Page 28 of Sail Me to Ruin
The smallest twitch of Knox’s line begins and we hold our breaths to see if it takes the bait.
Sure enough, it does. The fish takes off, line flying, causing Knox to let out a string of curses as he fights to reel it in.
Back and forth, Knox and the fish fight for dominance. The rod curves hard and his eyes widen a fraction as he pulls back against the fish.
If this line snaps, Knox might too.
Finally, we see a fin surface with the last pull Knox makes. It is a Mahi and it’s easily forty pounds.
Seeing that he actually has something on the line worth keeping, the rest of us jump into action. Emilio and I grab the gaffs to help haul it up while Knox beams with pride at the massive fish.
Once it’s in the boat, we weigh it before trying to skin and filet it. Throwing the head overboard, we chum the water. The captain cuts the fish with precision I admire. Noticing me watching him, he explains each step, letting me try my hands at it. By the time we’re done, the guys have already caught anotherone. The captain moves over, letting me try from the beginning. While the smell is not great and I’m in need of a shower, it’s fun.
We go to hook another when it jumps, causing the hook to pop out.
“Back to square one it is then, amigos!” Emilio pipes up, trying to brighten Knox’s spirits after that blow.
We all chuckle and recast the line once it’s fixed.
Moments pass when the captain's cell starts ringing. He excuses himself and takes off to the bow for some privacy.
He comes back minutes later, apologizing profusely and saying he needs to cut the trip short due to an emergency.
Rolling all the lines in, we’re heading back to shore at breakneck speed.
Knox arches his brow at me, and all I can do is shrug my shoulders.
Whatever it is, it must be really important for him to be taking off in the middle of such a high-paying job.
We get back to shore and they usher us off, promising a refund.Confused, we make our way up to the bar again as I try to ignore how gross I feel.
The whole beach is buzzing with energy as we get back. Police force is everywhere and a section is taped off.
We notice a white sheet lying on the ground and we look at each other, giving a knowing look at what that means.
We get seated at the bar and nosey barely waits for him to get our drink order before asking the bartender questions.
“So, what happened down there? Doesn’t look good from the sheet there.” Knox tries to keep his tone casual.
The bartender hesitates before getting closer and leaning in. “Shark bite, while he was out in the water. The body just washed up so it’s fresh. He was a local and a good friend. So it’s hit everyone hard. He knows better than to get in the water with tigers.”
We both mutter our condolences, trying to down our drinks and get out of here to avoid any more uncomfortable interactions.
Walking back, I can no longer stand being covered in fish guts and blood.
The smell is horrendous.
Stopping into a local shop, I grab a different shirt to change into.
Tacky, but it doesn’t smell like fish, so fuck it.
Knox waits for us to leave the shop before ragging on me.
“God dude, can you go ahead and change? The fish smells fucking terrible. It looks like you massacred every fish you saw today,” he whines, trying to make it a big deal that I smell so badly.
“Normally, I wouldn’t give a fuck what you think, but honestly, the smell is awful. Now that the fish are taken care of, I want out of these gross clothes.” I stop at the closest trash can once we get to the dock.
Throwing the bloody shirt into the trash, Knox salutes it. “Goodbye, fishy boy.”
