Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission (9 page)

Magnus Fin felt strength surge through him. Neptune had called on him. This was no time or place for weak knees and palpitating heartbeats.

He patted and groped either side of the crack in the rock. The gap was too thin to squeeze even an arm through. Yanking his hand free, he felt gunge stick to his skin. He kicked his feet and grasped around the rock, feeling for an entrance.

Fin shuddered as the banging sound resumed, like a hammer on his head. Remembering the splitting headache he suffered before, he had to move fast. This thick, sticky liquid was no ordinary seawater; it was toxic. He didn’t need eyes to tell him that. Already a drowsy feeling had crept into him. He carefully opened the locket and took out a strand of Neptune’s seaweed to protect him from the poison. Magnus Fin had felt around the huge rock from side to side and down to the seabed. There was no opening. Could he find a way in over the top? Fin kicked his feet and glided upwards. Twice he scraped his feet against the craggy stone. Then suddenly there was no more stone.

Groping forward Fin felt only water. He’d reached the top of the rock. Blindly he swam over it and prepared to dive down into what seemed to be a crater. He longed to
whip off his goggles and scan the place with his
torch-lights,
but he remembered the stinging pain from last time. So he swam nervously downwards through the pitch-black. Down there somewhere, in amongst the gunge and the banging, was a creature with a green and wild staring eye.

The water pressure grew heavier, the stench stronger than ever. The banging had stopped. Through black thick nothingness Fin dived, like a lamb going into a lion’s den. He kept going because the feeling in his belly told him to, and because his dad had told him to heed that feeling.

Fin didn’t have eyes but he had ears. His ears heard a squeaking and a scraping. Fin stopped. The green-eyed poisoner, whatever it was, was close. Fin’s heart jolted. A sound like a muffled scraping noise reverberated through the water, followed by a bang.

Panic swept through Magnus Fin. His blindness terrified him. Forget instinct, he was a sitting duck. The invisible green-eyed monster that brought the sickness to the selkies could bat him around like a tennis ball, or swallow him in one bite. If Magnus Fin was to save his grandmother and put an end to this sickness, he needed to see. Better stinging eyes than no eyes at all. He tore off the goggles, blinked furiously and flashed his
torch-light
eyes.

He scanned the water beneath him and gasped. Was this a sunken city? Were these fallen pillars, slumped walls and roofs? He seemed to be in some kind of huge round cavern. Below him were heaped rusting silver and white square and oblong shapes. Fin moved closer. The smell made him retch. What were they?

Something shifted between two of the white shapes. Fin froze. What was it? It looked liked a jumble of jerking seaweed. Fin’s heart kicked in his chest. What kind of weird creature was this? Sticking out from the jumble of seaweed two arms or tentacles flapped about in the water. Was this a kind of octopus? Fin slipped back into the bearded shadows of the cavern wall.

The thing wriggled itself up from between two white shapes. Fin watched. A small creature with a head of long matted black hair lumbered over the white objects. The thing, Fin now saw in horror, had spindly legs or tentacles. They moved jerkily through the water, studded with limpets and barnacles. Seaweed and slime clung to the creature’s body. Now the wild thing crawled onto one of the white blocks. Once on top, it hunched over and rocked something that looked like a door back and forth, back and forth. Water whooshed in and out, making waves. The banging echoed round the cavern. This was surely the poisoner.

Magnus Fin, hardly able to see anything now with all the churning and frothing, struggled to swim closer against the swell. The creature, who or whatever it was, ceased banging the door for a second, jerked its head up and trembled. Fin darted in between a dark swathe of seaweed.

Fin’s eyes grew wide as plates. Slowly it dawned on him; this was no sunken city, no great undiscovered continent under the sea. He shook his head in amazement. A dump – for fridges, car batteries, freezers and storage tanks full of who knows what; that’s what this was. He’d dropped down into a giant toxic
rubbish bin! And snaking round the dump oozed thick, brown liquid.

Fin grasped his moon-stone, trying to find the courage to swim closer and steal a better look at the wild creature in the dump. He crept around the edge of the cavern, keeping close to the hanging fronds. Never had he seen anything like it, not even in a film. The awful monster was banging fridge doors as though it was conducting an underwater orchestra.

Perhaps the creature sensed the presence of something above, for suddenly it stopped banging and jerked its bushy head upwards. Its body twitched. If that was hair on its head it was matted with a tangle of weeds and fishing net. As the bush of hair parted Fin saw the same wild staring green eye that he had seen before. But there were two of them. They flitted here and there, restless and vacant, as though the creature behind those eyes was somewhere far away.

Fin held his breath and slunk back behind a thick clump of algae. He didn’t dare move.

It didn’t take long for the brown stinking sludge to seep into Fin’s eyes. Quickly he rubbed them. They stung. They burned. He tried frantically to pull his goggles back on but it was too late. His torch-lights grew dim.

He let go his grasp of the seaweed and floundered in the water, sinking down level with the mound of tanks and fridges, thrashing his arms in wild circles.

The green-eyed creature was in no doubt now that it had company. It too thrashed its barnacled arms through the water. The dump was a churning froth.

In his panic Fin lashed out, kicked a storage tank and banged his leg. He slumped down beside it, exhausted.

The sea creature leapt over a fridge then hunched down to stare at his visitor.

Silence. The banging ceased. Fin groaned as the searing pain burned into his eyes. He tried to drag himself up. Everything was a blur but he knew the monster was close. He had to get away from this menace. As he struggled to stand up, his knees buckled under him. His eyesight was fading fast.

The wild creature tipped its head to one side, stared at the visitor, then with two filthy hands pushed Fin hard. Fin fell back with the sheer force, and the fear. He crashed against a fridge, lifting it up briefly before it came thundering back down, trapping Fin’s leg underneath it.

The creature clambered back onto a huge freezer. Wildly now it banged the door, churning up the whole cavern.

Magnus Fin tried to free his leg but it was wedged in tight between the rocky ocean floor and the fallen fridge. In a daze he grasped the locket that hung beside the moon-stone around his neck. Struggling to open it, he managed to draw out one strand of Neptune’s seaweed. Groping blindly, he brought the weed to his burning eyes and rubbed it over them. Instantly a cooling feeling brought relief. He was able to half-open his eyes. A dim light flickered from them. Like a sputtering candle the light grew. With his eyesight returned, Fin stared at the creature now swimming in circles above him.

The thing’s matted hair, if you could call it hair, stuck out all around it. Half the ocean seemed to live in that hair. Limpets and seaweed clung to the creature’s body. What was it? A four-legged hairy octopus? A turtle that had lost its shell?

Whatever it was, it suddenly jumped off the freezer and did a frantic doggy paddle in Fin’s direction.

Fin gasped and tried again to free his leg but with no luck. Fin’s head throbbed. His leg felt numb. The smell in this dump made him want to throw up.

But something held the green-eyed creature back. It seemed suddenly unsure of Magnus Fin. It kept its distance as it peered through the murky water.

Could the strange creature understand him? Fin wondered. Would it be able to read his thoughts? Fin tried to focus on his sick grandmother. He tried to pull his dissolving thoughts together.
Who are you? I am Magnus Fin. I am the grandson of Miranda, son of Ragnor. What are you?

The creature stopped banging the freezer door. It jerked its head up, down and all around. Then, as though distressed, it yanked and pulled at its hair.

Fin grasped his moon-stone and tried again.
I am Magnus Fin. Miranda is my grandmother. Aquella is my cousin. What are you? Who are you?

At the name Aquella the creature suddenly let go of its hair. The wild green eyes flickered, widened and seemed to burn. The creature grew still. Then they came: rusty, half-formed thoughts, as though this poor thing hadn’t spoken to anyone for a very long time.

Aquella
… it stammered,
Aquella
…

Tarkin was glad the engine had cut out. He couldn’t imagine now why he’d panicked. The engine had been noisy and dirty. It was more tranquil without it. He loved the slapping, low swishing sounds his oars made every time he dipped them into the sea. He loved the way the small boat glided through the water with every pull of the oars. And it was him, Tarkin, making the boat move, with his muscles, his back, his strength.

The only pity was the sweets were gone. He’d wolfed back the toffees, hardly tasting them. Nerves, that’s what all that fast chewing earlier was about. He didn’t feel nervous now. The moon glinted on the water and from far in the distance he could hear music coming from the village hall. Tarkin grinned, imagining his mother and Frank trying to do a Gay Gordons.

He rowed a bit and daydreamed a bit. He felt a river of sweat trickle down his spine. It might be November but Tarkin didn’t feel cold. His life jacket was warm, plus three fleeces, not to mention the vigorous activity of rowing itself. He had heard about people on rowing machines at the gym. Now here he was, rowing for real, on the North Sea no less. His hands were slippery with sweat but he didn’t dare let go of the oars. He’d seen films where people let go of oars and in seconds the
oars were gone and the people goners. No, Tarkin was hanging on, and every now and then glancing over his shoulder. The coastline was closer; he was sure it was. All he had to do was keep the boat more or less near the rocks; not so near he’d smash against them, but near enough that Magnus Fin would be able to find him.

Where was Fin anyway? At least five, even ten minutes had passed. That could feel like days, weeks even, under the sea. Tarkin glanced over the edge of the boat but he could only see one person down there and that was his own silvery reflection. In his mind he repeated the words of his Native American chant,
Eagle feather, white and pure, guide him, guide him.

Tarkin’s mind started wandering to the mermaid he had seen back home in the Yukon, far west of where he was now. It was three years since that beautiful magical head had risen from the freezing lake. Tarkin remembered it like it was yesterday. It had only been a fleeting glimpse, but his dad had said he’d see her again. The water slapped against the hull of the boat. The gentle rocking motion soothed him. Maybe, if he thought really hard, he’d see her again. Tarkin’s eyes shone. Magnus Fin had told him that’s how magic creatures talk to each other. Fin called it
“thought-speak”.
Tarkin concentrated hard on his thinking.

It’s me, Tarkin,
he began. And if it’s possible for thoughts to be loud and slow, Tarkin’s thoughts were.
I am in a boat, in Scotland. I am rowing. I’m rowing over the moonlit sea.

Magnus Fin’s head was reeling. The effort of that strange stammered speaking seemed to have exhausted the creature and now it crouched down in a small fridge without a door. Its wild black hair and seaweed-covered body trembled. Had Fin heard right? He was still new at this kind of talking. Perhaps he had made a mistake. From what he’d heard, the creature somehow knew Aquella – or had heard of her.

Neptune’s seaweed had worked wonders on Fin’s eyes and now he could see perfectly, though what he saw horrified him. The creature looked more human than he had first thought: as the water swayed, the weeds sticking to the creature’s body swayed too, revealing thin white arms and legs. Fin saw too how brown liquid oozed out from a hole in a metal tank and swirled around the creature’s face. It seemed to drive it mad. It shook its head. It jerked its limbs. It tossed back its wild head and glared.

Magnus Fin panicked. He tried to free his leg but it wouldn’t budge.

The thing stormed out of its fridge with a great thrashing, splashing and frothing. Like a lobster it scuttled over the dumped waste. In moments it was hunched down, crouching close to Fin’s face.

Help!
Fin yelped.
Don’t hurt me! I am Aquella’s cousin.

But the creature seemed to have forgotten speech. It lifted its arms, stared at the back of its own hand, pulled off a limpet and sucked at its contents. Then it ripped off another and another.

Fin’s stomach churned at the awful sucking sounds of the creature’s pulled flesh. Fin bit his lip as he noticed the longest nails he had ever seen. They curled back on themselves like hooks. Glancing down at the thing’s feet, Fin saw the same horned and horrible nails, long as sickle moons. Would he be the creature’s next victim?

Fin considered lashing out. He might not have the use of his legs but he had his arms. But then he recalled how strong the creature was. That push had felled him like a sledgehammer. The green eyes seemed to be on fire now.

Try feelings,
Fin thought, frantically:
Aquella is on the beach,
he struggled to say.
Aquella. She’s my cousin.

But this time the name seemed to upset the creature, which stamped the rubble-strewn ground. In a flash the wild thing picked up a car battery and hurled it towards Fin. The battery flew in slow motion through the water, just missing the top of the fridge that Fin was trapped under.

In his mind Magnus Fin screamed the name,
Aquella! Help me. Help!

But Aquella didn’t hear. Aquella was fast asleep.

This is it,
thought Magnus Fin. No help was coming. The crab got him into this, now where was he? Fin had never felt so alone in his life. He stared miserably at the creature and waited for a terrifying punch, a kick or even a slash from those awful talons. The next battery was
bound to hit him. He groaned. He’d come so far and all for nothing. He’d found the cause of the sickness. It was the toxic waste that oozed from the storage tanks and batteries; he knew it was. That was what was killing the seals. And if the mad creature that lived in this dump didn’t kill him, then the brown sludge would, or drive him as mad as the fiend that stood before him.

Get it over with,
Fin thought. There was no fight left in him. He had failed.
Go on.
Magnus Fin closed his eyes.
Just do it!

The creature whimpered. Fin opened one eyelid and stared. The thing in front of him lifted its
seaweed-covered
arms and took one swaying step then another towards him.

Fin’s whole body went numb. His heart raced. He didn’t believe it was possible to get more frightened – until what happened next.

The wild green-eyed creature bent forward, wrapped its slimy arms around Fin’s neck and hugged him. It hugged Magnus Fin so tightly he could hardly breathe. He didn’t dare move. He didn’t dare upset it. The slimy seaweed from the thing’s body pressed against Fin’s face. The oil and muck smeared itself over his hair. Still the thing hugged him tight, so close Fin reeled at the stench that came from it. He felt its shoulders shake. Then Fin felt what could only be a briny tear run down its cheek.

Magnus Fin hadn’t died. He could still feel his heart pounding. He struggled to form a thought.
I can help you,
he said, though he had no idea how.

The creature pulled back and looked at Magnus Fin. The tears seemed to have cleaned the staring eyes. They glittered.

But how could he do anything to help, trapped as he was. He couldn’t even help himself. The pain in his leg was getting worse by the minute and his free foot now ached with pins and needles. The thick, poisoned water that swirled around him was affecting him; his head pounded and he was starting to feel drowsy.

Help!
Fin called to Aquella, or to the crab, or to anyone or anything that might hear.
Help me! Neptune! Anyone – please help me!