The lighthouse

Jude’s boat moved closer to the light.

His eyes filled with tears. He was not sad. He was glad. So glad it hurt.

He looked up at the beam. It went round and round. White and strong.

“God has not left me to die after all,” he said. His voice was weak. But he said it.

His body hurt. His wrist was broken. His back was cut. Blood ran down and made his shirt wet. But he did not care.

He put his feet under him. He stood up. His legs shook. The boat moved. He almost fell.

He lifted his good hand. The one that was not broken. He waved it at the lighthouse.

“Help!” he shouted. His voice was rough. “Help! Help!”

He used all his strength. His chest hurt. His head felt light.

He saw a man. The man stood in front of the lighthouse. He was tall. He was still.

Jude waved again. “Help me!”

But the man did not wave back. The man lifted his arm. He pointed. Not at Jude. Past him. At the sea.

Jude did not understand.

Then he heard it.

_Hooink. Hooonk._

A horn. Loud and deep.

Jude turned.

A boat was coming. A big boat. It was white. It was clean. It was fast. Too fast.

It did not stop. It did not slow down.

It hit Jude’s boat.

The sound was loud. Wood broke. Water came up.

Jude jumped. He went into the cold sea.

He came up. He saw bits of wood. He saw his boat going down. Going under.

He tried to swim. His arms hurt. His back hurt. Water went in his mouth.

He kicked. He moved his good arm. He got to the top. Then he went down again.

He was hurt bad. Too bad.

He sank.

His eyes closed.

In his head, one thought.

_Someone please help me. I can’t die here. Someone save me. Help me._

Then all was dark.

Got it. Here’s *Part 2* with simple words, using your ideas. ∼285 words.

At the same time, at the lighthouse, Joseph was at the shore. Everyone called him Joe.

He held an old telescope to his eye. He looked out at the sea.

“Hey! Hey!” he shouted. “Paul! Over here! A boat is coming!”

Paul ran out from inside the lighthouse. He was out of breath.

“Joe, what? What did you say?” Paul said.

Joe looked through the telescope again. “No, no, no. Two boats. They’re going to hit each other!”

He put the telescope down. He raised his hand. He waved at the sea.

“Hey! Hey! Behind you!” he shouted. “Hey! Turn around! Behind you!”

Then he turned to Paul. “Tell Rayan. Tell him we will need some help here.”

Paul’s eyes got big. “You’re not planning to go in there, are you?” he said. “Joe, you know how bad it is in that water. What if we die?”

“Just do it,” Joe said. “We have no choice. We should at least try to save whoever is in there. Before those things eat them.”

Paul did not move.

“Ok, fine,” Joe said. “I am going alone.”

Before he could say more, they heard it.

_BANG._

A loud sound from the sea. The boats had hit.

Joe did not wait. He ran to a small canoe. It was on the beach. Somehow, it had a fast engine on the back.

He jumped in. He started the engine. It roared.

He did not look back at Paul.

He drove the canoe fast. Straight for the two boats that had crashed.

Paul stood still for a long time. Then he ran.

He ran past the lighthouse. Past the tall tower, he kept going.

Behind the lighthouse was a small village. The houses were old. The windows were broken. No one lived there now.

Paul ran toward the village.

At the same time, Joe drove his canoe fast. He went deep into the sea. His heart beat hard. _Boom. Boom. Boom._

He knew this was bad. He knew he could die. But he went anyway.

He got to the place where the boats had crashed.

It looked awful.

Jude’s boat was gone. It was just broken wood on the water. The big white boat was half sunk. Parts of it were still on fire. Smoke went up into the sky.

Joe shouted. “Anyone here? Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me?”

At first, no one said a word.

Then a woman’s voice came. She was crying. “Help me. Please help me.”

“Where are you?” Joe asked.

“I’m here. Please help me,” the woman said again.

Joe looked around. He followed the voice.

He saw her. She was a young woman. Maybe 25. She had long hair. She wore a bikini. She was holding onto a piece of wood.

“My husband,” she said. She was crying hard. “And my friends. Where are they?”

Joe looked at the water. “Where are they?” he asked.

The woman pointed.

Joe saw a man in the water. He was hurt bad. His arm was bent wrong. His leg was bent wrong. He was not moving. He looked dead.

“Get in,” Joe told the woman. “Now.”

She pulled herself into the canoe.

Then Joe heard a shout.

A man was in the water too. He was holding a lady in his arms. The lady was not moving.

The man called out, “Help us! Please!”

Joe stood in the canoe. He did not know what to do.

The canoe was small. It could hold three people. Joe, the woman, and one more.

But there were four people.

Joe looked at the hurt man. He looked at the man with the lady. He looked at the woman in the canoe.

His hands shook.

Joe looked at the people in the water. He did not know what to do.

He was about to leave. He had to pick who to save.

Then he heard a sound.

An engine. Loud.

Joe looked up.

It was Paul.

Paul had a boat. A big boat. And he was not alone. He had some men with him.

The boat was big enough for all of them.

For a second, Joe felt good. He felt hope.

He raised his hand high. He waved. “Over here! Over here!” he shouted.

Paul saw him. Paul turned the boat. He drove toward Joe. He went slow. He moved around the broken wood in the water.

The men with Paul moved fast. They pulled the hurt man into the boat first. Then the man with the lady. Then the lady. Then the young woman in the bikini.

All four people were safe.

The hurt man opened his eyes. He was alive. It was a miracle.

“Let’s go, men. Move it. Move it,” Paul said. “Joe, let’s get out of here. Before those things come to hunt us.”

Paul drove his boat away first. It was fast.

Joe got in his canoe. He followed behind Paul.

As they left, Joe looked back at the place where the boats crashed.

Then he saw it.

A hand.

Just a hand, coming up out of the water. It moved. It was trying to swim. Trying to get to the top.

The body was under the water. Joe could not see it. The sea had swallowed it.

But the hand did not stop. It reached up. It fought hard.

Then it was gone.

The water was black and still again.

The sea went quiet.

It turned dark. Cold. Still.

Joe saw it and knew. He knew what it meant.

Danger.

Those things were coming. The things in the water.

Paul saw it too. “Joe! Get out of there!” he shouted from his boat.

Joe shouted back. “Go on! I’ll be right behind you!”

But he did not move.

He looked down into the dark water.

Then he saw it again. A hand. It was trying to swim up. It was weak. It had no strength left.

It was Jude.

Jude’s body was giving up.

Joe did not think. He jumped in. The water was cold. It hurt.

He grabbed the hand. He pulled. He kicked with his legs. It was hard. Jude was heavy.

Paul saw what Joe did. His face got red. He was mad.

“What is he thinking?” Paul said to the men. “How can he be so reckless?”

Paul stopped his boat. He looked at the water. He waited.

Then a hand came up. It grabbed the side of Joe’s canoe.

It was Joe.

He had Jude with him.

Joe pushed. He pulled. He struggled to get Jude into the canoe. Jude was not awake. His body was like a dead weight.

Finally, Joe got him in.

Joe climbed into the canoe too. He was out of breath. His arms shook.

Before he could rest, he heard it.

A voice.

“Joe. Joe, help me,” the voice said. It was crying. “Joe, please help me.”

It was his wife’s voice.

Joe closed his eyes. “No. No, no, no. Go away,” he said. “Please stop. You’re not her.”

But the voice did not stop. “Joe, help. Help.”

Joe fell to his knees in the canoe. His eyes filled with tears. His chest hurt. He felt bad. He felt sad.

He froze.

He could not move.

The voice kept calling. “Joe… help me…”

Joe could not move. He just stood in the canoe. Like a stone. His eyes were empty.

Then—_POW!_

A loud sound ripped the air. A gun.

Joe heard a scream. Not human. Wet. Sharp. It made his blood run cold.

One of the creatures was on his canoe. It was black. It was wet. It had too many teeth. Its eyes were white. No color.

_POW!_ Paul fired again from his boat.

The thing jerked. Black blood shot out. It fell back. _SPLASH._ It went under.

“Joe! Get your ass out of there!” Paul shouted.

Joe’s mind woke up. Paul just saved his life.

He jumped up. He grabbed the engine rope. He pulled.

Nothing.

The engine was dead. It was fine one minute ago. Now it was dead.

Then the water started to move. It bubbled. Like it was boiling.

Shadows rose under the surface. Not one. Not two. Many.

The creatures were coming.

“Joe, hurry up!” Paul screamed.

Joe pulled the rope. Again. Again. Again.

“Come on! Come on!” he said. His hands were bleeding.

One of the things jumped out of the water. It went straight for Joe’s face.

Joe kicked it. Hard. His foot hit cold, slimy skin. The thing screamed and fell back in.

He pulled the rope again. And again.

_VROOM!_

The engine screamed to life.

Joe did not smile. He did not breathe. He twisted the handle. The canoe shot forward.

Wood from the wreck was all over the water. Sharp. Deadly. Joe turned left. Right. Left. The canoe almost hit a big piece. He missed it by an inch.

Behind him, the water broke open. The things were chasing him. He could hear them. Clicking. Breathing. Fast.

He drove faster. His hands hurt. His eyes burned from the salt.

The shore was close.

The canoe hit sand. Joe fell out. He pulled Jude with him. They hit the beach hard.

Joe looked back.

The creatures were in the shallow water now. Ten of them. Maybe more.

Then they stopped.

All of them. At once.

They looked at the shore. At the land. At the lighthouse.

And they turned back. Fast. Like they were scared.

Like something on the island was worse than them.

The men saw it. But no one spoke.

Because they knew.

The water was not safe.

But the island was not safe either.

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