The Neptune Project (9 page)

As the last of the light vanishes, true night turns the water black all around us. Now I can only see twenty feet ahead of me. My legs feel like lead. I hope Ton and Dai find a place for us to get safely settled for the night, and find it soon.

:NERE, PLEASE TELL KYEL
that Ton's found a protected overhang big enough to hold us all,:
Dai contacts me.
:I'm sending Ton to bring you all back here while I clear out a couple of wolf eels.:


:Why don't you tell him yourself?:
I ask. I've already made a lot of suggestions today, and I'm pretty sure Kyel is getting tired of them.

:Because Kyel isn't a very strong telepath. He has problems hearing my thoughts over longer distances.:
I can feel Dai's exasperation with Kyel and me in his mental tone.

:I'll tell Kyel for you,:
Tobin offers, and I smile at him gratefully. Moments later, Tobin relays Dai's news to everyone. Ton appears soon after that and leads us to a large overhang he's found at the end of a rocky canyon. The overhang is deep enough to protect us from sonar detection, and the canyon is narrow enough to give us some defense against predators.

Kyel inspects the overhang carefully. I grow impatient as I watch him. I'm beyond ready to eat and hit my hammock.

At last Kyel declares,
:All right. This looks good. Let's set up camp.:


He assigns Thom to keep watch while the rest of us put up our hammocks. Ton returns from a quick foraging trip looking quite pleased with himself. He presents to Dai the big yellowfin tuna in his mouth. Dai makes short work of filleting the yellowfin with his knife while Ton chases away greedy scavenger fish. Ton swims off with the carcass while Dai comes around and offers each of us strips of tuna.

Once again, Lena refuses the raw fish, but Robry and I thank Dai and take some. I'm hungry enough to eat just about anything, but in the midst of wolfing down the raw fish, I can't help remembering the ham sandwich my mother gave us right after our transformation. Now I wish I'd eaten it more slowly.

Robry meets my gaze as we eat.
:I miss my mother's bread,:
he admits.

:I think she must be the best baker in the southern sector,:
I say as my mouth waters at the memory of her crusty, warm bread.

:I miss everything we ate on land.:
Lena sighs wearily as she eats another fish bar.

I look out into our little canyon. Its walls are covered by sea fans, spiky purple anemones, lush red algae, and ostrich-feather hydroids. Densil and Sokya have swum down to meet Ton. I can tell from Densil's behavior that the bigger animal intimidates him. Sokya, however, seems quite taken with him, nipping and rubbing against him and inviting him to play. Ton swims after her slowly as if he doesn't quite know how to respond to her antics.

Eating the yellowfin has given me more energy. I swim out into the canyon to say good night to the dolphins. While I study Ton, I realize his body is crisscrossed with scars. Most wild dolphins have scars from shark attacks, but Ton looks like he's been through a war.

:We have survived some rough times together.:
Dai swims over to join me. His cool expression warms as he looks at his dolphin. Ton watches me just as carefully as I watch him. Every dolphin has his or her own personality, just like people. I sense that Ton is intelligent, serious, and reserved, like Dai.

:He's beautiful. I've never seen such a big Pacific white-sided, though.:
I study Dai's profile as he watches his dolphin. With his dramatic cheekbones, strong jaw, and brooding dark eyes, he looks like one of those male models I've seen in the old glossy magazines. His thick black hair is caught back in several long braids all tied together that reach to the middle of his back. Now that we are floating side by side, I realize he's quite a bit taller than me; and he's strong, in the long, lean way swimmers are.

:Deep-sea dolphins grow bigger than your coastal dolphins,:
Dai says abruptly, and I can sense him raising shields around his mind. I feel a little insulted by those shields. I'm not planning to pry into his thoughts.

:You're strong enough to pry if you wanted to, though.:
Dai surprises me by reading my surface mind.

:Now who's prying?:
I ask him indignantly.

:I am,:
he says with a shrug.
:You should shield your mind more tightly if you don't want me to read you. You broadcast and read more strongly than anyone here. You're by far the strongest telepath in this group, except for me.:


:How can you tell?:


:I could hear your thoughts as clear as day the moment the Marine Guard boats starting dropping depth charges on you. I knew your group was in trouble, and that's when I told Kyel we needed to hurry to your rescue.:


:I'm glad you did. I was about to call our dolphins, but I hated to do it. Some of them might have been killed trying to save us.:


:You should have called them anyway. Dolphins are here to serve us.:


I stare at him in surprise.
:Do you really feel that way?:
I ask.

:Humans are the most important species in the ocean.:


:I'm not sure we're any more important than other intelligent species down here. At least dolphins didn't mess up the whole planet the way we did.:


:What humans did in the past doesn't matter. The ocean is ours to conquer and explore.:


:Well, if we conquer and explore it as thoroughly as we did the rest of our world, the oceans are in big trouble.:


I turn away from him and head back under the overhang. I'm surprised to see Tobin hovering nearby. Has he been listening in on our argument? It's hard to tell from his impassive expression.

:Kyel sent me to check on your leg,:
he says simply.
:I'm what passes for a medic in our group. I can treat your wound for you.:
His gaze goes to the bandage tied across my thigh, and his face colors. With his fair skin, it's really obvious when he blushes.
:Unless you'd rather look after it yourself.:


:I'm sure you'll do a better job than I can,:
I reply. I've never really liked dealing with my own blood.

I swim over to a nearby rock and try not to wince as I take off the pressure bandage. A curious zebra perch comes up to investigate, and I shoo him away with my hands. That's when I notice Dai is staring at my injury. His face strained, he abruptly turns and swims away into the dark ocean. Maybe he likes blood even less than I do.

Tobin's expression is thoughtful as he studies the wound.
:That's a nice little graze you picked up today.:


:I'm lucky it's not worse,:
I admit absently.
:I thought that diver had me for sure.:
I smile when I see that Robry and Bria are playing with Sokya and Ree is helping Lena untangle and braid her hair. I'm glad to see our groups are beginning to mingle.

:For someone who was in a real fight, you seem pretty cool about it. Dai said you handled yourself well.:


I close my eyes against the memory of the men I shot. They were trying to kill me, but I hope none of them will die.

:I don't think it's sunk in yet. None of this has
—
not really.:
I open my eyes and look at Tobin.
:We haven't been in the water as long as you have. I haven't had time to think.:


:It's probably better that way,:
he says with a grimace. His expression surprises me. Until now, Tobin seemed the most cheerful of our new companions, except perhaps for smiling Bria.

Tobin holds a tube of antiseptic cream next to my graze.
:This is going to sting a little.:
He glances at me, his gaze apologetic. I realize suddenly that his eyes are an amazingly deep green color. They remind me of the bright moss that grew on the stones below the little shower that Cam made for my mother and me.

Thinking of the shower makes me think of Cam, and I look away from Tobin and stare hard at my feet. I flinch when he smooths the salve on the graze. It stings like crazy.

:So how did you end up as the medic?:
I ask him, to keep my mind off the pain.

:My mother was a nurse,:
he says as he works gently and quickly to cover the entire graze with salve.
:I used to help in her clinic.:


:
Was
a nurse?:


:She died in the last famine.:


:I'm sorry.:


:I'm sorry, too. Bria and I miss her. She was amazing. Somehow, even in the worst times, she managed to make us feel safe. I didn't realize until too late how little she had been eating to make sure we had enough.:


The guilt and sadness I hear in his voice makes me want to cry for him.

:There, the worst is over,:
he declares in a lighter tone.
:I'm just going to put a fresh bandage on it now.:


I steel myself to peer down at my wound. I'm surprised to see it's already starting to heal. My mother was right about our heightened healing abilities.

:Thanks for fixing me up. And I guess I should thank the Neptune scientists for keeping me from oozing blood down here.:
I glance at the hammocks tied under the overhang where the eight of us will be sleeping tonight.
:I still can't believe all of this
.…
When did you find out that you were engineered to live in the sea?:


:My mother told me the truth when I was twelve,:
Tobin admits.
:What about you?:


:Exactly two days ago,:
I say bitterly.

Gillian, why didn't you trust me with the truth? This would
have been so much easier if I'd known that someday I'd have to
give up my entire life on land.

:I'm not sure it made it that much easier for Bria and me to know ahead of time what was going to happen to us. We're still pretty landsick right now.:


:What do you miss the most?:
Somehow, being around Tobin is calming, and I don't want him to stop talking just yet. As I study him, I realize I like his face. He has even features, a stubborn chin, and a nice smile.
:Or is it too hard to pick the one thing you miss the most?:


:No, that's easy. The one thing I miss more than anything else is music,:
he says promptly.
:Sound down here is too muffled. The ocean is quiet compared to our life on land. I guess I can hear more than I expected to, like the whisper of sand slipping against sand along the bottom—or dolphins whistling, sawing, and clicking
—
but sea music isn't the music I know. And now I'd better report back to Kyel. He might have more chores for me.:


:Who made Kyel boss, anyway?:


:Actually, we did, two weeks ago, in an election,:
Tobin says with a crooked grin.
:He beat Ree by two votes, and she's still sore about it. Kyel knows more about fighting than any of us. His father was a soldier before he went AWOL and started fighting with the Western Resistance. Kyel's lived with a guerrilla band up in the San Gabriel Mountains since he was little. He can come on kind of strong sometimes, but so far he's done a good job of keeping us alive.:


:I'll have to take your word for it. Thanks again for fixing up my leg.:


:You're welcome. And by the way, I have to agree with Dai,:
Tobin adds with a smile that lights up his green eyes.
:I definitely think your life is worth more than a dolphin's.:


Thanks to Tobin, I'm in a happier mood as I go to my hammock. Before I climb into it, Kyel informs me that I'll have sentry duty for two hours in the middle of the night. Looking at his set expression, I realize I don't want to try convincing him that we'll be safe with the pod sleeping nearby. Dolphins literally sleep with one half of their brains awake at all times, so I know the pod will give us plenty of warning if a big predator comes calling.

Irritated, I climb into my hammock and tie myself in. I'd love to get a good night's sleep, but I just don't have the guts to challenge Kyel again so soon.

:Robry, how are you doing?:
I ask as he settles himself in the hammock next to mine.

:Tired,:
he admits.
:But I think I'm glad we joined up with Kyel's group. I like Bria.:


:I like her, too.:


I want to ask Robry how he's really doing, but he looks so tired, I decide to let it go for now.

:G'night, Nere,:
Robry says sleepily.

:Good night, dartling.:


As exhaustion sucks me down into sleep, I'm aware of the vast, dark mass of water that separates me from the sky and the stars I've always loved.