Seal or No Seal

I couldn’t see much from where I lay. My cheek was pressed against the thin wooden planks of the bow deck and I had closed one eye, so the ocean was the only thing in my line of sight. It came in and out of view as the boat dipped and rose in the swell of the waves. Afternoon sunshine poured generously across the bay. The waves glittered, but something dark seemed to be bobbing slowly in an out of the water a few hundred feet away.

It looked like a seal, but I knew seals didn’t move that way. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore it. I was too warm to be on high alert right now. Nobody knew we were here, and we had nothing to worry about.

I must have dozed off. The sun was lower and not so warm. I sat up and looked around. The boat was quieter than it had been. The water still lapped at the hull, but the babble of voices was gone. There was another boat in the bay now too. I heard a loud crash from the rear. I jumped to my feet and sprinted aft.

Everything smelled like gasoline fumes and sea spray. It must have been the motor. I stood, sun-dazed, groggy from my afternoon nap, and confused about where everyone was and what could have happened. My phone rang, and I jogged back toward the front of the boat. I picked it up.

“We have the coins now. This is your punishment.”

The line went dead. I saw the bobbing head again in the water, but this time it was closer and moving away. It wasn’t a head, but a periscope. Then came the explosions. They started at the rear of the boat, and tipped everything forward. I fell onto the deck, just before the second explosion hit, tearing the wood planks apart. I felt my body crumble. My consciousness disappeared.