My left
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calf has begun to knot up so I kick harder with it to shake it out. I pause
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my lopsided tread and as I do I feel a disturbance in the water farther out
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from me as if a small boat was passing by silently under water. A tingle runs
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up my spine and I turn to look towards the beach, paddling my arms softly,
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keeping my legs still. I feel the strange movement of the water again.
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I also feel my throat tighten and a wave of fear. Suddenly I feel very alone
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so far from the shore. I can see the lights I left on in my seaside home and
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I am very anxious to get back. I roll on my belly and begin a fast crawl
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stroke. I pound the water with my right leg, occasionally kicking with my
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left. I feel a force start to descend upon me and the feeling of panic that
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overwhelms me disrupts my stroke causing me to inhale a lungful of water. As
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I cough and turn on my back I see the force. It is a great white shark.
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With his fin above the water he is swimming about ten feet away alongside me.
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He is huge and breathtaking, about 15 feet long, probably weighing several
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tons. I gasp in awe and feel such exhilaration at this sight that my panic is
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covered up. The shark makes a sudden turn towards me and his upper jaw and
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snout rise out of the water revealing gleaming white teeth. I can see the
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pink of his gums and the shadows deep inside him. I moan at the excitement
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of the moment. The shark's lifeless eyes stare at me. He is huge, strong
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and unstoppable, a perfect killing machine that hasn't changed in the tens
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of thousands of years it has existed. He is an unfeeling predator and he is
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so close to me. I moan again louder purely from the thrill I am feeling. My
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stomach is light with butterflies. The side of my torso facing him tingles
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with anticipation and vulnerability. I cry out as his teeth close over
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me. The instant before he bites the sensation in my side reaches a peak of
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almost pleasurable sensation. I start gasping so hard that I can't breath.
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Then there is pressure and I feel a stab of pain. His teeth sink into me
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making an arc from the top of my right armpit, between my breasts, over my
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belly and down to the top of my thigh. I scream in a frightened euphoria.
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This is the climax to an event so frightening and rare I feel immense
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appreciation to be experiencing it. This is more thrilling than the steepest
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roller coaster imaginable or the most shocking, intriguing horror film.
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I scream again as his teeth sink deeper. Tears run down my cheeks though I
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can't feel a thing. A flash of sanity, however, cuts through my excitement
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and reminds me of my mortality. Without thinking my right hand clenches in
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a fist which I plunge into the shark's eye. My hand goes through the white
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membrane of attack and hits the soft sensitive lens. The shark's grip is
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released. I punch again and again until the shark turns his body away pushing
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me several feet from him. I lie still and see the shark's fin disappear into
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the dark waters. I am dizzy and numb. I try to concentrate on staying afloat.
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I am paralyzed. After several tense minutes, with only the sound of the waves
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around me, I begin to move. My right leg hangs limp. I no longer feel the
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cramp as I force my left to kick softly. I turn on my left side and
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paddle with my left arm. I struggle to keep my mouth and nose out of the
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water. My mind begins to drift away as my body goes into shock. My face hits
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the water and instantly my survival instinct picks it up. I can taste salty,
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bloody water. I start to lose consciousness several times before I finally
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reach the shore. The waves push me onto the sand and I drag myself a few
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feet before my arm buckles. I look down at my bleeding torso and see my flesh
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torn in ragged slits, white ribs showing through in places. The sand feels
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like razors on my mangled back. I become very aware of my breathing. I sigh
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softly and let my mind go. My blood spreads around me on the sand.
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-Alison.
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