by Michael Cole
Holding on to the wheel with one hand, he reached back as far as possible with the other. His fingers could only just touch the sides.
“Damn!” he groaned. He repositioned briefly at the helm and straightened the boat from its zig-zag course. With the boat moving straight, he quickly turned to reach inside the cooler. With the first step, he landed on the crushed can, nearly sending him to the floor. He caught himself by grabbing onto the edge of the seats. As he straightened himself out and reached to the cooler, he inevitably noticed Elaina’s pathetic attempt to ignore him by looking away. She had been looking to the left, but now he was in her line of sight, so she redirected her gaze to the front of the boat.
That’s when her expression lit up with shock and fright. She jumped in her seat, pointing her finger straight ahead.
“LOOK OUT!”
Adam swiftly turned. The enormous black hide of the whale was unmistakable. It rested along the surface, directly in their path. Its rounded bulk was raised a couple of feet over the waterline. Adam shrieked and tried hurrying to the helm.
It was too late. The hull beneath the bow hit the whale just behind its left pectoral flipper. The twenty-one-foot speedboat skidded over the creature and went airborne, as if speeding off a ramp. Adam ducked, and Elaina let out an ear-piercing scream. With the bow pointed slightly upward, the boat came down. Both ends of the boat bounced, creating a forward/backward rocking effect.
The two skiers barely had any time to react. One managed to let go of her handle. She dipped beneath the surface, but the forward momentum still drove her forward until she crashed into the mammal. Ribs cracked along her left side. Her life jacket pulled her to the surface, where she floated with the wind knocked out of her.
The other did not let go in time. Her legs hit the whale, and the momentum sent her flying literally head over heels until she crashed down along the other side of the whale. She emerged, numb to her broken legs.
The water was red with the creature’s blood. The whale, clearly in pain, flapped in the water. Its tail rose and crashed down several times, driving it several yards forward. It let out a bellowing cry, and then settled down again.
Adam slowed the boat to a stop, in shock from what had just occurred. After several deep breaths, he looked back. The sixty-foot whale rested, almost motionless, along the surface. Its flipper flapped, splashing up water.
That sight of moving water suddenly worried Adam. He moved around the console onto the bow deck and looked over the gunwale. From what he could see, there didn’t appear to be any breach in the hull. He turned around, and remembered the skiers after seeing them in the distance, struggling to get to one another. In his line of sight was Elaina, giving him that ever-critical stare, as if she wasn’t fazed at all from the incident. Before he could react, she stood up and shouted at him.
“Aren’t you gonna help them?!”
********
Dr. Julie Forster had just stepped through the front entrance of her house when she felt the familiar buzzing in her side pocket. She grabbed the vibrating phone and flipped the screen towards her. She sighed upon recognizing the number. She held her thumb over the red decline button, but ultimately touched the green one instead to answer.
“Dr. Forster here,” she said.
“Hey, Julie. It’s Joe,” answered Police Chief Nelson. He usually referred to himself by his first name. “Sorry to bother you. I know you tend to get home around this time.”
You don’t say.
“…however, I kind of need your help, and it’s urgent.” Julie dropped her bag and tossed her mail onto the kitchen counter.
“What can I do for you, Chief?” she asked. Despite his insistence, she almost never called him Joe. Through the line, she could hear a siren wailing in the distance, along with the sound of splashing. Then she heard him yell at someone nearby. His voice was muffled, as if he was pressing his phone against his jacket.
“Guys, what did I tell you?! Just keep your distance!” The sound of his breathing then filled the line, as he had lifted the phone back to his face. “Sorry about that,” he said to her. “There’s been an accident out here, a quarter mile west of the Milan Reef. Some knuckleheads on a speedboat crashed into a whale.” Dr. Forster’s interest piqued, though mixed with a bit of bewilderment.
“They hit a whale?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chief Nelson answered. “The thing is alive, but it’s definitely injured. There’s a big gash from where they hit it, and well… it’s just floating here.” He paused a moment, as if waiting for a response. Forster scrunched her face in displeasure at the realization of what he was hoping she’d do. Finally, he asked, “Would you mind coming out here?” Forster wiped her eyes and yawned, holding her phone away.
“Yeah, just uh,” she took a breath and tried to hide her disappointment, “give me about twenty minutes. I’ll be over.”
“Yeah, you’ll see our lights. It’ll be hard to miss,” Nelson said. “Thanks. See you soon.” As he hung up, Forster could hear him start to yell at somebody else. She looked at her phone with disdain, as if it itself was responsible for her day continuing to get crummier. In addition, she felt like a physical mess. Her red hair had dried up all stringy, with bits of dried salt from the ocean water stuck in it. Plus, she smelled like dead fish from feeding the marine animals she cared for.
She walked through the living room into her kitchen and took a quick seat. She leaned back and rested her eyes for a brief moment, but instantly felt the urge to fall asleep rapidly approach. To prevent it from overwhelming her, she stood up.
Her eye noticed the name above the return address on one of her mail envelopes. Dr. Jacob Wren. It was a former colleague during her studies at the University of Texas, before she moved on to study at University of Maine. When she rotated back to University of Texas to complete her doctorate, this colleague had already moved on. This was the first time since then, she had heard from him. She quickly opened it. The letter was hand written, mostly in cursive.
Hi, Julie.
Been a long time. Since you moved away, I’ve always wondered what new heights you would achieve. After all, you were at the top of every class we shared. I figured you’d be exploring the bottom of the ocean, making new discoveries. That was the dream, right?
Then I see your name on the news…
After this line, Forster felt her stomach tighten uncomfortably.
It comes as a shock and a disappointment that you’ve settled for Felt Paradise. So, the person who bragged about how much she loved the ocean is working for a rich schmuck who took money from Wan’s Industrial Company. They’re still pulling out the crap that they’ve been dumping in the ocean.
At least the other person had the guts to get out. How much is he paying you? I gotta say, what a waste of talent and potential.
I’m not usually one for writing these kinds of letters, but I can’t contain my shock and disappointment. Save what decency you have left, and jump ship. Otherwise, everything we thought you were was a lie.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jacob Wren.
Forster crumbled the letter into a ball and tossed it toward the trash. Naturally, it bounced off the edge and ended up on the floor.
Just what I needed, a crappy letter to bookend a crappy day.
That day started at 3:00 a.m., when she woke up to an unexpected phone call, asking her to report to the aquarium. There, she spent the entire day with a dolphin suffering from toxic poisoning. For hours, she worked on getting it to eat and take antibiotics. The aquarium, which was designed to be a main attraction for the island resort, now was starting to serve as a marine hospital. It was the latest attempt by her boss to improve public relations after the controversy involving Wan Industry dumping toxic waste into the ocean. After her partner had resigned a week earlier, she was the only marine biologist working at Felt Paradise Aquarium and Resort. This promoted her to primary caretaker of all the animals. The job only sounded nice. The duties were som
ething else entirely. Long hours, little sleep. Only one reliable assistant. Hardly any social time. She was always on an on-call status. The worst part was, it was all she could ever have.
It was a long eight years of college, rotating between the University of Texas and Maine, to achieve her doctorate in Ichthyology, with additional education in Marine Geology. Since being a child, she loved the ocean, and always had a dream of exploring the depths. Being a straight-A student, she graduated high school early, and started college at the age of seventeen. Her father, who worked all his life as a manager in an assembly plant, saved away every spare penny to save for her education. It was something she wouldn’t appreciate enough until it was too late. A heart attack ended his life prematurely, leaving Julie Forster alone in the world.
But it seemed the dream was realized. Graduating at the top of her class, Forster was accepted into a program for deep sea exploration. The program was titled BRIZO, named after an ancient Greek goddess who was the protector of sailors. The goal of the mission; to discover possible minerals at the ocean floor in hopes of creating a new viable energy source. While her goal was to study sea-life, this was a great start. A year-long training period followed for her and the seven other cadets. Forster had already trained on submersible piloting during her two-year study in Maine, so naturally she came out once again as head of the class.
Then came the moment aboard the research vessel when she discovered a fellow cadet preparing a dose of cocaine. Forster reported the activity to the program director, leading to a brief suspension of the program pending an investigation. The investigation was a tedious process, with each cadet needing to conduct a new full physical exam and blood test, as well as subject their belongings and quarters for searching.
Evening came one day at Monterey Bay, and Forster was spending time outside near one of the submersibles. The calm and peaceful evening went awry when the cadet confronted her about reporting him. First there was the sob story, of how stressful the position became, and the psychological burden of eventually being miles under the water, protected by only a few inches of steel. She didn’t budge on her position. Then an angry flood of insults came her way, which she managed to ignore. There was no point in arguing with a drug addict, much less one careless enough to start his habit in the middle of a training camp for deep sea diving. She figured it was time to walk away.
She figured a moment too late. She had just turned her back and taken the first step when the cadet made the remark, “I bet your dead daddy would be really proud of you, ratting out your friends.” For a moment, Julie Forster disappeared, and someone more sinister took over. It resulted in two broken ribs, missing teeth, and a concussion. Sadly, that wasn’t the worst part. The cadet’s fall resulted in him accidentally hitting his head on the edge of a cement step, resulting in a skull fracture. The cadet survived, though he would be confined to a wheelchair for an undetermined amount of time.
This led to a whole different investigation. With her admitting to her actions, in addition to camera footage, it was rather swift. So was the judgement. Dr. Forster found herself booted from the program, after thousands had been spent on her training. There was a charge of assault and battery, which she agreed to settle on a reduced sentence of twenty-four months behind bars. The black mark on her record was worse than anything. Upon being released after serving thirteen months at Lowell Correctional Institution, she found it impossible to find work in her field. Universities rejected her, as did private research institutions.
Then came William Felt, a business owner of several resorts. He was completing the construction for the addition to his resort on the island of Pariso Marino, located north of the Florida Keys. He was in town, requisitioning for additional workers for the park. Among the list of jobs was animal caretaker. With a nearly empty bank account, she was desperate for anything. Felt took an instant liking to her. It was nothing inappropriate as physical appearance. Rather, it was the black mark. The job did not specify pay, which allowed him to offer a cheap wage. He quickly offered her the position. Just as quickly, she accepted. It was a job after all, and did have the perk of subsidized housing.
As the financial misery ended, a whole new misery began. After several months working at Felt’s aquarium, a discovery had taken place. A business partner of Felt’s, Maria Wan of Wan Industries, was caught dumping toxic waste into a deep region several miles north of Pariso Marino. The investigation revealed that miles of open water were contaminated. Fish had to be destroyed, and other forms of marine life were suffering from toxic sickness. The news was released that Felt had accepted money from Wan, after the costs of his new park skyrocketed. Rumors began to circulate that he had deliberately turned a blind eye to Wan’s illicit activities in return for the handouts.
This created a large rift in the island population. Fishermen and Felt employees were at odds with each other. The fishermen blamed the loss of catch, and subsequent income, on Felt’s role in the scandal. It was as if each employee had a red mark on them. Forster could hardly go out in public without being battered with harsh insults from local residents.
And now, even people she considered friends were calling her out. Uncertainty flooded her mind. Her conscience told her to leave, but what would she do? No employer would accept her already, and with the scandal, she felt she had another black mark on her record…for something she wasn’t even a part of. She did the only thing she could think of: pretend Felt wasn’t aware of the dumping. Still, she felt trapped and miserable. It seemed almost everyone hated her.
Nothing compared to the unanswered question; what does my father think of me? It was something that plagued her. He supported her passions and dedicated his entire life to see her succeed. At the time of his death, she was on track to being a renowned marine scientist. Now here she was, reduced to being an ex-con, rejected submersible pilot, and now a caretaker of fish and dolphins, as if she worked in a zoo.
In her mind, she failed him.
She nearly dozed off again. She caught herself and stood up. She went into a closet and found her wet suit. She then grabbed her cell phone and made a call. The line rang twice before someone answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Marco,” she said to her assistant. “Hey, are you still at the dock?”
“Yes sir, I am, ma’am!” he quipped. She rolled her eyes, though he wasn’t there to see it.
“Could you get the Neptune ready? Chief Nelson needs our help with something. I’ll be heading over there shortly.”
“You betcha!” Marco said.
“Thanks. See you in a bit,” Forster said. She hung up and started changing into the wetsuit.
CHAPTER
5
Located forty-two miles east of the Georgia coast lay the island of Pariso Marino. From high above, it resembled a speck of green against a light blue background. Plant life flourished with trees such as the well-known Sabal Palms, Coccothrinax argentata, the bushy Swietenia mahagoni, and Jamaican Dogwood, formerly believed to be native of the Florida Keys.
The waters around the island ran deep, occasionally exceeding four hundred feet. One particular exception to this was an atoll that rested about a mile-and-a-half to the southwest. About seven-hundred feet in diameter, the atoll was simply a large, barren structure. Under the water, it resembled a small mountain.
The island’s overall shape resembled that of a fried egg, cooked sunny side up. The center of the island contained the town’s general business area, featuring a grocery market, restaurant area, and bank. But the primary local source of revenue on the island was the fishing market. The southern side of the island contained several ports, as the local community was one comprised mainly of fishermen. Residential homes lined the interior of the island, with some along the west beach.
The outer perimeter formed a near perfect circle, except for the north side, which formed two peninsulas. The eastern peninsula, rounded in shape, was the primary location for Felt’s Resort and Spa. The west peninsul
a was more pointed in shape, and was the base for the ‘park’ section of the resort. In the water-filled valley between the peninsulas was Felt’s Aquarium. On the shore was a large, cylinder-shaped building containing large aquariums full of fish, crustaceans, some turtles, and other aquatic creatures. But the biggest attractions were the outside pens. Metal enclosures, rectangular in shape, extended over one hundred-and-fifty feet out into the ocean water. In the first one was a great white shark, the first in history to be kept in captivity. More impressively, it was a twenty-three-foot great white. Even experts were baffled to see one so large be contained, though it still had limited effect in improving the resort’s reputation. Huge signs lined the artificial cement ledge where the pen protruded from, reading Great White Exhibit. The other pen did not yet have a dedicated tenant. Currently, it was intended to house sick dolphins.
Several feet beneath the ledge was an enclosed viewing area. Designed like a small movie theater, the area sported several seats facing a large plate glass separating visitors from the interior of the pen. This underwater viewing area allowed visitors to get a spectacular clear view of the attraction within the pen. Encircling the whole pen was a walkway that elevated above the waterline, allowing visitors to view the shark from different angles. From above, it just appeared like a simple, rectangular dock.
Close by the aquarium was the private harbor. Two wooden docks protruded from the silver-gray sand. Along one of those docks was a twenty-foot workboat used primarily by the maintenance crew. The other dock ran a lot further out. Alongside it was the thirty-eight-foot research model 38-18 Munson boat, titled the Neptune. Water-tight, self bailing decks made of heavy duty aluminum plates sparkled in the bright sunlight. The deck was twelve feet across, containing plenty of work and storage space. A small crane for loading and unloading heavy objects was folded into place on the portside. At the front of the square bow was a watertight dropdown bow door. Underneath was a V-hull, made for slicing through waves. Designed for rough seas, this model was efficient for smooth rides.
