Ant immediately regretted shouting out,knowing it would cause Dec to panic,but he didn't really have any choice,he had to warn him of the approaching danger.

"WHAT?" Dec called back.

"Ok Decs" Ant replied,in a raised but not bellowing voice,just loud enough for Dec to hear him "you need to come back to shore,quickly but calmly"

Even though Ant was trying to stay calm,Dec immediately sensed the fear in his voice and instinctively looked around him to see what the problem might be.

Then he saw it.

Looming threateningly in the water and getting slowly closer.

"ANT" Dec shouted out,in unimaginable panic "THERE'S A SHARK"

"DEC" Ant replied "please stay calm,don't panic,don't thrash around,you'll only attract it"

Of course Dec was in too much of a stressed state to listen to Ants advice and was flailing around desperately in the water,trying to get back to the beach.

The sharks shadow grew steadily closer and Ant was desperate for Dec to listen to his advice.

Ant was obsessed with any television programmes related to nature,especially what goes on out in the ocean and he remembered one about sharks and what you should do if one tried to attack,if only he could get Dec to listen.

The only thing he could do,Ant decided,was to make his way further out to sea where Dec would hopefully be able to hear him better.

Yes,he would be putting himself at risk as well as Dec and they might both end up being a sharks lunch,but he had to try,he and Dec had always said they'd die for each other,now it was time to put that to the test.

As he got closer to Dec,but still a good few metres away,Ant commanded Dec to listen to him,the shark was still far enough away that they could safely make it back to the shore if they played their cards right.

"Ok Declan" Ant stated "now,stop splashing and face the shark"

"FACE THE SHARK?" Dec shouted in disbelief.

"Yes,face the shark" Ant confirmed "don't take your eyes off it,you need to know where it is at all times"

"It's in the fucking sea..." Dec snapped "with me"

"Ok" Ant encouraged "stay calm,now gradually and slowly back up towards me,do it gently"

Dec followed Ants instructions,swimming slowly backwards,but he was understandably terrified as the shark came nearer,the movement in the water peaking it's curiosity.

"It's getting closer Ant" Dec cried "it's going to kill me"

He instinctively started splashing around fiercely in the water in a desperate attempt to get away.

"DECLAN" Ant snapped "STOP THAT"

"I want to get out of here" Dec wailed.

"You're just drawing attention to yourself" Ant pointed out "just carry on slowly backing up towards me"

Dec reluctantly obeyed Ants order,even though every single cell in his body was telling him to swim like crazy,but he had to trust Ant,that's all he could do.

"Ok,good" Ant smiled,as he coaxed Dec towards him.

"I don't want to die" Dec howled as the shark continued it's approach "help me"

"I am helping you Dec" Ant replied calmly "you just need to listen and do as I say"

Ant tried desperately to keep the rising fear and dread that he felt growing inside him hidden so as not to make Dec even more scared,if that was even possible.

Ant saw the shadow of the beast getting closer,if only he could get Dec a little bit nearer to him,then the water would be too shallow for the shark,but this was a slow,meticulous process and every second felt like hours.

"DECLAN" Ant called out "if it gets close to you,you need to punch it"

"What the hell...?" Dec replied shocked.

"Just trust me" Ant insisted "punch it on the eyes or gills"

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Dec exclaimed.

"Just trust me" Ant repeated "it'll work,I promise you,they're it's sensitive areas"

'This had better work' Ant thought to himself.

As Ant watched helplessly as the shark approached his friend,he could only hope Dec would do exactly as he instructed.

He was soon to find out.

As Dec looked the shark straight in its huge eyes,overwhelmed by the size of its mouth and teeth,he managed to muster up just about every bit of strength he had inside of him and launched into a thumping frenzy like no other,punching with all his might,landing blow after blow on the shark.

Dec did his best to hide his terror and fear,but that wasn't easy in such a dire situation,he may be taking his last breaths,he may be about to be eaten,but he certainly wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"THAT'S IT DEC" Ant shouted out "YOU'VE GOT IT,KEEP HITTING THAT BASTARD"

"You've got it" Ant said to himself as he bravely swam his way out a bit further towards Dec and the shark.

"DEC" he shouted "it's retreating,you did it"

Dec hadn't even noticed that his last couple of punches hadn't even touched the shark as it backed off,he was too caught up in his hitting frenzy and wasn't going to stop until he was a million percent sure it had gone.

"Decs stop" Ant ordered "look,it's gone,you did it,just keep backing up towards me"

Dec carried on edging his way back towards Ant,but still punching the water vigorously.

"Dec,stop" Ant laughed as the two men got closer to each other,you'll just peak it's interest again and anyway,you're in shallower water now,it's not gonna come up here"

Dec finally stopped punching,totally out of breath and exhausted and as he and Ant reached each other,Ant suddenly grabbed Dec by the back of his scruffy T shirt.

"Gotcha" Ant stated happily.

Dec turned around and threw himself into Ants arms,relief evident in his entire body now they were able to reach the floor of the seabed.

"It's ok" Ant assured him,as Dec sobbed into his arms,gentle waves lapping around them "it's over now,let's get back onto dry land shall we?"

Ant ended up practically carrying Dec to the shore,but the water made that a pretty easy task.

Once they were now only thigh deep in water,Ant put Dec down,but as soon as he did,Dec let out a blood curdling scream.

"What the hell?" Ant asked concerned "what's wrong?what happened?"

"Jellyfish" Dec grimaced in pain.

"What?" Ant asked.

"A jellyfish just stung me" Dec cried "it fucking hurts like hell"

"Oh God" Ant shook his head despairingly "what else can go wrong?come on,let's get you out of the water"

Ant placed one arm around Decs waist and held his hand with the other as Dec draped it over his shoulder.

He helped Dec out of the water and towards the shelter.

"Could we finally just have some good luck?" Ant sighed,as he helped Dec lay down on the blanket.

"Think I'm the one having all the bad luck" Dec pointed out,as he winced in pain from the sting.

"Yeah,I won't argue with that" Ant nodded "unconscious from some unknown illness,attacked by a shark and a jellyfish...what next?"

"And don't forget being stuck on this damned island in the first place" Dec replied.

"Yeah,that's both our bad luck" Ant agreed "but seriously,can you just stop getting yourself into scrapes now?"

"It hurts so much" Dec complained.

"I know pet" Ant sighed sympathetically "I've heard jellyfish stings are really painful"

"They're not bloody wrong" Dec stated.

"You know what you're supposed to do to treat it don't you?" Ant attempted to lightheartedly distract Dec from the pain.

"YOU ARE NOT PISSING ON ME" Dec shouted angrily.

"HA" Ant laughed "I'm just messing with ya Decs,it's just a myth that urine helps anyway"

"Good" Dec mumbled.

Ant checked the sting on Decs right leg for any remaining stingers that he may need to remove with the tweezers from the first aid kit.

"You're all good Decs" Ant smiled,as he didn't see any "and the pain will pass eventually"

"Wish it would hurry up" Dec frowned.

"Tell you what" Ant smiled "how about I make you a nice dinner later on of fish and mango?that'll take your mind off it"

"Yeah,that'll make a nice change" Dec replied sarcastically.

"Decs?" Ant stated,as he lay down on the blanket next to his suffering best friend.

"Yeah?" Dec replied.

"Do you realise what you just did?" Ant beamed.

"Got stung by a stupid jellyfish" Dec snapped back.

"Not that" Ant laughed "you only bloody well saw off a shark with your bare hands,how cool was that?"

Dec grinned slightly "yeah I guess it was,wasn't at the time though"

"No,I was as terrified as you were" Ant pointed out.

"I doubt that" Dec frowned "didn't see you on the menu"

"You know" Ant continued "sharks don't actually want to eat people,they only want to have a little taste to see if you're something they like,they often mistake people for seals or something like that"

"You've been watching way too much David Attenborough" Dec pointed out.

"Just as well I have" Ant smiled "how do you think I know all that stuff about punching them?but you know what else?"

"What?" Dec enquired.

"I'm so proud of you for how you dealt with that today" Ant beamed "you were amazing"

"Not something I want to repeat any time soon" Dec replied,trying desperately to ignore the pain in his leg "my life flashed before me"

"I bet it did" Ant laughed,placing an arm around Dec as they reclined on the blanket "hell of a tale to tell when we get back home eh?"

"Yeah" Dec yawned.

He was totally exhausted after his run in with the shark and jellyfish.

"Why don't you have a little nap?" Ant suggested "and I'll go fishing"

"Yeah,I might do that" Dec smiled "the pain might ease a bit by the time I wake up"

Dec was soon drifting off into a restless sleep in Ants arms.

Ant didn't have the heart to move away just yet,not until he knew Dec was properly asleep at least,they were both too comfortable.

As Dec started to snore lightly,Ant could only gaze at his best friend and give thanks for the fact he still had him by his side,knowing how close he had come to losing him.

A tear trickled down his cheek at the thought and it overwhelmed him.

Life without Dec just wouldn't be worth living,whether it was here on the island or back home in England,Ant couldn't and didn't ever want to imagine that.

This was his Dec,his best friend,the one he confided in,told everything to,who he loved unconditionally and he knew Dec felt the same way,no way in the world could Ant carry on without him,he wouldn't want to.

Another thought soon crossed Ants mind.

After everything the two of them had been through since they'd been stuck on this damned island.

It was surely about time their luck changed?