Stalemate

As I stared at it, I saw the mirror reflection of Earth in its eye. I was probably fooling myself, but as I was hard pressed to move from my spot, all I could do was gaze into the bulbous vacuum it radiated. I knew it was in there; it hadn’t moved from its spot since it first noticed me but trust me, it had the upper hand if a fight ensued.

Massive. That’s the only word to accurately describe what faced me sideways, its eye flinching ever so slightly as it sized me up. I was going to end up a snack, of that I was sure. I couldn’t outrun this thing, especially not underwater. Instead I was going to die and it was going to eat me. Hell, I haven’t even been able to get a good look at its teeth yet. I could see them in my periphery, but there was no way I was going to look away from that eye. It was almost as if I was in a trance and by not moving, I had entranced it in return. I was willing to grasp at any straw at this point.

Stalemate. With neither of us moving, we were going nowhere. I knew I was running out of oxygen, but I had no actual recollection of the time I’d spent transfixed.  Even as I prayed, I knew it was not going to end well. I could feel its triumph through the cold and murky depths. It was going to devour me and I could feel how much it would enjoy it. Was that the flicker of a shadow behind me? I turned slowly, as if the sluggish speed would save me from my fate, only to come face to face with another gigantic cerulean eye.

Copyright © 2013 Julianne Snow