4

“We’ve found her!” Tom said as soon as they broke the surface.

Their air tanks had been running low so they’d ascended to a depth of fifteen feet and hovered there, clinging to the anchor rope, for a brief decompression stop to clear excess nitrogen from their bloodstreams. They hadn’t been deep enough to worry much about the bends, but why take the chance?

Well, Jack thought, we found something. Surprise, surprise. Too soon to tell if it was the Sombra. But he kept mum. No point in raining on Tom’s parade.

They removed their fins and climbed the transom ladder to the deck. They decided on a beer break before strapping on fresh tanks.

Tom seemed to be a different person. His eyes danced, his movements were full of energy, he couldn’t stop grinning.

“Got to be the Sombra.” The mask had left a red ring across his forehead and around his cheeks. “Now we know where to concentrate.”

Jack gave a noncommittal nod. His thoughts kept returning below, to the sand hole.

“What’s up with the coral down there?”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Looks dead. Could be a pollutant, could be a disease.”

“But even then, wouldn’t you expect some algae or something to be growing there?”

Tom shrugged. “Could be a lot of things. It’s a problem all over the world. They’ve got this starfish in the Pacific called the crown of thorns. A bunch of them can wipe out reef after reef.”

“Okay, but no fish either. I didn’t see a single fish.”

Another shrug, plus a grin. “Neither did I, but that should make you happy: No fish means no sharks.”

Tom just didn’t get it.

“Maybe I’m being oversensitive and paranoid, but consider this: For the whole time we were down, you and I were the only living things in that sand hole. Don’t you think that’s just a little strange?”

Jack hoped nothing more than a blight or pollution was at work here.

“Whatever,” Tom said, rising and starting to strap new tanks to the vests. He appeared to be vibrating with anticipation. Or was it greed? “Let’s get back down there before the sun gets too low.”