Far From The Sea We Know

by Frank Sheldon

  “How’s the chopper crew?” Matthew asked.

  “The pilot’s recovering quickly,” Penny said, “but the woman keeps going in and out of some kind of daze.”

  “And the cameraman?”

  “Bad shape,” Thorssen said. “Not physically. Some kind of extreme shock.” He looked at the injured gray and the darker shape beneath. “Fifteen minutes under.”

  Thorssen looked down, trying to fathom the wavering shape below the water. He spoke without looking up.

  “No one else in the water. Clear on that?”

  What was clear was that this was not to be a debatable point.

  “Maybe you could get tissue samples now,” Dirk said. “See if there’s anything that would indicate some kind of recent skin abnormality. I was thinking of Matthew’s report of a purple whale—”

  “Dirk, put the camera away.”

  Dirk looked stunned and seemed about to contest the order, but Thorssen’s gaze didn’t let up against the young man’s stare, and he added softly, “Maybe later.”

  Dirk shrugged his shoulders and put his photo gear away. Thorssen looked around slowly, taking in all the whales, surveying the scene all the way back to the Valentina. Chiffrey was on the deck watching them with binoculars.

  Thorssen pulled on the tanks and the rest of his gear, and tumbled backwards off the side of the Zodiac. The momentum carried him all the way around before he straightened out. Appearing to be just drifting, he nonetheless made his way steadily toward the whales.

  Matthew was about to put the mask on when Penny reached her hand toward him. “Can I try?”

  He tossed the mask to her and she put it on. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, she dipped her face below the surface to peer into that other world. It was as if she had left him, and he waited for a moment before trying to peer through the rippling surface himself. Even without the mask, he could see Thorssen hanging in the water, almost motionless, near the enormous head of the whale. He became completely still.

  Penny came up for air. “He’s matching her,” she said. “Mirroring the way she is, just drifting. It’s his way of establishing a connection.”

  “I’m not sure,” Dirk said. “He’s supposed to be the best in the world at getting close to whales, or just about anything else in the water. But the ‘how he does it’ has always sounded a little fuzzy, to tell you the truth.”

  “The ‘truth’ is he’s added more to the knowledge of whales in the last thirty years than anyone else you can name.”

  “Yes, but some have said his work is not…rigorous enough. Not that I would.”

  “You just did.”

  “Not going to argue,” Dirk said shrugging. He glanced at his watch. “Twenty minutes. She’ll have to come up soon. I hope the Captain’s clear.”

  Penny gave her head a little shake. “He’s been around whales his whole life.”

  They waited.

  A few gulls had been trailing after the ship, and they landed in the water near the calf expecting, perhaps, good eating to come out of the evolving drama.

  “Thirty minutes,” Dirk said. “Way past due. Can you see anything going on down there?”

  “About the same,” Penny said. “They’re both just barely moving. What’s the record for a gray whale staying under?”

  “Passed it five minutes ago.

  “The calf doesn’t seem in any distress, just subdued.”

  “Must be in shock,” Matthew said.

  “Getting whacked by a helicopter blade would do that,” Dirk said. “Can I try the mask?”

  She handed it toward him, but he ignored it and looked past her. Matthew and Penny turned to follow Dirk’s stare and as they all watched, a mass of bubbles broke forth from the wreck of the helicopter as it vanished beneath the waves forever.

  CHAPTER 18

  Dirk came up for air again and this time took off the facemask.

  “Forty-five minutes,” he said, checking his watch. “They’ve hardly moved. Your turn.”

  Matthew put the mask on and leaned over the side, one hand locked onto a nylon rope. The waves, small as they were, made it difficult to keep water out of his ears, and he soon lost most of the sounds from above the surface. Five meters below them in the silence, the whale and the diver seemed motionless, as if suspended in amber. Then Thorssen began stretching out his hand, so slowly that the movement seemed to erase all memory of it happening even as it occurred. It was hypnotic to watch and Matthew had to force himself to come up for air. He gasped, and pushed the mask up over his forehead so far it fell off. Penny’s Zodiac had moved next to theirs and she caught it before it sank.

  “She’s way past her supposed limit,” Penny said.

  “Mary thought she was an older whale. Greater maturity might allow greater capacity. Her inactivity might also allow her to stay down longer. Less activity should reduce the need for air.”

  “Still seems way too long.” Dirk said. He fingered the camera bag and looked at his watch. “The Captain, at least, is going to have to come up soon. He should be close to bingo air in his tanks. Why didn’t he want me to take photographs?”

  “For one thing,” Penny said, “it’s intrusive and the whales might’ve picked up on that,”

  “How could they possibly know if I was taking pictures?”

  “I didn’t say they would know.”

  “He’s swimming away!” Matthew said, pointing to the injured calf now slowly moving away from the area. The young whale’s flukes fanned up and down as if bidding them a sad goodbye.

  Matthew slipped the mask back on and leaned into the icy water. Slowly the dark form of the great whale was descending, but more like falling, into the depths. Thorssen followed her down but still barely seemed to move. They became faint shadows, then vanished.

  Matthew came up for air.

  “Could you see them?” Penny asked.

  “Not anymore.”

  “Then I think we should send someone else down,” Dirk said, and reached for the walkie-talkie.

  “Look at the calf, though,” Penny said. “He’s swimming fairly well, considering how he looked a while ago.”

  The young gray was now diving and rising. Two adults were escorting, but not supporting, him.

  “The Captain’s running low on air,” Dirk said. “I really think I should call in help, just in case.”

  “That’s not what he said to do,” Penny said.

  “I know, but where is he?”

  “Wait,” Matthew almost yelled. “There he is!”

  Dirk and Penny turned to see Thorssen’s head rise above the water about fifty meters away. He pulled back his mask and took a few deep breaths. He floated for a while and then, in one movement, brought his mask and snorkel back down and started swimming their way. When he reached them, he undid his tanks and Matthew and Dirk hauled them into the Zodiac. Thorssen pulled and kicked out of the water and into Penny’s boat.

  “What happened?” Dirk said.

  “She started to sink. I followed but my tanks zeroed. Had to come up.”

  “Was she still alive?” Penny asked.

  “Barely moving and maybe just swaying in the currents. She began to lurch to one side before she fell…”

  Thorssen’s voice dropped off, leaving silence for a moment.

  “I’d guess it’s about a hundred and fifty meters deep here,” Dirk said, but Thorssen didn’t reply.

  The other whales still lingered in the general area with, seemingly, no inclination to move on despite the fact they’d starve if they failed to reach their northern feeding grounds in time. As for the whale that had gone down, Matthew could not explain the color change, but he was certain that she was the same one he had first seen from the decks of the Eva Shay. He looked around. No sign of her and no reason to think there ever would be again.

  CHAPTER 19

  Thorssen spoke into the walkie-talkie. “Emory, get a reading of the bottom, over.”

  “Yes, we could see the whale dro
pping down on the side scan, and you as well, then we lost her. There was interference of some kind. When it came back—”

  “—Breaking in. Need some high resolution scans of the bottom, see if there’s any hope of retrieval, over.”

  “Should be possible with the minisub.”

  “How soon? Over.”

  “We can get her wet in two hours, over.”

  “Good. We’ll need some nets and flotation bags, over.”

  “Okay. Captain? Do you know why—”

  “Later. Over and out.”

  Thorssen tossed the walkie-talkie onto a cushion and sighed deeply. He looked tired but strangely at ease. “Quick recovery,” Penny said nodding toward the injured calf, now placidly swimming with the others and without apparent distress.

  “Strange, yes,” Dirk said, “but what isn’t, these days?”

  Thorssen clearly did not want to talk. Matthew glanced over his shoulder to see the Chiffrey peering through high powered-binoculars. Was lip reading among the young lieutenant’s skills? He turned toward the Valentina and mouthed the words, “stop spying on us,” but it had no effect. Of course, he would not give himself away so easily if he were competent.

  Thorssen stirred himself and moved upright on one knee. He said, “Take us back.”

  Matthew eyed the whales, but they seemed uninterested as Dirk and Penny restarted the engines. Soon the Zodiacs were back at the scaffold, and the group climbed the ladder to the deck. Thorssen headed straight for the bridge without a word. Matthew followed Penny up to the fo’c’sle to watch the whales.

  “I’m not sure why they haven’t moved on,” he said after a while, “but it’s a sixteen thousand kilometer trip. They’ll starve if they don’t get to their Arctic feeding grounds in time.”

  She didn’t say anything, so he continued. “There’s little, if anything, they could eat here. I would have thought…”

  He walked a few paces away and then back to her. “Listen, I’m not criticizing—”

  “No, you are merely passing judgment.”

  “The lead whale is almost certainly dead, and you don’t seem to care.”

  As soon as he spoke, his words sounded stupid in his ears. Penny slowly looked him over, as if taking his measure for a coffin, and said, “Should I be dumping ashes on my head, then? If it’s rending garments you want to see, maybe I’ll start with that stupid beer hat on your head.”

  “Doesn’t the death and sacrifice of this whale affect you at all?”

  She trained her gaze on him like a gun. “She did what she did. I have no basis to judge, and there is nothing I can do about it. Get it?”

  He was about to answer, when she looked past his shoulder and whispered, “Quiet. Here comes Chiffrey.”

  He barely heard the footsteps coming up behind him. The lieutenant came to a stop and stood at Matthew’s side, just a little too close.

  “You really aced it out there this morning, boy. You too, Penny. Great work.”

  “Thanks,” Matthew said, without enthusiasm. “How is the TV news crew doing?”

  “The pilot’s going to be fine, just swallowed a load of sea water. The woman’s a tad dazed, but she’ll be okay.”

  “What about the cameraman?” Matthew said.

  “Daryl, yes. Once we got him on board, Mary just took over. She’s terrific, isn’t she? Doing a great job with him, but that kid’s still totally scrambled. Figured another chopper would be a bad idea, so we have a cruiser on the way to pick up our unexpected guests.”

  “Navy?”

  “I have some pull. Least I could do.”

  “But why not the Coast Guard?” Penny asked.

  “Well, if you mean the U.S. Coast Guard, we’re off the coast of Canada for one thing, and they are not nearby. There is a Navy cruiser nearby and it’s fast. They’ll get them back safe. You folks are lucky I’m here.”

  “How long?”

  “I haven’t set a time to leave as I—”

  “No,” Penny said, shaking her head. “I mean till the cruiser gets here.”

  “Three or four hours.”

  “Kind of a lucky coincidence they were so close,” she said. “Don’t you think off-loading the cameraman to a Navy ship will spook him even more?”

  “It’s far from ideal, granted, but he needs special care and the faster he gets it the better.”

  “What do you mean?” Matthew asked.

  Chiffrey leaned back against the railing and slumped enough that his military bearing seemed to wash away like a sand castle against the tide. His usual cheerful countenance fell with it.

  “I’ll tell you the truth,” he said. “I’ve seen this before. Bad as his accident was, it shouldn’t have had such a catastrophic effect on that boy. It’s like Daryl’s looked into some abyss and then fallen in. When he looks up, it’s all a nightmare. He is absolutely terrified. I doubt if he even knows his name anymore. It’s going to be a while, a long while probably, before they let him walk away. At least that’s my opinion. Poor son of a bitch. ’Scuse me, miss.”

  Chiffrey shook his head and looked toward the tracking station on the fo’c’sle. Matthew followed his gaze. Only Mary was there.

  “I’m going to check out what’s up with your friends,” Chiffrey said. “The whales. Care to join me?

  Matthew just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

  “Look, Matthew, the sooner I can complete my report, the sooner I can get out of here. Much as I’d hate to leave, of course. What’s up with the lead whale, by the way?”

  “She’s never came back up.”

  “Well, that can’t be good.” Chiffrey scanned Matthew for a moment, then said, “Sorry to hear that. Guess I missed it when I was checking on Daryl. Maybe Penny could fill me in…”

  “I’m ready,” Matthew said. “Let’s have a look now and see what they’re up to.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  As if to emphasize his resolve, Matthew walked off toward the tracking station. Penny and Chiffrey followed and they all ended up standing awkwardly in a semicircle behind Mary at the instrument array.

  “Morning again, Mary,” Chiffrey said. He rested his hand gently on her shoulder. “How are you holding up?”

  “Much better.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you.”

  “I thought you’d still be with the cameraman.”

  “We radioed for advice and they recommended giving him a strong sedative. He was sleeping soundly when I left. Becka will look in on him from time to time.”

  Chiffrey nodded, then scrutinized the monitor, which indicated that Mary was centering on the calf. It had been less than two hours, but the young whale didn’t act injured at all.

  “You can handle all this by yourself, Mary?” Chiffrey asked. “I thought it took two.”

  “It usually does, but the whales are idling and the seas are light.”

  “Forgive me, but I’m still impressed. Tell me, though, can you track them from here when they’re underwater? With sonar, for instance?”

  “Yes, but usually we stay with the visual. While migrating, they stay mainly on the surface, as they do not feed. They get their food from the bottom. Sort of like grazing cattle.”

  “I see, but the sonar is recorded if they go under?”

  Mary hesitated a moment. “Of course.” She didn’t say anything else, which said too much.

  “They’ll be checking now,” Matthew said, “since we are going to try to locate and bring up the carcass.”

  “Bring it up?” Chiffrey said. “I thought whales were supposed to float when they’re dead.”

  “Only some of them,” Matthew said. He embraced the chance to steer the conversation in another direction. “Right whales got their name from the fact that they did float when killed by whalers—that’s how they got their name, they were the ‘right whale’ to hunt. In those early days, they couldn’t retrieve a whale if it sank. Of course, they eventually figured that out, which meant—�
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  “Fascinating,” Chiffrey said. “I didn’t know that. The recordings of what happened down there would be in C-lab, right? Love to check those out.”

  Chiffrey cast his gaze down a moment then looked up. “Again, I’m sorry about your whale. Maybe there’s still hope.”

  He sauntered away, and Matthew turned toward Penny, signaled her to come walk with him. When they were out of earshot, he said to her, “What do you think?”

  “He thinks we’re hiding something.”

  “Are we?”

  The question was left hanging in the air and, as if by mutual agreement, they headed down to C-lab. Emory was in front of the side-scan array with a video monitor wedged in next to it. Malcolm was busy at another console. Chiffrey was already watching a video playback of Thorssen’s encounter with the lead whale.

  “There, see?” Emory said. “So, where did she go? I’ve seen an inversion layer distort sonar scans before, but never like this. And this system is less than a year old, very sophisticated, supposed to be immune to stuff like that.”

  “Do you folks have any recordings of your earlier scans of the bottom?” Chiffrey asked.

  “Malcolm?” Emory asked.

  “You’ll have it in a couple or ten minutes, like I said before, okay?”

  Chiffrey stood behind Emory and said quietly, “Has the bottom scanner been running all the time?”

  “Yeah, but not at full enhancement. We usually opt for a wider sweep. That should be good enough to find her, unless she—jeesh!”

  Emory suddenly hunched over and brought his hands up to his eyes. His shoulders shook as he fought to regain control. He finally settled down, then pulled out a stained handkerchief and quickly wiped his eyes.

  “Sorry. I was, uh, not so well this morning. Stomach bug or something.” Emory looked embarrassed. “Okay now, I’m all right.”

  Chiffrey watched him intently, with an occasional glance toward Malcolm.

  “Here it is,” Malcolm said.

  The sonar recording flickering on the screen cast a sickly green glow on their faces as they stared at it, unspeaking. Near the end, Emory pointed at three blips on the screen and finally broke the silence. “This large blip is the whale that was underneath.”