Free Deep Trouble II by R. L. Stine Page B

one!

 
 
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    “Huh?” I let out a terrified gasp.
    The shark was as big as a whale !
    Where did it come from? Dr. D. had told us there were no large sharks in the
area.
    I guess no one told the shark!
    It rose up, tossed by a wave. And I gaped at its silvery-white body—as long
as a canoe!
    It snapped its massive jaws. The CRAACK echoed over the water.
    “Whooooa!” I let go of the pillow and paddled for the boat as fast as I
could. My heart raced. The water felt as thick as mud. Why couldn’t I swim
faster?
    “Hurry, Billy!” Sheena called. I glanced back.
    The gigantic gray fin cut through the water like a powerboat.
    The shark sped straight for us.
    “Swim!” I ordered myself. “Faster! Faster!”
    Sheena and I thrashed toward the boat. I didn’t glance back again. I didn’t want to see how close the big shark was!
    Gasping, my entire body aching, I reached the Cassandra. I grabbed the
side. Almost safe. Almost.
    Sheena scrambled up the ladder ahead of me.
    “Hurry!” I shouted. I clutched the ladder and glanced back.
    The shark roared closer. So close, I could see its glassy black eyes. And its
mouth full of jagged teeth.
    “Sheena, go!” I screamed. I shoved her up onto the deck and scrambled up the
ladder.
    “We made it!” Sheena gasped.
    Gasping for breath, my chest heaving, I stared over the rail.
    The shark kept coming! Like a submarine with teeth!
    “NOOOO!”
    I let out a hoarse wail as the huge fish slammed into the side of the boat!
    “NOOOOOO!”
    The whole boat rocked—and tilted.
    I grabbed the rail and held on.
    “Hold on, Sheena!” I shouted. “It’s attacking!”
    I braced myself for another jolt.
    Nothing happened.
    The shark disappeared into the churning water.
    Dr. D. appeared on deck, looking confused. “What’s going on?” he cried.
    Sheena and I ran to him, screaming, “A shark! A shark!”
    “What?” Dr. D. stared out to sea.
    The water gleamed calmly now. Soft waves splashed against the side of the
boat.
    The monster shark had vanished.
    “Billy—there is nothing out there. What are you talking about?” Dr. D.
demanded.
    “There was a shark! A huge shark! It chased us,” Sheena cried
breathlessly. “It crashed into the boat!”
    “A shark?” Dr. D. shook his head. “No way. No way a shark could make the boat
rock like that.”
    “But it was HUGE!” I screamed. “It was as big as ten sharks!”
    “As big as twenty sharks!” Sheena exclaimed.
    Dr. D. rubbed his bald spot. “I told you two before. I checked the radar. I
checked out all of my sonic surveyors. There are no large sharks in this area.”
    He stared me in the eye and asked, “Are you sure, Billy? Are you sure you saw
a shark?”
    “We’re sure!” Sheena insisted. We both knew he’d believe her before he’d
believe me.
    “Come down to the lab with me, kids,” Dr. D. said.
    We followed him below deck to one of the labs. Dr. D. pointed to a large tank
in the corner. It held a silvery fish the size of a big dog.
    Sheena gasped. “Wow! I’ve never seen a fish like that before!”
    “Neither have I,” Dr. D. said solemnly. “That’s what bothers me.”
    I stared at the fish as it swam around in the tank. It looked sort of
familiar, but I didn’t know why.
    “I can’t identify it,” Dr. D. went on. “I’ve never seen a fish this size that
looks like this. I’ve been searching through all my books, but I can’t find it!”
    He pointed to a stack of books on marine biology. I picked one up and flipped
through it. It had page after page of cool color photos of all kinds of fish.
    Dr. D. glanced over my shoulder as I examined the book. “It can’t be in that
section, Billy,” he told me. “All those fish are tiny.”
    I turned a page, looking for the big fish section. Then I turned another page—and gasped.
    Dr. D. gripped my shoulder as he stared down at the photo with me. “No!” he
cried. “It can’t be!”

 
 
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    We crowded around the book,