The Shark Life

Walking down towards the ocean James looked out across the never ending water. He could see the sun beginning to rise across the glass surface of the water. It looked as though that glowing orange sphere was rising from the water itself. It was not a long walk to his dock, and it was only a short time before he had his anchor up, and was all set to head out. His cell phone began to ring, and the sound jolted him out of his own deep thoughts. It was in that moment that he realized he had made a huge error, and did not leave his phone at his house. Stupid he thought as he set his phone on the floor of his boat and smashed it. He threw the pieces into the water, and thought well that’s what I get for not following the rules. It was one of his basic rules that he had forgotten to follow, and he knew better. Always, always leave your phone at home when you go out to hunt. Now that his phone is at the bottom of the ocean he will have the excuse that his phone was stolen days ago if ever questioned.

He was deep into the ocean now, and he could see no sign of life for miles, and that was exactly what he needed. Turning the key off on the boat, and dropping his anchor he headed towards the back of the boat. He put on his wet suite, and made sure he was covered from head to toe. Carefully he laid down thick plastic to cover the bottom of his boat, and began to duct tape it down. Opening up the small door on the bottom of the boat he reached down into the hole and pulled out the large grey tarp. Felling the sweat aggravating his brow he thought how annoying it was to be so meticulous sometimes, but it was so necessary at the same time. As he unfolded the tarp, carefully removing the ropes that had held it together, the smell became more pronounced. The one thing he hated about this hobby that he loved so much was the smell. James sat there for a while just looking at the young girl that laid there on that tarp. Her skin now had a blue/grey hue to it, and she no longer had that spunky look in her eye. He closed his eyes, and he could feel her life drain from her into his hands as he strangled her. He could sit there all night, and replay that moment in his head, but he knew he had to get the job done that he had come out there to do.

He opened up the bench seat, and pulled out his bag that was full of tools. He removed the saw, and carefully set it on the ground next to the bucket he had brought. He placed the bucket into the hole in the bottom of the boat, the one that the girl had just been occupying. He pulled the plastic back down to cover everything, as he cut a perfect circle into the plastic to make an opening above the bucket. Then he grabbed the girl’s body off of the tarp, and laid it over the opening and the bucket. He reached around her now cold stiff body, and ran the knife from one ear to the other making a large gash across her throat. As he sat there and watched her blood exiting her body, he pulled his saw out and began to cut her into pieces. After each piece was removed he would wrap it in a plastic bag that was pre-filled with rocks. Once he had completed wrapping her whole body up piece by piece into black trash bags, he began to remove the bucket of blood from the hole. He tossed the blood out into the water, and watched it as the ocean devoured the redness quickly. He grabbed the first bag, and threw it into the water. He was looking over the edge to watch the plastic bag disappear into the depths of the water. It was in that moment that he saw a giant shark had jumped up and grabbed the bag into its mighty jaws. It startled James for a minute, but then he thought I guess that is kind of perfect.

After hours of cruising around the ocean, and dropping his bags in the water one by one he had finally completed the task at hand. He headed back for the dock, spent the next hours until it became dark detailing his boat. He made sure every crack and crevice was cleaned to perfection, and there was not one trace of the girl left. On his drive home he kept getting lost into the replay of the hunt. He remembered the day he picked that girl, and he knew she would be the one. That sassy attitude she had, and that fire in her eyes made her irresistible to him. He sat back in the dinner just watching her, and she kept making him smile even though she was not even talking to him. Sometimes he wished he could be like her, that he could be wild and free, but it just was not who he was. He admired that characteristic in people, because he was not brave enough to have that same strength as a person. Perhaps that is why killing her felt better than anyone that he had killed before her. It was like he could feel that strength coarse through his veins as it drained from her body. Everything about that moment was perfect to him, and he had decided she was going to be the last one, but now he could already feel that craving calling to him.

James looked into his review mirror as he backed his car into his drive way, and he could see his reflection in the mirror. He shook his head in an effort to almost reset himself into this normal mode. It was the face that he had to wear in order to fit in with the rest of the world. He flashed his fake smile, and opened his car door to head into to his superficial life. Right when he walked into the door his kids jumped up from the table and ran to him, hugging his legs as he was setting down his brief case. His wife was rounding the corner from the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. Swallowing down his hatred for this mediocre life, he grabbed his wife and gave her a kiss. He thought about that shark swallowing his hunt, and he felt like this life was just like that shark, only it was swallowing him up. This fake life took every part of his personality that was real, and it shoved it down under ground. No one could see the real him, and no one could ever understand who he was. He lived among so many people, but was in this world completely alone. This was why his cravings could never be fulfilled, and why he would continue to hunt until he was caught.