Noah was about waist deep into the water already and kept being pounded by the fierce waves. He would try facing the beach every time the waves came so the salty water wouldn't get in his face to badly. Noah guessed the hurricane was hitting right now in South Carolina and he felt bad for all the innocent people that would suffer because of it, but then thought back to his own horribly, dangerous problem and the shark.

He had climbed onto the first boulder and found it quite easy until a wave came and knocked him off it. At least it was the first boulder and his feet still touched the bottom of the sand. He climbed back on a second later and gave a thumbs up to Doyle and Robin. Robin had her hands covering her face and Doyle was gripping the rope more tightly now.

The rope was actually quite long and it would let Noah go pretty far out into the ocean. The only problem was that the rope was tied pretty tight around his waist. He guessed Robin just wanted him to be safe.

Noah concentrated on the way the waves crashed in and the pattern they took. He had precisely 20 to 25 seconds before the next wave would hit. They came in fast. He jumped to the next close boulder and slipped a little. His legs hit the water, but he gripped onto the boulder tightly as the next wave washed over him. He was already dripping wet.

All the rocks he noticed had lots of green moss and some algae stuck to them. That's what made the rocks even more slippery and made him fall faster and easier. At least the rock was bumpy enough to jump across and still be able to hold on to a grip hold.

Noah was doing good so far jumping across the slippery, wet boulders like no problem at all. Until he came to a boulder that was smaller and barley sticking up above the water. Not to mention it had started to rain and get very windy. The waves still pounded in too, getting bigger and bigger by the second.

Noah was now making very slow progress to the shark and the area he was trapped in. He had to be careful not to slip too badly and not get washed away by the waves or eaten by the shark. It was hard enough to see because of the rain now pouring down from the dark clouds that where high in the sky.

The sharks fin was popping out of the water now, Noah could see the point of it barley. The shark was still in the contained area between the boulders and the island. Noah made it to the boulders that were keeping the shark in. The boulders he was sitting on now where high above the water and even the highest wave's barley reached him on top of them.

The shark was practically right beneath him swimming in circles. Noah felt around in his pocket where the vile of blood had been placed. His hand came out empty. He checked the other pocket. It was gone. He felt around on his shorts everywhere. The vile had disappeared. Now what? Noah thought to himself. Maybe Robin had forgotten to give it to him. Or he had forgotten to take it from her. This couldn't be happening. All of their hard work today had gone to a waste!

Noah felt his rope tugged a little and looked toward Doyle and Robin. Doyle was waving his hands in the air frantically. Noah had to squint to see that. What was that supposed to mean? Noah wondered. Noah made both his arms go outward and then made two thumbs down. He didn't know if Doyle or Robin could tell what he was doing though because he could barely see them. He also didn't know how to tell them through hand motions that the vile had fell out of his pockets and was now lost at the bottom of the ocean floor.

All of a sudden a huge wave hit Noah from behind and surprised by the all of a sudden crash, he fell over tumbling onto his back and sliding off the edge of the boulder. He caught the edge of the boulder and was now just holding onto the boulders slippery edge. He knew the next wave that came he would fall into the water below. He could feel his heart beat thump inside of his chest. He had failed and this was the end of him, he thought.

About 10 seconds later, Noah spotted the next wave coming fast. He tried pulling himself up the slippery mossifed rock. But the wave hit him and he fell into the water below with a splash. He was definitely shark food now.

-----

"Where did he go?!" shouted Doyle frantically.

"Pull the rope!!!" Robin screamed. She ripped the rope out of Doyle's hands and started pulling it as best she could with one good hand.

"Not too fast! You don't want him running into a boulder!" Doyle said taking back the stolen rope from Robin.

They pulled and pulled together and then finally they got to the end of the rope where Noah should have been tied. Only he wasn't. Doyle pulled the remaining bit of the rope inward and finally the end came in. Only there was no Noah tied to it.

"What!?" Doyle and Robin both screamed at the same moment.

Robin caught the end of the rope and studied it closely.

"Shark bit it," she said.

"How do you know?" Doyle asked giving a look at the rope tip himself.

Robin explained how the way the rope was bit at the end was definitely bitten by a shark. The end of the rope Noah should have been tied to was now falling apart. The end was split into two and had jagged marks.

"Now what?" asked Doyle shakily.

"He's... gone," replied Robin in a whisper.