Shadows at Predator Reef by Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online

surface. I wanted to follow, but the shark was between us, cutting off my escape. I was trapped between an angry shark and the bottom of the tank.
    I swam for the closest coral formation, hoping to find somewhere to hide. The shark passed just over my head like a torpedo, its huge jaws chomping down on a mouthful of water. I heard Frank over the dive comm mask telling me to head for Captain Hook’s nook. Unfortunately, Bruce got there first. I found myself looking right into a grinning mouth chock-full of razor-sharp teeth.
    Bruce charged toward me. I felt like the little clown fish being chased around by the shark in Finding Nemo . It was a lot more fun to watch on the screen, I can tell you that!
    I swam for my life, diving behind an outcrop of coral on the floor of the exhibit just as the shark slammed into it, shattering the coral to bits. The shark’s tail whipped past my head as it swung around for another charge. There was nowhere left for me to go.
    That’s when I noticed something strange on the floor ofthe tank under where the coral had been. It looked kind of like a trapdoor. With Bruce barreling straight at me, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. I reached for the small metal ring mounted on the door and pulled.
    The door swung open, creating a suction effect kind of like the drain plug being pulled on a big bathtub. I slipped through in a rush of water and slid the door closed behind me just as the shark’s jaws snapped shut on the place where my head had been.
    I was temporarily safe from the shark, but somehow my predicament had gone from bad to worse. My regulator had torn out of my mouth during my escape! No regulator meant no air. Don’t panic, dude. I tried to follow the emergency procedures Aly had taught me and did my best to hold my breath and stay calm until I could assess my situation.
    I was in a small airtight holding tank, just big enough for a diver.
    A diver and maybe a five-hundred-pound turtle.
    Had I just discovered how someone stole Captain Hook? If I was lucky, I’d get the chance to contemplate it later. Right then I had a more urgent mystery to solve—namely, how I was going to get out of the holding tank without drowning. I couldn’t hold my breath for much longer. I reached behind me for my Octopus—that’s the backup regulator attached to the scuba tank—but the hose was caught in the trapdoor. I couldn’t get it free without opening the hatch and exposing myself to Bruce.
    Just then I saw another latch, this one on the bottom of the tank. My lungs throbbed and my eyeballs felt like they were going to bulge out of my head. Out of options and nearly out of air, I grabbed the latch and yanked. The water trapped in the holding tank dumped out all at once as I fell through the air into total darkness.

OF SHARKS AND MEN
8
FRANK
    J OE HAD VANISHED. JUST LIKE Captain Hook.
    I struggled against Big Chuck, trying to get loose so I could dive back into the water after my brother. I broke free, but before I could leap into the tank, Chuck yanked away my regulator and tossed it aside. I wasn’t going anywhere without that no matter how much I wanted to.
    â€œI’m sorry, man,” Chuck said. “I can’t let you go down there. Not until we get the vets to tranquilize that shark.”
    I stared down, looking for some sign that Joe was okay. There wasn’t any blood in the water, and I could only hope that meant my brother had somehow managed to escape the shark’s bite without drowning. But where had he gone?Bruce looked as confused as I was. I could see him circling along the bottom of the tank, searching for his prey. When I reached down to pick up my brother’s scuba mask, I saw a face reflected in the water—one that wasn’t mine. I looked up. A hooded figure leaned over the rail one level above, watching me. As soon as the person realized I’d seen them, they bolted.
    Innocent people usually