Above, binoculars caught the flash of a dorsal fin. “Shark!” someone shouted, voice tight with fear. The revelation rippled across the deck. Panic gave way to dread clarity. Maybe Nathaniel wasn’t devoured. Maybe something else held him beneath the waves. Still, that knowledge gave no clear path forward.
The coastguard devised a risky plan. They would lure the shark away with nets of fish, hoping to distract it long enough to draw the whales toward them. If Nathaniel was still alive, they prayed the opening would come. But timing had to be exact or disaster would be inevitable.