Wild Fiction

James had a huge grin on his face. ‘I’ll fire up the barbecue and pronto we’ll have grilled snapper.’
‘It’s very bloody,’ Rebecca said. ‘Poor thing, shouldn’t we kill it or something.’
‘It’ll die as soon as I gut it,’ Conrad said.
Rebecca grimaced and walked away.
The snapper provided more than enough food for the three of them and they ate and talked and drank in the cockpit. A slight breeze had picked up and swung the boat around to face the entrance of the lagoon and keep the mosquitoes under control.
‘Tomorrow we explore the island,’ James said. ‘We have to locate the settlement that used to be here and find out what’s happened to it. I’m sure it holds a clue to the missing artefacts if they’re not actually hidden there themselves.’ He had barbecue sauce smeared around his lips and plastered in the stubble on his chin. Even the neck of the beer bottle that he was swigging from was covered in the sauce.
‘You’re a messy child James Sloane,’ Rebecca said handing him a serviette with a smile.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said shaking his finger at the serviette. ‘I’m going to take a swim to get all this off.’
‘You can’t swim now it’s dark. It’s dangerous to swim at night. That’s when the sharks feed. You’ll be eaten by a shark.’
‘Rubbish, that’s an old wives tale. Trust you to believe it.’
‘It isn’t, I saw it on Discovery Channel.’
‘Absolute bollocks, watch me,’ James walked down the steps of the transom.
‘Please don’t,’ the urgency in Rebecca’s voice appeared to make him hesitate on the last step before he plunged in.
All around him the water sparkled in electric blue phosphorescent light. His body was outlined in the glow and each time he kicked a foot or moved a hand it left behind a cloud of glowing luminescence.
‘All that light’s going to attract a shark,’ Rebecca shouted. ‘Please get out now. You’re going to get killed.’
‘Your bloody shouting will attract a shark before anything else,’ James shouted back swimming towards the bow of the boat.