Stormy Skies

by Summer Waters

  Lulu and Rolly swam with the Silver Dolphins back to the beach where they’d left their things.

  “Come again soon,” clicked Lulu, rubbing noses goodbye.

  “We will,” Hannah answered.

  Antonia said nothing as an unpleasant feeling washed over her. Get a grip! she told herself. But even as the feeling subsided, Antonia was left with a sense of unease.

  She knew she would be seeing the dolphins very soon, and next time it wouldn’t be to play.

  Chapter Nine

  “Cai and Kathleen had been busy in their absence. They’d mopped the shed floor twice and were just finishing loading the car with another pile of rubbish and recycling for the dump.

  “The shed walls need scrubbing with water and then it’s ready to paint,” said Cai.

  “We’ll do that while you go to the tip,” Hannah offered.

  “Thanks. I’ll stop off and collect that table you found too. I’d better take a saw or I might not get it in the car. You stay here this time, Cai. We’re going to be tight for space.”

  Kathleen went to the garage and came back carrying a large saw. She put it in the boot and slammed it shut.

  “Who’s that coming up the drive?” asked Cai.

  A young woman carrying a baby on her hip was striding purposefully towards them.

  Kathleen smiled at her and called out, “Hello.”

  “Hello,” said the woman in a clipped tone. “I’m Jane Row, your neighbour.”

  “Kathleen Abbot.” Kathleen held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jane. I’ve been meaning to pop round and introduce myself, but I’ve been so busy moving in.” She held out her hand for a few seconds longer then dropped it when it became obvious that Jane wasn’t going to shake it.

  “The thing is,” said Jane defensively, “I’ve seen wild animals being brought in here. People are saying that you’re running a rescue centre for them. Is that right?”

  “Almost,” said Kathleen enthusiastically. “I’m in the middle of setting up a marine conservation charity called Ocean Watch. These are my helpers, Hannah, Cai and Antonia.”

  “Is this going to be in the house?”

  “Mainly in the garden shed,” said Kathleen. She waved at the car. “We’ve just been having a clear-out.”

  “Well, I want you to stop.” Jane stared defiantly at Kathleen.

  Antonia almost gasped out loud. How rude! Why did Jane want Kathleen to stop? Didn’t she realise how important their work was?

  “We’ve been living here for three years. It’s a peaceful road and most of the residents have families. We don’t want a business stuck in the middle of us.”

  “It’s not a business. I’m setting up a charity,” said Kathleen patiently.

  “A charity that takes in dangerous wild animals,” said Jane. “If that isn’t bad enough, we’ll probably get rats next.”

  “Rats!”

  “Wild animals and rubbish encourage rats,” said Jane firmly.

  “Which is precisely why I’m taking this rubbish to the dump,” said Kathleen icily. “Well-looked-after animals do not attract rats.”

  Jane snorted. “They might! You’ll be storing animal feed and straw, both of which attract rats. Then there’s the noise you’ll be making and all the comings and goings of your visitors. I expect you’ll be opening to the public like some kind of zoo.”

  Antonia couldn’t help herself. She didn’t mean to be rude, but it was clear that Jane didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.

  “Our friend Claudia runs a marine charity called Sea Watch from her garden,” she said earnestly. “It doesn’t bother anyone. There’s no mess, no noise and definitely no rats.”

  Jane glared at her. “This is my home. I do not intend to live next door to a business or charity or whatever you want to call it and I will not tolerate rats. There’s the baby to think of.”

  At this moment the baby’s face crumpled at her angry voice and he started crying.

  “There, there,” said Jane, shooting Antonia a look that clearly blamed her for upsetting the baby.

  Kathleen inhaled sharply. “You are very much mistaken. Once Ocean Watch is up and running, you will see how wrong you are. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s work to do.”

  “Don’t think that’s the end of it.” Jane raised her voice. “You can’t run your business from here.”

  “It’s not a business. It’s a charity,” repeated Kathleen.

  “If you won’t stop then I’ll get the council out. I bet you don’t have planning permission.”

  Kathleen went rigid and Antonia could see she was very angry.

  “Go ahead then!” Kathleen almost shouted at Jane. “Like I said, we’re busy.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m on my way. I wouldn’t stay a second longer in this rat-infested place if you paid me,” Jane shouted disdainfully. “There’re laws to deal with people like you. Setting up illegal businesses and exploiting children. I’m ringing the council. They’ll shut you down in no time.”

  Jane marched up the drive, her hips waddling and the baby bouncing with each angry step.

  Kathleen leant against the car. She was trembling. Hannah put her arms round her. “Nasty woman,” she soothed. “Forget her. She’s not worth it.”

  “But what if she’s right? What if I do need planning permission to set up Ocean Watch and the council refuse to give it to me? Did Claudia have permission? I didn’t think to ask when we spoke on the phone last week.”

  Antonia and Cai shrugged helplessly. Claudia had set up Sea Watch before either of them had joined.

  “Ring the council and ask,” suggested Antonia. “You were going to apply for planning permission for the new building anyway. So ring them now.”

  “Yes.” Kathleen was dazed. “That’s what I’ll do.” She checked her watch. “The dump closes at lunchtime. I’d better go and get rid of this stuff first. I’ll ring when I get back.”

  “Will you be all right on your own? Are you sure you don’t want one of us to come with you?”

  “I’ll be fine, thanks.” Smiling bravely, Kathleen drew herself up. “We’ll carry on as we were. You wash the shed while I’m gone.”

  She drove slowly away, waving her hand out of the window until she reached the end of the road. Hannah turned to Antonia and Cai, her shoulders drooping dejectedly. “Is there any point in scrubbing the shed walls before Kathleen’s spoken to the council? I mean, what if they say no to us having Ocean Watch here?”

  “Of course they won’t say no! Claudia’s allowed to run Sea Watch from her home, isn’t she?”

  Antonia sounded much more confident than she felt. A new thought was playing on her mind. What if someone complained about Sea Watch? Would Claudia be made to close her charity too? A cold chill settled in Antonia’s stomach. She wouldn’t think about it. There was no point worrying until Kathleen had found out the facts.

  “Come on,” she said briskly. “There’s work to do.”

  Chapter Ten

  It was hot, dirty work scrubbing out the shed. Antonia’s hair felt itchy with dust and Cai and Hannah had grimy smudges on their faces. They had started at the bottom of the first wall, which quickly proved to be a big mistake. Once they’d finished the bottom half, Cai volunteered to scrub the top. But as he set to work, using Kathleen’s stepladder to reach, the dirt trickled down and messed up the bit they’d already cleaned.

  “No!” squealed Hannah in disgust. “We didn’t think of that. We’ll have to start again.”

  “Lucky we only did one wall,” said Cai.

  Antonia worked harder than anyone, scrubbing at the walls like a demon. It was the only way to forget her anxieties about Ocean Watch and Sea Watch. The shed smelt much better for a good clean, but everyone agreed it still needed painting.

  “The window’s not very big and it’s quite dark in here. Whitewash will brighten it up,” said Cai.

  “Kathleen’s going to get electricity put in too so we can have lights,” sai
d Hannah. They carried the buckets, mops, brushes and stepladder back to the house and were putting everything away when Kathleen arrived back. After saying a quick hello, she went straight to the kitchen and took the telephone directory from the dresser.

  “West Wood Council,” she muttered as she flicked through the pages. “S, T, U, V, W…here it is.” Squinting at the page, she jotted the number down on a scrap of paper.

  Antonia, Cai and Hannah sat in silence at the kitchen table as Kathleen punched the numbers on the telephone keypad. The phone rang three times before Kathleen was connected to the switchboard. Antonia flinched, scrunching her hands into tight balls. This was it!

  “Planning control, please,” said Kathleen.

  Seconds later she was through, but as she went to speak, she rolled her eyes and mouthed, “Voice mail.”

  Antonia nearly yelled with frustration. It seemed like everything was working against them. How much longer would they have to wait before they knew if Ocean Watch was allowed to operate?

  Kathleen left a short message asking someone to call her back then hung up.

  “According to that, everyone is out on site visits,” she said. “They’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow’s Cai and Antonia’s last day,” wailed Hannah. “They go home on Wednesday.”

  Kathleen spread out her hands in a gesture of helplessness. “There’s nothing more I can do.”

  “I think we should carry on as we were going to,” said Antonia. “It’s not like we’re deliberately breaking any laws. It’s such a waste of time to stop now when what we’re doing is probably fine.”

  She sounded much more confident than she felt and it did the trick.

  “Antonia’s right. We carry on as normal,” said Kathleen. “It’s almost lunchtime, so how about I make some cheese toasties and after that we’ll paint the shed?”

  Cai licked his lips. “Sounds like an excellent idea,” he said.

  They all helped get lunch. Kathleen buttered and toasted bread while Antonia sliced cheese, Hannah washed tomatoes and Cai emptied a huge packet of crisps into a bowl for sharing. While the sandwiches were sizzling under the grill, Kathleen made steaming mugs of tea. It was a simple meal, but it felt like a feast. Antonia hadn’t realised how hungry she was.

  “These are excellent,” said Cai appreciatively.

  “I’m going to make them at home,” said Hannah. “They’re so easy I bet even Mum could do it.”

  “We should get our mums together sometime,” said Cai. “Mine’s hopeless at cooking too.”

  “You think that’s a good idea?” Hannah raised an eyebrow.

  As Antonia listened to her friends’ banter, she realised they weren’t going to have time to sit there much longer. A familiar sensation was coming over her. Any minute now Vision would call.

  Antonia sat up in surprise. Two calls in one day! What did Vision need them for this time?

  The doorbell rang, making everyone jump. Kathleen turned a shade paler.

  “That better not be Jane,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Do you want me to answer it?” asked Hannah.

  “Thanks, but I’ll go.” Pushing back her chair, Kathleen stood up.

  Antonia watched her through the partially open kitchen door. Suddenly her silver dolphin charm twitched. Antonia craned forward and was relieved to see it wasn’t Jane at the door, but a smartly dressed woman carrying a clipboard. A sales rep!

  Her fingers curled protectively round her dolphin charm as it started vibrating.

  Silver Dolphin, we need you.

  There was urgency in Vision’s voice and something else that Antonia didn’t understand.

  I hear your call, she answered, rising to her feet at the same time as Hannah and Cai.

  Antonia glanced at Kathleen, hoping that she had heard the call too and wouldn’t think they’d abandoned her to the sales rep. But as she ran out of the back door, the woman’s voice rang out loud and clear. “Susan Birch, West Wood Council. We’ve had a complaint from one of your neighbours.”

  Antonia’s heart thudded in her chest. No prizes for guessing where that had come from.

  Silver Dolphins, come quickly.

  You’re hurt. Antonia suddenly realised why Vision sounded strange. He was in pain. I’m on my way.

  Guiltily abandoning Kathleen to the lady from the council, Antonia ran down the garden. Cai and Hannah followed. It wasn’t right leaving Kathleen to deal with Susan Birch all by herself, but what else could they do? Vision was hurt and needed help. Antonia dashed through the garden gate and nearly collided with a couple out walking their dog.

  “Sorry,” she called out, dashing past them.

  The wind had picked up and it snatched at her clothes as she ran towards the beach. Antonia leant forward, fighting against it, refusing to let the wind hold her back. Her silver dolphin charm thrashed against her neck in encouragement.

  Vision, I’m coming, she promised.

  Antonia, Hannah and Cai hurtled on to the beach like rockets. Climbing the sand dunes with long, powerful strides, they kicked off their shoes and socks when they reached the other side and ran towards the sea.

  Chapter Eleven

  Antonia barely noticed how cold the water was as she splashed into the sea. As soon as it was deep enough to swim, she dived into the waves, using her hands like flippers to propel her along. Almost at once her legs melded together as a tail and she swam like a dolphin. Antonia dived in and out of the waves, her body flashing through the air in graceful arcs. She could hear Cai and Hannah behind her, but there was no time to wait for them.

  A short way out to sea she spotted two dolphins, Vision and Dancer. Antonia was relieved. Vision couldn’t be that badly hurt then, could he? But as she drew closer, she realised she’d been mistaken. Vision’s handsome face was badly swollen. For a moment Antonia was so startled she almost stopped swimming. Quickly she pulled herself together. Vision needed help.

  “What happened?” clicked Antonia as she closed the gap between them.

  “I got hit on the head by falling wood.” Vision looked affronted and confused.

  Antonia swam closer and, when she was almost nose to nose with the dolphin leader, she began to examine him. A trickle of blood was running down his face and it didn’t take long to find the wound, between his nose and blowhole.

  The sea was extremely choppy. Antonia bobbed up and down, her legs kicking rhythmically as she concentrated on keeping close to Vision. She cupped her hands together and splashed the wound with sea water. Each time she washed the blood away, more oozed from the cut.

  “Is it serious?” asked Dancer.

  Antonia gave up on the cleaning and examined the cut. To her relief it was nowhere near as bad as she’d first thought.

  “It’s nasty, but it looks worse than it is,” she said.

  Gently she placed her hands directly on Vision’s head, pushing the edges of the cut together.

  Heal.

  A warm sensation flooded down her arms and into her hands, making them prickle.

  Heal.

  Antonia kept her fingers firmly on the wound, pressing it together as she willed it to mend. From the corner of her eye she saw Cai and Hannah arrive. She heard them talking to Dancer in soft, anxious clicks. Then they fell silent. Glancing up, Antonia saw Hannah watching her in amazement. After a bit the warm feeling in Antonia’s fingers lessened. Carefully, hardly daring to look, she raised her hands. The wound had completely healed, leaving only a faint line to show where the cut had been.

  “Thank you, Silver Dolphin,” said Vision, nuzzling his nose in her hair.

  “It was nothing.” Antonia felt her face redden.

  “It was everything.” Dancer stroked her hair with a flipper.

  “That was incredible,” whispered Hannah. “I’ve never seen you heal a wound before.”

  “Thanks.” Antonia knew how lucky she was to have such strong powers.

  “Dancer said you were
hit by this,” said Cai. With Hannah’s help he was holding on to a sturdy piece of wood with a jagged end.

  “Yes,” agreed Vision. “We were by the seal beach when it happened. There was a rumbling noise then this flew through the air and caught me on the head.”

  “We thought it would be quicker if we swam to meet you. Vision insisted we brought the wood along too,” clicked Dancer.

  “You know what this is?” asked Cai excitedly.

  Antonia was tired from healing Vision and struggling to keep afloat in the choppy sea.

  “What?” she asked blankly.

  “It’s a table leg,” said Cai. “I bet it came

  from the table you and Hannah found this morning.”

  “You said you heard a rumbling noise?” Hannah questioned Vision.

  “Yes,” said Vision.

  “I don’t like it.” Hannah looked thoughtful.

  “The rumbling might have been a car engine,” said Cai.

  “Maybe,” said Hannah. “But I think we should get Kathleen to drive us up to the café and take a look. Things falling off the cliff is becoming a habit. It can’t be coincidence. Something’s going on up there.”

  Antonia didn’t like it either. Something wasn’t right. They had to discover what the problem was and deal with it before there was a more serious accident. She opened her mouth to agree, but a gust of wind blew her hair into her mouth. Antonia spat it out.

  “The wind is getting stronger,” said Vision sympathetically. “There’s a storm brewing. Thank you for your help, Silver Dolphins. Better go home now before the sea gets too rough. Dancer, we must leave too. The pod will be waiting for us to take them out to sea.”

  “That’s the best place to weather a storm,” said Cai.

  “It is,” agreed Vision.

  He swam forward, rubbing noses with each of the Silver Dolphins. Dancer rubbed noses with them too and stroked Antonia’s hair with a flipper.

  “Thank you, Silver Dolphin,” she whispered.

  “It was nothing,” repeated Antonia, but inside she was glowing with happiness. The feeling lasted until Vision and Dancer were almost out of sight, their silver bodies flashing in and out of the iron-grey sea.