There are all sorts of creatures in the Bay. Skates, crabs, different fishes. When it hasn't rained for a while, the water becomes full of sea nettles. Jellyfish. That's because sea nettles are salt water creatures, and when it doesn't rain, the level of salinity in the Bay rises. As he lies in the boat, squinting up at the sun, he wonders a little whether there are lots of jellyfish swimming around and under the boat. He has been stung by them. Anyone who has spent any time around the Bay has been stung by a jellyfish. You brush up against one of the tentacles, and when you do, the contact causes a little packet of poison-stuff to break off and get into your skin. If you are the size of a human, it's okay. But for smaller creatures, it's a different story. Actually, there are lots of reports of larger jellyfish-like creatures -- the infamous Man O' War, for example -- killing or seriously injuring people. Interesting thing about the Man O' War: it's not one creature. It's a colony of individuals all living together as...
He lies there, not finishing his thought. His hand hurts.
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