The Neptune Project Read online

  :At least we don’t have to worry about hunting for supper tonight. Thanks to you, grouper’s definitely on the menu.:

  Thom nudges the dead grouper with his foot. :Hear that, you big ugly sucker? You’re dinner.: Thom looks up from the grouper and seems to remember our mission.

  :The cabin at the end looked pretty good,: he tells me.

  I swim forward and find a large triangular-shaped cabin that must occupy much of the bow. It only has two small portholes, and best of all, there’s a large bed on one side, where Tobin can treat Sara.

  Thom waits for me outside in the corridor :Can we shut the door to this?: I ask him.

  He peers at the old worm-eaten wooden door beside him and tries to swing it shut. It disintegrates in his hands. :Guess wood doesn’t last very long down here,: he says with a shrug. :I think I saw a big metal one back there.:

  I swim past him and discover there is indeed a thick metal door, probably made to seal off this part of the yacht in bad weather. I try shoving it, but the door doesn’t budge. I’m afraid the seawater has corroded the hinges too badly.

  :Let me try,: Thom suggests.

  He braces himself against the wall and puts his feet on the edge of the door. He straightens his legs, his face twisting with effort, and moments later the door swings shut.

  :That’s great, but…: I say to him. :Now we need to get that door open again.:

  He responds with a shy smile, and then he pulls the door open.

  :We’re all clear here,: I call to Tobin. :You can bring Sara down the main hatch by the stern. We found a big cabin where you can treat her.:

  I swim to the top deck and glance around quickly. Mali and Densil are keeping an eye on the two blue sharks that are now swimming together in slow, lazy circles around the yacht.

  There will be even more sharks soon. When Tobin pulls that spear dart out of Sara’s shoulder, they’ll scent her blood. My parents taught me that sharks can smell a single drop of blood diluted in hundreds of gallons of water.

  As I show Tobin and Penn the way to the forward cabin, I reach out to Densil. :We should be safe now. Thank you for helping fight the sharks. Be careful tonight. Don’t rest too close to this place. More sharks will come.:

  :we are always careful. we hope the girl will live.:

  Even though I thanked him for what he did, I know dolphins don’t really understand gratitude. They just do what needs to be done, like Thom.

  AS SOON AS Tobin and Penn place Sara gently on the bed, Tobin pulls off his seapack. Thom glances at the spear dart sticking out of Sara’s shoulder and quickly looks away.

  :Maybe I’ll go see about closing that door and cutting us some grouper,: he suggests.

  :That sounds like a good plan,: I tell him while I shed my own seapack, fins, and speargun. As I wait for instructions from Tobin, I study the unconscious girl. Her face is incredibly pale, but I can see that she’s pretty. Her brown hair is cut short, which emphasizes her delicate features.

  :Put your pack under her feet,: Tobin tells me as he pulls out a big first-aid kit from his seapack. :She’s in shock, which means we need to warm her and get more blood to her head and organs. Penn, I need you to share your body heat with her. Lie down next to her uninjured side and stay as close as you can.:

  While Penn is getting settled next to Sara, Tobin bends a chemlight until the divider seal cracks and the chemicals inside it mix and begin to glow.

  :Here.: He hands the chemlight to me. :Fix that someplace above us so I can see better.:

  As I hang the chemlight from the edge of an old light fixture hanging from the ceiling, Tobin sets to work. He wraps a pressure bandage around a nasty shark bite I hadn’t noticed on Sara’s right thigh.

  :We’ll stitch that up later,: he tells me on a private send. :If she survives my pulling that dart out.:

  :What are her chances?:

  :Not good.: Tobin’s expression is grim. :Penn says she’s been bleeding for hours. She was shot escaping from Marine Guard divers, and then she had to swim hard after that. They also just went through the Neptune transformation a day ago, which means her body is still coping with massive physiological changes. She needs a major blood transfusion, but I don’t even have a blood substitute with me.:

  :Is there any way we could give her some of our blood?:

  :Even if by some miracle one of us had her blood type,: he replies as he readies a bandage for her shoulder, :we’d need sterile tubing to deliver that blood. IV needles I have, but no tubing, sterile or otherwise.:

  I can sense the frustration he’s feeling, but he continues to work calmly and steadily, doing his best to save her with what little he has.

  Carefully, he uses a pair of surgical scissors to cut Sara’s torn seasuit away from her shoulder. Then Tobin asks Penn to sit Sara upright and hold her there. When her head lolls back, Penn tucks it gently against his shoulder.

  :I’m about to pull the dart out,: Tobin tells us. :Nere, as soon as I do, I want you to press these pads down hard on both the entrance and exit wounds while I strap her up as fast as I can. Penn, there’s a good chance the pain of the extraction is going to wake her up. You need to keep her still and calm while we get this bandage on her.:

  Penn’s face is white with strain, but he nods to show he’s ready.

  Tobin grips the dart with both hands. :Here we go.:

  Slowly and steadily, he starts pulling on the dart. Just as he predicted, Sara groans, her body tenses, and her eyes flick open just as the dart comes free and he tosses it away. Bright red blood starts flowing from both of the wounds. I’m scared by how much there is. Kneeling on the bed in front of her, I place the two bandages on her shoulder and press them hard.

  Sara looks around wildly, her chest heaving. I can only imagine how strange it would be to wake up in a wrecked yacht.

  :Where am I? God, my shoulder hurts.: She looks at me accusingly.

  :Shh, Sara,: Penn reassures her. :They’re just trying to help you. They need to get your shoulder bandaged before you lose any more blood.:

  Tobin is working swiftly and deftly, wrapping a bandage under her armpit and over her shoulder, trying to keep as much pressure as possible on the pads on her wounds.

  :I’m glad you’re here, Penn.: Sara makes a brave effort to smile at him. :I thought I was just having some bizarre nightmare,: she says as she looks around the cabin and her face crumples. :But it’s all real, isn’t it? We’re still in the ocean. They shot me, and then the sharks came. I feel so dizzy.:

  :We’re going to lay you back down in a moment, and then you’ll feel better,: Tobin tells her.

  :Who are you?: Sara cranes her head to look at him.

  :My name’s Tobin,: he says. :I’m a medic.:

  I can tell that the quiet confidence in his tone reassures her.

  She lays her head on Penn’s shoulder and closes her eyes. I look at the pad under my fingers. Tobin hasn’t covered it completely yet with his bandage. His eyes narrow when he sees the blood spreading across the pad and seeping out behind it.

  :The spear dart must have sliced an artery,: he tells Penn and me on a private send. I sense the anguish in his mind, but his face shows little of what he’s feeling. :She didn’t bleed out right away because the dart kept pressure on that cut.:

  :So when you took the dart out…: I can’t bear to finish the thought.

  :I killed her.:

  :Tobin, you had no choice.:

  :I know, but she’s going to die in a few minutes just the same. Penn, I’m so sorry.: Tobin ties off the bandage and quickly finds a syringe in his med kit. :You don’t need to keep pressing on those pads now,: he tells me, and I move away from the bed.

  Penn looks stricken as he searches Tobin’s face. :You’re sure there’s nothing else you can do?:

  :I can try to make her a little more comfortable.:

  Sara is breathing harder and harder now. :It feels like I’m not getting enough oxygen,: she says. :I think the transformation didn’t work. There must be
something wrong with my lungs.:

  :Shh, the transformation worked just fine,: Tobin tells her as he gently straightens her right arm.

  :What’s that?: I can sense the panic she’s fighting to control.

  :I’m going to give you an injection. It will help you relax and feel less anxious. This will sting a little.:

  :All right, then,: she says and bites her lip. The drug takes hold quickly, and her body begins to relax. :Penn, I feel so cold.:

  Penn gathers her more tightly against him. I realize he’s crying, and I look away from his face. Sara cuddles closer even as her lungs continue to heave.

  After a long minute her eyes open, and she looks straight at me. :I’m dying, aren’t I?:

  I think for a moment. If I were her, I’d want to be told the truth.

  :Yes,: I say.

  :I don’t want sharks and fish to eat my body. Please, swear that you’ll bury me on land.: Her mental voice is growing weaker, but I’m amazed by her strength and courage. I think Sara and I could have been friends.

  :I swear,: I say.

  She turns back to Penn. :You mustn’t be angry about this. I know you are going to want to fight them because of me, and I don’t want you to do that. Promise!:

  :I promise,: he says.

  She relaxes in his hold and nestles her head against him once again. I glance at Tobin. He is watching Sara die, his gaze achingly sad. I wonder how many people he’s watched die before. He looks so lonely and helpless that I step closer and slip an arm around his waist.

  Wordlessly, he leans into me.

  A short while later, Sara’s chest stops heaving. After Tobin waits a long minute more, he reaches out and takes her pulse. He draws a deep breath, and I slip away from him.

  :She’s gone,: Tobin says.

  Penn’s grief fills the cabin with a psychic pain so sharp it makes my head pound.

  :ANYONE WANT SOME GROUPER?: Thom sticks his head in the door a short time later. He takes in the scene at once, and his smile fades.

  :She didn’t make it, did she?: Thom sees the answer to his question in our eyes.

  :We’ll all need to eat later, though,: I manage to say through my tears.

  Penn wants to stay with Sara for now. Tobin and I decide to leave him alone with her. We slip into the cabin across from where Thom killed his grouper. Side by side, we sink down on what’s left of the bed, and suddenly I realize I’m exhausted. Thom drifts in a little while later and sits across from us.

  I glance sideways at Tobin. He looks even more tired and sad than I feel. :You did everything you could,: I tell him. :It’s more than the rest of us knew to do.:

  :It wasn’t enough.: He leans his head back against the bulkhead and closes his eyes wearily.

  I hear scraping and knocking against the hull. I shudder when I realize those must be sharks, trying to get at us.

  :Someone needs to stay awake,: I say, fighting to keep my eyes open. :Just in case one of those sharks breaks through a glass porthole on this deck. Only a small shark could get through those openings, but even small sharks can do some damage.:

  :You two sleep first,: Thom says. :I’ll keep watch.:

  :Thanks,: I say. I lean my head against the bulkhead, let my heavy eyelids close, and feel Dai’s mind reaching out to mine.

  :Nere, are you all right? I sensed that something scared you a minute ago.:

  I’m surprised at how strong his mental touch is across such a distance.

  :We’re not in danger. I just don’t like listening to the sharks banging against the hull of the yacht.:

  :It’s probably blues. They’re persistent idiots. Did the girl make it?:

  :She died after Tobin pulled out the spear dart.:

  :I’m sorry.:

  :I’m sorry, too. Is everyone all right there?:

  :They’re fine. Robry shot a nice white sea bass for dinner. He’s almost as good with a speargun as I am.:

  :He might actually be better than you.:

  :I doubt it. I hope your dreams are happier tonight. Try dreaming about me, and they will be.:

  :Right. Good night, Dai.: Warmed by this odd interchange, I fall asleep almost instantly.

  ~ ~ ~

  I wake in the middle of the night to find I’ve been sleeping with my head on Tobin’s shoulder. Careful not to disturb him, I ease away from his side. He’s frowning as he sleeps. I’m sorry his dreams aren’t happier, but I’m very glad he’s here. Now I’ve seen him in action, I know Tobin was meant to be a medic, or even a doctor. I don’t much like Kyel and Ree, and Dai completely confuses me, but I’m glad that we met up with Thom and Tobin.

  I find Thom shooting spear darts into an old chair he dragged out into the passageway.

  :It was the best way for me to stay awake,: he says with a shrug. :And I need to get better with this thing.:

  :It’s your turn to sleep now.:

  :I’m ready to rack out. I left some grouper fillets in that metal box there.:

  :Thanks.:

  After Thom goes off to sleep, I make myself eat one of the fillets. Then I go check on Penn. When I enter the forward cabin, Penn is wide awake and sitting next to Sara’s body. His face is pale but composed.

  :You should eat something and get some rest. The other guys are sleeping in the cabin down the hall,: I tell him gently. :She’d want you to look after yourself.:

  :I don’t want her to be alone.:

  :I’ll stay with her. I’m on sentry duty, but I can do it from here easily enough.:

  After a moment, he gets up. :All right. I’ll try to sleep, but I don’t think I could eat anything right now.:

  :She was very brave.:

  :She always was the brave one, even when we were little,: Penn says as he looks at her. :If anyone had the guts to survive down here, it was her. But the Western Collective stole that chance just like it stole so much else from us.: The hatred in his tone worries me. I want to remind him that Sara didn’t want him to be angry, but I don’t think he’ll listen to me right now.

  Penn swims out of the cabin and leaves me with the dead girl he loved.

  I pick up my speargun and make sure it’s ready to fire. I have no problem staying awake. The occasional bang of a hungry shark hitting its head against the side of the yacht is enough to keep me alert. Plus, I have to think up some way to fulfill my promise to Sara. Burying her on land isn’t going to be easy.

  Tobin wakes up at six a.m., when the ocean is starting to lighten. He comes to find me, looking grumpy. :You should have woken me to take my shift.:

  :I figured you had a rougher time last night than I did.:

  :I don’t think last night was much fun for any of us. This morning won’t be, either, if there are a hundred sharks waiting out there to have us for breakfast.:

  :Mariah will tell me when the others come back from the freighter. Between all of us, I think we can chase those sharks away.:

  Tobin studies me curiously. :You really aren’t scared down here, are you?:

  :What do you mean?:

  :You and Dai, it’s like you’ve lived in the sea all your life. Most of us are scared out of our minds, but you look like you were meant to be here.:

  :I don’t know about Dai, but I’m plenty frightened down here. I’m probably more comfortable in the water just because my parents were always taking me diving and snorkeling. The dolphins help, too. I know they’ll warn me if there’s danger. A lot of being scared is not knowing what’s out there. Thanks to Mariah and her family, I do know.:

  :Even if you do know, I still think there’s lots down here to be scared of.:

  :Maybe staying scared will help us stay alive. Now, let’s go get some breakfast.:

  :Let me guess. We’re having more grouper,: he says without enthusiasm.

  :Grouper and some kelp. You need to have your greens.:

  :I’d rather have a cup of hot coffee with some milk.:

  :In your dreams,: I reply as I fetch some kelp fronds I tied to my seapack yesterday. I don’t know mu
ch about our new metabolisms, but I’m guessing we shouldn’t try to survive entirely on raw fish.

  It feels strange making jokes about breakfast with Sara lying cold and silent in the next cabin, but somehow the rest of us have to keep going.

  Dai contacts me soon after Tobin and I have eaten grouper and some very spongy kelp. :We’re all on our way to escort you back to the freighter.:

  :I’m not sure Penn and I are heading there today,: I respond.

  :Why?: Dai sounds intrigued.

  :Before she died, Sara asked me to make sure we bury her on land. It’s safer to do that at night, and we’re a lot closer to land here than we’d be at the freighter.:

  :A land burial is not exactly in Kyel’s plans for today. This should be interesting.:

  :You don’t have to sound so happy about it.:

  :I’m not happy about you risking going out on land, but I am happy that we joined up with you. Before that, Kyel was irritated with me all the time. Now he’s mostly irritated with you. That makes my life much easier.: On that cheerful note, Dai closes his mind to me.

  The group from the freighter arrives an hour later. Working together, Ton and my dolphins manage to chase away the twenty or so sharks that are circling the yacht. Thom pushes open the door that closes off the lowest deck, and we meet up with the rest of the group in the large dining salon.

  :Are you ready to travel to the freighter?: Kyel asks us right off. I wince and look away from Penn. Kyel should have said something to him first about Sara.

  :I’m not going to the freighter until Sara is buried properly on land,: Penn declares. :You can all go ahead, but I have to do this for her.:

  :I’ll stay and help you,: I promise Penn.

  Kyel looks at the two of us as if we’re crazy. :She’s dead. Does it really matter what happens to her body?:

  :She didn’t want the fish to eat her, and I promised her I wouldn’t let that happen,: I try to explain. :A promise is a promise.:

  :It’s a stupid promise if it can get you killed,: Dai says to me impatiently. :It’s dangerous for you now up at the surface. What’s the difference between her body being eaten by crabs in the ocean or worms on land?: