Crocodile Dan D Read online

“There you are.”

  I look up and see Jessica. She was one of my friends from our fruit picking group.

  “We’re all going for a surf lesson. It starts in fifteen minutes. Want to go with?”

  I don’t know a thing about surfing, but I do know I’ve got two choices. I can spend the next two weeks crying my eyes out or do what I came here to do. That means enjoying a country and culture that I’ve been fascinated with since I was a little girl.

  There’s nothing I can do to undo what just happened. If my dad was alive and he was here right now I know what he’d say.

  “Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Get that chin of yours high and walk tall. It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. It only matters how many times you get back up.”

  He’s right.

  “Yeah,” I say. “I’ll go. Let’s do it!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Ruby

  A wave slaps me right in the face and I laugh hysterically.

  I should be feeling anxiety or like I’m about to drown but I’m not.

  It’s definitely a combination of improving my self-confidence by coming down here to Australia and showing myself I can do whatever I set my mind too. That and right now I’m still in shock about what happened less than an hour ago. I guess my body is coping with it by just not caring about anything.

  The water is exhilarating. I’ve never felt a workout that makes your entire body feel so good. And hopefully this sun will do something to even out my tan. I can’t imagine my white rash guard is cutting the rays that much.

  I continue paddling just like the instructor showed us on shore. The board is really long which makes it a bit hard to maneuver, but that’s a good thing. Slow and steady wins the race for me today. I just want to stand one time and catch a wave. If I can do that I’ll be ecstatic.

  I hear a strange noise and look up.

  What in the world? A drone? Way out here?

  I wave and the drone hovers in position.

  That’s nice. Whoever’s guiding it must think I’m at least cute enough get some pictures or a video of.

  I move my hair out of my face and wave a second time.

  The drone starts moving in a weird pattern. What in the world is it doing?

  I laugh.

  Suddenly I hear a bunch of commotion from the shore.

  I turn and see people pointing towards me.

  I wave at them too. Wow. This is fun!

  I turn back around and see a small wave starting to form and it’s coming right at me.

  Oh!

  I start to maneuver the board around so I can try and catch it, but instead I wind up just sliding off the side.

  Whoops.

  The salt water feels great against my skin. It stung when I first got in, thanks to all the cuts from the fieldwork all over my body, but now I don’t even notice. I’m at the beach in Australia and this is heaven.

  I pull myself back up on the board and get ready for the next wave.

  I hear people whistling and shouting.

  I look further out, but don’t see anything.

  Am I being blinded by the reflection? There’s no wave there.

  I hear something over one of those bullhorn things, but can’t make out what they’re saying. It’s just a loud mumble.

  I better be prepared.

  I keep watching but see nothing. That darn bullhorn thing won’t quit, but now it’s getting even louder and more annoying.

  I turn back around to see what all the fuss is about.

  It’s a long way to the shore and I can’t make out who has that bullhorn or what they want.

  Everybody is waving or pointing or something.

  Suddenly he gets to his feet and yells, “croc.”

  His voice is even louder and clearer than the bullhorn. Talk about having a set of pipes. And his voice carries off the water. It’s deep and strong and hits me right in a place I wasn’t expecting.

  But he doesn’t have to yell at me because of my choice of footwear. Jeez! I know they’re a fashion faux pas, but give me a break. I’ll remove them from your sight when I’m finished. Can’t a girl have any fun today.

  Wait a second. That makes no sense. I didn’t wear my Crocs today. I wore my flip flops, or thongs as they say down under.

  “Croc-o-dile!” the man yells again as he’s sprinting toward the water.

  Crocodile?

  Impossible. This is the ocean. There’s no wa—

  Suddenly I hear a loud snapping sound behind me and my balance feels off.

  I turn around and see a giant crocodile clamped down on the back of my board!

  He releases and clamps down on it again! This time even closer!

  Suddenly he disappears under the surface of the water.

  I immediately paddle like a wild woman but then stop.

  If I stick my hands in the water he’ll easily chomp them…and I’ll look more like a seal to a shark!

  Oh my god! I’m trapped!

  I’m a goner whether I stay or whether I go.

  I hear another noise.

  “Uh!”

  My head darts to both sides and then looks up.

  That damn drone is filming me!

  “Help me you asshole!”

  I feel a bump on the bottom of the board.

  “Nooooo!”

  CHAPTER 3

  Dan

  I drop my sandwich and stand, cupping my hands to my mouth.

  “Croc!”

  I reach down and into my backpack.

  “Got it!”

  My feet hit the sand in an all out sprint and seconds later my body darts through the surf as I paddle at her as fast as I can.

  My teeth bite down hard on ol’ faithful as I breathe through my nose as I swim through the choppy waves.

  I’m moving as fast as I can and I’m going to make it to her no matter what.

  She’s a sitting duck out there. She’s finished if she stays there and she’s finished if she tries to paddle.

  I’m gonna teach that crocodile to mess with someone his own size if it’s the last thing I do.

  And it won’t be but I’d rather go down as his lunch than watch him harm a hair on that girl’s head.

  She’s on one of those rental longboards telling me she’s probably a tourist.

  No way one of our men and women of uniform is going to be calling her home country tonight to deliver bad news.

  Not happening.

  I love my country and I’m proud of it. I’ll protect anyone that sets foot on it, especially a woman.

  As I near the board the waves subside. It’s more still which will help for what I have to do next.

  I breathe in deep and then dive down under the water’s surface.

  It’s not perfectly clear, but it’s not bad. The sun’s definitely helping and there’s not much sand kicking up.

  I’m used to having my eyes open from years of living as a waterman.

  I know that rascal’s down here somewhere. The question is—

  Suddenly he swims right at me,

  I move my body to the side and feel his snout just graze me as he darts by.

  I turn quickly and reach out with my hands.

  Got ‘em!

  He drags me through the water, but I’m determined not to let go.

  He tries to bend in half and lunge at me but I use the opportunity to move up his body.

  His mouth opens wide and chomps down right in front of my face, missing taking my nose off by inches.

  If I were still farther back on his tail he would have cut me in half.

  Just as I go to reach for the knife I’ve got clenched in-between my teeth he does the one thing I was hoping he wouldn’t but that crocs always do.

  He rolls.

  But this isn’t any roll, this is the death roll.

  That bugger doesn’t even have me in his mouth, but he’s smart enough to know he can drown me another way.

  I hold on for dear life as I feel like
I’m inside a washing machine.

  If I let go he’ll finish me off instantly, but if I don’t he’ll drown me in twenty more seconds.

  I’ve got one shot.

  I grab ahold as hard as I can with one arm and reach for my knife with the other.

  I get the knife from my teeth and put it in the direction he’s rolling us to.

  Even if I don’t finish him off it will be enough to scare him off or cause him to attack me which will give the girl time to paddle for shore before the sharks finish off both of us.

  I brace the knife hard and he rolls right toward my hand.

  CHAPTER 4

  Ruby

  The crazy guy with the huge knife in-between his teeth has been underwater for a good twenty seconds now.

  Did the croc get him?

  Is the croc going to get me next?

  What do I do?

  Stay calm, Ruby. Think!

  This is surely my only chance.

  I’ve got to paddle for it.

  That poor guy sacrificed himself for me. I feel so sad and ashamed but I don’t have time to think about that now.

  I look down at the water and just as I’m about to stick my hand in to begin paddling a head emerges right in front of me!

  “Uh. Uh. Uh.”

  It’s the man and he’s gasping for air.

  “Paddle,” he yells.

  I immediately begin paddling feeling the fear each time my hands enter the water, not knowing if my arms will be as long coming out as each time I stick them in.

  “Faster,” he yells.

  I turn and see he’s holding onto the back of my board and he’s kicking like crazy, trying to will us to the shore as fast as possible.

  “Face forward and move!” he demands.

  His voice booms even more authoritatively out here on the water.

  I do as I’m told and paddle with everything I’ve got, summoning strength I didn’t even know I had.

  The people are coming into focus faster and faster and what seems like just a few seconds later I feel the front of the board make contact with the sand.

  I stand up and go to run, but the water at my feet begins to pull me back towards the ocean.

  Suddenly I feel two huge hands grab my sides and lift me from my quicksand pit and pull me up and forward moving me up the shore.

  A chorus of cheers erupts and I feel my feet hit the sand and hear a thump.

  I look down and see the man flat on his back with his hands clasped behind his head.

  He’s trying to catch his breath, but it’s taking time.

  I look down at him and he locks his eyes on me.

  He looked like a savage out there, but this savage saved my life.

  Not only that, but he’s better looking than I realized. Much better looking.

  He looks like a real man. One who runs his hands through his hair more often than a comb. A guy who spends time in nature and not an office.

  He’s someone I’d want near me whether it were a crocodile causing the chaos or a false missile alert like they recently had in Hawaii. A guy who can save the day with his own two hands kind of like MacGyver.

  But this was real, not a test. And he stepped up and risked his own life for no reason other than to save mine.

  He’s a man who can protect me, just like he did.

  And he didn’t just protect me. He wrestled a crocodile for me. At least that’s what I think he did.

  “Sir! Can you tell us your name?”

  Suddenly a woman with a microphone pushes in-between him and I ending our moment…only temporarily I hope.

  “Ma’am. Can you tell us what happened out there?” another woman says as this woman sticks a similar microphone in my face.

  I turn and see two cameramen. One has a big 7News sticker on it while the other says SkyNews.

  “Sharks!” someone yells.

  The camera points to the water as a huge school of sharks circle the area we just were. They begin thrashing and flopping water everywhere.

  My brain finally has time to process everything and suddenly the hot sun reflecting off the water’s surface gets a bit brighter. My knees get a bit weaker.

  My body goes limp.

  CHAPTER 5

  Ruby

  “She’s waking up!”

  “Give her space.”

  I try and get my bearings and feel something underneath me.

  A man!

  I blink my eyes a few times to make sure this is really happening. I’ve never fainted before but I’m remembering what just happened.

  I hear a loud round of cheers and then the crowd starts chanting.

  “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

  This is all happening so fast.

  “Kiss him!”

  “Give the hero a kiss!”

  “Do it!”

  “You don’t have to listen to them,” he says softly as I lay on top of him.

  I push myself up just a bit so he’s not so close to my face. I need to get a good look at him from more than three inches.

  I’ve never seen such a feral looking yet handsome man before. I never would have taken him for my type, but then again I always thought Daryl was a real Mr. Nice Guy, and look how that turned out for me.

  The chants get louder and I have to admit I like where they’re going with it.

  It sure doesn’t hurt that I already know there are a bunch of news crews here and this will spread like wildfire on the internet. I wouldn’t mind taking a poke at the two cheaters back home.

  But there’s a different kind of poke that’s on my mind at the moment.

  I feel something pressing into my lower stomach and something hard running along my pelvis and the top of my thigh.

  My mind does the quick mental math. Are you kidding me?

  How hung is this guy?

  And why is he harder than a rock?

  “Maybe I want to listen to them,” I say.

  “Maybe we should,” he says.

  I look down at his lips. They’re surprisingly soft looking considering it’s hot, it’s the beach, and oh…he just had a knife in-between them!

  Part of me feel embarrassed with so many people looking on, but the large majority of me feels extremely horny.

  I guess the saying about never feeling more alive than when you stare down death is completely true.

  And I want nothing more than to celebrate my second chance right now.

  Right here.

  With him.

  My hero.

  Screw it!

  I lean in and close my eyes.

  I stop just short and then move the rest of the way.

  He’s built, handsome, and a hero, but I’m not expecting too much.

  But everything is what I get.

  I feel my nipples harden and my midsection tighten.

  My heart races almost as if I was back in that water staring down that ferocious monster again.

  But this is a different kind of monster, namely the one in his pants and what I’m guessing a guy who’s in as good a shape as he is can do with it.

  But more than anything I feel butterflies.

  I want to write it off as just everything that’s happened in the last hour, but it’s so much more than that.

  It feels so deep. So real. So passionate, even though it’s such a simple kiss.

  I hear more and more clapping and cheering and I don’t want to end this anytime soon. Based on the lip lock he’s got on me and what’s pressing up against me I can see he doesn’t either.

  I move my hands and place them on his body. His muscles are thick and huge, as everything is with him apparently.