My heart is in my throat as I reach for my spear gun. The shark is only ten feet away and getting closer by the second. After a moment’s hesitation, I switch on my dive light. I need to see the shark clearly.
:Stay as still as you can,: I tell the others, :and no one shoot unless it charges. I think it’s just curious about us.: I hope I’m right.
I shine my light on the massive shark. The beam plays across the creature’s expressionless black eyes and the unusual seven gills in its neck. The shark’s large, undercut jaw is studded with dozens of sharp teeth. The sevengill turns and glides past our group. We hold our spear guns at the ready, but we don’t shoot as it swims a slow, silent circle around us.
:Whoa, that is one big boy,: Thom says. :It’s gotta be at least ten feet long.:
:I’m thinking he’s probably a she,: Kalli says, :because she’s so large.:
:Whether it’s a he or she, it still has muy big teeth,: Ree mutters.
:Are you all right, Penn?: I ask him on a private send. Right after their Neptune transformation, Penn and his girlfriend were attacked by sharks.
:I-I’m okay,: Penn says, but obviously he’s struggling to control his fear.
“What’s going on down there?” Doc Iharu asks us through our earbuds.
:I bet our sensors all just went crazy,: Tobin says.
:My heartrate probably tripled,: Lena confesses.
And I know I’m not going to take my eyes off that shark to key a reply to Doc Iharu. After circling us a second time, the sevengill disappears into the dark.
:Maybe that big girl just isn’t hungry today,: Thom says hopefully
:Or maybe we don’t look like food to her,: Kalli says.
I keep scanning the black water all around us. Suddenly, a gray shape barrels down at me from out of the midnight gloom. I jerk my spear gun higher. The shark must have decided she was hungry after all.
An instant before I press the trigger, I realize it’s… Densil!
:DON’T SHOOT!: I shout to the others. Then I yell at my dolphin friend, :WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE? You just scared me more than the shark did.:
He sidles up to me, looking as apologetic as a dolphin can look. :I sensed you were frightened. I came to see if you needed help.:
Densil and I grew up together, and he’s always been able to tell when I’m scared or sad.
:Thank you,: I say, lowering my spear gun, my pulse still racing, :but next time please warn me first. I almost shot you.: I reach out and give him a quick rub to show I’m sorry for yelling at him.
:I will warn you next time. I forgot that you would not be able to see me.:
:Well, as long as you’re down here, can you tell us if the shark is gone?:
:she still swims away from you,: he reassures me. :she is not hunting. I must return to the surface now.:
:Thank you for wanting to help.:
:I am glad you did not shoot me,: comes his practical response.
:Someone had better contact the doc. He’s getting a little worked up topside,: Thom says. Doc Iharu is shouting at us all now through our ear pieces.
:We’re fine down here,: I tell Janni while Kalli keys a similar message to the testing staff. :A big sevengill just came by to check us out, and then Densil decided to pay us a surprise visit.:
:That shark looked like she was from another time,: Tobin says, looking after the sevengill.
:In a sense, she is,: Kalli says. :Sharks have been on this planet for over a hundred million years.:
We take turns keeping watch with a dive torch set on dim while the rest start our tests. As I work my way through the questions, I don’t think the pressure is affecting my thinking, but I can’t be sure. The shark doesn’t return, and when we finish our mental and coordination tests, Doc Iharu lets us come back to the surface.
That night at dinner we find out that Lena and Penn have been excused from further testing, but Thom, Ree, Tobin and Kalli and I all have to report to the transport hub at 6 AM.
:They probably flunked me because my heartrate went nuts when that shark came by,: Lena says. :It’s so creepy in the Twilight Zone, I’m totally fine with not going down there again. I like working in the kitchen and teaching my jewelry classes better anyway.: Lena has started a seashell jewelry craze, and most of the kids at Safety Harbor now wear shell necklaces or bracelets.
:And I have plenty to keep me busy in engineering,: Penn says.
:Come on, Lena, aren’t you sorry you won’t have a chance to run into some hagfish?: Dai kids her.
:I honestly don’t want to meet a fish that burrows into dead whales and eats them from the inside out, thank you very much.:
:Have you encountered hagfish before?: I ask Dai on a private send.
:I ran into several schools of them when I was poking around in some deep spots closer to Atlantea. They left me alone, but they would have torn me apart if I’d been bleeding,: he says soberly.
My father is crazy not to use Dai on this salvage mission. He knows so much more about the deep than the rest of us. The moment I realize what I’m thinking, I tighten my mental shields, but not before Dai sends me a puzzled glance. A group of kids start yelling next to us, and I’m relieved when Dai looks away from me to frown at them.
The psychic noise in the mess hall is so intense right now because everyone’s excited about Ocho and Shadow’s concert tonight. It’s taken them months to recreate the omniphone and water organ they built at Atlantea. With Penn and Rad’s help, they’ve finally completed both instruments.
:So, how are you feeling about your big concert?: Ree asks Shadow.
:I’m so nervous, I can’t eat anything,: Shadow confesses.
Her eyes look very dark in her pale face. Tonight she wears her beautiful long, black hair loose, and it floats about her head like a living cloud. Kuron mixed octopus genes with Shadow’s DNA, which makes her incredibly strong, and she can change the color of her skin at will. When she wants to hide, she can blend in perfectly with any background. She and Sunny spend most of their working hours teaching and supervising the younger kids in the colony, who get super excited when Shadow agrees to play hide-and-seek with them.
:Everyone is going to love your music,: I promise her and Ocho.
:There’s no reason to be nervous,: Sunny says to them both. :You used to give us amazing concerts all the time.:
:Yeah, but there’s a big difference between playing for ten people and playing for three hundred,: Ocho says with a grimace. With his five arms and two legs, his octopus genes are more obvious than Shadow’s. He used to have six arms, but one had to be amputated after he helped us fight our way out of Atlantea. Tonight, the color of his skin keeps shifting from pink to pale gray, a sure sign he’s anxious.
:Hey, we’d better head out if we want to get primo viewing spots for the concert,: Rad says.
When we arrive at our new official concert cave, I’m glad that so many of the helper staff, including my father, are already here. Dad waves at me and I smile because he looks just as excited as the kids about this concert.
Shadow’s keyboard sits on a platform raised above yards and yards of black tubing that funnels water and air through organ pipes. Ocho’s new omniphone is even more spectacular than the one he had at Atlantea. On four long, metal twisting arms, he’s fastened a variety of objects including hubcaps, metal sheets and spoons.
When Shadow and Ocho nod to show they are ready, my father swims out in front of them to address their audience. “Tonight we’re in for a treat. Shadow and Ocho have worked hard to build their instruments and to create the music you are about to hear. We are proud of each and every member of the Neptune Project because, in a very real sense, you are all pioneers. Shadow and Ocho are talented pioneers in the field of sea music. Creating your own music is another positive step toward building a real home for yourselves beneath the waves. And since I know you don’t want to listen to me talk anymore, here they are!”
A psychic hush falls over the crowd as my father swims off to the side. Shadow raises her head and says clearly, :We call this song, ‘Summer Storm.’:
She bows her head and begins to play. I shiver with pleasure as the first deep, rich notes from the water organ envelop me. Music beneath the waves feels more intense than on land because seawater, which conducts sound well, fills our eardrums and surrounds our bodies.
The wordless melody starts out slowly and majestically, and I imagine massive Pacific rollers smashing against a rocky shore. Then Shadow adds more complicated harmonies, and I can picture the waves frothing against the rocks while summer rain falls in torrents.
I jump the first time Ocho strikes a big piece of sheet metal, adding rumbling thunder to Shadow’s storm melody. All five of his hands hold hammers that he uses to clash and bash the objects on his omniphone. Toward the end, the water organ fades away, and by striking forks, spoons and glasses, Ocho creates shimmering high notes that sound like sprinkling rain.
We go nuts after Shadow and Ocho finish their first song. Clapping doesn’t create much noise under water, so we all just yell and cheer mentally to show how much we liked the performance. Shadow and Ocho smile shyly, obviously pleased and surprised by our enthusiasm.
Penn and Rad grin and give each other high fives. They’ve spent a ton of their free time helping Shadow build her new organ.
Next our musicians play a rollicking tune that reminds me of sailor songs, and then one that is so achingly sad that it makes me think of people I miss, like my mother and Mako and my friend Cam. Then they play a funny song that showcases all of the weird sounds Ocho can make on his omniphone, which earns another huge round of applause.
Shadow holds up her hand to show she wants to speak, and everyone quiets down again.
:Ocho and I want to thank you for being such a great audience tonight. Before we play our last song, we want to dedicate this concert to Dr. Hanson and his helper staff. I know I speak for Dai, Rad, Ocho, Sunny and myself when I say we love our new home, and we are so grateful you allowed us to live with you here in Safety Harbor.:
As I listen to Shadow, I want to believe she truly feels grateful and happy to be with us. But I know she’s a powerful hereditary telepath like Dai and me and has the strongest telepathic range of all the kids from Atlantea. That range would make it easier for her to relay information about us to the telepaths working for Kuron.
Then I remember the way Shadow looked out for Bria while she was held captive at Atlantea, and how Shadow rushed to help Tobin after Wasp stung him with the poisonous stingers on her fingers. If it weren’t for Shadow, he’d be dead now. I look down, feeling ashamed for wondering if she’s the former Atlantean relaying information to Kuron.
:Now it’s time to rock out,: Ocho declares, and their last piece has such an infectious rhythm that everyone starts dancing including the helper staff. I grin when James flaps about looking like a lanky stork as he dances with Roni, and Vival and Doc Iharu do the Twist. Dancing with my friends, I laugh when Robry and Bria attempt some 1950’s jitterbug twirls and flips. Several curious dolphins flash in and out of the cave, excited by the music and all the commotion.
The cheering is so intense that when they finish, Ocho and Shadow have to play two encores. At the end of their performance, my dad goes up to congratulate them.
“I hope you two will teach others how to play these instruments, and I definitely think we need to start having some dances. I had no idea Doc Iharu could bust moves like that.”
As I look at Ocho and Shadow smiling as they are besieged by their new fans, I can’t believe either of them would betray us to Ran Kuron.