The Devil's Eyes

They say monsters lurk in the deepest, darkest seas, but monsters are all around us. Evangeline discovered this early on, but she could not escape her demons. As much as she would love to open her eyes and wake, she could not. She lived in her nightmare. Evangeline stared blankly. Her body frozen as she watched her life flash before her eyes, playing like a projector in the bleak, black orbs of this evil creature.

Evangeline and Jacob had met in high school. Jacob, the tough guy, and Evangeline, the good girl, so naturally they were fast sweethearts. They fell madly in love. Everyone adored and praised them. They were voted Prom King and Queen, best couple, most attractive, most likely to be married, most likely to be successful… And everyone was right. They graduated, got married and then moved in together.

Everyone claimed they were a match made in heaven and that their fate was in the stars. No one could have imagined this. No one could have imagined them stranded in the middle of the ocean, facing life or death as it circled the boat, menacingly. Evangeline wiped streams of tears from her cheeks. This is never what she imagined her life would be.

Only hours before they were on the docks. Bickering, as usual. Evangeline did not want to go. She was terrified of the ocean and absolutely terrified of the sharks that infested it.

“Jacob, I thought you said it was fine,” Evie sighed.

“I just don’t get why you always bitch that we don’t do anything together, but now I’m trying to do something, and you won’t fucking go with me,” Jacob snapped.

He looked up at her, grabbing the cooler from next to her ankles and lugging it into the boat. “Can’t you do this one damn thing?” He reached his hands out and shrugged. It was an attempt at begging nicely, but he was purely put out from trying to sound genuine.

Evangeline scoffed, shaking her head as she looked out at the ocean, “Fine.”

“Thank you!” He spat, bitterly. He reached for a suitcase and a tackle box and continue to load the deck, “Fix your glasses.”

Quickly, she pressed up her round, russet sunglasses that had begun to droop. She could not let anyone see that her right eye was now discolored and swollen, that it was the size of a small onion and about ten shades more purple than it should be. No one could know and break the rose-tinted façade that he had held up for ten years. No, that was not acceptable. She hugged her arms in tight to her small frame.

“What am I gonna do for clothes, Jake?” She asked, quietly.

“I packed some,” He said sharply.

Evie cocked her head, “I see…” She felt suspicious. It was not to say that he was predictable, as Jacob had been known to fly off the handle at any given moment, but to pack her a bag was very unusual, and she would be lying if she said that it made her feel at ease. She stepped down into the boat, carefully avoiding Jacob.

She wore a long-sleeved white blouse that was two times her size, a brown leather belt around her waist, blue jean shorts and white flats and her hair was tied back in a messy, loose bun. She sat in the passenger bucket seat and buckled in, her eyes watching the dock in the mirror beside her. She wanted to jump right back out and run, but she knew that would only make things worse.

Jacob sat in the driver’s side, cradling in his lap a small, red Coleman cooler, and turned the ignition and began to pull away from the dock. They skipped over the waves and Evangeline lifted her feet from the floor. The ocean was beautiful. She may have even enjoyed it a little apart from her current company. The boat was filled with resentment and hatred for one another, and you could cut the tension with a knife. She could not even place her finger on why he demanded her to go, or why she even agreed. He wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have pummeled her until he was back home and that was if he could find her. She shook her head. He always found her.

It felt like they had been speeding out forever into the middle of nowhere and with each bump of a wave, Jake popped open another can. They had gone from noisy neighboring boats and partygoers to just sheets of black abyss. Jacob killed the engine. The air was misty and cool, even though the sun beat down upon them. Evie’s body trembled. She could feel his eyes.

“What are we doing?” She asked.

She tried to hide her anxiety behind curled, peach lips. She pretended to be excited and happy that she was there as Jacob stood, woozily. He staggered to the other cooler and grumbled something. She breathed and looked away. These were the two sides of the coin- angry and drunk or angry and sober. There was never an in between… Not anymore. She began to think. What happened? What had happened to the man she loved? What happened to the fun, loving bear that couldn’t live without her? Did he ever even exist?

A loud burp and tumble broke her free from her thoughts as her seat shook. Jacob clung to her chair, grabbed her face, and twisted her chin towards his gaze. He slobbered over her mouth and backed away, still holding her tightly in his grasp.

“You did this, you know?” He mumbled.

“What?” She squirmed, her lips pursed, and her jaw clenched. “Jacob, what are you doing? Let go of me. Let go!” She screamed. She pushed at his chest, flailed her arms, and dug her nails deep into his cheek, which caused him to release her.

“Bitch!”

Evie slithered between his legs and ran to the other end of the hull, slipping on the excess water. She looked around for another boat, but there was nothing- emptiness. He brought his hand towards the fresh wound and back down and then looked at his fingers. Veins rose along his body, his face flushed a beet-red, his nostrils flared and his eyes, now blacker than ever before, pierced her. She cowered down to the floor, entering fetal position with her wrists on her knees and hands shielding her face.

“Don’t do this, don’t do this.” She breathed.

He charged towards her, clutched her hair, and lifted her over the boat, headfirst. The tip of her nose brushed the water as she screamed and shook. His firm hand tangled in her hair and the other gripped her by the shorts. Her head burned as her hair was ripping from her scalp.

“I was really hoping it wouldn’t be this way,” He barked. “But you always have to ruin it.” He scoffed and shook his head. “You never think of what I want. It’s always what you want, what you like… You know… You have no appreciation for what I’ve done for you, for us.”

Evangeline pleaded with him. She begged for him to put her down, to work this out, she’d change… She said whatever she could think of saying to get him to put her back in the boat, to touch a shred of humanity left in him, to get him to take her back to the land and then she would leave. She would run and would never stop running and never look back. Tears blurred her vision, her body was on fire, the blood pooling in her brain… “Pleaseeee,” She wailed. Through her grey and fuzzy sight, there were shadows in the water, coming closer, growing larger…

“No,” Jake said, shaking his head viciously. He bit his lip and threw her backward. Her bottom slammed against the floor, her head cracking against the bucket seats. “I’m not letting you go that easy.” He towered over her and balled up his fists. He threw his knuckles into her abdomen again and again. She gasped and coughed, spewing blood from her mouth. Her vision faded as the last thing she saw was his wadded hand launching towards her.

Up and down. Up and down.

The boat bobbed in the ocean, waves sloshing it from side to side. The only sounds left were the gurgles and clunks of the boat. Evangeline wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her eyes were so swollen she could barely see through the small slits left. Her lips were torn and cracked, her mouth still full of blood and her brown hair now stood knotted and patchy. She could barely move, but she had to. Evie climbed up the chair, using it to as an anchor for her feet.

She winced and looked around- Jacob had passed out. She stumbled over, trying to hold on to anything to keep her from falling to the floor with him. She prodded him with a toe, but he did not budge. His breathing slow as he laid in a puddle of vomit and salt water. Her face twisted and she smiled.

She thought of their entire life together, how much she loved and adored him, how she excused every action, every decision, and pretended that everything was going to be alright. She thought of every apology, every plea, and a promised so-called changed man. She thought of every fight, every bruise and scar. She thought of her endless prison and her inevitable escape, and then she saw her reflection.

Battered, bloodied, tangled. She could barely recognize herself. There was no pearly white smile, no bronze tan, no perfect waves in her hair, and no more gleam in her emerald gems. Just a tattered bag of flesh and bones that had escaped death one too many times. A scared, little girl that had repurposed herself as a doormat.

She glanced around the waters and saw the familiar shadows. The largest came towards the surface, piercing the veil with a large dorsal fin. The terrific creature opened it large jaws, showing hundreds of razors, and pitch-black eyes. Many say their eyes are lifeless, even soulless, and pure evil, but Evangeline knew that was far from the truth. The Great White was beckoning her. He vanished back underneath into the darkness.

She looked towards her husband and wetted her lips. She would endure no more. She grabbed the back of his arms, struggling to lift his weight, and pulled him towards the side of the boat.

SPLASH!

Jacob quickly emerged back from his drunken slumber, spitting and coughing water from his lungs.

“What the…? Evie! Get me out of here!”

He sloshed and continued to spit, shouting obscenities, but Evangeline just watched and stared, sobbing. Her heart would break for the very last time. He reached for the side of the boat and began to climb up, but there came the carnivore. She stared into Jacob’s dead, evil black eyes and said goodbye. Screaming filled the air and the water was painted red, and the side of the boat sprinkled with a pink mist. She continued to watch until the creature returned into the depths. She staggered to the driver’s chair, turned the ignition, and listened to the motor roar.

They say monsters lurk in the deepest, darkest seas, but monsters are all around us. They walk among us, like everyday people. They have families and jobs and friends. They are your neighbor, your brother, your sister… They might even be sleeping in your bed. Evangeline discovered this early on, but she thought she could never escape, but she could, and she did. She would never let herself be swallowed whole by a shark again. She would never again cower in the gaze of those lifeless, abysmal eyes for as long as she lived.