Chapter Twenty-four
It was a new day and a new year. Josh had had a restless night, but it wasn’t his usual nightmare that had troubled him. It was the sound of the braking car and the thud of the body slamming against it. Whenever he closed his eyes, he heard it so he gave up on sleep and left the bach early before his father woke.
Now he stood on the beach and looked out at the waves. There were few people out and only a couple of surfers in the water. It was too early for the day-trippers and most residents appeared to be still in bed, recovering from their New Year’s Eve hangovers.
The wind was offshore again, catching the spray from the breaking waves and throwing it backwards, creating a plume that Josh’s father called horses’ manes. The tide was starting to come in and the waves were just over 3 metres high, but the surfers already out there seemed to be handling it well. It was too early for the lifeguards to be on duty, but Josh found Chris on the beach watching the waves. Josh stood alongside him and asked, “How was the party?”
“Wicked,” Chris said as he turned to him. “You going in?”
“Yeah, I think I can handle it.”
“Just be careful. The bar’s moved and there’s a hole just there,” Chris said, pointing out to the waves to the left of Lion Rock. “If you get caught in that, you may be under for a while. Keep close to the Camel and you should be sweet. The wind is going to pick up later, probably closer to high tide, and the surf will get bigger too. It’s best you go out now while you can. It’ll be too rough later.”
“Thanks,” Josh acknowledged.
“How’s Hayden? Have you heard?”
“No, I haven’t. I guess Mum will phone later.”
The urge to surf that morning had been strong. He didn’t want to be in the house when his mother phoned, in case the news was bad. He just wanted to lose himself in the water for a while. Even the mention of the hole was not enough to keep him out. For a second he thought of his nightmare then he shook his head as if trying to loosen the memory from his mind.
“Well, you take it easy out there,” Chris said. “I want my breakfast before I have to rescue anyone.
Josh watched him go then studied the sea around the hole that Chris had talked about. The sea in that area was disturbed and appeared, at times, to form a vortex. He’d have to make sure that he stayed away from it. He didn’t want to end up fulfilling the prophecy of his nightmare.
He’d just finished stretching and was about to pick up his board when he was suddenly pushed from behind so hard that he fell onto the sand. Looking up behind him, he thought it was Chris playing a trick on him, but it was Bevan who was standing over him. The roar of the sea had been so loud that he hadn’t heard him approach. Bevan was wearing a wetsuit and Josh could see his surfboard on the sand behind him.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Bevan said.
“So, you found me,” Josh replied as he got up. For some reason he didn’t feel as afraid of Bevan as he used to. He couldn’t decide whether he was stronger or Bevan was weaker. “It’s a bit early for you, isn’t it?”
“I haven’t been to bed yet,” Bevan said proudly. “I’ve been partying all night. We’ve decided to do some surfing before we hit the sack.”
Josh looked beyond Bevan to see Mitch and Scott coming down the ramp from the carpark, then turned to Bevan and said, “So what do you want?”
“I want you to stay away from my girlfriend.”
“Which one?” Josh said as faced him.
“Gina, of course, punk. She’s mine and don’t you forget it. She was only using you. She went after you because she knew how much I’d hate it. She was right. Now don’t screw around with her.”
“It’s you that’s screwing around with her.”
“Say that again, asshole,” Bevan said as he came closer, raising his fist.
“Bevan,” Mitch whispered, now standing just behind him. “That lifeguard’s watching us.”
Bevan glanced behind him at the same time as Josh looked up. Chris was staring at them from the patrol deck. Bevan stepped back.
“Okay, dickhead you’ll get away with it this time, but next time you won’t have your bodyguard around and then I’ll get you.”
Josh watched them walk away towards Pakiti. He thought about warning them about the hole out in the water, but decided against it. They’d find out for themselves. It would serve them right. With a wave of acknowledgement to Chris, he ran into the sea.
The waves battered him about as soon as he got into the water. He could feel the strong backwash as the body of water moved back after the crash of the waves onto the shore. The rip was not in its usual place, close to Pakiti Rock, but towards the centre of the beach. He paddled into the rip and felt the power of the water below him. He had to be careful because the rip could easily pull him down under the water as much as carry him out. He was confident that he could handle the conditions, but he looked back to see if Bevan had braved it out.
Bevan was in the water being buffeted by the relentless waves. He was the only one who’d made it into the water. Mitch and Scott were on the beach with their boards under their arms watching Bevan paddle out.
Josh looked towards the oncoming waves. His body pumped with adrenaline, excited at the thought of riding these incredible waves. Surf like this tested a surfer’s ability to stay on his board and conquer the implacable sea. Josh was up for the challenge.
He selected his wave carefully and took off as he felt it building beneath him. Then he was cutting across the shoulder and flying up to the lip where he rode the breaking wave in a classic floater. But he hung on for too long and was caught in the turbulence of the falling lip. He wiped out and was thrust under. He surfaced on the back of the wave, spluttering, and immediately turned back to catch another one.
Josh lost count of how many waves he rode in, sometimes riding the waves to the shallows and sometimes wiping out, but always ready to go again whichever way he ended up. The conditions were risky, but with the risk came excitement and the knowledge that he could harness the power of the wave for his own pleasure, if only for a short time.
He passed Bevan a few times. He hadn’t caught many rides and Josh noticed that each time Bevan paddled back out, he appeared to be flagging. Josh wondered why Bevan didn’t get out as he was clearly not strong enough to handle the conditions. Perhaps he felt the need to show that he was Josh’s equal in the water. He wasn’t doing a good job.
When he caught another ride, Josh saw that Bevan was drifting very close to the hole. He considered shouting out a warning, but remained silent. Bevan could find out for himself. He owed Bevan no favours.
Josh positioned himself for another takeoff, watching the wave building up behind him. It was a beauty, stretching over 4 metres high and perfectly formed; a tower of water that was either going to dump him or carry him. He prepared to take off then glanced to his side as he became aware that something wasn’t right.
Bevan was in the water, not on his board, and he was about to be overtaken by the wave. He was staring up at the lip curling above him with fear in his face. Josh knew he was in the impact zone where he would be hit hardest by the breaking wave and that he was dangerously close to the hole.
“Look out!” Josh shouted, but it was too late.
The wave crashed down on top of Bevan, before Josh was also caught by it and tossed around in its turbulence until he surfaced in the clean water behind it. He looked around, disorientated, and tried to find Bevan amongst the crashing waves. But he’d gone. He’d been swallowed by the hole.