Into the Killing Seas by Michael P. Spradlin

Author:Michael P. Spradlin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2015-08-26T04:00:00+00:00

We’re just gonna stay calm and quiet, and I bet they don’t even notice us,” Benny said.

Calm. Who could stay calm? So far we were lucky that Teddy was asleep again. I didn’t think it was possible to sleep as much as Teddy did. But now I was glad of it. If he’d seen the sharks, he might’ve gone all crazy again. I knew Benny was right. I needed to be more patient with him. But sometimes it drove me flippin’ nuts.

“Patrick, you gotta listen to me. Take your belt off and tie you and Teddy to the raft! I would lend you a hand, but …” Benny held up his gnarled, burned hands and tried to laugh, but ended up having a coughing fit. He couldn’t stop.

“Benny?” I gently made my way to his side. The pallet rocked and swayed, but finally he stopped and cleared his lungs.

“Benny?” I repeated.

“Yeah, kid.”

“Tell me the truth. Are you all right?” I supposed that large group of floating men was out there somewhere, but they were simply too far away to be of any help to us now. With only the occasional sliver of moonlight it was clear there was no one around us. It made any thought of getting Benny to the doctor out of the question. For now at least.

“I’m fine, sport. I ain’t sayin’ I’m gonna dance the jitterbug right away, but as soon as we get plucked outta the drink, we’re gonna find your parents, and then I’m goin’ back to givin’ Tojo and his samurai jokers a double dose of United States marine. Now, stop screwin’ around and get your belts—”

The raft shook and a loud crack startled us both. Behind us, one of the sharks bit off a chunk of the pallet and split several of the remaining boards in the process. It must have sensed the pallet shaking from Benny’s coughing, and while I wasn’t paying attention it slithered through the water to investigate. And now it was practically lying on top of the wood with us. Teddy woke in an instant. He scrambled to his knees and backed away from the giant beast. He pointed at it and started crying. Between gasping breaths he keened louder than ever. I worried it’d rile the shark up.

“Teddy,” I hissed. “Quiet down. For the love of God, be quiet.”

But he couldn’t stop. He was terrified.

“Patrick, you gotta be careful, but you need to make him stop. Ease your way over to him and see if you can keep him quiet. I think the noise is what’s drawin’ the sharks. Right now he sounds like a wounded seal or somethin’.”

The shark was still there chewing away at the boards, shaking its head. Then it paused for a moment. Its tail swished back and forth, but its head was still and it stared straight at me.

I looked at its dead eyes. For a brief second I wondered what it saw. Did a shark see a world outside of the

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