The fishing boat had been out since dawn, working the channel west of Cadboro Bay. The water was flat and gray. Marcus stood at the stern with the gaff, watching the line. The other two men, Ellis and the new one whose name he had not learned, sat on the gunwale and smoked. No one had spoken for an hour. The fog sat low on the water and hid the shore. Marcus felt the line go heavy. He hauled. The weight came up slow and wrong.
It was not a fish. When the shape broke the surface he saw the long neck first, then the head. The head was narrow and horse-like. The eyes were open. The body followed in three slow humps. The skin was dark and wet. A single flipper broke the surface and slapped the water. Marcus dropped the gaff. The creature turned its head. The mouth opened. The teeth were small and set close. It looked at him and then sank.
The line went slack. The three men stood and watched the water until the fog closed over the place where it had been. They cut the engine and drifted. Ellis said they should go back. The new one said nothing. Marcus stayed at the stern and watched the water. An hour passed. The fog thickened. The boat rocked once, hard, as if something large had passed under the keel. The new one stood and looked over the side.
He did not speak. He put one hand on the rail and leaned. The water beside the boat rose in a slow swell. The long neck came up out of it. The horse-like head was level with the rail. The mouth opened. The new one did not move. The creature struck. The teeth closed on his arm above the elbow. Blood ran down the sleeve and into the water. The head pulled. The new one went over the side. He did not scream. The water closed over him.
The neck sank. Blood floated on the surface in a wide dark patch that drifted with the current. Ellis started the engine. Marcus stayed at the stern. They did not look for the man. They ran the boat toward the bay. The fog stayed thick. Halfway in, the engine coughed and died. Ellis tried the starter. It turned and caught nothing. He opened the cover and looked at the plugs. They were dry. He closed the cover and sat on the gunwale.
Marcus watched the water. The boat drifted. The blood on the surface had thinned but not vanished. Something moved under it. The long neck rose again twenty feet off the stern. The head was the same. The mouth was open. Blood ran from the corners of it and dripped into the water. The creature did not come closer. It held its place and watched the boat. Ellis stood. He picked up the gaff. The creature’s head turned toward him.
The neck arched. The head struck the side of the boat. The wood cracked. Ellis fell. The gaff went into the water. The creature sank. The boat listed. Water came over the gunwale in a thin sheet. Marcus moved to the bow and stayed low. Ellis stayed on the deck. He held his arm. Blood ran between his fingers and onto the boards. He did not look at it. The boat drifted for another hour. The fog did not lift.
Marcus heard the water move twice more. Each time the sound came from a different side. Ellis sat with his back against the engine cover and kept his hand on his arm. The blood slowed. The sleeve was dark from shoulder to cuff. When the light began to fade, the long neck rose again. This time it came up beside the boat. The head rested on the gunwale. The eyes were open. Blood still ran from the mouth in a thin line that ran down the side of the boat and into the water.
The creature did not move. Marcus stayed in the bow. Ellis looked at the head and did not speak. The creature opened its mouth. The teeth were stained. It closed its mouth. The head lifted and sank. The boat rocked once and then settled. The water around the hull was red. Marcus waited. The fog stayed. No one came for the boat. The light went out of the sky. The water stayed red. The long neck did not rise again. Marcus sat in the bow and listened to the water. Ellis did not move. The blood on his sleeve had dried. The boat drifted. The fog stayed thick. No one called their names. The water stayed red until the dark covered it.
