In the distance, Darryl threw his guitar aside and ran over to examine the commotion.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know. He was in the water, but he’s not breathing. He’s not breathing.”
“Calm down, Bobby. Lay him on the ground.”
Bobbydid as he was told, and Darryl went to work administering CPR. After a few chest compressions, he sealed his mouth around Adam’s, breathing into him. It went on like this for another minute before Adam coughed up a mouthful of water. Darryl turned him on his side, pounded his back to get the last of the fluid from his lungs.
“That was close,” he whispered, checking Adam’s pulse. “It’s a little weak, but I think he’ll be okay. I need to call an ambulance, though.”
I had assumed these visions were Adam’s memories, but he never would have remembered something like this while unconscious. Maybe Darryl wasn’t making this sharkman shit up after all.
“Oh good, oh good. I was scared,” Bobby said, holding his hand to his chest.
Though he terrified the shit out of me, that monster was kinda cute in a weird way. From the sing-songy way he spoke to his slightly higher pitched voice, he was the opposite of his appearance.
“You saved his life, Bobby. Lucky you were there to find him.”
Bobby’s face brightened, and he grinned, rows of sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight. “I was out looking for pretty shells, and I saw him and got scared. I got scared. I was going to leave him alone, but he wasn’t moving. He wasn’t moving.”
“Did you swim?”
“I tried. I tried. I ran though. I ran through the water.”
Darryl patted the huge creature on the back. “You tried. That’s what matters. We’ll keep working on it.” He looked down at Adam who was still unconscious. “This is the kid the police were looking for.” Darryl knelt again, slipping a finger behind his slightly pointed ears. “Ah, shit. Poor kid.”
“What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”
“He’s a half-turn.”
“What’s that?”
“He’s gonna turn into a wolf man, like me one day.”
“You mean, people can turn into wolf men?” His eyes went wide and glassy. “Could I… turn into a wolf man? Could I?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Darryl said, prompting a teary response from Bobby. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“I’m useless. What kind of shark can’t swim?”
“The kind of shark I like.” Darryl gave a flirty grin before turning his attention back to Adam. “I don’t have to worry about taking him to the hospital. Whatever damage was done will heal. I don’t want to risk anything until I know why they’re looking for him.”
“Are they like the humans looking for me? They have harpoons!”
“You need to stay away from those boats,” Darryl scolded. “And no, they’re not the same.”
Bobby’s eyes darted from side to side as he heard people talking farther up the beach.
“They’ll see, they’ll see. I need to go.” He turned toward the water, but Darryl wrapped his arms around him from behind.
“Come to my house tomorrow night.”
“I can’t, I can’t. Family’s been suspicious. Gotta spend the day with the family.”
“Well come back soon, okay?” Darryl kissed the sharkman on the nose, and even though it was dark, Bobby’s face darkened like he was blushing. Was it even possible for a shark to do that?
“I will, I will. I promise.” He ran to the ocean before disappearing into the black water.
