Moonfin Read Online Free Page B

anything like it.” He stood peering at a wide oval-shaped fin jutting out from the dangling net.
    â€œNot now, I’m busy,” he growled.
    â€œI think you might want to take a look at this, Quinn.”
    Max hardly ever called him by his first name in front of his crew. Captain Quinn cast an angry scowl his way then looked over the teeming net, expecting to see nothing but a pile of squirmy fish, or Jives, the deck cat, nipping at a fish-head. But trapped within the ropes and surrounded by common tuna was something different . It was trying to hold onto dear life and was losing the battle.
    Quinn stepped in closer and cautiously eyed the suffering animal. “Let’s pull it out and see what we have here—could be a rotting shark or something,” he barked.
    They unhooked the bursting catch, allowing the fish to spill onto the starboard deck. A small scaly calf, green, with red and yellow streaks running through it, spilled out also and slid over toward the crew, who scrambled out of the way to avoid touching it, except Jimmy, who stood still, because he didn’t know any better. It was rather pathetic and strange-looking with its puny reptilian head gasping for air and clawed flippers flailing about.
    â€œ What the —?” Jimmy squatted down to get a better look. “That’s plain freaky.”
    â€œIt’s dying, whatever it is. Do you think our net did it?” wondered Max.
    â€œNaw,” said Quinn, “looks like it was far gone before we picked it up.” This certainly confirmed some suspicions he was having about this island. Once, ten years ago, he’d found a beluga whale cut clean in half, like it had been bitten straight through, with teeth marks and all. And this creature had some fearsome teeth!
    â€œ Finally —some real evidence that something foul lived around these waters,” he snarled under his breath.
    â€œShould we throw it back? It looks like a harmless babe,” said Max.
    Jimmy stuck its back flipper with a hook.
    â€œLooky here! This thing can breathe without gills,” he said, now jabbing the head. “Check out these long stringy things at the back of its noggin—”
    â€œJimmy, I wouldn’t—”
    Too late. In the blink of an eye, a jagged barb popped out of one antenna and lodged itself in Jimmy’s arm. He screamed and fell to the ground, hysterical. The calf was too weak to do anything to its newfound prey, but the barb was still enough to cause unearthly pain—
    â€œGET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!” he wailed miserably.
    It happened so fast.
    THWACK!
    The ship listed sharply to portside and twisted a quarter turn. The crew lunged for anything nailed down they could hold on to. The barb ripped out of poor Jimmy’s arm and took a chunk of flesh with it. Blood gushed onto the deck, and he yelled even louder while trying to latch hold of the rail with his one good arm to keep from fainting.
    After many long, tense minutes the ship stopped bobbing and turning, and the crew let go of their strangleholds. Max jerked off the flannel shirt he was wearing and wrapped it tightly around Jimmy’s arm to stop the bleeding. Afraid to move, the crew stood motionless for some moments in the eerie quiet. A heavy, stifling mist flooded around them, and one idea seemed to invade their collective thoughts: Something is terribly wrong.
    The current started moving the boat toward the island, nudging it sideways into the setting sun. It stopped in a patch of water that had rapidly changed from dirty blue to shimmering bronze in a matter of seconds. The quiet stillness covered them like a heavy wool blanket, smothering them in dread.
    I don’t like this … no movement, no waves,” grumbled Captain Quinn. “It’s dead flat everywhere.”
    Max heard something and looked over the side. A thin crust had formed on the surface of the water and was crunching into the hull. “Ugh! Do you