Absolute Pressure by Sigmund Brouwer Read Free Book Online Page A

the shark’s skull was gone.
    It continued to thrash and swirl, and its body bumped against my face. I felt rough sandpaper and saw yellow.
    That, I knew, was my brain. Yellow was not a color that belonged here. In a weird way, I found myself noting this new information. My left elbow gave me bright red.
    Behind my right knee gave me green. And when something unexpected touched my cheek, yellow.
    I didn’t think about that for long.
    Other, smaller, sharks, drawn by blood, were coming in fast.
    The first one, maybe five feet long, lunged in and tore a chunk out of the side of the bull shark. Then another chunk came out. More blood. More sharks.
    But if I tried to move past the dying bull shark, I’d attract those same savage bites. I’d become part of the frenzy.
    I finally realized I hadn’t breathed in about thirty seconds. The top of my snorkel had long been underwater.
    As my brain put all of this together, I saw a gaff reach into the water. It was a long-handled pole with a giant hook at the end. We used it to pull fish out of the water.
    Now it was dragging the bull shark away from me.
    Uncle Gord! Finally!
I fought the urge to suck for oxygen as I waited for the sharkto be pulled from the now-sideways cage. Once it was clear, Uncle Gord simply let go off the gaff. With a dozen small sharks now ripping at the body of the massive bull shark, it began to sink.
    And I was finally free to escape.

chapter twenty
    Blackberries again.
    It was Friday morning, and I sure didn’t want to say good-bye to Key West.
    I was standing beside Uncle Gord’s old white Chevy truck. Sherri had pulled up on her scooter. As soon as she took off her helmet and shook her long hair free, I tasted the blackberries.
    It was going to be a long time before that happened again. Uncle Gord was sending me back to Chicago.
    â€œYou sure you like the truck?” he was saying as Sherri walked closer.
    â€œLove it,” I lied. In a few places, springs were sticking out of the front seat. The body of the truck had dozens of rust spots from the salty moist air of Key West. Nobody could love a truck like this.
    But he and I had been lying to each other since breakfast. Lying is not right, but we had been doing it to protect each other.
    And his lie probably had more truth in it than he wanted to admit. He’d said he couldn’t afford to keep me or Sherri on as summer workers. He’d said he didn’t have enough money to pay what he owed me. Or even to let me stay at his house anymore. He’d offered me the truck instead of my wages.
    We both knew it was a lie, because we were both still shaken up about the bull shark. It was a good thing he’d been able to grab his rifle and shoot it. Otherwise yesterday’s shark video would have had a much different ending.
    I knew he was lying because he was afraid I’d get hurt if I stayed around.
    â€œHey,” Sherri said, “leaving already?”
    I didn’t trust my voice, so I nodded. I was leaving. I didn’t know if Uncle Gord would be all right, but he wasn’t letting me stay to help him. I didn’t know if Uncle Gord’s dive shop would be in business next year, so I didn’t know if I’d be back. And that meant I didn’t know if I’d see Sherri again.
    I’d sure miss the taste of blackberries. But how could I tell her that with Uncle Gord standing right beside the truck?
    Sherri gave a crooked smile. “Scared of sharks, I guess.”
    Uncle Gord laughed. It was a forced laugh, like he had been waiting for an excuse to laugh.
    â€œShould have seen him pull his wet suit off after he got back on the
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,” Uncle Gord told Sherri. “He’d filled it with more than water, if you get my drift.”
    â€œHa, ha,” I said.
    Uncle Gord opened the driver’s door for me to get in. He couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.
    â€œWell,” I said. “I guess this is