CHAPTER 4
Ruby
The crazy guy with the huge knife in-between his teeth has been underwater for a good twenty seconds now.
Did the croc get him?
Is the croc going to get me next?
What do I do?
Stay calm, Ruby. Think!
This is surely my only chance.
I’ve got to paddle for it.
That poor guy sacrificed himself for me. I feel so sad and ashamed but I don’t have time to think about that now.
I look down at the water and just as I’m about to stick my hand in to begin paddling a head emerges right in front of me!
“Uh. Uh. Uh.”
It’s the man and he’s gasping for air.
“Paddle,” he yells.
I immediately begin paddling feeling the fear each time my hands enter the water, not knowing if my arms will be as long coming out as each time I stick them in.
“Faster,” he yells.
I turn and see he’s holding onto the back of my board and he’s kicking like crazy, trying to will us to the shore as fast as possible.
“Face forward and move!” he demands.
His voice booms even more authoritatively out here on the water.
I do as I’m told and paddle with everything I’ve got, summoning strength I didn’t even know I had.
The people are coming into focus faster and faster and what seems like just a few seconds later I feel the front of the board make contact with the sand.
I stand up and go to run, but the water at my feet begins to pull me back towards the ocean.
Suddenly I feel two huge hands grab my sides and lift me from my quicksand pit and pull me up and forward moving me up the shore.
A chorus of cheers erupts and I feel my feet hit the sand and hear a thump.
I look down and see the man flat on his back with his hands clasped behind his head.
He’s trying to catch his breath, but it’s taking time.
I look down at him and he locks his eyes on me.
He looked like a savage out there, but this savage saved my life.
Not only that, but he’s better looking than I realized. Much better looking.
He looks like a real man. One who runs his hands through his hair more often than a comb. A guy who spends time in nature and not an office.
He’s someone I’d want near me whether it were a crocodile causing the chaos or a false missile alert like they recently had in Hawaii. A guy who can save the day with his own two hands kind of like MacGyver.
But this was real, not a test. And he stepped up and risked his own life for no reason other than to save mine.
He’s a man who can protect me, just like he did.
And he didn’t just protect me. He wrestled a crocodile for me. At least that’s what I think he did.
“Sir! Can you tell us your name?”
Suddenly a woman with a microphone pushes in-between him and I ending our moment…only temporarily I hope.
“Ma’am. Can you tell us what happened out there?” another woman says as this woman sticks a similar microphone in my face.
I turn and see two cameramen. One has a big 7News sticker on it while the other says SkyNews.
“Sharks!” someone yells.
The camera points to the water as a huge school of sharks circle the area we just were. They begin thrashing and flopping water everywhere.
My brain finally has time to process everything and suddenly the hot sun reflecting off the water’s surface gets a bit brighter. My knees get a bit weaker.
My body goes limp.