Dawn Patrol Read Free Page B

bigger over there now.”
    â€œThese are good waves here,” I said.
    â€œExactly, and now everyone is gone,” Alana said.
    â€œHey, did I see that guy from yesterday out here?” I said.
    â€œYeah, he was here. His name is Jose. He’s been out all morning.”
    â€œWhere does he hang out?”
    Alana raised her eyebrow, then glanced at Esme. “Umm, aren’t you two together?”
    I looked at Esme and caught on to what Alana was getting at. “No, we’re not,” I said. “Nor would I be interested in getting together in, um, that way with this Jose guy. I just wanted to try and talk to him about our friend.”
    â€œYour friend,” Alana said. Another set came in, and we lay on our boards in case they got bigger. “Right. Still haven’t seen him.”
    â€œDid Jose go to the other break?” I asked.
    â€œYeah,” Alana said. “He always goes where the biggest waves are. Or at least that’s what he tells me.”
    There seemed to be another swell coming in. Alana sat up on her board.
    â€œHow about we cross over,” she said. “I was going to stay here for a bit, but there’s no harm in seeing what the other side is like.” She paddled into a wave. “Watch out for the rocks when you get over there. People get mashed on them all the…”
    â€œWhat?” I yelled, but she was already on a wave, riding the crest before dropping down the front. I turned to Esme. “What did she just say?”
    â€œDon’t get killed,” Esme said.
    â€œAhh, good advice.”
    â€œYour wave,” she said, pointing at the next cresting mass.
    I lay down on my board and started paddling. “See you over there.”

chapter five
    I caught the next wave and found the sweet spot, the place where you can feel the water rolling perfectly beneath the board. The board feels weightless, and all you have to do is stand up as quickly and smoothly as possible.
    I dropped down the front of the wave. It wasn’t curling very well, but it was big and solid enough to keep me moving toward the beach. I carved up and down the front of it, cutting back and forth across the face. I spotted the giant black rocks on the reef closer to shore. The wave started breaking behind me, losing its momentum. Soon it would wear out and slink in to shore. I cut hard across the top of the wave and lay down on my board, but the wave carried me toward the rocks. Alana was ahead of me, paddling through the surf. I paddled toward her and immediately hit rock. When the water rose, I quickly paddled away.
    As I reached the other side of the reef, another wave came in. I duck-dived through it and watched it smash on the rocks. The pull of the ocean yanked me backward, and I paddled hard into the next wave and ended up over the reef again. Alana was cutting across the incoming waves, duck-diving as she went. I tried to follow her, but each wave pushed me farther back. I was used to five- or six-foot waves, and I had never been in such a strong riptide. It actually did seem as if the water wanted to smash me into the rocks.
    Eventually I got outside the break and was able to paddle up beside Alana. “That is not easy,” I said.
    â€œYeah, I followed a local across the reef yesterday when I first arrived, and it was tough. If those big swells come in, no one will be making that cut.”
    â€œYou only got here yesterday?”
    â€œI got to the island the night before and was in the water first thing yesterday morning.”
    So Kevin could be here but just hadn’t been out surfing. I spotted Esme paddling toward us. The waves had died down. The black rocks glistened in the sun.
    â€œWow, that’s really shallow,” Esme said.
    Another set of waves, larger than the last ones, crashed in. “You got out of there just in time,” Alana said.
    â€œDid that Jose guy already catch a wave in?” Esme asked.
    I looked at