Shiver

The dark sea lifted him up once more. This time the moonlight broke from the strangling cloud cover and revealed the undulating waters before him. Adrift, his legs moving with just enough energy to keep him afloat, he thought he was living a plane crash survivor's worst nightmare. That was when he saw them, dotting the crests and valleys of the black water, their pale, corpse-like hide dully reflecting the light from above...a shiver of sharks.

So begins the short story "Shiver"--the story of Carson Noble, a real "A" personality, a real mover-and-shaker...a real jerk. He's won at everything his whole life, whether by strength at arms or nimbleness of mind, and he believes he deserves whatever he wants thanks to his track record.

When he finds himself struggling against the uncaring violence of a storm-tossed ocean, however, he discovers that this challenge is not so easily overcome; and while the impersonal waves might become predictable, there is something in the night water that beggars belief...and makes Carson's experience very personal indeed.