Dolphin Way: Rise of the Guardians (9 page)

‘
A zeta does not choose this life because of his love of conversation. I am not a great one for explanations. In fact talking of any kind. I’d rather be on my way.’ He nodded to them and then turned as if to go.

‘
Wait! That’s hardly fair. You were ready enough to speak to other members of my clan about me! Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?’

The other paused, reflecting. ‘Well, yes, that’s probably true. It was not my intent, just the surprise at seeing another survivor…after so long.’

‘
You recognised my name?’

‘
Vaguely. But it was the missing tip of your fin that reminded me. I was nearby when you lost it.’

‘
Really? I never knew how it happened — it was before I can remember and there has been no one to ask.’

‘
Of course. It was a simple enough thing; as a little one you strayed too close to a big triggerfish nest. The owner gave you a good bite and a scare. Your mother was mortified I remember.’

‘
My mother? You knew her?’

‘
Yes, and your father. Come on then you two. Swim with me and I’ll tell you what I remember.’ He turned and started to swim again then suddenly jerked to a stop, his back arched and eyes full of pain. He twisted in torment and began to sink into the depths. Quickly, Sky put his head beneath him and, with Muddy’s help, lifted him to the surface to breathe.

Rain Ending lay there panting for a short while then the spasm seemed to pass and he slowly relaxed. Soon he could move again. ‘Excuse me. A problem I have with my spine. It comes more often these days, but usually passes quickly.’

‘
Is that why you wanted to see our Healers?’ Muddy asked.

‘
Yes. They have suggested some changes to my diet and exercises that will alleviate the pain and help to reduce the severity of the attacks. No cure, unfortunately.’

When he was recovered enough they swam on together and Rain Ending seemed to try to answer Sky’s questions as well as he could. He had known Sky’s parents; not well, but thought them to be well liked zetii who fitted in with clan life. He had been amongst the clan the day they had heard the terrible sounds, and had found himself stranded on the beach like the others but close to Sky’s father. They had been on a different part of the beach to most of the clan and although he had expected to die there, the waves there had eventually lifted him off, along with two other dolphins. One of them was Sky’s father.

‘
Was my older brother one of them too?’

‘
Your brother? What is his name?’

‘
Still Bay. He was a couple of years older than me I think.’

‘
Then no. I didn’t know who the other one was at the time; you have to understand we were very confused and couldn’t hear properly for weeks, so we didn’t talk then. But I heard the other’s name later…when I heard where they had gone…I don’t remember what it was but it wasn’t Still Bay, I’m sure of that. I’m afraid your brother stayed on that beach with your mother.’

‘
And what did you hear about my father?’

‘
That he was heartbroken at losing all his family. Heartbroken and angry — very angry. He wanted to blame someone, anyone. He came across the Guardians. Their strange philosophy must have appealed to him somehow while he was in that state — gave him a way of rationalising things while he was desperate to find a reason for it all. Maybe it gave him a focus for his anger.’

‘
So it’s true,’ Sky murmured, half to himself, ‘my father is a Guardian. I was dreading hearing you say that.’

‘
Well, it gets worse,’ Rain Ending replied grimly. ‘Last I heard he wasn’t just a member of the Guardians. He was the leader.’

Chapter 10

“
When no dawn is looked for

Comes the full weight of night

Ocean spares not a favour

If you’ve no strength to fight”

Last Pebble (5,155 - 5,189 post Great Alluvion)

Sky and Muddy followed at a distance behind Rain Ending as he swam out over the deep water of the open sea, looking for shoals of small fish to eat. Muddy shook his head vehemently. ‘Knowing what you do know, don’t even think about trying to find your father! You know what would happen. Any deliberate contact with the Guardians means exile. And don’t think it wouldn’t happen to you t happ there are zetii in the clan just looking for an excuse to blame you now.’

‘
But I need to know, Muddy! I’ve got to try and see him somehow!’

‘
No! You can’t do that! Look, why don’t you ask Rain to help you? He’s had some kind of contact with the Guardians in the past, maybe he still knows how to reach them and can ask for you?’

‘
Alright, that’s worth a try. But if he can’t do it I will, and I don’t care about what might happen.’

They caught up with the lone dolphin and put the idea to him. ‘Yes, I do know where they used to be, but I’m not prepared to approach them again. They’ve got some strange, dangerous ideas. They have their own codes about not speaking to outsiders, and the penalties for doing so are harsh.’

‘
But I just want to know if my father is still there.’

‘
I don’t care. I’m afraid, and I don’t mind admitting it. I wouldn’t put it past those Guardians to kill me if they thought I was a threat.’

Sky wondered if he was exaggerating. ‘Kill another zeta? But that’s against the most basic teachings of the Way! You can’t be serious.’

‘
I am. They don’t follow the Way as you and I know it. They have twisted it according to the teachings of Stone Eyes — he’s long dead but they call him “the Seer”. He said that the Way was only meant for Ka-Tse that follow his teachings. According to him all the other zetii are inferior and pretty much expendable if need be. Forget all the traditional stuff about zetii living in harmony with Ocean. They say that Ocean has changed and the Way has changed too. They’re ruthless, and I’ve heard that sometimes they will kill other zetii.’

Sky remembered Born Into Summer, laying helpless on a burning beach; that deadly gull poised beside her.

Muddy broke in to the conversation. ‘Can’t you just try and find out if Sky’s father is still with them, though? If you don’t, I know that Sky is going to want to do it himself, and he’s going to end up exiled or worse.’

‘
No, I’ve told you, there’s…wait…something’s coming.’

The other two listened, and soon could all hear it: a number of big creatures coming closer at speed. Sky sent short bursts of sonar in the direction of the sound. They all listened to the reflected echoes.

Sky articulated their thoughts. ‘Fish. Big ones, at least forty. Moving fast. Coming this way.’

A few seconds later a shoal of yellowfin tuna appeared out of the blue. The powerful silvery fish were all large adults, the biggest almost as large as the dolphins themselves. They took station under the dolphins and followed their progress, the darker upper surfaces of their bodies making them harder to see from above, only the occasional flash of silver showing them clearly whenever one fleetingly turned to inspect some passing fragment in the water column.

Rain Ending looked relieved. ‘Well, they can follow us if they want, but we don’t know where the food is either.’

Sky and Muddy stayed with Rain Ending as he continued his swim over the depths, trying to persuade him to change his mind and help but he was adamant. The tuna kept their silent station below them, hoping the keen senses of the dolphins might lead them to food.

The two friends were about to give up and leave when a new sound grew in volume. The distinct thrumming sound of a boat’s engine, and then the sound of a second, smaller but faster boat.

The dolphins leapt from the water to look. The larger boat had protruding structures at the back of it and something was trailing in the water behind it. As they watched, it stopped heading directly for them and turned as though to commence a curve around them. The smaller boat veered away to the opposite side of them, moving fast and bouncing from wave to wave, the roar of its engine like a gigantic, angry insect. It raced loudly occasionally as the boat bounced from the waves.

‘
What are they doing?’ Rain Ending asked.

Sky was worried at first; the sounds of engines always reminded him of the awful time his clan had been driven onto the shore by the pulses of sound. But these were different machines, smaller than the giant monsters they had seen that day, and brightly coloured, not all grey as they had been. ‘Maybe they saw us and have turned like that to avoid hitting us?’

Muddy shook his head. ‘I don’t like it. Why would they go with one on each side of us like this? And what’s that stuff coming out of the back of the big one?’

‘
You’re right, it’s strange. Well we don’t have to stay here and watch them, let’s just go and leave them to it.’

The dolphins started to swim off in the direction the boats had come from. The larger one continued to circle around behind them. The smaller one abruptly turned around and shot ahead of the dolphins, its engine roaring. They could see the vivid white wake above them as it blasted in front of them. They instinctively turned away from it and swam faster, making frequent leaps to check where the boats were. The speed boat kept cutting across their path, confusing them. Below them, the tuna still followed them but were sharing the dolphins’ growing agitation and darting about nervously.

The dolphins were turned back by the fast boat three more times while the large boat completed its great circle around them, then suddenly the small boat slowed to a halt.

‘
Come on,’ Muddy called nervously, ‘they seem to have given up — let’s get out of here!’

They set off away from the boats, the tuna following them, but then Sky saw a line of small floating objects ahead of them in the water. ‘Look out! There’s something up in front of us!’ The net appeared in front of them underwater suddenly, a great wall dropping out of sight to either side and below them.

‘
Go back the way we came!’

They turned and sped back towards where the boats were, veering off to one side of the larger one. It was busy lifting something back aboard. Moments later they were faced with another vast net wall. They turned and there it was again. Sky realised with horror that it was all around them: a continuous circle.

‘
It’s shrinking!’ Muddy cried. ‘They’re making it smaller!’

‘
Go down,’ Rain Ending panted out, ‘let’s go under it!’

They dived down through a confused mass of tuna that were darting in terror in all directions. Twice, Sky was violently bumped by one as he swam downwards. Then he could see the net below him as well. He almost gave up, but then realised that it was moving, closing. ‘This way! Maybe it’s not closed yet!’

He led the other two in the direction that part of the net was moving. The sound of working machinery came clearly through the water as the heavy cable drew the base of the net shut. Then Sky could see clear water through the shrinking opening at the bottom of the net. ‘Come on! We can still get out!’ He darted through, Muddy close behind him. They turned to look at the enormous net above them, the tuna swirling within it in confusion.

‘
Where’s Rain Ending?’ Sky asked.

‘
He was just behind me — he must still be in that thing…’

‘
I’m going to get him.’

‘
Sky you can’t — the Walkers will get you!’ But Sky had shot back into the opening of the net calling Rain Ending’s name. Inside, he was immediately confused. The visibility had dropped with the water full of bubbles, scales, and other debris. The mesh walls were getting closer, forcing the fish closed together and he had to fight his way past several panicked tuna as they shot out of the turbid water at him. Then his sonar picked out the subtly different reflection of the body of a dolphin amongst those of the giant tuna. There was Rain Ending, his body racked in a spasm. Sky rushed to the dolphin and began pushing him downwards to where he thought the opening should be. The other dolphin resisted weakly. ‘No, leave me, save yourself; I can’t move now.’

‘
Come on, you have to! This way!’

Sky pushed him ahead through the silver madness of the tuna. Soon the floor of the net was in front of them. He swam on but it seemed to go in all directions. The net was closed!

He was ready to give up, and desperate to breath, when he faintly heard Muddy’s voice.

‘
Sky, where are you? Sky, quickly, it’s about to close!’

With a final effort he pushed the other dolphin in the direction he thought Muddy’s voice had come from, and then he could make out the bulk of his friend at the rapidly shrinking opening of the net. He pushed the weakly moving Rain Ending through the opening then forced himself through as the cable constricted the base around his body. For a moment his tail was caught in the net, then with a violent jerk he was free.

They watched from a distance at the surface as the tuna were dragged struggling onto the boat and flopped about in their death throes on the deck. Rain Ending’s spasms had almost passed and he could support himself again at the surface unaided. ‘You saved my life. And you nearly got yourself killed for me. Why?’