margin-right:0cm">C’mon Rick, stay calm. Stay focused. Don’t panic.

I neared the end of the root’s length, so I tied it off as best I could. Didn’t know if this was the best knot, but there was no time to re-tie it. The beast slivered towards the surface again. This would have to do.  I spun the oar around and held it up over my shoulder like a javelin. I placed my free hand out straight like a pointer. It also helped with my balance. The beast shot towards the raft again to ram it. I struck downwards with my spear with all the force in my body. The spearhead hit about 8 inches above the nose. It made a barely perceptible cut, but ultimately deflected off the hard shell. The creature staggered and dove again. The tail flopped up...

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