A Jaws Retelling

Second Time Around

The first few days following the incident with the painfully ignorant Mayor were incredibly slow. Ruth found that life on Amity Island didn't move too fast, it was a town full of continuity and mellowed-out people who stopped to smell the roses. From her little setup in a room adjoining Brody's office, Ruth could see people having a wonderful time on the beach- swimming, sunbathing, playing soccer, volleyball, Frisbee; boating, talking. It made Ruth incredibly anxious to watch. All she could see when she looked at  the beach and saw people splashing was the incredible turmoil the shark created as his jaws clamped around the poor girl and dragged her into the bottomless waters. She was also angry- at both the beachcombers, though she knew it wasn't their fault that they were playing and laughing and gallivanting around someone's watery grave, for they didn't know, and she was furious at the phony Mayor who was worried about nothing  but Amity's economy. He was going to get people killed, and he didn't care. He didn't care about the risks they were taking by keeping the beaches open.

A very paranoid Brody had been patrolling the beaches daily, despite the Mayor's protests ("you'll scare them off, Martin," he had said), or if he wasn't there to do it, he made sure Hendricks or someone else was. It had been four days since Chrissie Watkins was attacked, and so far, they had been lucky. Today Ruth was going with Brody to the beach, and so were Ellen, Michael, and Sean. Ellen wanted to watch her stressed husband and make sure the poor man could have a little fun.

Ellen had given Ruth a fair amount of clothes that she had found in the basement that she didn't wear anymore, and Ruth wore a pair of capree jeans and a light blue t-shirt. She didn't bother putting on a bathing suit underneath- after the things she had seen in that cold and endless ocean, she didn't think she could ever go swimming again. Hell, it was a wonder she could even shower without a panic attack.

Someone knocked three times on her door, and Ruth called for them to come in. It was Brody, holding little Sean on his hip.

"Ruthie!" Sean squealed, and jumped out of his father's arms to hug her. She hugged back as best as she could, for it was hard as he was only tall enough to cling to her legs.

"Hi Sean." She said with a smile. She looked up at Brody and said quietly, "Hey Martin." Brody simply smiled back at her. Her smile fell, as his eyes were full of pain and their normal warm Brown was dull and underlined with bags. Martin averted her gaze as he could plainly see the sympathy in her own tired hazel eyes. Brody sat down beside Ruth on her bed and stretched with a sigh, leaning back agains the wall.

"Morning, Ruth. Sleep well?" Ruth half heartedly shrugged, not wanting Martin to worry. In reality, the waves breaking on the shore sounded loud and violent and she couldn't block them out, and she barely slept because of it. Brody wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her to him for a moment, sharing in their pain and restlessness while Sean looked on, blissfully unaware of the problems weighing down in his family and friend. Ruth allowed Brody's heartbeat to block out the ocean waves and sounds of oblivious people frolicking and she sighed quietly as the presence of her first friend on the island. Just as she thought she might fall asleep from Brody providing the first calmness that she'd felt in days, he spoke. "Ready for patrol?" He didn't quite sound like he wanted to move either, but both knew that if they wanted to keep the beaches safe, they'd be the only ones besides Hendricks who knew what they were dealing with and who really cared about patrolling to stop it. Ruth nodded and despite the weather being in the 90's, felt the cold as soon as he pulled away. Brody stood and held the door for Ruth as Sean grasped her hand with a smile and the three exited, stepping into the relentless sun. The heat engulfed them and Ruth shielded her eyes from the sun, surveying the beach- mostly the ocean- with dread. Something about this morning didn't feel right, and despite the heat overwhelming her, Ruth paled and shivered. Brody eyed her with concern, but understood how she felt- for she felt the same way.