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The minute the shark came up from the water and landed on the boat he scrambled backwards. The fear that welled within him was all too familiar, here he was in the open ocean, killer shark out to get him and his crew.
Despite the fact it was out of water the damn thing kept trying to get them, flopping around, its jaws opening and closing,
opening and closing.
He just tried to get as far as he could, the slant of the boat meant it was a straight shot for the thing's mouth.
Grabbing hold of a shelf in the cabin he attempted to continue his blind scrabble, until one of those damn air canisters rolled over onto his hand. He screamed in pain as he lost his grip, slipping down the deck.
Briefly, Brody grabbed his hand, and he looked up to see the man straining to hold himself as well as the weight of another person.
He had a terrible realization as he felt his hand slip from Brody's:
I'm going to die here.
The water provided a smooth glide into the waiting jaws of the beast. He tried desperately to get some sort of footing, position himself in a way it couldn't get him. If he could just get a foothold he could pull himself up, everything would be fine. The black eyes of the beast stared into his his, like they could see the terror in his soul.
He kept thinking about the Indianapolis.
June 29th, 1945.
1,100 men went into the water. 316 come out.
All because of the damn sharks.
He knew he was going to die here. When he handed out the life vests to Brody and Cooper they all had to confront the fact it could happen, that they could be stranded out here with that thing. And yet, despite his assuredness in never wearing a life vest again, he wanted to live.
It was a primal instinct, survival, a desperate fight to stay alive even when the odds weren't in his favor.
His breathing quick, he kicked and kicked.
But to no avail.
The jaws of the beast bit down on his leg, and he screamed.
The pain shot up from his leg as he saw the beast's eyes roll over white. It dragged him further into his jaws as he clawed and clawed desperately, the fight within him remaining even as he was forced to confront his imminent demise.
The last thought he had before the world went dark was of Herbie, his terrible fate.
One he would now share as the beast crunched into his torso.