hardly hit before the creek was churned into bubbles. The water looked like it was boiling. The
frenzied killers streaked to the bloody morsel. Their tails whipped out of the water. Fins seemed to be
slashing all over the creek. The creatures surfaced in their frenzy, their black marble eyes bulging
with excitement, their ragged mouths blood-smeared from ripping at the beef shoulder. A great, ugly
mako breached the surface, twisted violently in the water, then suddenly lurched into the air as a
large gray disemboweled it, the attacker thrashing its head back and forth as it tore a great chunk
from the other shark?s belly. More blood churned to the surface. A half dozen more sharks converged
on the mako, ripping it to shreds. Then one of them turned and charged the sailboat.
Murphy screamed, a full-fledged, bloodcurdling scream.
The big gray turned at the last moment and scraped down the side of the sailboat.
All Murphy saw were insane eyes and gleaming teeth.
Within seconds the hook was empty. Stick pulled it back in.
“Lookit that, they even gnawed at the hooks,” Stick said with a chuckle.
“What?re we doin? here?” Murphy whispered, as though he were afraid he would disturb the
predators.
“I?ll tell you, when these bastards are horny, they?re downright unreasonable,” Stick rambled on.
He swung the sailboat in a tight arc, pulling as close to the sandbar as he could. He knew the creek
well; knew, too, that the bar dropped off sharply on its north side, sharply enough to get in tight. Stick
grabbed the back of Murphy?s shirt and hauled him to his feet.
“What the hell are you doing? Lemme alone, lemmee the mobster howled.
The boat nudged the bar.
Stick threw him over the side.
Murphy shrieked. He landed on his side in the soft sand, rolled over, still screaming, scrambled to his
feet, and sloshed through ankle-deep sand to the middle of the bar. He stood there, his hands behind
his back, his eyes bulging with fear, watching the fins circle his diminishing island.
“For God?s sakes, what?d I do? I didn?t do nothin?! Get rue offa here. Jesus, Mary, and lose ph,
please, get me offa here!”
Stick leaned toward him. “Now listen good, Weasel. The tide?s coming in. This bar lies very low in the
