Chapter 5: Death in the Water

The sharks continued to encircle the boat as it made its way through the tiny islets that seemed to sprout from the sea. The formations became more fantastic and grotesque as they moved southerly. The sun had moved closer to the horizon and the occasional flock of birds that flew overhead were already flying home.

Jon decided to go to the deck to catch some air and watch the islets as the boat cruised along. The sharks had increased in number since he last saw them a few minutes ago with Captain Salazar. He felt agitated as he remembered the many stories and myths that revolved around these creatures. The closest encounter he had had with sharks before was when he went to an Aquatic Adventure theme park with Lisa a year ago. Before that, his knowledge of sharks were mostly from the movies he watched.

Lisa had always been the expert on these things, Jon thought, as he tried to recall their previous conversations about the ocean predators.

Shark attacks are fierce and lightning fast, so humans do have a reason to fear them. However, these creatures are oftentimes misrepresented by the movies that exploited people's natural fear of them. Only three out of almost five hundred shark species are known to have been involved in unprovoked attacks on humans and research indicates that sharks do not target humans in their attacks, except probably when they are mistaken for seals, which are the sharks' usual prey.

As fearsome these apex predators may be, coral reefs rely on these creatures to keep the balance. Without sharks to feed on other predatory fish, the latter would multiply and feed on herbivorous fish. Without herbivorous fish, algae would grow rapidly and compete with corals. This could then lead to environmental collapse as coral reefs serve as nurseries for many species of fish. With millions of populations around the world depending on fishing for their livelihood, the impact would extend to them as well. As shark populations around the world are in decline and they are pushed towards extinction, this scenario could very well be realized without concrete actions from governments. What makes matters complicated is the increase in deadly encounters as more human activities overlap with sharks. Instead of culling sharks, governments can implement techniques that would not be harmful to any marine species.

Jon pondered over all these things and tried to calm his nerves, but at the same time could not help but remember the many films that he had watched involving the ocean predators. He imagined himself falling overboard and the sharks rushing towards him as they fought among themselves on who would get the biggest piece.

Jon winced at the thought and turned his gaze away from the sharks. He looked ahead and saw that the Cowrie was approaching one curious rock formation. At first, Jon was attracted by the striated patterns on the rock that seemed to resemble muscles. As the boat moved closer, the rock started to assume the appearance of a distorted human figure. The arms seemed to be bound at its twisted back and its head was turned away. Slowly, the boat passed the rock and Jon got a full view of the other side. He was filled with horror as, for a moment, a strange hole on the rock formed a gaping maw much like a human screaming in terror. He was taken aback as he heard a silent scream that seemed to echo in his head.

"Do you like what you see?" Jon was startled by a voice coming from his side. He looked at the source of the voice and found Captain Salazar standing beside him. Seeing the captain's profile, Jon noticed the tall nose and lips that ended in an upward curl. The captain's face was dark and the eyes that peered below his prominent brow ridge were intense. The hair around his temples were white and wrinkles had already started to make deeper grooves around his eyes. Despite his straight posture and energetic movements, Jon could tell that the captain was advanced in years.

"I have always liked looking at these rocks," continued the captain, his eyes following the curious rock formation as they cruised along. "They fill me with inspiration, the way that Salvador Dali was inspired to paint his surrealist landscapes by the rock formations of Cap de Creus."

Jon saw in his mind eye the fantastical landscapes of Dali. Watching the rock formations, he imagined himself becoming a part of Dali's paintings and disoriented by the strange shapes and impossible objects.

"Dali was one imaginative painter," Jon replied. "But I really find his contorted shapes rather disconcerting."

"Ah! But you will find that Mr. Dante adores his works."

Jon was silent for some time and spoke, "Mr. Dante. He is an art dealer, isn’t he?" Jon was confirming what he read from his client’s dossier.

"Yes. You will find his collection quite interesting. He is always on the lookout for great art to be sold at auction and does not shy away even if the prices reach astronomical highs."

Jon thought about his own passion for the visual arts. He liked going to different museums in his travels, but he was almost always drawn to works of European masters during the Renaissance. Surrealist works such as those of Dali also interested him, but looking at them would oftentimes leave him with nightmarish visions that extend to his dreams.

All of a sudden, the ship jolted violently as if it hit something in the water. Jon felt his feet being pushed from underneath him and he felt himself flying through the air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as his feet left the deck and he saw himself rise. He saw the sky below him and the deeper blue of the sea above. He was disoriented, but realized that he was flying overboard. He tried to grab on the railings, but they were beyond his reach. He opened his mouth to shout for help, but no sound left his lips.

Suddenly, Jon felt a steely grip on his wrist and he felt himself moving upward as everything around him turned right side up. Breath escaped his lungs as his body bumped onto the side of the boat. Looking down, he saw the ripples on the dark water and the protruding dorsal fins of the moving sharks. Dazed, he slowly looked up and saw Captain Salazar's expressionless face. The captain's eyes locked onto Jon's in a cold stare. Jon reached out a hand to grab the railings as the captain pulled him up to safety.

"Thanks," said Jon, still dazed and out of breath after almost falling overboard to the circling sharks.

The captain's face remained void of expression.  "Go back to your cabin as I deal with this." He took the tone of a commanding naval officer and Jon was compelled to leave the deck, his knees still shaking after the experience.

Inside the cabin, Jon contemplated on what had just happened. Captain Salazar was quite strong for his age. As much as Jon was thankful that the captain saved him from what could have been an agonizing death as feed for the sharks, he could not take out of his mind how detached the captain looked when he pulled him out of danger. Somehow, Jon felt that the captain could likewise be dispassionate if it were the other way around and was feeding Jon to the sharks.

Exhausted by the long journey and his close brush with death, Jon began drifting off to sleep. He saw the yacht as if from above like he was flying overhead or on a parachute. He saw the sharks making endless circles around the boat against a backdrop of cerulean. He was mesmerized by the movements in the water until he heard one soft hum that crescendoed into a piercing scream. Suddenly, he found himself in the water and gasping for air. He felt something brush against his back, followed by another against his leg. The last thing that he saw was the gaping mouth of the shark and its rows of teeth before everything disappeared into black as the predators rushed in a feeding frenzy.

Jon woke up with a start, breathing heavily. He was sweating profusely yet he felt the chill in the air. He looked out the window and saw that the day had advanced towards twilight and the sky had darkened with gray clouds still hanging low in the sky. He sat still for a few minutes, thinking about the troubling dreams he had been having lately. Perhaps, it was just stress, he told himself. He had been working too hard for so long and it may be his body's way of telling him that he needed to slow down.

He climbed back on deck still troubled by his dream. The air was still and the only sound he could hear was the hum of the engine from below. Jon saw none of the crew on deck and wondered where they were. The boat was probably nearing Orsica and they were busy preparing. Or maybe taking a rest. Just then, Jon heard two men talking to each other in hushed voices. He walked towards the stern where he thought the sound was coming from and found two of the crew bending down and dragging something wrapped in a blanket. One of the crew was instructing the other to walk around to his side to help him pull. The other crewman did as he was told and walked to the other side, giving Jon a full view of what they were pulling.

As he looked, Jon saw the blanket leaving a trail of red smear across the white deck. That object wrapped in blanket, could it be human, he thought, as he recognized the outline of the head and the shoulders.

"You should have waited below deck," came the stern voice of the captain from behind. Jon looked around him and saw the captain giving him an icy stare.

"What happened?" asked Jon as the captain passed by him. The captain ignored his question and with quick strides, walked directly towards the two crewmen pulling the object. Captain Salazar was not at all pleased and barked at the two men. Both stood up straightas the captain approached. One of the crew, upon the captain's instructions, walked away to get a stretcher. The crew who remained got a mop and a bucket from a nearby storage and went about cleaning the blood off the deck.

"Was that one of the crew?" Jon asked slowly as he came to the captain's side. He looked on as the crew cleaned the deck, but his gaze gravitated towards the blanket that dripped blood. Jon's question went unanswered for a moment and he dreaded the captain's reply.

"Yes. Unfortunate that he fell off the boat just as we were attacked by the sharks, the same time you almost fell to the water." Jon shivered as he heard the steely voice of the captain. He was horrified and could not utter a word as he thought to himself: Sharks don't just attack boats.

"Death comes fast in the water. You should take care and stay in your cabin for the duration of the journey. We will be reaching Orsica soon," said the captain coldly just as two crewmen brought a stretcher and carried the body back to the cabin away from Jon's view.

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Author's Note

For a visual guide to the artworks to be mentioned in the succeeding chapters, you may visit https://totosnotebook.blogspot.com/2021/02/artworks-in-vampire-of-new-world-visual.html