Excerpt from The Shimmer Effect

“Kimo, what is wrong with you? You’re going to capsize us, sit down boy.” Kimo stood facing toward the shore, bouncing up and down on the front seat of the tandem kayak. He whined and whimpered as he watched attentively. A wave of sea water washed over the side of the kayak and splashed up onto Sam. The cold stung as much as the salt. He shook his head and wiped his eyes. The camera stood like a lone bastion against the onslaught of water. They floated about thirty yards from the nearest large boulder along the shore. Sam turned the rudder and powered up the small electric motor. He cut through the waves and powered toward the rocky shore. It was in this second that Sam’s worst fears would become reality. He didn’t know it at the time, but his life would forever be altered in that one heart-pounding second, a second that seemed like a lifetime. The explosion was immense as much as it was unexpected. It came from the north end of the island just above his current location. He watched in horror as a fireball erupted from the vicinity of the old weather station high up on the rocky cliffs. A helicopter shot through the smoke and dust at the same time that Kimo flew overboard and slapped the water hard. Sam grabbed the paddle and began adding his own power to that of the small engine. Still, Kimo swam several yards ahead. He watched as Kimo lurched onto the gravel beach and Kittiwake’s flew up in alarm, squawked at the dog. He shook himself roughly, spraying sea water in every direction, ignoring the riotous cries of the gulls. Sam breathed a sigh of relief as he relaxed the paddle. It wouldn’t last.