"Wake up, Daddy! Time to go to the penguins!" Marina giggled, pulling on my shirt. I tore my eyes away from my beautiful wife's arse to look at my equally beautiful daughter's face.
"Sure," I replied. I lifted my eyes to Vanessa's face. What was it I wanted to ask again? "Where are we actually going?"
Vanessa laughed. "Penguin Island, after a stop at the bakery for supplies."
She drove her little Mazda down to Rockingham, as if she knew precisely where she was going and didn't need to check a map.
"Daddy, have you ever seen a penguin?" Marina asked me from the back seat.
"No," I replied. "Have you?"
Marina giggled. "No. But today I'm going to catch one for you so you can see it, Daddy!"
I smiled all the way to Shoalwater, where Vanessa parked near some sand dunes.
"Okay let's go get tickets for the ferry," Vanessa said, headed for the nearest building, but it wasn't open yet. "Maybe we can walk over." She looked out across the beach.
"Walk over?" I squawked as I looked at the island across the water. It must have been at least two ks away – I couldn't swim that far and I definitely couldn't walk on water.
"Sure. It's low tide – the sand bar is out." Nessa pointed at the sand spit at one end of the island and I saw it ran pretty much all the way back to the beach where we stood. "We'll be fine."
I looked at the signs, full of warnings. "This sandbar is dangerous. Lives have been lost," I read aloud. "Are you sure?"
Vanessa dismissed my worries. "They couldn't swim. We'll be fine." She led the way down the beach with Marina, leaving me to carry the backpack.
The going was pretty easy. It was damp, soft sand like the beach on the mainland. There were terns and pelicans on it, but they moved out of the way pretty quickly. Suddenly Marina stopped. "I need to take my shoes off!" she announced, handing her sandy thongs to Vanessa, who passed them to me.
The sandbar was a little under the water here, so she didn't want to get her feet wet, I figured, sticking the thongs into my backpack.
I heard a high-pitched little scream and looked up. Marina was gone. Vanessa dove into the water away from me.
"No, wait!" I shouted, struggling out of my pack.
Vanessa surfaced. "Stay there, Joe. I'll get her." She went under again.
I stood on the water's edge, feeling stupid and useless. I looked around, but I couldn't see either of them in the water between the island and the mainland. I looked desperately at the mainland, where the lifeguards on duty were already headed out toward me.
When the lifeguards reached me, there was still no sign of them.
"The lady and the little girl, right?" one asked me. "Can you see them?"
"No," I replied, annoyed. "When I do, I'll definitely make sure you know."
"Can they swim?" a female voice asked. I turned and realised that one of the lifeguards was female. Her boobs weren't anywhere near as impressive as Vanessa's, so it wasn't hard to look at her face instead.
"Yep. They're both pretty good swimmers," I replied. You have no idea how good… I kept scanning the water, looking for them. I knew they'd come up, because they had to.
"You really shouldn't have tried the sandbar today. You should have waited for the ferry, especially with such a little girl," she began.
"Look, can you help me look for them instead of lecturing me on what I should have done, now it's too late to do anything else?" I snapped. "My wife said the sandbar so we took the sandbar. When you find them, then we'll take the boat."
She shut up then, thank God, hopped on her jetski and headed off in the direction that Vanessa had gone.
The male lifeguard had some binoculars, scanning the water with them.
I waited for what felt like forever. It was Vanessa and the tiger shark all over again, except this time I knew she had to come up. She had to. I couldn't lose her now. And I couldn't lose Marina, my daughter, EVER.
Shit, where are they?
40. Laila
This human had been sung into docility by an Atlantic sister with a powerful song. He lay on his back like he was asleep, but his eyes were open. I sucked on the human until he was ready to join. He tasted strangely unpleasant. Once he was ready, I slid down onto him and began rocking.
This took considerable time, but I didn't dare stop. The human was so slow to respond that I felt the rush sensation again during this joining. Curious, I wondered what it would take to bring it on deliberately. Once again, the joining was complete before I could work this out.
When I returned to the corridor, the Atlantic sister was nowhere to be seen. Wearily, I turned to enter the next room.
This room was already occupied by Salina and a human. She lay on the bed with her head on the pillow, whilst the man's head was between her legs. A look of intense joy crossed her face for almost a minute, her soundless smile speaking for her. Her smile faded to a frown and she directed an order at the human. "Now give me a strong child."
The human head rose and he lifted his body so that his torso was above hers. The remainder of his body, from his hips down, was between her legs. He began pushing in and out of her, as two humans had done to me.
I gave voice to my question, not expecting her to reply. "How do you make them do this? I ache from the efforts I must make in joining with them."
Salina turned to me, heedless of the human inside her. "You must sing them a powerful song of control, then give them orders. I order them to give me pleasure, then to give me a child."
I stared at her. "I did not know that joining could be enjoyed, nor that the humans could be made to do the work."
Her voice was kind. "You have not been educated in all the facets of a successful breeding event. When the human gives a breeder pleasure, it makes her more fertile and receptive to the child he can create. As for making the humans exert themselves, you must understand them. These humans are more like animals than we are. The desire to join with a female is so strong, that when reduced to their most simple state by our song, they react instinctively to a naked female who expresses an invitation to join. I find all that is necessary is a few words of guidance and the human male will make joining quite an enjoyable experience. We never lack for volunteers for breeding events. I suggest that you try it."
I turned away from the sight of the human man pumping between her legs, though she did not seem concerned, and left the room. I hurried to the next, which was occupied only by a sung human.
I lay on the bed, beside the somnolent human. He did not move and his appendage was limp. My throat contracted at the thought of having to take another into my mouth.
"Give me pleasure and then give me a child," I told the human, in a voice little above a whisper.
For a moment, I thought the human had not heard. Then, he turned and moved on top of me.
I panicked, but once again my voice died in my throat. His mouth pressed against mine and his tongue slid between my lips. This was not entirely unpleasant, but it was unexpected. Did not the human need to put his face between my legs?
Something was between my legs, pushing inside me. I realised it was the fingers of the human, sliding in and then out, before stroking me between my legs. The whisper of heat at each stroke was a faint echo of the heat I had felt twice tonight, but the whisper began a slow burn that grew hotter as the human continued. This time I felt the rush building. When it came, it was surprisingly stronger than before and I found I cried out in pleasure and not pain. The sound was muffled by his mouth on mine.
Before the heat could fade, the human had pushed his appendage inside me. It was no longer limp and felt quite hard. He pumped it with considerable vigour for a few minutes, before he withdrew and moved off me.
When I left this room for the corridor, I ignored the sticky trickle down my leg and had a thought that would have been unthinkable yesterday. If I do not conceive a child from this breeding event, I would willingly do my duty again among humans, I reflected, as I walked slowly on aching leg
s. Just as long as I don't have to do it all night.
41. Joe
It felt like forever 'til the woman on the jetski returned with Vanessa and Marina riding on the back. Every minute had been its own eternity. I ran all the way back down the sandbar to the beach to meet them. Vanessa had Marina in her arms, wrapped up in the filmy skirt. She passed Marina to me as soon as she was close enough. I hugged them both tightly, not wanting to let them go. I was so scared I'd almost lost them.
"Shall we take Mummy's skirt off you now?" I asked, starting to unwind the cloth from my daughter.
"Only if we get her clean clothes out of the bag," Vanessa replied, with a pointed look at Marina. "Marina ripped her bathers on a rock while she was swimming." She started rifling through the backpack, throwing a little dress over my shoulder. "I'm going into the shop to get ferry tickets because Marina is NOT walking on the sandbar again." She disappeared.
I let Marina down onto her own feet and she dropped the skirt on the sand, holding her arms up for the dress. I noticed her bathers had been ripped across the bottom, as if a tail had gone right through them. No wonder Vanessa's angry at her.
"What did you see while you were swimming?" I asked Marina carefully.
She giggled. "I saw seagrass and blue octopussies and red lobsters and a sea lion and some penguins! And lots of fish, where there's a wooden boat."
"What were the penguins doing?" I asked her, curious.
Marina moved her hands like dolphins swimming. "They were flying through the water, catching fish in the seagrass. They were so fast! But I was faster." She beamed.
"Of course you were, sweetheart," I replied absently. I bundled Vanessa's skirt up and stuck it in my backpack.
Vanessa appeared at the shop door, but she was waylaid by an excited-looking staff member. "You have no idea how amazing a find it is. We've been looking for that boat since the 1830s, when it first sank. There was illegal salvage and the blokes were sent to Van Diemen's Land when they were caught, but no one else ever found it. The Museum is going to be thrilled…"
Vanessa smiled politely and came over to us.
"What was that about?" I asked, puzzled.
Nessa sighed. "There was a wooden vessel in the water, which had broken up and was hidden inside one of the reefs. It had the word "Cumberland" on it, so I asked the shop assistant when it sank. It turns out the wreck had never been found before, though it went down in 1834 with all hands." She held out some small pieces of paper that I realised were the ferry tickets. "Right, shall we get on the boat?"
We trooped down the jetty to the flat ferry. With the shallow draft on it, it looked like it would wallow like a pig offshore or in a decent swell, but for this sheltered, shallow water it was probably okay.
We were the first people on board and there weren't many others. Maybe this was a quiet day.
When we got to the island, we were greeted with a sign. "No penguin show today, closed for DEC Christmas function," I read. I looked down at Marina. "Sorry sweetheart, you can't see the penguins at the Discovery Centre today. Maybe if we look around the island, we'll see some more."
Marina giggled. "The penguins have all gone fishing, Daddy."
Vanessa smiled at me and nodded, so I shrugged and didn't say anything else.
"Daddy, I'm hungry," Marina announced.
"Okay, so let's have a snack," I replied, leading the way over to the picnic tables and sitting down. I took Vanessa's skirt out of the bag and dropped it on the table, before digging deeper for the bakery bag. The skirt smelled faintly of fish. I pulled out the savoury rolls and handed them out.
Marina bit into hers greedily, scattering crumbs all over the grass. There was a rustle and a large, dark lizard, as long as her arm, came out from under the table, tonguing up a piece of bacon. Marina took another bite and a big piece of bacon broke off, tumbling to the grass. She reached down to pick it up and shrieked when she saw it had already been eaten. The lizard was eyed her hand for more.
"A cheeky lizard!" Marina screamed, scrambling up onto her feet on the seat. Unlike the Abrolhos king skinks, this one was bigger, fatter and more sure of itself. It didn't back down. She jumped up and down and dropped the remainder of the roll. The lizard took it in its mouth and slid under the table with it. "He ate my roll!" Marina wailed.
I pulled another one out of the bag and handed it to her. "Then don't give him this one."
She nodded fiercely, her teeth closing over the new roll. She managed to eat the second one without incident, though she did watch the lizard under the boardwalk with narrowed eyes as it finished off her first.
She washed the roll down with some of the bottled water before she cautiously climbed down from the picnic table. She reached up for Vanessa's skirt and pulled it into her arms. I heard a strange quacking sound, like an angry duck.
"What did you say?" I asked Marina, worried.
Vanessa shook her head at Marina, not pleased.
"I didn't say anything, Daddy," she replied sweetly.
"Where is it, Marina?" Vanessa asked, her voice suddenly serious.
Marina pulled the skirt closer. "I'm going to call him Quackie!" she shouted.
Vanessa held out her hands. "Give him to me."
Marina backed away. "No! He's for Daddy!"
"Then will you give him to Daddy?" Vanessa asked slowly, nodding to me.
Marina's face spread into a beaming smile as she held out Vanessa's skirt to me. "Here you go, Daddy, just for you. Merry Christmas."
I took the skirt from her and it emitted a pretty pissed-off quack. I quickly set it down on the ground and opened it up. The angry penguin inside fastened its beak on my finger and hung on 'til it drew blood. Then it ambled off under the boardwalk with another grumpy quack. The lizard fled.
"Did you like your penguin, Daddy?" Marina asked, looking proud of herself.
I looked at Vanessa as I stuck my bleeding finger in my mouth. It tasted of rotten fish. I pulled it out again, but it was too late. The rotten fish taste didn't go away.
Vanessa nodded with a tight smile on her face.
"Sure, sweetheart," I told Marina. "Next time, can you ask him not to bite me?"
42. Laila
In the corridor, I was greeted by three Atlantic sisters.
"The humans are spent and so are we. It is time for disposal, to protect our people." Salina smiled and beckoned. "Come, we will watch from the water."
Together, all four of us dived from the deck of the vessel into the cool waters. It felt refreshing to wear my tail again, to breathe cool water and not pant warm, stale air. The ache deep inside me remained, dulled and cooled by the water.
A deep booming came from beneath the ship, with the screech of metal parting under water.
I felt the wave building, shaped by several Atlantic sisters. The wave washed over the top of the vessel, followed by another. Successive waves topped the deck, until the vessel sat lower in the water, closer to the surface. The waves became smaller, pushing the vessel onto its side, so that it filled with more water. I watched in horror as it sank.
Some of the large, metal boxes that I had seen on the deck of the vessel floated free, bobbing just beneath the surface. I watched for more debris, but the large boxes were all that surfaced. I ventured to ask about them. "Do we need to hide the evidence of those large boxes, too?"
I looked around at the Atlantic sisters on either side of me. After a moment, one of them replied in a casual dismissal. "Shipping containers like these are lost in the oceans every day. These will travel with the currents and pose no threat to us, though they may inconvenience the humans."
I felt the most inconvenienced humans were those on the vessel sinking to the sea floor beneath me. I had not seen any lifeboats surface and I dreaded to ask. "What about the humans who were on the vessel?"
This time, I did not turn to face the Atlantic sister who replied.
"They will not live to spread stories of our kind. Even now, our sisters who were not bre
eders are ensuring that the humans drown in deep water. It is a fitting price for a blissful night with the ocean's gift. They will carry our secret to a watery grave. We give them a chance to live on, in the children they created tonight with us. For this, as it always has been among our people, the humans must die."
I could still feel the ghost of heat from our joining inside me. I realised that my faint feeling was now the ghosts of those humans whose bodies were already cooling beneath the ocean's surface. I felt sad and fought the rising panic.
I joined with five humans in one night. One of them heard my cries, felt compassion and helped to ease my pain. Three of them gave me pleasure I had not believed possible. Any of them might have given me a child through our joining. And now they were all dead, because they touched the ocean's gift. Me.
Mother came to me on the swim home, her satisfaction clear on her face, a strong contrast to my complete desolation.
"Mother, please permit me to go home," I begged her. "I wish to birth my child among my own people, in familiar waters." I had no hope that she would agree, but in my desperation I said the words. I tried to keep my expression controlled. I need not have bothered.
Mother's expression held a faraway, distracted smile. "Then you may, provided you send the child to me when she is old enough to travel the distance. You will take my place on the Elder Council as I fill the empty Black place here. Send me word of anything that happens in the Indian Ocean and I will do the same here." She eyed my midsection. "The first news I expect is that of the birth of your child. Once I hear of that, I will send word of my resignation from the Council so that you may take your place."
I breathed a sigh of relief that sent bubbles all the way to the surface.
"Farewell, Mother," I said with finality and respect. I turned tail and headed home, hoping that my mother's mania did not harm her people or mine.
43. Joe
"Is there anything interesting in the news?" Vanessa asked as she passed. She glanced at the TV screen, but continued on to the kitchen without stopping.
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