“I trust the men with you are well-occupied?”
Ajajdif snorted. “You bet they are. They work like mules. When they get time off I let them visit Silver City. It’s a fun little town. They don’t complain much.” He looked around him as if to ensure no one was within earshot, then asked, “How’s the REAPR project going?”
“You don’t need to be concerned with that,” Black said sharply. “I want you to stay focused on your project over there. I have to prepare a report for the boss in twenty-four hours and I’ve vowed that there will be no more fiascoes. I appreciate that things are running smoothly now. We don’t want a repeat of Quest Mining’s disaster from last year.”
Li and Ajajdif went completely silent. Even though Black and Ajajdif were rarely on good terms, the one thing they shared was a fair dose of fear of the boss and a hunger for the realization of their leader’s plans for the future—not just for Phoenix Corporation, but the whole world.
After nearly an hour of further discussion on operational matters, Black took in a small breath. “Anything else to report, Vlad?”
“No.”
“Good. We’ll keep in touch.”
The feed from the screen and sound from the hidden speakers went dead. Black pushed his chair back and stood up. “And so another day comes to an end. Would you like a drink, Jerry?” he called as he made his way to the fully-serviced bar behind the curved wall. “Never mind, I’ll get you one anyway. I think we deserve it.” He returned a minute later with two glasses and passed one to the other man.
Li smiled as he took it. “Thanks.” He held up his drink. “To the boss—a brilliant visionary, a benevolent liberator, and a ruthless trailblazer.”
Black smiled in return and clinked his glass with Li’s. Reverently, he echoed, “To the boss.”
S
oft, warm sand cushioned Tegan’s feet as the five made their way down to the beach at Carpinteria, taking in the beautiful golden coast and picture-perfect cobalt waters lapping at the shore. A gracious ocean breeze cooled the heat of the day. It was just after noon and the friends were looking forward to relaxing on the beach they had last visited as children.
Kody trotted ahead of the others, weaving his way between kids building sandcastles and people sunbathing with shades on as he led the group toward a spot he’d pinpointed the moment they’d stepped onto the beach. Jag and Mariah followed while Tegan walked behind them with Aari.
Tegan glanced at her friend. Aari’s eyes were narrowed against the sun’s glare and though she knew his thoughts were roiling, he was careful to not show any emotion on his face.
After Mariah’s nightmare, the five had anxiously waited for Aari’s dream to occur. It was only two nights later when it happened and Aari told them about it before leaving for the beach. His words had been met with silent pats on his shoulder. There truly was nothing that could be said to comfort him, and the friends agreed not to discuss their unnerving dreams for the time being—they wanted to take it easy and forget it all for a while.
“And here we are,” Kody said, looking pleased as he unfolded his beach towel and spread it on the sand. He plonked himself down and turned his baseball cap around so the brim could shade his eyes from the sun.
The others settled down on their own beach towels as well. Tegan looked out to the ocean where a handful of surfers were attempting to ride the rolling waves. It appeared that most of them were novices, but one dark-haired teenager about fifty yards out seemed more experienced. She observed him quietly, watching how he carved a wave with ease. He exuded confidence as he stood atop his surfboard. Obviously native to the area, he was bronzed from many hours outdoors and seemed to know the waters well.
She continued watching him for a while as the other four either read books, ate, or dozed; they’d decided to put off plunging into the water for a bit. A group of children ran past them, giggling ecstatically as a couple of older kids chased after them with foam swimming noodles. Tegan smiled, then returned her attention to the teenage surfer.
Seeing a perfect swell approaching, he paddled out to meet it and sprang upright to ride it. Suddenly, there was a resounding
crunch
. The surfer let out a spine-chilling scream as he fell off his board and disappeared under the water. Tegan shot to her feet, shock etched on her face.
Jag, who’d been dozing, bolted upright, as did the others. “What was—”
Before the rest of his question slipped past his lips, the surfer’s head broke surface and his cry rang out. “
Help me!
”
Several people on the beach heard the scream and caught sight of the young man struggling amidst the waves. A dark triangle slowly rose from the water about twenty feet behind him, moving in the direction of the fallen surfer. Gasps and shrieks came from the beach-goers. Some started sprinting toward a lifeguard post that was some distance away, kicking up sand as they did and yelling for help.
Tegan stared in helpless horror as the fin sliced through the subsiding waves toward the boy. There was a brush of wind against her cheek and the next thing she saw was Jag sprinting toward the water as he removed and tossed his t-shirt aside.
“What are you doing?” Mariah screamed.
As he drew closer to the shoreline at a blurring speed, Jag leapt with the full force of the momentum he’d built and traversed an incredible distance over the waves before plunging near the surfer. The approaching shark must have been startled by Jag’s sudden appearance. It quickly maneuvered away from the pair in the water and turned back to the open ocean, its dorsal fin slowly vanishing under water.
There was stunned silence as those on the beach watched Jag hook one arm around the surfer and use the other to swim to safety. As they got closer, there were a few murmurs that broke into a cheer from the people on the beach. Tegan, Mariah, Aari and Kody ran into the water until they were nearly waist-deep, urging Jag and the surfer on.
Kody, who stood beside Tegan, suddenly stiffened. “No,” he said softly.
“What?” she asked.
“The shark . . . It’s coming back.”
“What are you talking about? We saw it swim away.”
Kody’s emerald eyes narrowed. “No, Tegan. It’s coming back.” His voice dropped and the color drained from her face at his next words. “I smell blood in the water.”
The cheering from the onlookers faded into the background as Tegan slowly looked back at Jag and the surfer. The surfer, eyes shut and face contorted in pain, rolled his head to the side while Jag dragged him along. Tegan saw the injured boy’s eyelids lift slightly before both she and he caught sight of a fin—so dark in color that it looked black—resurfacing.
“Jag!” Aari boomed. “
Shark!
”
Jag didn’t have to look back to believe him. He redoubled his efforts but was having difficulty swimming while dragging the injured surfer. Aari and Kody, despite knowing the danger, went deeper into the water to try to help.
Tegan stood frozen as water lapped around her waist, soaking her shorts and t-shirt. Fine ocean mist lightly sprayed her face and she could taste the salt in the air as she stared at the rushing shark. Her mind reeled in frustration. She wanted to do something but she felt so powerless.
Time seemed to slow down before there was a sudden flash in her mind. It blinded her momentarily before quickly disappearing. She stumbled back a step, then the flash occurred again. There was an image this time. She could barely make out a flurry of feet underwater before the vision disappeared. “What the—” she began before the vision returned. She could see it clearly now, two humans in the water, moving away from her as frantically-kicking feet churned the water behind them. The strong scent of something metallic hit her nose and she could see a trail of dark liquid under the salty waves. A part of her wanted to gag at the smell but another part seemed hungered by it. The realization of what she was witnessing hit her like a hammer to the chest.
She was looking at Jag as he was swimming the surfer to shore . . . through the eyes of the shark.
Unable to comprehend what was happening to her, she felt panic set in. Just as it began to strangle her consciousness, an inexplicable calm fell on her and quelled her terror; it was as though someone had placed a cool hand on her fevered mind. The calm sensation brought a reprieve but it was short-lived. As she felt the shark open its jaws to snap at the injured surfer, she let her mind spring completely into the beast. Intuitively, she turned its head away from the boys just as the jaws filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth came crashing together. Then, with some effort, she maneuvered the rest of its body away from the two teenagers and forced the shark as far from the scene as she could until her connection with it faded. She blinked once and when her eyes opened, she saw Kody and Aari helping Jag and the other boy onto the beach.
The crowd converged upon them, wanting to make sure that the teenagers were alright. Tegan ran up to them, pushing her way through the throng with Mariah close behind. Aari had already helped Jag to his feet. Kody crouched beside the surfer, gently talking to him.
Tegan’s eyes traveled down to the wound on the boy’s left leg but she had to quickly avert her gaze from the sight. The surfer, shivering and in near shock, raised a shaky hand to Jag. Jag looked down at him for a second, then knelt and grasped the other teenager’s hand firmly. He gave a reassuring nod and the surfer just barely nodded back.
A lifeguard broke up the crowd from behind, advising them to give the injured boy some space. They obliged, but not before one of them—an older gentleman—gave Jag’s shoulder a squeeze and said, “Well done, son. That was a very, very brave thing to do.”
Jag seemed caught off guard by the praise. He mumbled a thanks and picked up his t-shirt from the ground.
An ambulance and police cruiser arrived shortly and paramedics loaded the surfer onto a stretcher. Tegan watched it all in silence. Once the vehicles were gone, the five turned to one another, saying nothing, until Aari pointed at Jag. “Dude, I swear I saw you fly.”
Jag looked uncomfortable and busied himself with dusting the sand of his t-shirt. “I didn’t fly, knucklehead,” he muttered. “I just . . . leapt.”
“A great distance,” Mariah said matter-of-factly.
“I smelled the guy’s blood in the water,” Kody said abruptly, voice cracking. He looked ill as he spoke.
Jag eyed him. “Come again?”
“You heard me.” Kody lowered himself to the sand and sat down heavily.
Tegan wanted to tell them about her own experience but feared that they would find it absurd. Still, she could not keep it to herself. “I don’t know how, but I controlled the shark,” she blurted, then turned red when the others faced her. “I . . . I mean, I was able to make it turn away from you. Somehow I was able to jump into it and take control.”
To her surprise, the others regarded her without much disbelief. Jag quietly slipped his t-shirt back on before saying, “We—”
He was cut short when Tegan let out an earsplitting cry and fell to her knees, digging her fingernails into her head as a torrent of images exploded behind her eyes. The visualizations—hundreds of them—passed by with dizzying speed. Fragments of different voices filled her mind, growing riotously louder in her ears. Letting out another cry, she curled up on the sand and pushed the heels of her palms against her temples as the images sped by faster and faster.
She didn’t know how long it took for the surge of visions to pass but when it did, she continued to lay on the beach, numb. It wasn’t until she saw Jag come over that she made the painful effort to sit up. With his help, she stood and leaned against him for support.
The first thing she saw when she regained her senses was Kody coiled into a ball at her feet. Not too far from him, Aari was unsteadily helping Mariah up from where she was kneeling on the ground, holding her head and whimpering, “Why is this happening?”
Together, Jag and Tegan pulled Kody to his feet, each draping one of his arms over their shoulders. “What happened?” Tegan croaked.
Jag pursed his lips, jaw tight. He urgently patted Kody’s cheeks to get him to open his eyes but the other boy seemed to be unconscious. “Come on, brother, come on . . . ”
As Mariah and Aari joined them, Kody’s eyes slowly cracked open. Relieved, Tegan looked at Jag. He was glancing over the crowd. People were walking toward them, looking worried and even a little frightened. Jag started moving in the direction of the parking lot, away from the crowd, helping Kody along. “We need to get out of here. The media will arrive to cover the shark attack soon and that’s the last thing we need.”
The others hastily grabbed their beach towels and bags and followed after him. Tegan helped Jag guide Kody. “Jag, I saw—I saw things. I—”
“I know,” he said, ignoring the stares that the group was getting. “I did too. We all did. I think . . . ” He exhaled slowly. “ . . . I think the pieces are finally falling into place.”
A
ari watched, amused, as a small red ball gently lifted off Mariah’s open hand, hovered in front of the girl’s face for a few seconds, and then dropped back onto her palm. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then smiled slightly and took the ball from her, staring at it as he calmed his mind and focused his thoughts. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then one side of the ball began to shimmer slightly and vanished before reappearing. He tried again. This time, the other side of the ball faded from view.
Kody, who was looking on with the others, grinned. “You almost got it, bro. Keep going.”
Aari fixed a hard glare on the ball. Both sides of the small sphere began shimmering toward the middle before the ball vanished completely. Kody let out a whoop and thumped Aari on the back. The others applauded, earning strange looks from people walking past who hadn’t noticed the teen’s feat.
It was the morning after the shark incident. The five were sitting at the end of Stearns Wharf, their feet dangling over the edge of the pier, enjoying spectacular views of Santa Barbara and the surrounding coast. Dark blue water frothed twenty feet below them. There were a few anglers along the sides of the wharf with fishing lines cast and every few minutes someone would call out gleefully, signaling a catch.