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Company in Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Yo,

0:32

Perry, I've got a bite! I lifted

0:34

my eyes from the water to see Kevin

0:36

yanking back with all of his might. The

0:38

fishing rod my friend was holding suddenly bent

0:40

almost in half as the sound of the

0:42

line rapidly spooling out filled the air, almost

0:44

drowning out the sound of the gulls crying

0:46

overhead. A

0:48

look of determination entered his face as he reached to lock the

0:50

reel, embracing his legs. He

0:53

let out a battle cry and flipped a switch.

0:56

A moment later he was almost pulled off

0:58

of the paddle boat and straight into the

1:01

frigid Atlantic as the fish on the other

1:03

end strained to escape. Veins began to stand

1:05

out on his arm as he used every

1:07

ounce of muscle in his body to match

1:10

its ferocity. He shot a quick look

1:12

up at me, a grin splitting across

1:14

his face. It feels like one hell

1:16

of a big sum of bits to boot! For

1:19

my part I simply shook my head and

1:21

gave a half smile at the man's over-dramatic

1:23

tone, as if he were

1:25

boasting about hooking Moby Dick himself. More

1:28

than likely, he's got

1:30

himself a good-sized striper, a large

1:32

bluefish at most. Even still

1:34

I called out to him, He all good at

1:36

eating a hand. He shook his head

1:39

as he reeled in a few feet of line

1:41

and turned away from me, following

1:43

the struggling fish as it swung toward shore.

1:46

No, I got this! He yelled back, Keep

1:48

your eyes on your own line! We have a school

1:50

of whatever this is passing under us. Grunting

1:54

to acknowledge I'd heard him, I turned away

1:56

to gaze back at my line, which disappeared

1:59

out of sight. into the dark blue, almost black

2:02

depths. Reaching out, I

2:04

gently gripped it with my thumb and forefinger to feel

2:06

if there was any tension beyond the stir of the

2:08

current. Even the slightest

2:10

tug could signify a curious fish nibbling.

2:14

To my disappointment, though, I felt

2:16

nothing. Nothing

2:18

for the last hour and a half. I

2:21

cast a quick and somewhat bitter look over

2:23

at Kevin as he continued to haul up

2:25

his prize from below. He

2:28

bastard. Always ends up being

2:30

the one to catch anything during the spring months.

2:34

The summer may have been my time

2:36

to shine, but in spring, he's a

2:38

clear winner. Kevin

2:40

and I had grown up together in a small town

2:42

of Cams and Main, meeting for

2:44

the first time during a roll call

2:46

in elementary school, bonding over a mutual

2:48

love of the ocean, Sega Dreamcast and

2:51

70s horror movies. We had

2:53

instantly hooked onto each other, and

2:55

it had been that way ever since, even

2:57

as the years had passed and we'd grown. I was

3:00

now staring down the barrel of turning thirty

3:02

while he, being a few years older, was

3:05

soon to turn thirty-four. After

3:07

finishing college four years ago, I decided

3:10

to move back to my hometown, pining

3:12

for the sound of the seagulls and lobster

3:14

boats over even all the excitement and fun

3:16

that Boston had to offer. It was

3:19

my surprise. Then I

3:21

stopped into the vintage room for a drink.

3:23

I found him sitting at the bar, nursing

3:26

a glass of whiskey. After

3:28

embracing each other and over

3:30

a few more drinks, I found he decided

3:32

to stay, taking on a job as a

3:35

deckhand on his uncle's lobster

3:37

boat. That's when

3:39

the topic of paddleboard fishing came out. He

3:43

was a hobby he'd taken up after being introduced

3:45

to it by a tourist who'd passed through some

3:48

years prior, one he'd taken a shine

3:50

to. One of the most

3:52

fun times I've ever had on the water,

3:54

he said. Seriously, you gotta try it. Just

3:56

once, you'll catch the bug like I did.

4:00

And he'd been down the money. Even

4:02

having to learn to maintain my balance and don

4:05

a wet seat to keep from freezing during the

4:07

colder months, it was a blast. More

4:10

than that, it was like the old days of

4:12

the two of us fishing together. The

4:14

only difference is trading in the

4:16

small two-person rowboat for the

4:18

boards. And especially during the summer

4:20

months, when both of us caught equal amounts

4:23

of stripers, mackerel, and bluefish. It

4:25

became a thrilling, friendly rivalry to see who could come

4:27

out on top. The

4:30

winter and spring months, though? Not

4:33

as exciting anymore. I

4:36

shook my head to push away the intrusive, almost

4:38

jealous emotions which had settled over me like

4:41

a storm cloud. Knock it off,

4:43

Pear. Don't let the ugly green

4:45

monster ruin the fun. Just do

4:47

as you always do and shrug it off. Besides,

4:50

we still got half an hour for you to catch something. The

4:54

mental encouragement seemed to bolster me, and I

4:56

felt a genuine smile split the sourpuss

4:58

face that had been plastered there. Lifting

5:01

my head, I gazed out to sea as a

5:04

set of large waves lifted me on their

5:06

crest. Far

5:09

out in the distance, just visible on the horizon, I

5:11

could see the vague shapes of

5:13

North Haven and Vinyl

5:15

Haven Island. Both

5:18

seemed to rise ever so slightly from the

5:20

water like the backs of sea monsters, which

5:22

I'd once told tales of. The

5:25

thought reminded me of the tales my grandfather had told

5:27

me before he'd passed. Tales

5:31

about the sea serpent of Mount Desert Island,

5:34

of Cassie the Casco Bay sea monster, and

5:37

others I'd long forgotten the names of. Pear,

5:40

my boy, remember that there'll always be

5:43

more things undiscovered on this planet than

5:46

there'll ever be written about in books, he

5:48

told me. As

5:51

much as I agreed with his sentiment, I

5:53

didn't exactly believe in sea monsters. I

5:56

was convinced that things that gargantuan wouldn't be

5:58

able to escape the prime curious eyes

6:00

of man forever, especially with

6:02

our continued exploration of the sea. Hell,

6:06

it was what I had gone to college for, achieving

6:09

a degree in marine biology. I

6:13

got it! Kevin's

6:15

cry caused me to turn half around on

6:17

my board, pulling my eyes from the open ocean.

6:20

He was kneeling down, holding the rod in one

6:22

hand and a small landing hook in the other,

6:25

as his eyes focused on something beneath the surface

6:27

he couldn't see. A moment later,

6:29

he dipped the hook into the water and

6:31

stood up grinning like a kid on Christmas mornings

6:34

as he held up the large striper which flopped

6:36

from the end of it. Now,

6:39

that's what I'm talking about, man,

6:41

he declared transiently, before depositing

6:43

the fish into the bucket on the board in front

6:45

of him. I couldn't help

6:47

but smile and let out a chuckle at his

6:49

infectious excitement. Nice one, bro,

6:52

I called to him, giving him a thumbs up.

6:55

His smile grew wider for a moment. He

6:58

gestured at me. He hasn't gotten a bite

7:00

yet. He shook my

7:02

head. Either

7:05

hook in your catch caused the rest to scatter away or

7:07

was just a loner. There's absolutely nothing

7:10

else down there. A

7:13

thoughtful look spread across his face and he rubbed

7:15

his chin looking around. How

7:18

about we move a little further up the coast? Always

7:20

bites closer to the 700-acre island,

7:23

like both of us to go home with something to show for

7:25

it. Whatever

7:28

trace of envy I felt melted

7:30

away like snow and spring in his

7:32

words, replaced by appreciation for my friend's

7:35

consideration. And that

7:37

shows you exactly why he's always been a better man for

7:39

the two of us. Yeah,

7:41

why not? I replied, beginning to reel in

7:44

my line. Can't be any worse

7:46

than here, anyway. You want to move closer to shore

7:48

or just head straight up? Kevin

7:50

didn't answer. After

7:53

waiting for a moment for a response, and

7:55

as my jig breached the surface, I turned

7:58

to see why he hadn't applied. To

8:01

my surprise, I found his gaze not

8:03

on me, but beyond,

8:07

further out to sea. His

8:10

eyes were narrowed, indicating that he was squinting as

8:12

he raised a hand to shield his eyes from

8:14

the sun, with strain to shine

8:16

through the clouds overhead. I

8:19

felt a wave of confusion wash over me and

8:21

quickly hooked my jig into the rod, setting

8:23

it down in its holder and turning to follow his

8:25

gaze. For

8:27

a moment, I scanned the waves,

8:29

unable to locate what had caught

8:31

his attention. Then

8:36

I finally saw it. At

8:40

first it was just a small

8:42

splash, something barely perceptible amongst

8:45

the rest of the ever-moving ocean, and

8:48

a small flash of yellow caught my gaze.

8:54

It appeared only for a split second and seemed to

8:56

pull under the waves. After

8:58

a moment, it reappeared, a few feet ahead of

9:00

its prior position. What

9:02

the hell? It

9:05

reappeared a third time, and for whatever reason

9:07

I felt something uncoil itself inside me as

9:09

I suddenly realized that whatever it

9:11

was, it was heading in our

9:14

direction. I shot a look at Kevin. Dude,

9:17

what the hell is that? I

9:19

softly called out. He kept

9:21

his eyes trained on the approaching sight, but slowly shook

9:24

his head. I

9:26

honestly don't know, Perry, he

9:29

answered. But the

9:31

words are barely out from his lips when I saw a

9:33

look of recognition flash across his face, the

9:36

confusion replaced by a look of incredulity. I

9:39

actually scrapped that. I do know what the hell that is, but… The

9:43

hell? I turned back to

9:45

see the object was less than forty feet from us now,

9:48

and immediately recognized it myself. A

9:50

buoy. It was

9:55

the kind that lobstermen used to mark the

9:57

location of their pots and identify which belonged

9:59

to them. The white

10:01

plastic stick, to help grab

10:03

it from the water, stuck straight up into

10:05

the sky. The flash of

10:07

yellow I'd seen had been painted stripe

10:10

which ran around the top. It

10:14

continued to move towards us at a steady pace. No,

10:17

not entirely steady. As it

10:19

moved forward, the buoy seemed to quickly jerk back

10:21

and forth from the

10:23

left to the right every few seconds. A

10:26

large wave rolled over it, and it disappeared from

10:28

view for a moment. For whatever reason,

10:30

not being able to see it caused a large wave

10:32

of anxiety to well up in me. My

10:35

mind began to race as it sought to explain

10:37

what we were seeing. It

10:39

is clearly a lobster buoy, but there's absolutely

10:42

no way the traps should be moving, not

10:45

where they're weighed down with large bricks and

10:47

metal. Even more so,

10:49

the tide's going out, not in. It'd

10:52

be going out to sea regardless. The

10:55

only way that it could be moving, in

10:58

that manner, is if something

11:00

got caught on it. The

11:03

only thing big enough around here to drag a pot is

11:06

a shark, I

11:08

breathed. Every fiber

11:10

of muscle and sinew in my body suddenly tensed

11:12

up as the answer kept repeating in my mind.

11:15

I slowly turned to look at Kevin. Dude,

11:17

whatever you do, try to stay as still as possible, all right?

11:21

Try to make noise that'll draw attention

11:23

to you, because I think a great

11:25

white got caught in a

11:27

trap, and it's pulling it along behind it. Even

11:32

from a distance, I caught sight

11:34

of his face paling slightly.

11:37

Oh, good God, I heard

11:40

him nutter weakly. I

11:42

didn't blame him one bit for it. Great

11:44

whites are some of the most powerful sharks

11:46

that roam the oceans. Fish

11:48

predators, their bites are thousands of pounds per

11:50

square inch. They could easily bite a

11:52

man in half. This one

11:54

was likely attracted by the struggles of this

11:56

fish on Kevin's line, and it's... moved

12:00

in to investigate. And

12:03

we're standing here, two

12:05

friggin paddle boards, sitting

12:09

ducks. Small wisps

12:11

of fear began to seep into me as I

12:14

attempted to stay as still as a statue, bracing

12:16

my legs with each roll of the

12:18

waves as I watched the buoy continue

12:20

to approach us. I kept myself from

12:22

looking down into the ocean, half expecting,

12:25

if I did, to catch a split-second

12:27

glimpse of this torpedo-shaped body rocketing up

12:29

at me as I was a gate.

12:32

My eyes tracked every jerk as

12:34

it drew even with us. It

12:37

was close enough that I could have reached out and touched

12:39

it. I forced

12:41

my eyes to look down, seeing

12:44

that the buoy must have been in the water a long

12:46

time. Below the waterline, most

12:48

of it was covered with a thick coat

12:50

of algae and seaweed, strands

12:52

of it dangling up behind it like

12:55

party streamers. More

12:58

covered the rope which connected the buoy to

13:00

the trap below, which disappeared

13:02

out of sight after about

13:04

seven feet underwater. I

13:09

gave a silent prayer. Please

13:13

keep moving, for I love God,

13:15

and all the angels don't stop. Keep

13:18

moving away. A

13:24

massive sense of relief suddenly surged through

13:26

me. As I saw, they were

13:28

answered. The buoy continued

13:30

on its journey, passing by,

13:32

first myself, and then Kevin. He

13:36

both slowly turned to watch it move toward

13:39

shore, the cams

13:41

and harbor, staring after it

13:43

until it again disappeared from sight among the

13:45

waves. I

13:48

realized I had been holding my breath and

13:50

feeling relatively safe again. I let it out

13:52

with a loud whoosh as

13:55

I bent over slightly and put my hands on my

13:57

knees, feeling the collar return to my face. to

14:00

look over Kevin. He

14:02

looked back at me, and for a moment all

14:04

we did was stare at each other. I

14:07

was the one who began to softly chuckle at first. He

14:10

joined in after a second. Moments

14:13

later the two of us were unable to stop

14:15

laughing as the tension drained from us. Holy

14:18

frickin' crap, Perry, he

14:20

said, wiping a visible sheen

14:22

of sweat from his brow. That was, and

14:24

I'm not even joking, one of the creepiest

14:26

fucking things to ever

14:29

happen to me period. Full stop. I

14:32

let out a soft cough as laughter began

14:34

the day away. You're telling me. I've studied

14:36

ocean life my entire life, even knowing what

14:38

that must have been. It still got under

14:41

my skin. You realize, you know,

14:43

just how insignificant and vulnerable

14:46

we are away from dry land, huh? I

14:50

saw him crack a slight nervous smile. Yeah,

14:53

that's one way to phrase it. He

14:57

turned back to look after where the buoy

14:59

had disappeared before turning back to me. So,

15:03

now what should we do? Head straight back

15:05

for shore, stay out, finish fishing? I

15:08

bit my lower lip gently as

15:10

I thought. It's very questioned, and I'd

15:12

been one which had begun resonating inside of my

15:14

head. After a time

15:17

I answered. Honestly I do. I'd stay

15:19

out, at least for a little bit, even

15:21

though part of me's screaming to

15:23

get to shore. It's the same direction that

15:26

it went. I pointed

15:28

towards the harbor for emphasis before finishing.

15:31

So we should give it enough time to move

15:34

on, otherwise we risk running straight into it. Realization

15:37

flashed in his eyes, and he

15:39

nodded as my words registered. Got

15:43

a good point there, my friend, he said, before

15:45

giving me a genuine smile. Good

15:48

thing you went to school for what you did. I would

15:51

have been the dumbass to just head straight back. He

15:54

hooked a thumb behind him in the direction that he'd

15:56

suggested we go. So I want to

15:58

use the time to try and get yourself a fish. before we

16:00

get our asses back to the safety dry land? I

16:03

thought of bringing a striper of bluefish back for mom

16:05

and dad to grill for dinner, surged forward in my

16:07

mind, pushing the last wisps of

16:10

fear away. Hell yeah, man, let's

16:12

do it. With that,

16:14

I reach down, picking up the paddle and positioning

16:16

myself, seeing Kevin do the same. Come

16:19

on, let's go. I

16:22

will forever blame

16:25

myself for

16:27

not having us head straight for sure. It

16:32

took us about 20 minutes to reach our new spot,

16:34

and after dropping our lines in the water, and to

16:36

my surprise, we started hooking fish after

16:38

fish. The elevation that surged

16:40

through my heart and mind with

16:42

that first bite and bend of the rod

16:45

caused me to forget all about the nerve-wracking

16:47

experience we'd had, and soon the

16:49

two of us were whooping and hollering

16:51

as we hauled up striper and mackerels

16:53

galore. Told you this

16:55

would be a good spot, Kevin called to me. I

16:58

shot him a grin back. You're in line, bro.

17:00

This is the best fish we've had all spring. One

17:03

of the first times I've hooked anything outside of summer

17:05

and fall, he snorted as he dropped his

17:08

line back in the water. Does that mean

17:10

the green shade of envy you've been covering with is

17:12

lifted? I jacked my head up, feeling

17:14

a stab of shock crash into me at his words.

17:18

How the hell did you—? I began,

17:20

but he cut me off, laughing loudly. Dude, we've

17:22

known each other our entire lives! Give me a

17:25

little credit in knowing you. For

17:28

a moment, I continued staring at him, my

17:30

mouth hanging slightly open. Then

17:33

I did the only thing I could think to do. I

17:36

laughed as well. He

17:39

wasn't wrong. Shaking

17:41

my head, I turned to jerk my rod

17:43

up and down slightly, trying to tempt another

17:45

fish to take the bite. Even

17:48

though my catch bucket was rather full, I still hoped

17:50

I'd get one more to finish the day. Nothing

17:53

seemed to be biting anymore. It's

17:56

almost like all the fish realized we were here

17:58

and fled. to chuckle

18:00

to myself, then a second

18:03

thought followed close behind. Well,

18:08

because… because

18:12

something bigger was

18:15

around. Instantly

18:20

the chuckle died away, and the mental image of the

18:22

buoy swam forward in my mind, trying

18:25

not to catch Kevin's attention. I spared a look around

18:27

at the choppy water, straining my

18:29

eyes for any hint of color, but nothing

18:32

showed itself besides the white cat. Still,

18:36

the uncomfortable, tense wisps of anxiety began

18:38

to rise back inside of me. As

18:41

hard as I attempted to push it away,

18:43

I mentally began to chide myself. Cut

18:46

it out, Perry. Long gone. Whether

18:49

it was a shark or whatever, it obviously

18:51

wasn't interested in you two. I mean, it

18:54

didn't stop. Letting Jaws

18:56

and other ocean horror movies take over

18:58

your imagination. This is real life, after

19:00

all. I

19:02

nodded before glancing at the watch on my wrist. It

19:07

fell all over my shoulder. Hey, Kev,

19:09

it's getting a bit late. We should start heading back.

19:13

This sound of his voice drifted back to me. All

19:15

right, just give me a few more minutes. I

19:17

want to try and catch one more fish. It's

19:20

like they all vanished into thin air. He chuckled. Or,

19:23

thin water. It's more appropriate. Despite

19:26

the feeling I continued to battle inside myself, I

19:28

couldn't help but laugh at his lame joke. Fine,

19:31

just five more minutes, and then I'm, uh, toe on

19:33

your back if I have to. I

19:42

looked over my shoulder to see him give me a

19:44

mock salute with his free hand. Sir,

19:47

yes, sir! He barked in

19:49

a caricature of his drill instructor father. I

19:52

smirked and shot him the bird before turning back. Even

19:55

still, I kept shooting glances at my watch, willing

19:58

for the second hand to spin faster. Finally,

20:01

after what seemed like a damn eternity, I saw

20:03

that five minutes had passed. I

20:05

turned around. Hey Kev! I called out. I

20:08

saw him lift his eyes from his line to look up at me. So

20:11

the King's new lemonade lineup is

20:13

here. Name and a lemonade The

20:16

Smoothie King Way try strawberry. Guava

20:18

Lemonade ask refresher over ice

20:20

a power up in it

20:22

can energize, or a blueberry

20:24

lemonade smoothie lead it up

20:27

being. cup! Made with

20:29

real fruit. Real juice for a

20:31

real sipping good summer. Yeah yeah,

20:33

Data is no Smoothie Kings New

20:36

lemonade lineup of for a limited

20:38

time. Who. Stars Day. Vaguely

20:40

I heard him call back, but his words seemed

20:43

to be drifting away as the thick fog were

20:45

separating us. Felt

20:48

as though my scope of vision were narrowing to a

20:50

small cone as my gaze moved past him. Back

20:53

in the direction of the harbor, where a flash of bright

20:55

yellow had appeared for a split second above the waves, I

20:58

heard Kevin attempt to call back to me, but

21:00

my gaze remained on the spot about forty yards

21:02

away. I started

21:05

to fight against myself. Dude, stop scaring

21:07

yourself, there's nothing there! You

21:09

didn't see an- Whatever

21:13

mental chiding I intended to use next

21:15

deleted itself as the flash of

21:18

color came again. And

21:20

this time I knew it hadn't been a trick in my mind.

21:22

It was confirmed as I saw

21:24

the white stick emerge back into the air

21:26

as the buoy moved through it. A

21:30

trough in the waves. My

21:34

blood suddenly ran cold as I forced a

21:36

single word out from between my lips. Fuck.

21:42

In my peripheral vision I saw Kevin turn to

21:44

follow my gaze and then freeze as he caught

21:47

the sight of the object moving towards us at

21:49

a far faster clip than it had in our

21:51

first encounters. Fuck me sideways.

21:53

He turned back to me.

21:55

Stay still as we did last time, Perry,

21:57

like you said to me. Don't draw attention to yourself. It'll

22:00

lose interest and move on." The

22:03

man's words snapped me out of my stupor. I'd

22:05

fallen in, and I blinked my eyes rapidly before

22:07

shooting the man an appreciative nod and shifting my

22:09

gaze back to the buoy. It

22:12

rapidly closed the distance before

22:14

moving out to the side about twenty feet from

22:17

Kevin's board. It stayed still

22:19

in place there for a moment. The jerking

22:21

motion stopped and the buoy simply standing up

22:23

straight in the water. Despite

22:25

the anxiety and small swell of fear coursing through my

22:27

veins, I couldn't help but feel a wave

22:30

of confusion wash over me, like

22:32

the waves around us. That's… What

22:36

the hell? How is that possible?

22:38

Great whites and most other

22:40

mackerel sharks can't stop swimming

22:42

in a hover. They'd expatiate. They'd die

22:44

otherwise. So… How

22:47

is it able to just… stay

22:50

still there like that? As

22:53

I fought to comprehend what I was seeing, the buoy began

22:55

to move again. It resumed

22:57

its rapid jerky journey, moving around

22:59

Kevin. I turned, seeing my friend

23:01

slowly set down his fishing rod next to his feet

23:04

as he continued to eye the shape. Both

23:06

our eyes watched the buoy as it moved around

23:08

to sit in front of me, roughly

23:11

the same distance it had from him. After

23:14

a second, it moved back around to him. Then

23:17

back to me. My mind

23:19

suddenly cleared, all the raging thoughts fleeing

23:21

like the fish had a single horrific

23:23

realization entered it. Circling

23:28

on. Recognizing the predatory behavior caused

23:31

a cascade of shivers to shoot up my

23:33

spine as it moved around us again, I

23:35

looked to Kevin seeing a look of fear finally

23:38

break his forced calm demeanor. Dude,

23:41

what the hell do we do? He asked, his

23:43

voice weak. I slowly shook my

23:45

head, moving my gaze back to the buoy. I

23:48

don't know, man. Something

23:50

really isn't right here. Before

23:53

I had a chance to reply, I felt the

23:55

board under me shift, almost violently. I felt as

23:57

though the board had begun pushing up from below.

24:00

a sudden immense change in water pressure,

24:02

and I struggled to not fall headfirst

24:04

into the ocean. As

24:06

I regained my footing, the scientific section of my

24:08

brain presented the simple but terrifying answer to the

24:10

inner argument I had had with myself a moment

24:13

ago. I

24:15

felt my breathing start to come

24:17

in short ragged gasps as I tried to

24:19

push it away, but with all the evidence

24:21

I'd seen and the huge water surge that

24:24

I had just felt, too large to even

24:26

come from the biggest big white, there

24:28

was no alternative. "'Cattin'?"

24:32

I saw him turn towards me. "'What

24:35

is it, Pear?' he asked, his

24:38

voice shaking slightly. I looked

24:40

up at him, seeing his face pale further at

24:42

the expression of my face before I answered. "'Whatever's

24:47

on the other end of this buoy, it's

24:53

not a shark.' For

24:56

a moment his face remained the same. Then

24:59

my words slammed into him with all the weight of

25:01

a tractor trailer. I saw his eyes go

25:03

wide as his face turned to the color of his sheet.

25:06

He forced himself to speak. Oh

25:11

shit. My mind raised

25:13

as I attempted to come up with a plan

25:15

that might do anything to help us get back

25:17

to shore live, but before I had a second

25:20

to think of anything, a second surge of water

25:22

rushed up from below, moving sideways and out, shooting

25:24

a glance behind me. I saw the buoy moving

25:26

towards me. Then a great tug came from the

25:28

other end of my foot. Feeling my

25:31

heart enter my throat, I shot my gaze down, just in

25:33

time to see my fishing rod be yanked into the water.

25:36

I couldn't even track its descent into the

25:38

depths. One moment it was just below the

25:40

surface. The next day it was

25:42

gone. It was out of sight. A

25:46

new realization slammed into me. It

25:50

grabbed my umbrella jig. It grabbed it and kept

25:52

moving off towards me. The

26:00

to the side but the largest wave

26:02

of horror of filming. As my thought

26:04

finished realizing where it was headed a

26:06

jerk my head up my eyes wide

26:08

open my mouth to scream a warning.

26:14

That. Was too late. What

26:17

happened next happened In a matter of

26:19

seconds I saw that he see my

26:21

fishing rod yanked into the deep, his

26:23

eyes widening more than I thought a

26:25

human beings to at the to his

26:27

days flash down to the rotted his

26:29

feet were small stretch of loose fishing

26:31

line of accidently crawled on his leg.

26:33

His eyes snapped up again to lock

26:35

on mine and for a microsecond it

26:37

felt as though the entire world had

26:40

paused. or so. Every small detail with

26:42

crystal clarity I saw the seat of

26:44

sweat covering his eyes. I saw his

26:46

lower lip began to tremble. And

26:48

a shock. Tweeting look into

26:50

his eyes. He. Began

26:53

to reach out towards me. His lips

26:55

begin to form a word one I'd

26:57

never learned. In

26:59

which keeps me awake late at night wondering.

27:05

The next who's gone. I

27:10

caught a glimpse of the line timing around

27:12

his leg even though I swear I saw

27:14

it today. to the wetsuits, the begin to

27:16

draw blood. and then the man's ten twenty

27:18

feet away from me, my oldest and most

27:20

cherished friend was yanked off of his board

27:22

and beneath the waves. A

27:25

large team of bubbles broke the surface for a moment.

27:31

And the nothing. The.

27:37

Surface Presumed is unending rise and fall.

27:39

For my part. I didn't move, I

27:41

couldn't about rooted in places. my mind

27:43

fought against whatever I'd just seen. I

27:45

prayed with every ounce of faith in

27:47

my soul that I would see his

27:49

head break the surface as I saw

27:51

the buoyed it is to move away

27:53

from me before leisurely turning. And

27:56

I for a single massive jerk forward. Covered

28:00

still in the waves. But

28:03

he never appeared. I

28:07

suddenly felt the weight of the situation slam

28:09

home. For the

28:11

hot tears begin to stream for my eyes

28:13

as I fought to keep from collapsing on

28:15

my knees. I shook violently as I tried

28:18

to push away it's terrific mental images my

28:20

mind was presenting itself and then that they

28:22

all vanished as I saw the do we

28:24

begin to resume slow circle. Novels

28:28

Just me. I

28:31

continue to shake but forced myself to stop

28:33

crying. Trying to keep any semblance of despair

28:35

awaits I knew if I allow that emotion

28:37

to overtake me, I would stay frozen in

28:40

place until. You tell it.

28:42

tired of it. Circling came from me. Sink.

28:45

Peers think skins in my head he's all

28:47

the knowledge to have oceanic creatures of the

28:49

mind it to predator. So what would you

28:51

are? Predators want? food you don't want to

28:54

become a pray item for it sucks. Sick

28:56

of an alternative? Think think of something to

28:58

diverted attention long enough for you to get

29:00

away. My.

29:03

Mind suddenly connected the dots. And

29:05

a force my eyes away from the literal circling

29:07

symbol of death stare down at my feet. More.

29:11

Importantly, The

29:14

bucket assists. For. A

29:16

few still weekly Wiggles. You

29:19

throw the fish far enough away, it may

29:21

catches attention enough for you to get sorts.

29:23

Second thought, join the first. Things

29:26

truly the size of think it is one single

29:28

bucket of fiscal be enough to keep its attention

29:30

long enough. For. Highs

29:32

rose from my own bucket. To

29:34

stay or across the small stretch of

29:36

water at the empty paddleboarder which had

29:39

long the chasm. Is

29:42

paddle and slipped into the water bobbing

29:44

by side, but. And

29:47

I thought my heart sores. I saw his bucket

29:49

assists have stayed in place. Now

29:51

was precariously close to the ads. i

29:55

looked at the find the buoy still circling me

29:58

i felt a new surge of terrorists through

30:00

my veins as I realized that the circle

30:02

had gotten smaller since I'd watched it. My

30:04

time was running out. I slowly,

30:07

trying to keep my movements as stable and

30:10

uninteresting as I could, I reached down and

30:12

picked up the paddle from where it lay.

30:14

I was terrified that

30:17

the second I dipped it into the

30:19

water, the buoy would immediately charge towards

30:21

me, signifying my final moments, but I

30:23

had no alternative. There's

30:26

only one chance to do this, Perry, so don't... don't

30:28

fuck it up. Still

30:32

shaking, I began to

30:34

paddle. 20

30:37

feet to Kevin's board felt like a mile. Every time

30:40

I dipped the paddle into the water, I jerked up

30:42

to watch the buoy. To my

30:44

relief, it simply continued to circle. A few

30:46

excruciating seconds later, I drew up next to

30:48

the other board, holding the paddle in one

30:50

hand. I kneeled down and gripped the other.

30:53

The plan was still in my mind. I let out

30:55

a final prayer. God, please let this work.

30:58

Then I picked up my own bucket of fish, and

31:00

before using the paddle to push Kevin's board away from

31:02

me, out towards the open ocean,

31:04

the tide caught it, and it drew away from

31:06

me. From the corner of

31:08

my vision, I saw the buoy change course, moving towards

31:10

it. I stood up straight, staying

31:12

still, waiting for it. Waiting until it was far enough

31:14

away, the empty board drifted

31:16

another 20 feet. I drew

31:19

all the strength I had remaining in me into my

31:21

arms, cocked it back as I ready

31:23

to make a throw, which would make the major

31:25

leagues depressed. It moved another 10

31:27

feet away, the buoy continuing to slowly follow

31:29

it. Now, as soon

31:32

as the bucket left my grasp, I turned

31:34

and began driving the paddle towards the water as

31:36

quietly and calmly as my shaking hands would allow.

31:38

Behind me, I heard a dull thunk as

31:40

the plastic bucket slammed into the water. I

31:42

wasn't sure how true my aim had been, but

31:44

I refused to turn back and look. I

31:46

kept paddling, moving it from one side of

31:48

the board to the other to keep it straight.

31:51

I heard the cries of the dolls behind

31:53

me begin to increase, signifying they must have

31:55

started dive bombing the mass of fish that

31:57

had fallen into the ocean and then... I

32:01

heard it. I

32:03

never turned to look at it, even if I wanted to. I

32:06

was far too terrified to do so, but

32:09

I heard the huge eruption of water emanate

32:12

from somewhere behind me, followed

32:14

by the largest splash I'd ever heard of my life,

32:16

even though it was far off I

32:18

felt small droplets of water fall onto my head

32:20

and neck. My

32:24

mind screamed at me that it had

32:26

to be gargantuan in order to

32:29

cause a splash giant enough to reach me. Even

32:33

still, I continued to paddle toward shore, watching

32:35

land grow larger and larger in my gaze.

32:38

That horrifying day was almost a month ago now.

32:44

It was for the rest of my life I'll

32:47

never understand how

32:49

I managed to get away. Such

32:53

a giant beast must have finished with those

32:55

small fish in seconds. The

32:57

only conclusion I can come to is one

33:00

that turned my blood

33:02

to ice. It

33:06

wasn't interested enough to pursue me because

33:09

it already

33:12

fed. When

33:16

I made it to shore, emerging from the surf, by

33:19

the end of the ocean's edge, I must have looked

33:21

like a madman to those staying there, tumbling

33:24

off my paddleboard and dashing forward, screaming about

33:26

my friend being dragged under and killed by

33:28

a sea monster. My

33:32

mind was fried from the adrenaline and horror that

33:34

it had consumed it. The police

33:36

were, of course, called. When

33:38

they asked for my statement, as much as I knew they

33:40

wouldn't believe me, I still told the truth. They

33:43

needed to know. Kevin deserved to have

33:45

the truth told, and I was right. They

33:50

didn't. Not

33:54

entirely, anyway. They

33:58

did believe the two of us had been attacked. by something,

34:01

more than likely a shark, as

34:03

I originally thought that it was. They

34:06

sent the Coast Guard out to search the area, but they

34:08

never found the trace of my friend, or his board, for

34:10

that matter. All they found was

34:12

a few floating dead fish. He

34:15

was declared a victim of a shark attack and lost at sea.

34:19

No one blamed me for his death, but I've

34:21

seen them look at me oddly. I've

34:23

seen them whispering to each other when I go to the

34:25

vintage room. I try

34:28

to drink myself into enough of an intoxication stupor

34:30

that I won't dream. No

34:33

doubt I must now look like the crazy man in the

34:35

town to them, ranting and raving about

34:37

things that don't exist, but I know the truth. They

34:42

do exist. All

34:45

the stories I heard my grandfather tell

34:47

me of Serpent of Mount Desert Island,

34:49

Cassie the Castor Bay monster, those

34:51

told about the world

34:54

for centuries. They've

34:56

been true. Scientists

34:58

explain them away, saying they

35:01

were misidentification, superstitious wives'

35:04

tales. The truth

35:06

is, I barely

35:09

began to explore the ocean. There's so much of it.

35:13

It hides in fearsome,

35:16

monstrous things. I

35:18

can't bring myself to go close to the

35:21

water still without wanting to burst into fits

35:23

of screams. I'll ever be

35:25

able to. Not

35:27

without recalling the nightmares that I've had

35:29

every single night since that day. The

35:33

ones that no amount of alcohol can chase away. Nightmares

35:39

my friend flailing in the dark, suffocating embrace

35:41

of the ocean as something

35:43

rushes towards him from the dark,

35:45

its razor-sharp-toothed maw gaping open

35:47

to devour him. I

35:51

know none of you believe me, and frankly, I don't

35:53

care. I'm posting this

35:55

because I hope that it might help make

35:57

living with the memories even

35:59

just a little bit easier to bear. And

36:04

I warn you, I don't

36:08

know how many sea serpents and monsters

36:10

prowl the ocean's depths around the world,

36:12

but I do know there's at least

36:14

one that lives amongst the main coast.

36:19

So please heed my warning even if you don't believe

36:21

me. I have

36:23

an eye out for a yellow and white

36:25

lobster buoy moving through the water, through the

36:27

waves. And

36:30

if you ever do see it, whether you're on a boat or

36:34

a paddle board, for

36:38

the love of God, get

36:42

to shore. Hey

36:53

kids, it's tea time. And

36:56

you know what that means, it's time for

36:58

Ivory Monocle Tea. Ivory Monocle Tea

37:00

is up and running again and it's currently selling tea. And

37:03

if you guys are like me and are

37:05

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37:07

tea on there. And it's a Helldivers tea

37:09

and it's called Liberty. And I

37:11

fucking love this tea. It's so

37:13

cool. And I got to design

37:15

the sticker for it. So if you've enjoyed

37:17

tea from the Ivory Monocle Tea shop before

37:20

on Etsy, you're gonna love this new tea.

37:22

So make sure you check it out. If you like having a

37:25

warm drink while listening to creepy pasta stories,

37:27

then hey, that's a great spot for you.

37:30

And finally, as always, I want to thank everybody

37:33

who is on my Patreon list, especially

37:35

I want to give a huge thank you to...

38:00

And every single one of you that's down there in

38:02

the description, every single one of you that

38:20

is able to give even one dollar, man, it... I

38:23

cannot thank you all enough. Thank you, thank

38:26

you, thank you. To all of you out there,

38:28

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