The Neptune Project (21 page)

DAI CALLS TON
, and the big dolphin gives both Dai and Thom a tow. I call Densil, who darts down from the surface, where he just went up to breathe, and he pulls me along beside Thom.

:What's happening, Nere? Are you guys all right?:
Tobin contacts me worriedly.

:We're heading your way. The squid is dead, but Thom is pretty cut up. We're going to have to find a safe place where you can treat him. How's Penn?:


:He's a little bruised but otherwise fine.:


When we reach the rest, they all crowd around while Tobin quickly examines him. Penn is hanging back, but Thom's gaze finds him.

:Hey, man, I owe you one,:
he says.
:That was some good shooting.:


Penn ducks his head, but I can tell he's pleased.

Thom looks for Dai next.
:You, too, dude. I don't know what you shot into that sucker, but I think you blew up its brain.:


:You would have killed the squid on your own eventually,:
Dai tells him with a genuine smile.
:You were doing a pretty good job of carving it into calamari with your dive knife.:


Thom tries to smile at that, but his smile quickly turns into a grimace of pain.

:What do you think?:
I ask Tobin, fighting to stay calm.

:I can wind two wide bandages around his body. That might help slow the bleeding, but I need to treat each of those cuts, and he probably has a hundred of them. That's going to take some time.:


:Okay, wrap him up as best you can for now. We need to get out of here.:


Tobin gives Thom a sedative. Soon he has bandages wound around Thom's chest, back, and stomach.

We head out right away, Penn and Tobin carrying Thom while the dolphins take turns towing them. The rest of the pod swims in a protective circle around us as we head north, still trying to get past the last of the massive jellyfish swarm. My heart jumps when the first small blue shark appears. Densil chases it away, but the hungry shark returns and patiently follows us. Soon, other sharks appear, and the dolphins keep busy chasing off the smaller ones. Occasionally, Robry, Dai, or I have to shoot a larger shark, which triggers a feeding frenzy among the rest.

:the water is clear now toward land,:
Mariah finally says. With a relieved sigh, I tell everyone we can head toward the coast. We swim as fast as we can, but we're all exhausted.

:How is Thom doing?:
I ask Tobin.

:His pulse is strong but fast, and he's still bleeding. I need to get those cuts cleaned out. Is there any chance that squid put some toxins into him?:


:The beak of the giant squid is poisonous. We'll have to see if it managed to slice him with that, and there's a chance some of those cuts could get infected.:


Tobin must have heard the worry in my tone.
:Thom's a strong guy. If anyone can pull through something like this, he can.:


:If only I'd had the sense to take us inland,:
I say bitterly.
:This is all my fault.:


:We all wanted to head out to sea rather than risk running into the Marine Guard.:


:Dai didn't, and I should have known better.:


:Well, now you do,:
Tobin says in a matter-of-fact way that makes me realize I made a mistake, but all I can do now is deal with the situation.

Around midnight, Ton finds us a good-sized sea cave with an entrance so narrow that just one of us will be able to stand guard and hold off any sharks that come prowling in the night. We pile into the cave. I thank the dolphins for their help and send them off to feed and rest.

We each volunteer to help Tobin treat Thom, but in the end he chooses Lena, saying she has the most gentle hands. I'm surprised that Lena volunteered, but then I guess that she probably wants to spend more time with Tobin. I assign myself to help, too, which earns me an irritated look from her. But Thom was hurt because I decided to take us beyond the continental break, and I won't be able to rest until Tobin finishes caring for him.

I tell everyone else to string their hammocks and get some sleep. I also assign sentry shifts throughout the night. Then I turn to help Tobin and Lena, who are gently pulling off Thom's tattered seasuit. Tobin has given Thom another sedative shot, so now Thom is barely conscious and acting drunk.

When Tobin starts cleaning Thom's cuts, one by one, with that stinging antiseptic I remember only too well, Thom reaches out and grips Lena's hand, and she lets him. Occasionally she even strokes his hair and forehead, which makes Thom smile blissfully despite his pain.

While Tobin works on Thom, I glance around the sea cave. Dai seems restless. He keeps twisting around in his hammock. At last he sits up and puts on his fins and grabs his seapack and speargun.

He meets my gaze across the sea cave.
:I'll make sure sharks don't get too close,:
he promises, and then he's gone.

I frown as I look after him. He must need to get some rest.

:He never sleeps through an entire night,:
Tobin tells me as he continues to methodically treat Thom's cuts.

:Are you sure about that?:


:I've noticed him coming and going. He seems to only need three or four hours of sleep each night. The rest of the time he goes off prowling on his own.:


:Why didn't you tell me this before?:


Tobin shrugs.
:I figured it was pretty much his business.:


:It's our business if he gets himself killed.:


:I think Dai can look after himself.:


There's nothing I can say to that, because it's so obviously true. Still, there must be dangers in this sea too great for even Dai to handle on his own.

:Be careful out there.:
I reach out to Dai.

:I always am.:
At first he sounds annoyed, but then he adds,
:I like that you're worrying about me again.:


:I can't seem to help it. You were right. We shouldn't have gone beyond the continental break. What did you fire at the squid, anyway?:


:It was an explosive spear dart.:


:That's a handy thing to have.:


:I only have three left, but this seemed like the right time to use one.:


:Thom and I agree with you there.:
I decide to push my luck. I'm getting tired of the mystery surrounding him.
:Dai, why don't you need as much sleep as the rest of us?:


He doesn't respond to my question for so long that I begin to wonder if he's swum out of my mental range.
:I guess someone spliced too many restless genes into me,:
he replies at last with a bitterness I don't understand.
:I'll be back in time to take my watch at four o'clock,:
he adds, breaking off the contact.

By three in the morning, Tobin has finished treating Thom. The moment Tobin tells him he's done, Thom sags back in his hammock and falls into a deep sleep. Lena volunteers to watch over him for a few hours more and keep small fish from nibbling at his cuts.

:Do you think he'll be all right?:
I ask Tobin wearily.

:It just depends on whether or not those cuts get infected and how strong his immune system is,:
Tobin says as he packs away his first-aid gear.
:He's lucky the squid didn't slice him more times with its beak. I only found one shallow cut on his chest.:


:Dai says Thom was so busy stabbing it with his dive knife, the squid probably didn't have a chance to attack the way it usually would.:


:That squid definitely grabbed the wrong guy.:


But what would have happened if the squid had grabbed Bria or Robry instead? One of them might be dead right now. Tobin must guess what I'm thinking, because he puts an arm around my shoulder. I feel so tired and frightened for Thom, I can't help leaning in to him—even though I'm very aware that Lena is watching us both.

:Hey, at the time, heading out to sea seemed like the best idea,:
Tobin tells me.
:And it's what most of us wanted to do. This is your first mistake, and you're just going to have to learn from it. Sometimes you'll even go against what the rest of us want to do, but I trust your judgment down here. Everyone else does, too. That's why we voted to make you leader.:


:You don't think I should resign after this?:


:No way. You're the only one who can keep us together and get us to your dad's colony in one piece.:


:I hope I start doing a better job, then,:
I say, rubbing my eyes.

:You'll only be able to do that if you get some rest right now. By the way, we probably need to hole up here a day or two until Thom is stronger.:


:That's not such a bad idea anyway. I think everyone was getting worn out. Lena's got those nasty blisters on her heels, and Bria's hamstring is sore.:


:See, that's part of why you make a good leader. You are aware of each of us in a way that Kyel never was.:


:Thanks,:
I say, and I mean it. Talking with Tobin always makes me feel better. Reluctantly, I ease away from him because I know he needs to rest as much as I do.

Lying in my hammock waiting for sleep to come, I keep seeing our fight against the giant squid in my mind. Finally I force myself to picture the summer constellations instead, and recite them one after the other.

As I drift off to sleep, I feel the vast weight of the ocean pressing down on me, and the weight of the job I still don't know if I can do.

THE NEXT MORNING
, Thom is running a fever. Tobin gives him an antibiotic and some meds, and the rest of us lounge around and rest. Kalli, Ree, Tobin, and Bria, who all know how to sew, take turns mending and patching the many tears in Thom's tattered seasuit.

Kalli has put herself in charge of our supplies and equipment. She comes to me at noon to discuss an issue that's been troubling us both.
:Nere, our spear-dart supply is running seriously low.:


:I know,:
I admit.
:And I'm not sure how we're going to get more.:


Our spear darts are long, straight rods made from a light and strong titanium composite. We've been careful to shoot the fish we eat for food with spear darts attached to lines, which means we usually get them back. But we couldn't use lines when we had to fight off big sharks or Marine Guard divers, and those conflicts cost us dozens of spear darts.

:Maybe we can buy some from a scrounger,:
Kalli suggests.
:We'll be traveling past San Francisco soon, and there must be hundreds of sea scroungers working those waters. If they're willing to risk free diving inside old buildings and sifting through floating garbage, they shouldn't be afraid to sell spear darts to some kids.:


:I've met a few scroungers who worked the area around San Diego Bay,:
I tell her.
:They'll do anything if the price is right. The problem is, I think some of them would turn us over to the Western Collective in a heartbeat.:


:Maybe we can come up with another solution, but we need to find it soon, or the next time we're in a big fight, we'll have to throw rocks.:


That afternoon we all take sand baths wearing just our swimsuits. Dai showed us this trick back at the
Alicante.
We don't sweat anymore, but it still feels good to rub our skin down from time to time with clean sand.

The dolphins, who are curious about everything we do, come down to watch, and before I know it, Mali snatches a rag that Tobin was using to rub sand on himself. Then Ricca steals it from her, and Robry steals it from Ricca.

Soon we're teaming up with our dolphins to play a wild game of keep-away. We spread out across the rocky bottom outside our cave, skimming over ledges and ducking behind rock pinnacles. Even Ton and Dai, who at first seemed puzzled by our play, join in this time. Dai makes a big show of letting a giggling Bria steal the rag from him when I know he could have caught her easily.

I call a halt when a small anemone stings Robry. Reluctantly, we finish our sand baths and climb back into our seasuits, but the game was good for morale.

Late in the afternoon, Thom's fever has broken and he sleeps more peacefully. By midmorning of the next day, he is so tired of lying in his hammock that he insists we let him get up for a while. That's when I call a group meeting to determine how close we're willing to travel to San Francisco, and whether or not we want to risk buying spear darts from a scrounger.

:We'll be better off staying as far from San Francisco as we can,:
Dai says flatly.
:The continental shelf is wide there, which means we can travel forty miles off the coast without crossing the continental break. This time of year, there will be a huge dead zone by the bay, thanks to all the fertilizer your idiotic government keeps putting on its farm fields.:


:It's not my government anymore,:
Penn points out quickly.

:Well, thanks to someone's government, so much phytoplankton will have bloomed and died near the city, there will be little oxygen left in the water. Dead zones are bad news. On the edge of one you can breathe fine one moment, and the next you're suffocating.:


:Then we'll make sure we give the entrance to the bay plenty of sea room,:
I say.
:But I still think we should consider contacting a scrounger. We've got to get hold of more spear darts somehow.:


:Then we can all have fun when that scrounger hands us over to the Western Collective,:
Dai declares.

:So, what's your brilliant suggestion for replacing our spear darts?:
Ree turns on him.

:Don't lose any more,:
Dai replies.

:You want us to pull the darts out of every shark you shoot?:
Lena says sarcastically.

:If we have to, yeah. That's safer than dealing with scroungers. Most of them are slime who would trade away their own kids for a profit.:


:I knew some scroungers back in LA,:
Ree says with a shrug.
:They weren't so bad.:


:So, we'll stay well off the coast as we pass the bay,:
I say, concluding our meeting.
:And we'll watch out for a good, safe chance to trade with a scrounger. In the meantime, we've got to be careful to retrieve the spear darts we have left.:


:I think Penn should go back and dig out those two spear darts he put into that mongo squid that tried to eat me,:
Thom says with a straight face, and everyone cracks up.

As they leave the cave, I notice Ree and Tobin patting Penn on the shoulder. Clearly the group is giving Penn the credit for killing the squid, when Dai's explosive spear dart really finished the monster.

:What troubles you now, oh fearless leader?:
Dai asks me with an ironic look.
:C'mon, don't I get points for being polite and asking for a change, instead of reading your mind?:


I decide to tell him the truth because I want to reward his good behavior, and because I have a hunch he'll probably be able to tell if I lie to him.
:I'm happy that everyone seems to have finally forgiven Penn for Kyel's death, but I'm sorry that you aren't getting more credit for killing the squid.:


Dai shrugs.
:You're worrying about me again. Face it, they're never going to accept me as one of them.:


:Robry and Bria like you fine. I can't see why the others don't trust you more.:


:I'm just too different, and I don't know the right things to say or how to make jokes like Thom,:
he says moodily, looking away from me.

The bitterness I hear in his tone makes me want to reach out and touch him. But I keep my mental shields up and force myself to concentrate on our conversation.
:It helped that you joined in the game yesterday.:


Dai smiles wistfully.
:I liked that game. I hope we play it again soon.:


:Knowing Mali, Sokya, and Laki, they'll probably get another game going this afternoon,:
I say, even as I wonder if Dai ever had much chance to play, growing up with a research scientist who dragged his son around the oceans of the world.

In the afternoon, Sokya does come to us wanting to start up some kind of competition. Robry suggests we try a form of capture the flag, so we divide into two teams, and each team hides their own flag deep in their own territory. Then the dolphins and their human partners have to find each team's flag and steal it; but only a human/dolphin pair working together can actually move the flag.

The game is such a hit that we end up playing several rounds. Even Thom and Densil participate, but we just let them guard their team's flag. Bria and Robry are by far the best players, clinging like limpet fish to their dolphins while Nika and Ricca dart and zigzag through the water. Dai and Ton could make a team of their own, but as they go charging fiercely after their opponents, we have to remind Dai several times that it is only a game.

I call a halt after a few hours so we can rest up and eat dinner. People are smiling and joking with one another as the two teams come back to the cave. I even overhear Ree telling Dai that he played a good game.

Lena and Penn go out to find food, and return with a large yellowtail. As we eat, Penn tells everyone how Lena bagged the big fish.

:This sucker must have dragged her for a quarter mile before she managed to kill it, but she was
not
gonna let go of her line.:


:Whooee, big fishies, you better watch out, or Deadeye Lena's gonna spear you,:
Thom teases her.

Lena blushes, but I can tell she is proud that she's caught our dinner.

In the morning, Tobin declares Thom strong enough to travel, and we head north at first light.