Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 Chet started shouting halfway down the big hill. "Get out of the water!" he screamed. "Get out! Get out now!" He thundered down the path and onto the dock. "You have to get out! There's a shark!" The guys were all there — but they didn't even look at Chet. "You have to believe me!" Chet insisted. "This isn't a joke. You have to get out!"

"You hear that, Monty?" Sid said. "There's a shark in the creek! We better get out." Sid hoisted himself up onto the dock, and Monty and Dewey followed. Was it working? Were they listening? But then Sid backed up and took a running leap off the edge of the dock. He cannonballed into the creek with such an enormous splash that Chet got drenched. Monty and Dewey dove in after him. "Hey," Sid called. "If the shark attacks me, you guys can split the five-hundred-buck reward from that rich guy." "That guy's dead!" Monty said. "Too bad!" said Sid. "Oh, shaaaaaaa-rrrrrrrk!" Monty called through cupped hands. "Here, sharky shark! Come and get us!" They hooted with laughter, and Chet stood there, totally helpless. That shark was probably long gone. Nobody would ever believe him. For the next hundred years, people around Elm Hills would be talking about Chet Roscow, the kid who had said there was a shark in the creek. He'd be a big joke, like the Captain was.

Chet felt like running away, far away. All the way to California. But then he noticed Sid, strangely still in the creek. His face had gone white. His mouth was open, like he was going to scream. Chet's insides turned to jelly when he saw the glistening fin moving slowly through the water. "What the…" Dewey said. "Hurry!" Chet cried "Get out!" Monty and Dewey flew out of the water. But Sid seemed stuck, hypnotized. The shark was closer to the surface now, its black eyes almost glowing. Its massive body looming. They all screamed at Sid. "Get out!" "Hurry!" "Come on! It's coming!" Chet heard a motor in the distance, and Captain's Wilson's voice shouting, "Shark! Shark in the creek! Everyone out! Shark in the creek!" Sid still didn't budge. The shark was getting closer.

Suddenly, before he had a chance to think, Chet was in the water, swimming as fast as he could toward Sid. He grabbed hold of Sid's arm and pulled him. "Chet! Is it real?" Sid gasped. "Is it real?" "Yes, yes, hurry!" Monty and Dewey were at the edge of the dock, reaching down for them. Sid hoisted himself up, and Chet planted his hands on the dock. The guys all grabbed his arms to pull him

up. Chet was almost out of the water when something caught his leg. At first it felt like a giant hand was grabbing him. Then it felt like hot nails were boring into his calf. "It's got my leg!" Chet screamed. "Pull!" Sid shouted. His friends pulled. They pulled and pulled until Chet was sure he'd be torn in two. After an eternity, his leg finally came free! His friends hauled him onto the dock. But then the shark exploded out of the water, its jaws wide open, its teeth smeared with blood. Its gaping mouth was coming right for Chet. And then — BANG! A gunshot shattered the air. Time seemed to stop. The next thing Chet knew, he was sitting on the dock. Everything looked foggy, and people seemed to be moving in slow motion. He heard muffled noises — men's voices, a boat's motor. And the guys, saying his name over and over. They were leaning close, still holding tight to his arms.

Chet looked down and wondered what he was doing in a puddle of ketchup. Hadn't he cleaned that up? Why was the puddle getting bigger? Chet realized it wasn't the ketchup. It was blood pouring from his leg. The fog around him grew thicker, until Chet couldn't see or hear a thing.