by C. Fennessy
Chapter Three
The girls decided to go to one of the hamburger stands they had passed on the way to the beach. They loaded their beach bags into the trunk of the convertible and headed up North Atlantic Avenue. After a few minutes, Kacey pointed across the road ahead.
"There it is!"
Ava nodded and made a left turn into the parking lot of the restaurant. The parking lot was crowded, but they found a spot near the back.
Inside, the place was crowded with beach-goers. It was a bee hive of activity, with servers calling out orders and patrons weaving their way through the crowds carrying trays above their heads.
"Mmmm this place smells so great!" Emma remarked, "Maybe I should get some fries instead of ice cream."
"But it's hot outside. Wouldn't something cold be nicer?" Kacey asked.
Just then, a man carrying a tray of milkshakes and ice cream sundaes passed her.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. A hot fudge sundae would really hit the spot."
Emma and Ava ordered hot fudge sundaes and Kacey ordered a chocolate milkshake. They paid for their items and looked for a table, but they were all filled.
"Let's eat outside," Kacey suggested. They all went out and headed back to the car, but Ava said, "Look, there's a bridge over there. Let's go take a look!"
The girls followed her to the small bridge that crossed the Banana River, leading to a row of condos and cottages on the other side. They walked along the bridge and looked across the water at the cottages and large boats tied to docks.
The late afternoon sun bathed the shoreline with golden light. The girls ate their ice cream standing against the bridge railing and looking out at the water. The bridge was quietly empty of traffic.
"It's so beautiful here," Kacey remarked.
"It sure is," Ava agreed, "A nice change from the cold, wet winter up North."
"Look!" Emma cried, pointing down at the water, "A giant turtle!"
The girls followed her pointing finger and soon saw a large green turtle floating in the water below. They watched as it tried to swim, but seemed to be moving aimlessly on a current.
"Oh, look! His flipper is all wrapped up in some kind of string, and he can't swim!" Emma exclaimed.
The girls leaned over the bridge to get a closer look.
"Yeah, it looks like the string is wound around the left one, so he can only use his right flipper," Kacey remarked.
"Well, he's probably safe here in this river, away from the ocean," Ava said.
"With all these big boats around?" Emma asked, "He could be run over and not be able to get away in time to avoid being hit by a boat. He needs help!"
"Yeah, but how are we going to help? We don't know anything about turtles," Ava pointed out.
Emma frowned, "But maybe we can take that string off so he can swim better. We can at least try, can't we?"
The other two shrugged, and Kacey replied, "Sure, let's try to get him on shore and see what we can do."
The girls ran to the end of the bridge and climbed down the sandy slope to the water. The sea turtle was floundering along the edge, trying to turn around.
The girls kicked off their sandals and waded into the warm water. The shallow water had a soft, sandy bottom. The sea turtle was easy to catch in its handicapped condition. They lifted it carefully by its belly and brought it up on the shore. Its dark brown and green shell was about the size of a trash can lid, and it had greenish skin with dark brown spots on its head and flippers.
"This is fishing line!" Ava cried, touching the stiff, white line that was wrapped around the turtle's front flipper.
"And look! It's coming out of its mouth!" Emma cried.
Ava said, "He must have swallowed a hook! He needs to have that removed!"
"But how?" Kacey asked, "He needs a veterinarian to do this."
"I don't know. Let's take the turtle with us and find a vet to help him."
The girls carried the heavy turtle up to the bridge and placed it on a grassy area away from the road.
"Maybe we should get a big box to put it in so it will be more comfortable in the car," Emma suggested.
"I'll go get one from the restaurant!" Kacey volunteered. She dashed off to the restaurant while the other two kept an eye on the turtle.
"I hope he'll be okay," Emma said, "I hate to see animals get hurt."
"Me too," Ava agreed. She took out her phone and looked up veterinarians in Cocoa Beach.
"It looks like the closest vet is in Cocoa, over there on the other side of Merritt Island. I'll call to see if they're open."
She called the vet's office, but it was closed.
"Great! Now what?" Emma asked in a worried tone.
"There must be some number to call for injured marine animals. I'll do a search."
Ava looked on her cell phone while Emma sat next to the turtle, petting its smooth head.
"Don't worry, buddy, we'll get you all fixed up and then see that you get back to your sea home. Any luck, Ava?"
"Well, there is a number for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation emergency rescue. I'll try that."
While she was trying that number, Kacey came back carrying a large cardboard box with the words "Georgia-Pacific Paper Products" printed on the front.
"I think this will be big enough," she said.
Emma told her that Ava was trying to find a vet for the turtle. While Ava talked to someone on the phone, Emma and Kacey lifted the turtle and carefully placed it into the large box.
"Where are we going to put this huge box?" Emma asked.
"We'll have to put it into the back seat. I think there'll be enough room."
Ava finished talking on the phone and hung up.
"Well, they said the best thing to do would be to take it to the animal rescue center at Sea World in Orlando. It's right off of route 528, which is the route we take back to our hotel."
"Great! We can drop it off there on the way. I hope they're open."
"The conservation officer gave me their number. I'll call them now."
"Okay. Let's get this turtle in the car," Kacey said.
Emma asked, "Will it be okay out of the water?"
"Sure," Kacey replied, "Turtles are amphibians, so it's not going to be harmed by being out of the water."
The girls placed the large box on the back seat and Emma squeezed onto the seat next to it.
As Ava headed across the bridge over the Banana River, the sun was slipping down to the horizon, lighting the sky in orange and pink with lavender clouds scattered overhead.
"What a day this has been!" Kacey remarked as she checked her texts. She had one from her boyfriend Josh, and another from her dad. His just said, "Call me when you get time. I'm fine, but want to talk."
"Hmm.. I guess Dad just needs to hear my voice to know I'm safe," she said, smiling, "I'll call him later after he has dinner."
While Ava drove, Emma kept an eye on the turtle who had stopped trying to paddle its way out of the box. She was glad that he had stopped moving, but wondered if it was a sign that the turtle was dying.
"Hurry up!" Emma said, "I think he's getting worse!"
"Emma, I don't think I should go any faster or we could get a ticket!" Ava replied.
They drove for nearly half an hour at top speed but ran into traffic as they approached Orlando, and had to slow down.
"Watch for the Sea World exit as we get closer," Ava told Kacey.
The sun went down and the highway lights went on, illuminating the signs at each exit. The GPS system on the dash board told them that the road to Sea World was their next exit. Following the instructions, they turned left off the exit ramp and soon saw the main entrance for Sea World.
"Keep going straight," Kacey told her, watching the map on her phone, "The animal rescue center is farther down."
They passed two more entrances before they found the one they wanted, and pulled in. A guard at the gate asked if he could help.
"We found this sea turtle in the Banana River. He
's got fishing line coming out of his mouth, and his flippers are tangled in it."
The security guard nodded, "I'll call ahead and let them know you're coming. Pull up to the door under that covered entrance to your right."
Ava drove the car up to the entrance. It reminded her of the entrance to a hospital emergency unit. As soon as she turned off the engine, two veterinary technicians dressed in blue Sea World T-shirts hurried out to greet them. They were both college-aged teens, and they introduced themselves as Amanda and Jim.
The girls showed them the sea turtle, and they examined its mouth.
"It may have a fish hook in its mouth. We'll take a look at him and get all this fishing line removed."
"Can we come inside?" Emma pleaded, "We drove him all the way from Cocoa Beach."
Amanda smiled, "Sure, but you'll have to park the car over there in the lot. This area is just for dropping off animals."
The girls helped the technicians to get the box out of the car, and Ava parked over in a nearby lot. The technicians told the girls to take the turtle into an examination room. There, a young woman wearing green scrubs stepped forward and introduced herself. She had short, wavy dark hair and a pleasant smile.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Cramer. Tell me how you found our friend here."
As the technicians lifted the turtle out onto the table, Ava, Emma and Kacey told her how they had found the turtle floundering in the Banana River under a bridge.
"We tried to find a vet who was closer, but when I called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Center, they suggested that we bring him here," Ava replied.
"Well, I'm very glad you did," said Dr. Cramer as she looked inside the turtle's mouth.
"I'll have to do an X-ray to see where that line goes. In the meantime, I'll cut these lines around his flippers. Please get the X-ray machine ready," she told the technicians.
