Fear rushes through me in an icy wave, leaving my body chilled and nauseated. There’s little reason for a vessel to veer from the main shipping lane unless its crew spotted our solar panels.
:We have a fast ship heading this way!: I shout Densil’s warning at our group.
My heart thumping, I ask Laki and Sokya, two of our fastest dolphins, to go scout it. They’ll relay images of the ship to me, and we might be able to figure out what’s hunting us.
:Everyone, swim for cover and stay with your travel partner,: Janni orders as she powers up her tow. :Penn and Kalli, get those solar panels stashed.:
:Densil, what kind of ship is it?: I ask, lingering behind the others to help Penn and Kalli get the panels stowed on the back of the tows. Vaguely I’m aware that Dai, my official travel partner, is hovering near me. I can hear the deep thrum of engines in the distance now.
:it is bigger than your father’s ship and very fast. I think it is a fighting ship,: Densil replies.
I’ve been showing our dolphins the silhouettes of navy ships so they can help us identify them. The bass throb of big ship engines grows steadily louder as Kalli and I struggle with the buoyant panels. Dai darts in to help us.
Janni glances back at us angrily. :I ordered you two to take cover.:
:Believe me, we’ll go the moment we get these panels stashed,: I say as Dai forces the last of the air from the panels’ floats and we lash them down.
:We’re good back here,: Kalli yells, and Janni puts the tow into a steep dive. I just have time to grab a loop, and Kalli and Dai do the same.
Thom drives his tow toward the bottom, too, Penn hanging off the back.
Sokya contacts me. :this is the ship,: she says, and she sends me a clear visual of a dark gray vessel with two conning towers and several big guns. My blood races faster. The ship heading our way is definitely a destroyer of some sort.
:Keep an eye on it. Can you see what they’re doing on the deck?:
:there are many men moving around the base of a wide gun,: Sokya says, her mental tone worried.
For a second, my mind freezes. But then I react out of fear for the dolphins. :MARIAH, they may launch depth charges. Get your family clear!: I yell. With their delicate hearing, dolphins are even more vulnerable to underwater explosions than we are.
Then to everyone else I shout, :Get rock between you and the surface, NOW! That ship could be about to launch depth charges.:
:They must want to flush us out,: Dai says, his mental tone amazingly calm considering an explosive could crush us at any moment.
As Janni drives us deeper, we lose the light fast. Now I almost wish I’d asked one dolphin to stay behind to guide us.
:Guys, head this way,: Ocho calls to us. :We found an overhang down here big enough to hide both tows.:
:I’ll make sure you can see where,: Sunny adds, and seconds later, a golden light flares in the black water beneath us. Way to go, Sunny!
Janni puts the tow into an even steeper dive and guns it toward Sunny’s light.
:Something big just splashed above us,: Dai says tightly. His underwater hearing is keener than anyone else’s.
We shoot under the overhang right behind Thom’s tow as brilliant white light from above fills the water.
:COVER YOUR EARS!: Dai shouts.
I barely have time to clap my hands over my ears before the first shock wave strikes. The water fills with a roar, and a wave of white bubbles fills my vision. It feels like a wall of pressure is pushing against my entire body. Seconds later, another shock wave slams me against the roof of the overhang. My shoulder hits the rock, and several of my friends cry out in pain and surprise.
:This must be the force from the explosion reflecting off the ocean floor,: Robry gasps. :It’s still better than getting hit straight on by the first wave.:
:If you say so, Squirt,: Ocho grumbles, rubbing two of his arms.
Another flash sears my eyes. I just have time to cover my ears again before a second explosion roars through the water and tumbles me upside down. At least this time I don’t hit rock again. Two more explosions thunder in the distance, but their shock waves don’t reach us.
:Is everyone all right?: Janni calls out when the water calms a little.
One by one we check in with her. Sunny and Kalli were tossed into a colony of sea urchins and stung several times. Rohan treats the girls while Tobin works on a nasty cut Robry received on his forearm. The rest of us have bruises, but, all in all, we’re lucky none of us was hurt worse.
:Mariah, are you all okay?: I reach out to her.
:our heads hurt a little, but we swam away in time. you are safe?:
:We’re mostly bruised and shaken. Could you please keep an eye on that ship? Stay well away from it but let us know when it leaves this area.:
:we will watch,: she promises me.
Janni starts to swim out from the overhang. The visibility is much worse now because of all the sediment churned up by the depth charges.
:I wouldn’t go out there yet,: Dai calls after her.
:I’m just going to take a look,: she say irritably. :And by the way, you aren’t supposed to give me orders.:
She swims out a little farther, just as I sense a strange vibration in the water. A second later, Dai flashes past me, swimming faster than I’ve ever seen him. He grabs Janni around the waist and pulls her back under the overhang. A second later dozens of big rocks and chunks of coral tumble down from the steep wall above us. Several pass right through the space where Janni hovered a heartbeat ago.
Her face turns white as she watches the underwater rockslide and the clouds of black sediment it churns up. I cough because of all the gunk in the water now.
:That’s why I didn’t want you to go out there,: Dai says curtly. :I had a hunch those explosions destabilized the wall above us.:
For a moment I think Janni is going to yell at him. But instead, she straightens her shoulders. :Okay, Dai, I’m ordering you to tell us about your hunches from now on. I-I know you’ve lived in the sea longer than any of us, and I was stupid not to listen to you. Thanks for saving me from a major headache, or worse.:
:You’re welcome,: Dai says, his expression a little warmer.
:So, whose ship do we think that was, anyway?: Rad asks as we gather in a circle.
:From the image Sokya sent me, I’m pretty sure the ship was flying a Canadian flag,: I reply.
Kalli looks puzzled. :The Canadians didn’t used to be this trigger happy.:
:Yeah, well, war has a way of changing people’s attitudes fast,: Thom says, his face set. I wonder if he’s thinking about the years he fought the Western Collective with Kyel and his dad’s men.
:I bet they thought our panels were charging a small Western Collective spy sub,: Robry says, and then he flinches as Tobin ties off another stitch on his arm.
:Maybe we should put a red maple leaf flag on those panels the next time we charge up in Canadian waters,: Ocho jokes weakly.
I don’t smile because I can see the tension in Dai. Thanks to his shark genes, it’s always hard for him to be around blood.
:I’d like to patrol beyond this overhang now,: Dai says to Janni. :Out there I can watch for sharks better. Robry’s bled enough, we could be attracting some soon.:
Janni takes in his tight expression. :All right,: she says, :but let us know at once if you run into any trouble.:
Dai slips away into the murky water, and I nod to Janni. She made the right call to let him go. We sling our hammocks and try to rest as the destroyer prowls the surface and Dai prowls outside our hiding place. He has to chase off a couple of small, pesky blues, but no large sharks scent Robry’s blood. Mariah lets me know when the destroyer finally sails away two hours later, and Densil and Laki follow it to make sure it doesn’t double back. We wait another hour and then start off again with the tows. We stay submerged and hug the coast where we are less apt to attract the notice of navy vessels.
Janni is quiet for the rest of the afternoon, and when she speaks to Dai, there’s less bossiness and more respect in her tone. I hope this means the two of them will get along better now. We still have thirteen hundred miles to travel to LA, and it’s going to feel even longer if our two most stubborn team members can’t get along.