ZOMBIE SHARK HIGHWAY
THIRTEEN
Buckle up! It’s about to get REAL.
CHOMP CHOMP!
THIRTEEN
Justin sat in Melvin Bruce's truck, Maddie wedged between them. No one spoke. He could barely see the road through the rain, but he knew they were almost at the right spot. Maddie knew it too. Her knees shook like a paint mixer, her fingertips digging into her jeans. Maybe it was too soon to come back for her. For both of them.
The water-blurred trees outside his window gave way to a great expanse of grey -- the sea.
Too late to second guess it now.
"This is it," Justin said.
Melvin Bruce, stern and unreadable, pulled over to the side of the road by the guard rail.
Maddie sat up. "We're stopping? Do we need to stop?"
Melvin didn't say anything. He put the car in park and hopped out of the truck, leaving Maddie and Justin alone.
"We shouldn't just stop," Maddie said, panic rising. "We took him here, we showed him the spot. What's the point in stopping?"
"He probably just wants to take a look, Maddie." Justin grabbed the door handle and Maddie grabbed him by the arm. "It's okay," he told her, though he wasn't sure that it was. He had no desire to stick around either. "He's a scientist, he knows what he's doing."
I hope.
Reluctantly, Maddie released her grip and Justin opened the door, his feet hitting an inch of water before asphalt. His shoes were soaked. The rain had flooded the road.
Melvin Bruce stood a dozen feet away in front of the guardrail, hands on his hips as he stared out at the waves. The rain didn't seem to bother him, drenching his heavy tweed coat and old man pony tail.
The door slammed behind Justin and Maddie appeared beside him, hugging herself against the downpour. "What's he doing?" She had to shout over the pounding of the rain, the roar of the ocean.
Justin didn't know. He made his way over, wary eyes glancing at the white caps every two seconds. He didn't want to look out there, didn't want to risk seeing the fins that were in his nightmares.
But he didn't want to miss them either.
"So yeah," Justin shouted over to Melvin. "We were on the beach--" he pointed down over the guardrail where there was normally a bed of blinding white sand. But today there was only water, the rain helping the waves swell up to the road.
"They came up onto the sand, here," Justin said. "You could see the tracks they made. But I guess you can't really see them now."
Melvin Bruce didn't seem to be listening. He was bent over, running his hand along the guardrail. He stopped where the metal was bent and broken -- where the shark broke through, Justin remembered. He remembered the impact of it, ramming into the side of his truck. Remembered Maddie's screams ringing in his ears. Remembered the terror surging through his veins. Remembered how it drove him to press his foot on the gas.
Remembered how it was Kayla who stopped him.
Kayla who called him back from his own fear.
Kayla who made him keep it together to rescue DeStefano.
Justin realized Melvin Bruce was staring at him, too lost in his memory to realize the shark expert had asked him something. "How big?" he said, agitated.
"What?"
"The sharks. Twenty? Twenty five feet?"
"I, uh, I dunno." He hadn't exactly stopped to measure.
Melvin jogged back through the rain, leaped up onto the truck bed, digging under a yellow tarp that Justin hadn't taken much notice of. He could see from the shape that the tarp was covering something big. When Melvin tore it back, Justin gaped.
"What's that for?"
Melvin, holding the binoculars he'd been searching for, shrugged. "Seeing stuff."
"No, that," said Justin, pointing at the equipment at Melvin's back.
A massive harpoon gun.
Melvin turned back to the waves grimly, eyes squinting as he peered through the lenses. "Seeing stuff through."
Justin felt a tremor ripple through his knees as he followed Melvin's gaze out to the water. Through to what?
"Justin," hissed Maddie. She'd moved to the back of the truck, staring back the way they'd come down Highway 3. "Over there," she nodded.
It was Kayla. Biking furiously towards them.
"Kayla?" he called to her.
"What are you doing?" she shouted back, a trail of water flying up from her tires as she screeched the bike to a stop. "What did you come back here for?"
"Who's that?" asked Melvin, barely looking up from his binoculars.
"Who are you?" snapped Kayla.
"Melvin," he said simply.
Kayla looked to Justin.
"Uh, he's a shark expert," he explained, suddenly realizing how small of an explanation it was. "You're drenched," Justin said, shifting the subject. "You biked out here?"
But Kayla wasn't having it. "A shark expert? Like a scientist?"
"Biologist," corrected Maddie.
Kayla dropped her bike and marched up to the truck bed, arms folded, as she spoke directly to Melvin. "You working with Detective Bakker? Detective McKinley? They know you're here?"
Melvin ignored the questions, too busy scanning the horizon to be bothered with Kayla. Justin could see her jaw clenching with every passing second she didn't get an answer out of him, so Justin decided to do it himself.
Even though he knew she wouldn't like what he was about to say.
"Melvin uh, thinks it's easier not to talk to the police about this." Her eyes flashed at him, and Justin tried not to take a step back. "Not right now, anyway," he finished, lamely.
Kayla glared. "Seems to be a growing trend."
Justin shrunk inside. He deserved that. "Kayla, about what I said yesterday -"
"Yes, about that. That's why I need to talk to you." She shifted on her feet, struggling to fit her hands into the pockets of her waterlogged jeans. "The detectives that are here about my dad, they want to come ask you about it. About what we saw out here that day." She glanced at Maddie before adding, "It would be nice if you told them the truth."
Justin's eyes dropped, watching the water ripple around his sneakers. They'd think he was crazy, just like Officer Howe.
"For my dad's sake, Justin. For Point Chester. Don't you think people need to know?"
He knew Kayla was right. People did need to know. He didn't want what happened to Sarah and Mike happening to someone else.
But DeStefano wouldn't like it.
He looked over at Maddie who bit her lip, just as unsure, and Kayla didn't miss it.
"Fine," she scoffed, heading back to her bike. "Forget it. I don't know why I'm surprised --"
"Kayla, wait," Justin tried.
Before he could go after her, Melvin Bruce let out a roar so loud, drowning out the thunder of the storm. "FIIIIIIIIIINNNNNN!"
Justin spun back to the waves, heart pounding.
A shriek exploded from Maddie's lungs, echoing the sirens blazing in Justin's head.
Because he could see them -- eight fins. Slicing through the water towards them.
Justin turned back, terrified eyes meeting Kayla's.
They're back.
Thanks for reading Zombie Shark Highway!
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