Shark Mask
After drifting quietly until they assumed that the shark had passed by, the braves continued to follow the cliff side in hope of spying the entrance to the inlet through the mist.
Without warning, like surf breaking on a beach, a great disk of water exploded. Before they could sit up to turn Half Moon away, the black eyes of Nestuka’s serpent head lunged through the fog, snapping a wide-toothed snout, lined with arrow like whiskers, at the side of the canoe -- butting against it with a crash. The braves recoiled at the shock and were sent flying over the side into the icy ocean. In an instant the canoe flipped over and Hayoqwis plunged beneath the water's churning surface.
He immediately shot up for a breath still holding his paddle and realized that the spears, bow and arrows and all the gear were lost. With one hand he quickly felt that the bear claw string given to him by Tokwish remained around his neck. He hoped that the others could find a rock ledge to escape the wrath of the sea monsters that pursued them. The attack by the giant sea lion had tipped the canoe upside down.
He saw that his cousins also had resurfaced to grasp the underside of the submerged -- though still floating -- Half Moon and were trying to swim in unison to push the vessel to safety at the base of the cliff.
Hayoqwis was able to put his paddle along the side and help the others by pulling as they pushed in the direction of black rock wall. Looking back fearing another attack by Nestuka, he noticed that his uncle was missing. Although the old man could swim in salt waters as well as the strongest young brave, he was no where in sight.
Moving as quickly as possible in the cold water the men slowly pushed the swamped canoe to the rocks and Hayoqwis made a foothold on the base of the cliff wall -- enough to steady the craft to help the others come around to safety. He planned to upright the canoe as they had done many times during the summer races and games.
“Uncle, are you there?” Hayoqwis called out into the fog as waves rose and washed the slippery rocks where the three men struggled to stand. “Father!" Kalis called from waste deep water.
But, instead of the the old man's reply, the braves heard the monster roar between the swimming brothers as he snapped onto the thigh of Tis'ka pulling him down and out of sight before he could make a sound. The remaining brothers quickly jumped up onto the rock between waves.
"Tis'ka!" cried Kalis.
With spears gone, the men held only their canoe paddles as poor weapons against the threatening devourer.
It was then they saw the shark's tail fin reappear and submerge apparently attracted to the violent movement of the in the water. They watched as the sea lion -- trying to escape -- leap onto the thin ledge a short distance from the men, his two huge front flippers struggling to pull his massive body to safety only to find the shark's teeth ripping into his hind flippers, suddenly transforming the monster into an unlikely prey of an even greater beast.
Nestuka wildly twisted his head back and forth, barking cries of panicked rage in his last moments, while he steadily was pulled like a morsel of food being consumed back into the bloody water to sink silently out of sight. The killer shark had become their savior.
At that moment the sky burst with a down pour of rain and a great wind whipped up the sea, bringing larger waves threatening to overwhelm the Kaw-Seth's slippery perch. The sky turned as black as the rocks and the tide seemed to swell. It was then that the three braves saw a great wave rise directly in front of the cleft in the rock where they knelt trying to secure a place on the ledge and in horror watched the swamped canoe lift out of the water and smash down onto a blunt rock with a loud crack, splitting their treasured Half Moon from stem to stern like kindling for the fire.
More
Without warning, like surf breaking on a beach, a great disk of water exploded. Before they could sit up to turn Half Moon away, the black eyes of Nestuka’s serpent head lunged through the fog, snapping a wide-toothed snout, lined with arrow like whiskers, at the side of the canoe -- butting against it with a crash. The braves recoiled at the shock and were sent flying over the side into the icy ocean. In an instant the canoe flipped over and Hayoqwis plunged beneath the water's churning surface.
He immediately shot up for a breath still holding his paddle and realized that the spears, bow and arrows and all the gear were lost. With one hand he quickly felt that the bear claw string given to him by Tokwish remained around his neck. He hoped that the others could find a rock ledge to escape the wrath of the sea monsters that pursued them. The attack by the giant sea lion had tipped the canoe upside down.
He saw that his cousins also had resurfaced to grasp the underside of the submerged -- though still floating -- Half Moon and were trying to swim in unison to push the vessel to safety at the base of the cliff.
Hayoqwis was able to put his paddle along the side and help the others by pulling as they pushed in the direction of black rock wall. Looking back fearing another attack by Nestuka, he noticed that his uncle was missing. Although the old man could swim in salt waters as well as the strongest young brave, he was no where in sight.
Moving as quickly as possible in the cold water the men slowly pushed the swamped canoe to the rocks and Hayoqwis made a foothold on the base of the cliff wall -- enough to steady the craft to help the others come around to safety. He planned to upright the canoe as they had done many times during the summer races and games.
“Uncle, are you there?” Hayoqwis called out into the fog as waves rose and washed the slippery rocks where the three men struggled to stand. “Father!" Kalis called from waste deep water.
But, instead of the the old man's reply, the braves heard the monster roar between the swimming brothers as he snapped onto the thigh of Tis'ka pulling him down and out of sight before he could make a sound. The remaining brothers quickly jumped up onto the rock between waves.
"Tis'ka!" cried Kalis.
With spears gone, the men held only their canoe paddles as poor weapons against the threatening devourer.
It was then they saw the shark's tail fin reappear and submerge apparently attracted to the violent movement of the in the water. They watched as the sea lion -- trying to escape -- leap onto the thin ledge a short distance from the men, his two huge front flippers struggling to pull his massive body to safety only to find the shark's teeth ripping into his hind flippers, suddenly transforming the monster into an unlikely prey of an even greater beast.
Nestuka wildly twisted his head back and forth, barking cries of panicked rage in his last moments, while he steadily was pulled like a morsel of food being consumed back into the bloody water to sink silently out of sight. The killer shark had become their savior.
At that moment the sky burst with a down pour of rain and a great wind whipped up the sea, bringing larger waves threatening to overwhelm the Kaw-Seth's slippery perch. The sky turned as black as the rocks and the tide seemed to swell. It was then that the three braves saw a great wave rise directly in front of the cleft in the rock where they knelt trying to secure a place on the ledge and in horror watched the swamped canoe lift out of the water and smash down onto a blunt rock with a loud crack, splitting their treasured Half Moon from stem to stern like kindling for the fire.
More
0 Comments:
Post a Comment