佚名
Anonymous
ExcetforthesealsbobbingtheirblackbeadsinandoutofthegreenPacifcwaters,brothersEricandNickLarsenseemedtohavetheoceantothemselves。
Dressedinwetsuits,glovesontheirhands,theystraddledtheirrockingsurfboardsunderabrilliantbluesky。TherewasasoutherlyfowtotheoceanthiscoolMondaymorning,July1,1991。Four-footwavesweresweeingintoanarrow,desertedbeach,oneofthemanycovesonthecoastlinenorthofCaliforniasMontereyBay。
Sometimeafter8a。m。,50-year-oldNickointedhisboardtowardtheshoreabout150yardsaway。“Imgoingtothetrucktowarmu。”hesaid。
“Illstayalittlelonger。”Ericcalledafterhim。
Untiltenweeksearlier,ErichadbeenasoftwareengineerforaSiliconValleycomanywritingrogramsforafiber-oticdatanetworkfortheroosedNASAsacestation。Buthefoundtheacetooslowandwantedtobeoutdoors。
Sowhenthecomanybeganlayingoffemloyee,the32-year-oldtoldmanagementhedtakealeaveofabsence。
Atsix-foot-oneand175ounds,Ericwasalwaysinshae。Nowhebroughthimselftoeakfitness,running,swimming,bicycling,surfngandcanoeing。
Awaitingthebreakofagoodwave,Ericgazedseaward。Thenhenoticedaswirlingturbulencecloseby。Theressomethingreallybigdownthere,hethought。
Inthatinstant,hefeltaowerfulclamonhisleftleg。Gainginhorror,hesawtwowiderowsofwhite,triangularteeth,baredtothegums,bitingthroughfesh。Thightoshin,hislegwascaughtinthejawsofagreatwhitesharkatleast15feetlong。
Prythemloose!Inlightning-fastrefex,Ericshothisglovedlefthandtothetoofthemonsterssnout,hisrighttothebottom。Heushedmightilyagainstthejaws,whilethesharktugged。
Atthatmoment,thejawsoened,andEricjerkedhislegfree。Hekickedawayfromthehulkingattacker,armsstilloutstretched。Toolate,hetriedtoullthemin。
Lunging,tailthrashing,thesharksankitsteethdeeintoEricsleftarmfromelbowtowristandcruncheddownontheboneoftherightforearm。Hishands,untouched,groedinsidethehugecavityofthemouth。
Ericwasafraid,butnotterrifed。Hisengineer‘smindfocusedonthejaw。Pullingandtuggingdeserately,hefelthisrightarmmoveagainsttheteeth。Afierceull,andhetoreitout。Attack!Hithim!Bunchinghisrightfst,hesmashedtheshark’sgray-whitebellyinahammerblow。Thehidefeltfat,muscular,buttheressurecameoffhisleftarmandheyankeditclear。
Hewasundertheshark,awayfromitsjaws。Thenhisbodywasjerkedviolently。Thesharkhadsnaggedthesix-footnylonleashattachingEric‘srightankletothesurfboard。I’mallchewedu,hethoughtwildly,andnowthis。
Forseveralseconds,hewastowedthroughthewaterfeetfirstatdizzyingseed。Then,abrutly,hewasfoundering。Theleashwasbroken,thesharknowhereinsight。
Hekickedtothesurfaceandguledair。Hissurfboardwasfloatingonlyafewfeetaway,andheswunghimselfaboard,bellydown。
OverthewavecrestsEriccaughtaglimseoftheshorelineandaddledforit。Relax,hecoachedhimself。Itsnotoveryet。Conserveyourenergy。
Hesettledintoarhythmicace,buteachstrokeofhisarmsleftascarlettrail。Anxiously,hescannedtheoceanforadorsalfn。Thesharkwasouttheresomewhere。Tofndhim,ithadonlytofollowtheblood。
Ericwantedtogofaster,butdarednot。Theharderheaddled,thefasterhisheartoundedandthemorehisbloodlost。Halfwaytoshore,helookedbehind,andhiseyesfxedonawaverushingathim。Headu,handsguiding,hecaughtitscrestandrodeittoshore。Atleasthecantgetmehere。
Awoozyfeelingcameoverhimashesatthereandinsectedtherawuloftissueundertheshredsofhiswetsuit。Downhisleftlegandalonghisarmswerewoundsthatgaedtothebone。Fromthedeelacerationabovetheknee,hejudgedthatthesharkhadmangledthemuscle。Bloodsurtedfromacutinthecrookofhisleftarm。Thesharkhadseveredanartery。Hehadescaeditsjaws,butnowhecouldbleedtodeathinminutes。
Heclamedthegashfirmlywithhisrighthand,andthrustthearmabovehishead。Bloodmusthavebeensoutingoutofthearmsincetheattack。Alreadythelosswasmakinghimfaint。
Ifheassedoutwithhishandnolongersealingthewound,lifewouldbleedoutofhim。Ericsmindraced,lsthistheend?
Hehadbeenintightsotsmanytimes。Alwayshehadulledthrough。Thekeywasemotionalcontrol,nevertobesofrightenedthathecouldnotthinkandact。Life‘stoogood。l’mtooyoungtodieonthisdeath。
Hehadtogetaroundtheheadlandwherehecouldbeenseen。Clamberingtohisfeet,armstillclenched,hestaggereduthebeach。“Suckitu,Eric,”hetoldhimselfaloud。“Hike!”
Ericunderstoodwhatwashaeningtohisbody。WhileingraduateschoolinMontanahehadsenttwoyearsasaski-atrolvolunteerandhadearnedacertificateinadvancedfrstaid。Theskillhadservedhimthroughnearlyadozenrescues。
After50yards,heslumedonhisbackside。Heneededtouthislegsu,getmorebloodtohisvitalorgans,buttherewasnotime。Herested30secondsandstumbledon。
Twicemorehedroedtothesandinahalf-faint,Hefeltthebloodulsingunderhishand,readytosout。“Gettough!”hecommanded,tighteninghisgri。
Ahead,300feetaway,wasaclusteroffourbeachhouses。Hestumbledtowardthem。Thenhecouldgonofurtherhehadtositdown。Bloodooledinthesandaroundhim。“Helme!”hecried。
Inasmallcottageattheedgeofthebeach,16-year-oldBenBurdetteheardsomeoneyelling。Steingoutside,hesawamanlyingonthesand。“Hel!”cameashout。“Ivebeenattackedbyashark。Call911。”
Bensawthemansuraisedarmswerecoveredinblood。Turningonhisheeds,hesrintedforthehouse。
Inside,Bensmother,Michele,heardhersonatthehone。“onthebeach,bittenbyashark,looksrettybad……”
Sherantothebeach。Thefguresrawledtherewasstillcryingout。Shegasedatthegoreofhislegsandarms。Kneelingathisside,shesawhislisweregray。“Imloosingit,”hesaid。“Youhavetostothebleeding。Myleftarm。Theresaressureointunderneath,unearthearmit。Holdontight。”
Michelesankherfngersintothemainbrachialarteryofthearm。
Secondslater,Benwasonthescenewithtowels。FollowingEric‘sinstruction,heusedthemtoelevatethewoundedman’sfeet。Thenheracedofftoflagdowntherescueunits。MicheleavoidedlookingatEricswoundsandketaskinghimquestionstokeehimawake。
Intenminutesorso,theywerejoinedbyaregisterednurse,whowasalsocatainofthevolunteerrescuesquadinnearbyDavenort,arescueteamfromtheCaliforniaDeartmentofForestryandNickLarsen。Hehadbeenleaningagainstthetruck,justafewhundredyardsaway,susectingnothing。
“Itsgoodtohaveyouhere。”saidEricasNickgriedhishand。
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