ASJ #5 x The Shark Cove #301

5th story of the collection "A Strange Journey"

Ever since Josh was a little boy he was fascinated with the sea and its depths. By the time he was 10, he was already an avid little diver. Diving on his breath to catch every seashell he could became his life mission. Before long he could stay underwater for up to a minute or a few seconds more, which was quite an undertaking for a boy his age.

Josh was happy to live so close to the beach, only a short walk from his house overlooking the bay area. His father David was always supportive of Josh’s hobby and even decided to join a diving club about the time Josh was 12. He wanted to learn more on diving since it brought the pair together, especially now that mom was never in the picture. David did his best to fill the gap of both parents and he did so with ease.

After taking a few basic lessons in the club, David was ready to step up his game. His dives became more and more dangerous with each passing month. Before long he enrolled Josh into the club as well and the two were inseparable. Once David wasn’t at work and Josh was out of school you could always find them by the sea. Heavily equipped with basic diving gear and looking for “treasure”. The treasure they usually found was nothing of too much value, but the pair had their fun.

A few years have passed, and Josh and David had dived in all the nearby designated diving spots, even going as deep as 100 feet, which was considered advanced, especially for Josh and his age. David as the senior diver always took good care of Josh and sticked to protocol, but, as faith would have it, these near-the-shore dives became more and more dull, and the pair discussed doing something more adventurous. Josh at 16 now was a what you might call an adrenaline junkie, at least when it came to diving. David on the other hand was always the careful plan-at-least-10 steps ahead guy. Together they were a perfect combo.

One day Josh heard a rumor at school about an underwater cave a few miles south of their hometown. It was around 150 feet deep cave with multiple corridors that haven’t been mapped out yet. The cave was cone shaped, meaning it was narrower at its entrance and then began to expand rapidly closer to the bottom. The entrance itself was so narrow only one diver at a time. Josh was instantly hooked. Who knows what he and his dad could discover? Maybe even map some things out, become the first professional father-son diving duo they always imagined. He couldn’t wait for school to finish so he could hop on his bike and drive straight home to tell David about his discovery.

He threw his bike in the driveway next to his dad’s car and leapt in through the front door. “Dad, you’re not going to believe what I heard today!?” he almost shouted in excitement. “What happened?” David replied while putting some store-bought soup in two plates. Josh explained what he had heard and anxiously awaited David’s response.

“I don’t know, it sound dangerous Josh.” Said David and started eating his soup. As soon as Josh heard that his whole body immediately went into disappointment mode, but ultimately, he understood why his father was concerned. He knew David only had their best interest and safety at heart. Finally, after finishing his soup: “I can make no promises, but I’ll look into it.” Said David. He couldn’t stand seeing Josh so sad and disappointed. “But safety is our main priority, remember?” David asked looking at his son. “You’re the best, dad.” Said Josh and jumped over to hug his dad.

A few weeks have passed, and David did his research thoroughly. To get to the cave they needed to take a bout out a few towns away and drive the boat around 2 and a half miles away from the shore to reach the entrance to the cave that was 25 feet under water. After that the cave itself went 155 more feet down, at its narrowest it was 3 feet wide which was a red flag for David due to the width of the diving equipment and scuba tanks. Little of the cave was mapped out but it did have an air bubble if you turned left and went up immediately after entering the cave. The cave itself wasn’t opened to the public and strictly saying it was forbidden to dive there, but something about it and the excitement of discovering new ground was alluring to David. He could finally move on from his desk job. He did good money wise and enjoyed his job for the most part. But what if this was his chance to become a full-time explorer and diver. One day the pair could even work together.

David decided to fill his son in on the details and the two can go visit the cave in 2 weeks once they got all the necessary gear and made the arrangements to rent the boat needed to get them out to sea.

Saturday, June 15th finally arrived, and the pair got up early to pack up and be on their way. In a few hours they were standing on “The Cove” - a beautiful, small but fast ship to take them out to their spot. Since technically diving in this cave was strictly forbidden the pair didn’t let anyone know why they were renting the boat or where exactly they were going. David turned on the engine and started making his way through the calm waves. Not before long the pair were at the right spot, anchoring “The Cove”. It was only 11 am on a beautiful sunny day and they had so many adventures ahead of them. They started to unload their gear and get dressed to begin their descent.

Upon reaching the cave’s entrance, David lowered a weighted line down from the ship into the cave so the pair could find their way back in case something went wrong. Next to the entrance there was a big sign saying no diving, but they decided to ignore it for now. After all David wouldn’t let anything go wrong. He went in first with Josh right behind him. A small ray of light was reaching through the narrow hole David barely managed to squeeze through. With his head lamp turned on and holding to the line he lowered earlier David slowly looked around while waiting for Josh to squeeze through. There was nothing, just darkness and emptiness with a lot of silt debris from all the commotion. Finally, Josh managed to squeeze through and enter the cave, turning his flashlight on as well. Nothing. Just empty dark space, Josh was astonished as his father gave him the ok hand signal and they started making their way down the rope.

A few dozen feet down but nowhere near the bottom, David felt a pull – a strong current in the water and immediately stopped signaling his son to stop as well. Current in such caves usually meant that water was flowing in and out of its tight corridors somewhere and that it could push or pull a diver in. Those usually don’t end well if you’re not careful or experienced enough.

David could feel the water moving around him both pushing and pulling him in different directions, but he could see nothing. Moving his head in all directions, but still nothing. “We are not alone here” thought David and signaled his son to start making his way up back to the surface. Josh hesitated thinking his dad is just panicking for no reason but decided to slowly make his way back to the entrance.

Suddenly, something touched his hand and he let go of the rope in panic. The only link they had to their boat. David noticed and grabbed Josh by the leg to keep him from straying too far from the rope. Quickly pulled him back so Josh can grab the rope. The more he moved around the more silt filled the water around them making it even harder to see. Like driving in very thick fog, you could only see if something was straight ahead of you. Josh grabbed the rope and made his way up as the current became more and more violent.

He decided to check the rope below him to see how his dad was doing, but as soon as he turned around, he couldn’t see his father or the light that was supposed to be on his head. Only silt. Silt that suddenly turned from light brown to dark red. Josh froze in panic and started looking around manically, hoping to see a glimpse of his father. But there was no sign of him. A strong current hit him too as he turned to face it, he saw his father or what was left of him - in a mouth of a creature that resembled a great white but was much larger. The creature had what seemed hundreds of large sharp white razor teeth and a torn pink shirt and a broken-down flamingo pool float toy stuck on his head. He let out a panicked scream through his gear and rapidly started swimming towards the surface. Once he finally reached the entrance there was no time for him to squeeze through, he could feel the creature right behind him. He took one last breath and removed his oxygen tank from the back to fit more easily trough the entrance. As soon as he wiggled through, the creature hit the wall right behind him, trying to push through as well but couldn’t.

Josh made his way back to the ship, crying and shaking. Near the boat the pink flamingo float toy made its way to the surface as Josh called 911. David’s body was never recovered and even now, 15 years later, Josh goes to the beach every night just to stare at the water in hopes he could have just one more adventure with his dad.

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