The sharks surged up out of the waves, breaking the surf like an advancing army.

Kayla hurried for the shored boat - for the weapons and the gear. The harpoon gun. That was her favorite. Justin was already moving. She didn't have to tell him what to do. They'd faced the threat so much, it was a practiced routine by now.

But Nat and Andres. They stood, rooted to the sand, watching the swelling horde. They'd never faced zombie sharks before.

"Get off the beach!" Kayla barked, as she hauled the weapons out of the boat. Justin loaded the shotgun.

"Eff that," said Nat. "What can we do?"

Kayla threw her another shotgun. "You know how to use that?"

Nat nodded, checking the weapon. "Is there any trick to it?"

"To what?"

"Killing these things," supplied Andres.

Kayla shrugged. "Same way you kill anything else."

"Between the eyes is a safe bet," offered Justin. He was right of course. Between the eyes was the surest way to kill them. Kayla looked over at him, and he winked. A thrill fluttered in her stomach. That half smirk of his. She hated that it still worked on her.

There was a sound, a gargle of water, a snarl, a sucking of air through gaping maws unaccustomed to the process. This was the sound of zombie sharks above the waterline.

And Kayla hated it.

She loaded the harpoon gun and turned to face the advancing line. Justin and Nat were already firing, Andres readying more ammo. She stared down the scope, the gasping, thrashing form of an oozing, sore-riddled great white in her crosshairs.

And she heard them. Felt them. Deep in the meat of her mind. An aching cold. A lonely terror too deep to ignore. The sharks. They were in her mind. Beneath the red hot burning of Nat, and the sunny warmth of the boy they were looking for. The sharks. All of them. Frightened and confused and unable to break free. Free of them. The Whole, Nat called them. Kayla could hear them too. Hissing and whispering over top of it all, like thick steam from a boiler.  Pushing the sharks forward, ever forward. Push. Onward. Drive them in. As she watched the diseased creature writhe and thrash in her crosshairs, she felt pity. So immense and painful she nearly looked away.

But that wasn't how this was done. Wasn't how you stopped them. Eyes open, Kay, she heard Robbie in her mind. Robbie taught her how to shoot. Taught them all. And taught them well.

So Kayla pulled the trigger.

The zombie shark's face exploded into a mess of pulp and blood, and Andres handed Kayla another cartridge.

"Kay," shouted Justin, between rounds. "There's too many of them!"

So many. The ocean frothed and boiled with their thrashing bodies. She'd never seen so many all at once. Every zombified shark in these waters had to have been coming for them. 

Just like that night at the Lookout. The night when Maddie....

"We have to get off the beach!" Kayla roared just as the first of the sharks broke onto the sand.

"No," shouted Nat, firing another shot that only grazed the side of a hammer head. Not nearly as impressive with a gun as Kayla had expected. "We need to get back on the boat!"

"The boat!?" screamed Justin.

They wouldn't get back on the boat. Kayla was damn sure of that. They had to go. Off the beach.

Push. Onward. Drive them in.

A tiger shark surged forward, driving straight to Kayla and she fired, the harpoon driving down its throat and stopping it dead. But still more followed. She turned, searching for escape.

Where the beach ended at their backs, a red clay cliff rose about fifty meters to grassy mounds above. Beyond that, she saw the tops of a thick pine forest.

"The trees!" she screamed, and ran for the cliff.

Justin followed, gathering both of their packs. But Nat and Andres didn't move.

"Kayla!" Nat shouted. "We need to get back in the boat!"

"The trees!" Kayla screamed again. "The cliff will slow them down!" Wasn't that much obvious? Sure, the sharks could move on land, improbable as it was. And they were fast, yes. And they were good climbers. They'd swarmed the Victory easily enough. But they couldn't do it quickly. They were still fish. And when it came to climbing, humans had the edge. Not only that, but the trees would be hard for them to maneuver. In the water, they would have the advantage.

Justin stood there, looking from Kayla to Nat, his face a mess of confusion and fear. A bull shark snapped at Andres who stabbed at it with one of Kayla's harpoons. Dozens more closed in, and Kayla knew Andres wouldn't have enough to hold them all off.

Push. Onward. Drive them in.

"The trees!" she roared again. "Now!"

"Kayla, stop!" Nat screamed behind her, but Kayla was done listening to Nat. The girl could barely fire a gun. They were dead if they staid.  "Kayla! That's what they want!"

Push. Onward. Drive them in.

Kayla scrambled up the rocks, Justin beside her.

"Kayla!" Nat screamed.

Push. Onward.

She didn't look back. Nat and Andres would come. They had no choice. Without Kayla to fight, there was no way they'd survive. The trees. That was their only hope. 

And then they'd be found.

Found?

Kayla stopped, her breath fast and her heart pounding.

And her head.

What was that burning in her head?

"Kay?" Justin was beside her, the two of them clinging to the rocks as the sound, that awful gasping sound of sharks on land, grew louder. "Kay, what is it?"

She looked back, down over the beach that was teaming with sharks. At Andres dragging Nat to the cliffs, forcing her to climb.

And Kayla's head. 

Drive them in.

"Kayla," Justin shouted, calling her focus back. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, trying to force away the burn. "N-nothing," she said. Before she went back to climbing she caught sight of Justin's face - dubious, unconvinced. She hated that he knew her so well.

Because yes, something was wrong.

More wrong than sharks on land.

Something was in her head.

And it was getting stronger.

She hauled herself up onto the grass, Justin behind her. When she stood and looked out at the pines, the pain in her head began to ease. The trees were thick. Even if the sharks made it up the cliff, they would have a hard time moving about a forest as dense as that.

Push. Onward.

Nat and Andres joined them, Nat fuming as she growled her way over the edge. "Have you completely lost your mind!?" she screamed, getting to her feet and facing Kayla like she might punch her but for Andres holding her back.

Justin move closer to Kayla. "You wanna try your chances on the beach? Be my guest," he said.

"I wanted to get out in the boat!" shouted Nat. 

"Right into the shark's territory," said Kayla. "Great idea."

"What!?" Nat turned away, pulling at her hair before facing Kayla again. "I can't tell if you're being cute, or if you really are that dense."

"What are you talking about?"

Nat pressed her fingers to her temples. "You can hear them. Same as me. I know you can hear them."

"Hear who?" said Justin. "The Whole?"

"Hear the calling?" said Nat. "Hear them beckoning?"

Kayla stepped back, her heart hammering inside her chest.

Nat stepped closer. "And you just couldn't wait to answer the call."

Andres pulled Nat back gently as Justin held tight to Kayla's hand. "What call? What the hell are you talking about?"

"The sharks," growled Nat, "are trying to force us into the trees because that's what the Whole is telling them. They are herding us inland."

Push. Onward. Drive them in.

"Why?" said Justin.

"For the drones," Kayla answered. "They're coming for us. And I'm leading us closer to them."

"You sure are," said Nat. "That's why I wanted to take our chances with the boat."

Justin let go of Kayla's hand suddenly, backing away from her. "Wh- why? Kay! I mean --" he started to pace, his hands in his hair. "WHY would you want to do that?"

Kayla didn't want to do that. But she'd done it. Somehow, even when she was screaming at them to run for the cliffs, she knew she was moving towards the Whole. Doing exactly what they wanted. But she hadn't been able to stop. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Well you better figure it out," snarled Nat. "Cus if you can't shut out the voices of the Whole, then there's no way we can beat them....let alone survive what happens next."

"What's happening next?" said Kayla.

"The drones!" she screamed. "Hello! Have you been listening?"

"Uh...." said Andres, adding his voice to the conversation for the first time. He was looking out over the cliff's edge, eyes wide with fear. "Whatever happens next, it needs to happen away from here."

Justin, Kayla and Nat looked out over the edge -- hoards of sharks spilled over each other, chomping and gnawing at the rocks, working their way up the cliffside. Andres was right. They had to move.

"Into the pine trees, then," sighed Nat. "Not like we have a choice now."

For updates, tips and notebook nerdiness, come find me on instagram!