Dawn Patrol (3 page)

“There's that guy from yesterday,” I said. “Think he'll try to avoid us again?”

“I don't think he was trying to avoid us,” Esme said. “It seemed to be more of a language issue.”

“I'm not so sure,” I said. He hadn't seemed freaked out by a couple of gringos. He seemed as if he wanted to get away from us. “But, whatever. Let's go talk to them.”

Another set came in. The break shifted slightly to the left. We duck-dived through each wave. By the time we got out to the break, there was only one surfer there.

“Well, hello again,” Alana said.

“Fancy meeting you out here,” I said. A couple of surfers paddled toward the shore. “Where did everyone go?”

“They cut to the other break,” Alana said. “It's bigger over there now.”

“These are good waves here,” I said.

“Exactly, and now everyone is gone,” Alana said.

“Hey, did I see that guy from yesterday out here?” I said.

“Yeah, he was here. His name is Jose. He's been out all morning.”

“Where does he hang out?”

Alana raised her eyebrow, then glanced at Esme. “Umm, aren't you two together?”

I looked at Esme and caught on to what Alana was getting at. “No, we're not,” I said. “Nor would I be interested in getting together in, um, that way with this Jose guy. I just wanted to try and talk to him about our friend.”

“Your friend,” Alana said. Another set came in, and we lay on our boards in case they got bigger. “Right. Still haven't seen him.”

“Did Jose go to the other break?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Alana said. “He always goes where the biggest waves are. Or at least that's what he tells me.”

There seemed to be another swell coming in. Alana sat up on her board.

“How about we cross over,” she said. “I was going to stay here for a bit, but there's no harm in seeing what the other side is like.” She paddled into a wave. “Watch out for the rocks when you get over there. People get mashed on them all the…”

“What?” I yelled, but she was already on a wave, riding the crest before dropping down the front. I turned to Esme. “What did she just say?”

“Don't get killed,” Esme said.

“Ahh, good advice.”

“Your wave,” she said, pointing at the next cresting mass.

I lay down on my board and started paddling. “See you over there.”

chapter five

I caught the next wave and found the sweet spot, the place where you can feel the water rolling perfectly beneath the board. The board feels weightless, and all you have to do is stand up as quickly and smoothly as possible.

I dropped down the front of the wave. It wasn't curling very well, but it was big and solid enough to keep me moving toward the beach. I carved up and down the front of it, cutting back and forth across the face. I spotted the giant black rocks on the reef closer to shore. The wave started breaking behind me, losing its momentum. Soon it would wear out and slink in to shore. I cut hard across the top of the wave and lay down on my board, but the wave carried me toward the rocks. Alana was ahead of me, paddling through the surf. I paddled toward her and immediately hit rock. When the water rose, I quickly paddled away.

As I reached the other side of the reef, another wave came in. I duck-dived through it and watched it smash on the rocks. The pull of the ocean yanked me backward, and I paddled hard into the next wave and ended up over the reef again. Alana was cutting across the incoming waves, duck-diving as she went. I tried to follow her, but each wave pushed me farther back. I was used to five- or six-foot waves, and I had never been in such a strong riptide. It actually did seem as if the water wanted to smash me into the rocks.

Eventually I got outside the break and was able to paddle up beside Alana. “That is not easy,” I said.

“Yeah, I followed a local across the reef yesterday when I first arrived, and it was tough. If those big swells come in, no one will be making that cut.”

“You only got here yesterday?”

“I got to the island the night before and was in the water first thing yesterday morning.”

So Kevin could be here but just hadn't been out surfing. I spotted Esme paddling toward us. The waves had died down. The black rocks glistened in the sun.

“Wow, that's really shallow,” Esme said.

Another set of waves, larger than the last ones, crashed in. “You got out of there just in time,” Alana said.

“Did that Jose guy already catch a wave in?” Esme asked.

I looked at the line of surfers. They were all facing out to sea, watching the approaching waves, waiting for the perfect one. “No, he's right there,” I said.

Jose was lying on his board. He started paddling, preparing to take a wave. He looked our way. It seemed as if he was staring right at me, so I waved. Then the wave rose up, and he disappeared.

“I'm taking the next one,” I said. “Maybe I can paddle in with him, take him to Delgado's and show him Kevin's picture.”

I paddled into the next wave and caught it at the last second. I was about to drop down the face of the wave and cut away from the giant black rocks when a surfer came out of nowhere. He headed directly at me. I had two choices, smash into him and go under, or ride the wave out in the opposite direction and try to avoid the rocks. I looked back to see who had cut me off. Jose carved to the tip of the wave, then drove back down. I thought he had taken the first wave. What was he doing out here? Why would he wait for another wave when he had a perfect one? And why did he cut me off? He had to have seen me.

I didn't have time to think about it. I had to concentrate on staying on my board. The wave was messy. It was big and moving fast, but it was tumbling in on itself at odd points. So instead of being able to ride the wave in, I had to contend with a choppy surface and unpredictable collapsing.

I tried to get high on the wave in order to pop over the back and paddle away from the rocks. But every time I drove up the wave, it fell in on itself and became a mess of frothing water. I was getting closer and closer to the rocks, and the wave seemed to grow larger and larger. I was already over the reef. The wave was pulling all the water off the reef, leaving only a foot or so beneath me. If I fell, I'd be crushed on the coral.

I tried to power my way back up the front of the wave. I even considered jumping up to the top of the wave, hoping I could swim away from the rocks. But as I cut up, I lost my balance, and a second later I was flat on my back, the wave crashing on top of me.

My board shot into the air, and the leash yanked me backward. I sucked in as much air as I could before I went under. When you wipe out, you never know when you will resurface. Sometimes you pop up and have lots of time before the next wave rolls in. Other times you stay under for a full set of seven or eight waves and come up gasping and choking and thankful to be alive.

I didn't smash into the reef right away. I got boiled into the wave, rose toward the surface and was slammed back down. I put my hands out to brace myself. I touched something briefly, but was pulled away almost as quickly. A second later, I popped to the surface. I took a deep breath and saw I had been driven to the edge of the break. I was still a distance from the rocks, but the next wave would surely push me closer. I tried to dive through the next wave, but my board caught on something and I was yanked backward.

The wave crushed me. I felt as if I was in a washing machine set on high. I rolled over and over. I covered my head with my hands. My hands and feet were thrashed against the reef. It felt as though my skin was being shredded.

I popped up, but couldn't get a full breath. Then I was under again, rolling and flipping, completely at the mercy of the waves.

I opened my eyes and tried to figure out which way was up. Everything around me was swirling and seemed to slow down. It was like being in a slow-motion dream where you can see every bit of light, every grain of sand, every cell of every living thing. I watched sand float like dust in the sunlight and followed its slow trajectory toward the surface. Then I swam as hard as I could toward the sunlight. A moment later, I was coughing and spitting out salt water.

My eyes stung, and my lungs felt as if they were on fire. Another wave was coming in. I grabbed the leash and started pulling the board toward me. The back of the wave pumped me up to the surface. I was right beside the rocks. They glistened in the sun, foam and seaweed sliding down their sides. I managed a single gulp of air before the next wave crashed onto me. I felt as if I was going to be swept in to shore. But then the riptide grabbed me and dragged me out to sea again. I have no idea how far out I went. The last thing I remember seeing was a big rock in front of me.

After that, everything went black.

chapter six

The sky vibrated. Something smelled like peaches and vanilla. There seemed to be a dozen blurry faces swimming above me. Voices surrounded me, not words, just voices. I tried to turn my head, but it was as if my head was in a vise. I closed my eyes and heard my heart beating. It pounded through my body. I was going to be sick. I opened my eyes, rolled onto my side and threw up.

The voices returned. Louder than before. I could make out two faces above me. One of them was Kevin's!

I tried to speak. But all that came out were bubbles. I rolled onto my side again to spit. When I turned back, the only face I saw was Jose's. He narrowed his eyes, and then a second later he was gone.

I coughed up some more water. I felt as though I had been dragged through the ocean with my mouth open, which wasn't that far from what had happened. I pulled myself up onto my hands and knees. I was certain I had seen Kevin. And Jose. I couldn't have imagined it. But when I looked around, there was just a guy in a pair of dripping surf shorts holding my broken board in front of him. Kevin and Jose were gone.

“Are you all right, dude?” the guy asked. He was blond and tanned, and so muscular it looked as if he had snapped my board in half with his bare hands.

“Who was just here?”

He tilted his head and rapped on one ear, trying to dislodge some water. “What?”

“There was someone here,” I said. “Two people.”

“Yeah, maybe. A couple of guys dragged you in after you totaled on Old Man.”

“Old Man?”

“The rocks out there that you flailed yourself into.” He held the two pieces of my board out again. “I got your board for you.” He dropped the useless bits of fiberglass at my feet.

I sat down and coughed some more. “What did the guys look like?”

“I didn't see them, brah. I saw you get totaled, and then two dudes dragged you in to shore. I didn't see who. I was on my way out. There was a break in the waves, so I grabbed what was left of your board and brought it in. And now I'm going back out, if you're all right.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm all right.” If I was a sunbather who had been smashed by a wave, people would have gathered around to make certain everything was fine. Surfers generally get left on their own.

“Cool,” he said and dove back in.

Esme and Alana ran up. “Luca, what happened?” Esme said.

“Jose cut me off.”

“What?” Esme asked. “We saw him catch the wave ahead of the one you got on.”

“That's what I thought too. But he must have dropped off it and caught the next one. He came out of nowhere and went straight at me.”

“That's weird,” Alana said. “He didn't strike me as the kind of guy who would try to rub you out on the rocks.”

“Well,” I said as they helped me stand, “that's what happened. The weird thing is, I swear I saw Kevin. With Jose.”

“What?” Esme said.

“When I came to, I swear I saw Kevin standing over me. Everything was foggy. Their faces looked see-through. But I swear I saw him.”

“Where did he go?” Esme said, looking up and down the beach.

“I don't know,” I said. “The surfer who brought me my board said he saw a couple of guys pull me out of the water. But he didn't get a good look at them.”

“Um,” Alana said. “You might want to get that looked at.” She pointed at my leg. Blood dribbled from a long cut on my shin. “And that,” she said, pointing at my shoulder. I put my hand there, and it came away red. “And kind of all over.” She looked back at the water. “I'm not going in there for a while. You just sent an open invitation to every shark within fifteen nautical miles.”

“Sorry,” I said.

She smiled, a really warm smile, and stepped up beside me. “No worries, I was done for the morning anyway.” She grabbed my arm and threw it over her shoulder. “How about we get you over to see Delgado.”

“Delgado?” I said.

“Yeah, Delgado used to be a doctor or something,” Alana said. “He'll patch you right up.” Alana and I took three steps together before Esme spoke up.

“You want me to bring what's left of your board?”

I looked at my surfboard. It was broken in two, and bits were missing as well.

“No,” I said. “It's toast.”

Esme took the two ends and jammed them into the sand so they looked like a couple of headstones. “Rest in pieces,” she said.

chapter seven

“A paramedic, actually,” Delgado said. He had made room for me on his couch and was digging in a cabinet for a first-aid kit. “What happened?”

“This guy cut me off my wave.”

“That doesn't really happen around here. Normally people are very cool about taking turns.”

“Do you know a surfer named Jose?” I asked, touching my head gingerly. There wasn't a cut there, but it was throbbing painfully.

“Jose? What does he look like?”

“Kind of small, dark-brown eyes. Faux-hawk.”

“What kind of board?” Delgado asked. “That's normally how I tell who's who.”

“Looked like a Channel Islands. I don't know which model.”