Slingshot, by Robert G Williscroft
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
German North American (General) North American (US New York, New Jersey, Bronx, Brooklyn)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Margot stopped kicking her feet as the ominous grey shapes flashed into her peripheral view. Long, tawny hair floated past her head As her feet dropped below her slim, brightly clad body, she took a deep breath and floated slightly upward. Ah, hint of fear crept into her mind, and she turned toward three gray, sleek predators, cruising just inside the limit of her vision. About 25 meters away. A gentle touch on her shoulder startled her. She turned to see Alex regent, tapping the depth reading on his dive console. With his index finger, Margot reached down and grasped her console, turning it so she could read her death 25 meters. She had drifted upward five meters since seeing the sharks, Margot exhaled angrily and let some air out of her breathing bag. She knew better than to lose track of her death out there. Her life depended on a constant awareness of exactly how deep she waas together. She and Alex sank back to 30 meters after their right. The three grey shapes drifted with them. Would she ever get used to it? She thought as she released a bit of air into her bag to stop her descent, Alex, she said. There was no response. Alex. She tapped the back of her console several times. Alex. Nothing but silence. Alex placed himself in front of Margo and looked into her face mask with his right hand. He formed a circle with thumb and forefinger. His three other fingers extended straight up. Margaux returned to the sign indicating she was all right while nodding vigorously. Then she pointed to her ear and lifted her console, tapping the back. Alex fumbled at his ear and then tapped his console and then shook his head. Great, Margo thought F com is busted just when we really need it. Not busted, she corrected herself, just a submerged antenna. She pointed to the three menacing shapes off to her right. Alex turned and scanned around them above and just behind them, the blue painted hull of their boat bobbed in the gentle waves. About 20 meters ahead of them hung a smooth, horizontal fluorescent orange tube about one meter in diameter. To the left, it stretched into the gloom to the right, it angled downward. The fluorescent tube was attached to a slender cable, angling up to the shadow of a buoy just beneath the surface to their right, Alex turned back toward Margo. Making an exaggerated shrug, Margot reached for her dive console again and pressed a button located prominently on its face. The three sharks turned and commenced a meandering movement toward the two divers. Their front fins extended stiffly downward at about 45 degrees. Their backs arched slightly and their blunt snouts moved back and forth. As they approached, Margot felt her hair stand up on the nape of her neck. She turned to Alex and motioned him to her side. Alex withdrew a telescope baton from its holder at his waist and extended it to its full 1.5 meter length. He checked the safety lever near its handle, and with his thumb, he flicked the liver. So it pointed forward. As the sharks drew nearer, he held the stick out in front of him, pointed in their direction. Margot glanced around them again and pushed her console button once more. Alex waved the stick about slowly and then steadied up on the nearest of the three menacing monsters. Suddenly, with blurring speed, the nearest shark attacked. Alex struck out with his stick the jolt of its impact, rocking him backwards. A sharp crack was followed by a hissing sound as carbon dioxide rushed into the shark's body in the same moment flashes of silvery black street from several directions. One of the remaining sharks was struck broadside by a dolphins blunt nose. In a flash, it disappeared. The animal Alex had injected rolled on its side and began a crazed, uncontrolled spiral toward the surface 30 meters above them. On its way up, it was hit several times by charging dolphins. It expired of massive embolisms before reaching 15 meters in the meal. A The third shark vanished. Margot reached out for Alex, grabbed a handful of breathing bag and pulled him close to her. She placed the flat of her full face mask against hiss and looked deeply into his eyes as close to a kiss as she could come under the circumstances