SHARK RIDER
- FETU
- Mar 23
- 3 min read
Over the years I have been accused of exaggeration, stretching the truth, and lies so big they could shade PukaPuka from the sun. While none of these accusations are even remotely true; what I'm about to tell you is. It's as true as blood. As true as sand. As true as the Purple Tiki sitting there and watches us. If you don't believe me, ask him; Purple Tiki saw it as well.
I was walking on sunrise beach earlier today watching the morning fishing boats paddle in. Ten boats had gone out today, with some forty men sprinkled among them. They came in as a group, as always, looking out for one another. About half the boats were on the beach when the net between Kai's boat and Taro's boat was pulled sharply under. The fishermen were pointing in the water and yelling, but those of us on the beach could not see or hear. Kai's men worked to pull the nets into the boat until you could see the large shark alongside the canoe. It was tangled in the net and thrashing wildly. The more it twisted, the more tangled it became. The two boats cut away all the lines to keep the monster from damaging the canoes or flipping them over. Even with that section cut free, the devil was still hopelessly tangled and thrashing with panic.
Gerard was helping on Taro's boat today. He pulled his knife, dove in, and swam towards the mankiller. He got his legs wrapped around the tail of the beast and started cutting away the net. The shark considered this an insult to his kind and fought back mightily. Gerard used the fins to pull himself forward, cutting rope and netting along the way. Half the fishermen in the boats watched in stunned silence. The other half were yelling for him to get back in the boat. Gerard pulled himself up by the dorsal fin and now locked his legs around the midsection of the gray fiend. He leaned towards the nose and was able to cut away the last of the netting. The only thing left on the creature was six feet of rope caught between its deadly teeth. Gerard grabbed one end with his right hand, and the other end with his left hand in an attempt to pull it free. The barbarian from the depths had other plans.
The behemoth shot forward trying to shake off the pesky human. Instead of letting go like a smart person, Gerard chose death and hung on. The demon raced down the beach and pulled its passenger underwater twice. When it reached the black rocks, it spun around and came back the other way. It breached once, lifting both of them out of the water as it crested a wave. That image is forever burned into the eyes of the fifty lucky witness today, including me. The finned assassin then carried him all the way down past Jope's hut before turning around and swimming back. Now it was angling out towards deeper water and Gerard disappeared for three long stretches while the rest of us held our breath. Eventually Gerard popped up outside the breakers, free of the nightmare, waiving for help. Did Gerard let go of the rope, or the villain chewed through it? We may never know.
Kai's boat reached him first and pulled him aboard. He was a mess of bloody cuts and reef rash. They rowed him to shore and helped him walk to the healer's hut. He looked very tired from his fishing adventure, and did not speak once back on shore. As for the rest of us, it was all we could talk about.
Bothari said that Gerard missing being a captain so much, he decided to go sailing on a shark. Loto suggested that Gerard had run out of questions for the villagers and was now asking the sharks. Taro thought that Gerard was looking for a faster way to get home. Tane wondered aloud if Gerard was trying to learn to speak shark. Mano showed up later and talked to several witnesses about what happened and what they saw. Eventually Roko asked Mano why Gerard would do such a thing. Mano smiled when he answered.
"The Purple Tiki needed to say something to the sharks, but only trusted young Gerard to deliver it," he said.
The fishermen all nodded; the Purple Tiki was indeed wise.
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