Authors: Rhiannon Frater
Glancing out the windshield, she saw that Grant was almost done. Maybe once they were on the road things would settle down.
“Macky, the shark is still there. I can see it.”
Craning her head, Mackenzie caught a glimpse of the dorsal fin circling the pond. “Well, it's stuck there.”
“I don't like it.”
“Me neither.”
Grant finished shoving open the old wood gate and kicked some dead branches off the road. Mackenzie was glad that they were finally leaving. Despite her earlier calm, she felt the familiar annoying buzz along her nerves.
“Macky!” Johnny wailed. “It's coming!”
“What?” Mackenzie darted a look at the boy. The child was utterly terrified.
“The shark! It's coming!”
Whipping about, Mackenzie immediately saw the source of the boy's ashen complexion. The dorsal fin no longer cut through the dark waters of the pond. Instead, it was slicing through the ground, tossing up clumps of dirt and rock. It was headed straight for them.
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The impossibility of what she was witnessing froze Mackenzie in place. Her mind was unable to adjust to the terrifying sight of the tall dorsal fin slicing through the earth as though it were water. The sharp tip of its tail shimmied back and forth, propelling the creature toward the hearse.
“It's coming!” Johnny shouted again. “It's coming!”
A strangled cry of fear burst out of her lips. “Grant!”
The windows were rolled up and he didn't appear to hear her. She flung the door open and screamed his name again. This time, he heard her and turned about with a quizzical look.
“Get in the car!” Mackenzie shouted. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she could have sworn it was pounding against her sternum. “There's a shark!”
Confusion molded onto his features, Grant hurried to the car. Mackenzie was relieved that he had lived long enough with the bizarre nature of this world to not question her. She ducked back into the car, slammed the door shut, and pulled on her seat belt.
Johnny's fingers clawed at her shoulder. “Macky, it's coming!”
Grant caught sight of the massive dorsal fin and tail right as he reached the driver's side door. Horrified, he flung himself onto the hood just as the dorsal fin swooped into the ground and vanished.
“Get in!” Mackenzie screamed at him through the windshield.
The car rocked violently. The seat belt pinched her chest, pinning her to the seat. Behind her Johnny whimpered. Grant held on to the car, legs and arms spread wide to brace himself. The dorsal fin smacked the side mirror on the passenger side. Again the car was jostled as the huge shark slid past it.
“It's circling!” Mackenzie gasped, her fingers unfastening the seat belt. “It's circling!”
“What does that mean, Macky?”
“It's what they do to prey!”
Diving across the seat, she swiftly cranked the lever, manually rolling down the driver's side window. Grant saw what she was doing and pulled his body closer to the windshield. The enormous dorsal fin rose menacingly among the tombstones a couple hundred feet away. The fin was equal in height to quite a few of the headstones. Mackenzie felt her stomach drop: it was now bigger than it had been in the pond.
Finished opening the window, Mackenzie scooted into her seat while Grant slid to the side of the hood and swung his legs into the window. Holding on to the edge of the roof, he maneuvered his tall frame into the car.
“Hurry!” Mackenzie urged. She was unable to look away from the shark fin bearing down on the hearse. It was only a matter of seconds before the beast reached them. “Grant! Get in!”
Grant was too tall to climb in easily and he had to slant his upper body outward so he could completely fold his body inside. Behind his frantic motions, Mackenzie saw the shark head rise up from the dirt, its black shiny eyes coming into view.
“Grant!”
She dug her fingers into his shirt and heaved him into the car. His body buckled, pulling his upper half into the hearse seconds before the shark lunged out of the ground. The shark rose up, mouth gaping wide, attempting to snag Grant. Grant threw himself backward, falling into Mackenzie.
Shoving her body against the door, Mackenzie screamed in terror. The shark's mouth was massive and filled with row upon row of razor-sharp jagged teeth that were marred with dirt and bits of grass. The metal protested with a loud screech as the teeth dragged along the surface of the door before the shark vanished under the earth.
“Go! Go! Go!” Mackenzie shouted.
Johnny had yet to stop screaming.
Shaking violently, Grant settled into his seat, slid the car into gear, and shoved his foot on the accelerator. The hearse rolled forward and out of the cemetery gates. The road was narrow and not well maintained. There were huge potholes and the edges were crumbling. A mix of oak, pecan, and hackberry trees lined the road along with overgrown bushes. The cemetery was visible through the trunks of the trees to one side and a wide-open field was on the other.
“Are we out of the dead spot?” Mackenzie asked. It was difficult to talk. Between screaming and holding her breath in fear, she was a little winded.
“Not yet,” Grant answered tersely, checking his mirrors.
“Can it follow us?”
Grant didn't answer, the hearse continuing to accelerate.
“Grant! Can it follow us?”
She was answered by the car jolting hard to the right. Having forgotten to refasten her seat belt, she was tossed into Grant, making him tug on the steering wheel. The hearse clipped the bushes along the side of the road, but Grant quickly recovered. With frantic, shaking hands, Mackenzie buckled her seat belt while Grant secured his.
“Johnny, put on your seat belt!” Mackenzie ordered.
The little boy was still screaming.
Twisting around, she saw he was on his knees, gripping the headrest on the rear seat while he watched the giant dorsal fin following the hearse. The dark gray triangular shape slid alongside the car, towering and majestic in its horrific reality.
“Johnny, put on your seat belt!”
The fin edged closer to the hearse. Mackenzie tried to stretch her arm over the back of the seat to grab Johnny, but she couldn't quite touch him. The shark hit the car again, sending it careening across the road. Grant fought the wheel, struggling to direct the car away from the trees. Johnny toppled over, landing on the floor of the car. The hearse fishtailed for a few seconds before Grant recovered control.
Sobbing, Johnny cowered on the floor. “Make it go away!”
“Get your seat belt on, Johnny,” Mackenzie ordered as she shaped one into existence for the boy to wear. The silvery fin rose up behind the hearse again. “Get on the seat and put it on! Now!”
“He's doing this,” Grant growled through gritted teeth, his eyes flicking between the road and the rearview mirror.
Shooting Grant a disapproving look, Mackenzie unlatched her seat belt and leaned over the back of the seat to grab Johnny.
“I'm not doing it,” Johnny sobbed. “I'm not.”
Her gaze kept shifting to the dorsal fin. It glided through the asphalt as though it were water. It even left a long furrow in the road in its wake. The shark skimmed along the surface, its snout churning up the blacktop and dirt layers beneath it. The flat black eyes were visible again and Mackenzie had the eerie feeling of being watched. It was about ten feet behind the hearse and gaining speed.
Snagging Johnny under his arm, she heaved him upward. The seat was shoved into her diaphragm making it hard to breathe, but she was determined to get the little boy secured. Overcome with fear, Johnny wept, his huge sobs wracking his body.
“I don't want it to eat me!” he wailed.
“It won't!” Mackenzie's fingers shook, making it difficult to secure the buckle at Johnny's waist.
“Mackenzie, it's about to hit us! Get into your seat!” Grant's voice was a growl of frustration.
Another quick look revealed that the shark was directly behind the car now, its massive dorsal and tail fins rising above the roof of the hearse.
The shark was even bigger than before, its massive maw opening to close on the back of the hearse.
Mackenzie was so terrified she couldn't even make a sound. The buckle clicked, locking, just before the shark struck.
The jaws snapped shut, catching the end of the hearse. The window shattered, showering them with glass. Metal groaned as the roof bent inward. The car came to an abrupt stop, momentum propelling Mackenzie into the rear seat headfirst. She landed painfully on the floor, her body flipping over her head to smash into the seat and Johnny. Disoriented, she tried to right herself.
Johnny was beyond sobbing or screaming now. Panic filled his tiny face. He grabbed her arm, helping her up. The scent of urine filled the car along with the smell of dead fish and burning rubber. The wheels squealed, and the engine roared. The vehicle was held captive by the giant shark. As it shook its head violently, the people inside the car were jostled about, and Mackenzie's head slammed against the window. Her vision swam for a second. The metal frame gave another terrible groan. The ceiling over the spot where coffins once rested collapsed further.
The shark gnawed on the hearse, its huge body thrashing. Mackenzie attempted to regain her balance, but it was nearly impossible. From the front seat Grant was swearing and grunting with anger. Still locked in place by his seat belt, Johnny pawed at her, whimpering, desperate for her to hold him. She knelt on the floor beside him, her arms locked around his small frame. She could not help but gaze at the monstrosity holding the car captive.
If only the massive mouth that filled her vision belonged to an animatronic shark, its teeth foam rubber, and its black predatory eyes simple plastic. She could see past its sharp teeth into its throat and see its gills flexing. She did not want to end up in that mouth.
“Grant, we need to go!” she called out.
“I know that! But we can't! The boy made the shark! It won't let us go!”
Johnny shook his head violently. “No, no.”
The shark abruptly released the hearse, and slid back underground. The wheels caught and the hearse limped forward. The steady thumping and jarring ride spoke of the two ruined rear tires. When Grant accelerated the rims threw up sparks.
“Mackenzie, it's the boy! You have to face the truth! He's a wraith and he's feeding off you and me!”
“Shut up, Grant!” Mackenzie shouted. “I have to concentrate!”
Gripping the edge of the leather seat, Mackenzie closed her eyes and poured her will into the car. She imagined it repaired, the wheels in perfect condition and the ceiling intact. A dagger of ice sliced through her brain, but she felt the car lurch forward as the restored tires caught the road. Opening her eyes, she grimly smiled. She couldn't fight the shark, but she could keep the car running.
“Keep driving, Grant. I'll keep it maintained.”
“I know you don't want to accept this, but the boy is a wraith, Mackenzie! He's the one doing this. We need to oust him so the shark will retreat!”
“I don't believe that! Not for a second.” She leaned forward, peering at Grant's profile. Fear and anger dulled his features and made him unattractive. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with strain. “Stop saying it! He's scared to death back here! And so am I!”
“He's feeding off of you! You're allowing this to happen! Why won't you listen to me? We made an agreement that you would obey me!” Grant struck the steering wheel angrily. “Dammit, Mackenzie, I'm trying to save you!”
The little boy sitting in a pool of his own urine, clinging to her arm with all his might, stared at her with the biggest, darkest eyes she had ever seen. Quakes of fear rippled through his small frame and his eyes were glossy with terror.
“And I'm trying to save all of us,” Mackenzie snarled in return. She created a seat belt and buckled herself into the seat next to the little boy and let him lay claim to her right arm. She pressed her left hand to the seat and fought against her own fears. Grant's declarations were a godsend in a way. His words were making her angry, therefore freeing her from the paralyzing anxiety.
The hearse rushed along the road at full speed, Grant expertly avoiding the bigger holes in the road. Mackenzie kept a watch for the shark, craning her head, studying the terrain. Maybe they had passed out of range of the massive creature.
The shark surfaced beside the vehicle and swerved, ramming it. The force sent them sliding across the road and into a thicket of bushes. The car plowed through the foliage, the bumpy ride tossing Mackenzie around and slamming her into the door beside her. She kept her hand firmly against the seat, willing the car to mend. Grant jerked the car onto the road and the hearse raced onward.
The shark continued this tactic. It would disappear beneath the ground only to reappear alongside the car before butting it with its head, sending the vehicle spiraling. Keeping the hearse drivable was sapping Mackenzie's strength and giving her a head-splitting headache, but she resolutely continued restoring the hearse.
“Mackenzie, we can't take much more of this!” Grant exclaimed, fighting the wheel. The shark struck again, pushing them into the field. The hearse's wheels churned up the soft earth, struggling to find purchase while the shark circled.
“Hurry!” Mackenzie urged him.
“I'm trying!” Grant reversed the car, trying to get the wheels to grip the ground.
“It's coming,” Johnny whispered hoarsely. “It's coming.”
The Great White swam through the field toward them, its head lifting. From the angle it was approaching, if it managed to bite the car, it would trap Johnny under its jaws.
“Grant!” Mackenzie yanked on Johnny's seat belt. “Grant, move this car!”
“Let it have him!” Grant shouted at her. “He's the wraith controlling it! It won't kill him and we'll be free of the boy's power.”