His features still look hauntingly like Dai’s, though, and his dark brown eyes haven’t changed, either. He still stares at me with frightening intensity.
“We meet again, Nere Hanson.” I hear his deep voice clearly through my earbuds. “My son said you would come looking for my wife’s work, and now I see he told us the truth. You and your father are no better than thieves if you believe you have any right to her research or the products of it.”
I take a deep breath and gather my thoughts. We aren’t thieves, I key into my wrist computer. We just want to use her c-plankton to stop climate change before more people starve and more species become extinct.
Kuron glances down to read my words on his own wrist computer. “Years ago humans made the choices that will doom them. It’s time for a superior form of humanity to spread throughout the seas and create the most sophisticated civilization this planet has ever seen.”
But if the planet continues to heat, almost everything will die in the oceans, too, I key hastily. If only I could make him understand how important Idaine’s c-plankton is.
“The oceans have warmed before,” he dismisses my argument with a wave of his hand, just as he did back in Atlantea. “You Neptune specimens will adapt to a warming ocean and make its resources serve you.”
But your wife worked so hard to find a solution that would help save everyone on land, too. Don’t you want to honor her wishes?
His expression changes as he reads my words. Kuron lunges toward the window and pounds his hands on the glass, his face twisted in fury. I jerk back, terrified by the insane light in his eyes. “How dare you speak of my wife and her wishes!” he shouts. “I should feed you to my shredders right now!”
Dai hurriedly keys his wrist computer.
Of course, you can kill her if you want to, sir, I read with a shudder, but Nere Hanson won’t be much use to us as a hostage if she’s dead.
Kuron whirls away from the window and stands there breathing hard. I get the impression he’s fighting to control himself. When he turns around once more, his face is completely calm. The rapid changes in his emotions make me more frightened than ever.
“My son is right. You are of more use to us alive. As long as you’re aboard the Ophion, you can help the others in their search for my wife’s computer. Her notes are of great value to my investors. Thanks to your father and your friends, my base was destroyed, and I need funding to create a new one.”
So you’re just going to sell your wife’s notes to the highest bidder? I key in disbelief.
“I don’t care what they do with the notes, as long as they give Idaine due credit for her brilliance, and give me the money I need to build a new base of operations. I considered taking over your father’s base, but it’s too primitive for my needs. Eventually his specimens will join me, or be eliminated. But first, you must find that computer.”
The specimens he’s talking about are the kids at Safety Harbor. The fact we’ll never be anything but lab subjects to him nauseates me.
“In fact,” Kuron says after giving me a considering look, “Nere Hanson can join you in the search right away. She’s proved to be resourceful and clever enough in the past and might actually be an asset.”
Sir, we’ve been working in the pressure and cold all morning, Wasp keys. We will be more effective in our search if you give us time to eat.
“Very well. You may take a brief break, and then I expect all of you to return to your search. You’d better make sure the Hanson girl doesn’t escape again, or I’ll feed you to my shredders.”
chapter twelve
Ran Kuron turns away from the window and limps across the viewing room. Shivers go down my spine as I watch him leave. There’s no question in my mind that he’s insane, and his mental illness has worsened since the Sea Rangers destroyed his base.
:W-would he truly feed you to his shredders?: I ask the others.
:Oh yeah, so you can bet we’ll all be keeping a close eye on you, Princess,: Whitey promises coldly.
:Let’s go find some eats. I’m starving,: Sham declares.
He leaves the viewing chamber first. We follow him as he swims to a large compartment lined with lockers and a long table down its center. After opening a locker, he pulls out several square white boxes that look like food containers. He passes two to Dai and to Whitey and one to Wasp. He pulls out three for himself.
Clearly he’s not planning on feeding me until Dai speaks up. :We probably need to feed Nere, too, or she’ll be worthless this afternoon.:
:Don’t tell me you’re still looking out for the princess, bro,: Whitey says, his eyebrows raised.
:No, I just know she cares about that stupid computer and c-plankton more than any of us. If she does manage to find my mom’s research, then we can stop spending all day freezing our butts off in that wreck.:
In the meantime, Sham has pulled off the lid to his box. He stares at its contents unenthusiastically. :Oh joy, more old tuna. I’m dying to go hunting again and shoot us some decent food.: Despite his words, he tilts his head back and pours the box’s contents into his mouth.
:I’ll see if I can talk my father into letting you guys go hunting tomorrow,: Dai says as he pulls out a food container and tosses it at me. He turns away before I can thank him. I can’t get used to seeing Dai without his braids. He looks like an unfamiliar, older version of the Dai I knew.
I take my food container and retreat to a corner of the room. The container is packed full of some sort of pinkish fish. Gingerly I scoop out a bite with my fingers. It does taste like old, stale tuna. Even though my belly’s tight with nervousness, I force myself to take several more mouthfuls while I listen to the others talk.
:See if you can get the bossman to give us a whole day off,: Wasp is saying. :We’ve searched that mucking wreck for six days in a row now, and I’m sick of it.:
:I’ll try, but I doubt he’ll go for it,: Dai replies. :He’s as obsessed as I’ve ever seen him.:
They stop talking and look glum as they eat. Whitey and Sham gulp their food the way sharks and orca do. Soon bits of tuna are floating about the room. Unable to eat another bite, I seal my box and set it aside.
:H-how did the bossman get that scar?: I blurt.
All three of them turn to look at me. Their expressions are so hostile, I wish I hadn’t asked.
:Well, you see Nere, dear,: Wasp answers, :when your sweet friends blew up our home, the bossman got pinned inside his favorite lab. Dai and I found him and pulled him out before he drowned. But his leg was shattered, and his face was sliced by a piece of metal. That’s all on you as far as we’re concerned.:
My gaze goes to Dai. :So you lied about that, too. You told us that you never found your father.:
:I’m not the only one who lied,: he says bitterly. :You all promised me a chance to become a trusted member of Safety Harbor, and we saw how that turned out.:
Wasp smiles at the simmering tension between Dai and me.
:Yeah, Ice definitely found the bossman,: she says, :and he stayed with us long enough to make sure his dad got to a good doctor. But then he was stupid enough to leave us to go find you.:
After that, I keep quiet. When everyone finishes eating, we swim back down the passageway to the equipment compartment lined with lockers.
:I get so cold in the wreck, even with these heating packs,: Wasp complains to the boys as she slings hers over her shoulders.
:You’d be warmer if you wore a hood,: I say as I tug on my own.
Wasp spins around to face me, her eyes glinting with annoyance. :Like I’d want any advice from you,: she says and stretches out her tentacled fingers toward my cheek. I back away from her so fast, Whitey and Sham laugh.
:If you want to survive a few more days, keep your mouth shut,: Dai says to me, his face impassive. His comment makes Sham and Whitey laugh even harder, and Wasp smiles.
I stare at my heating pack because I don’t want Dai to see how much his words hurt me. After I sling the pack over my shoulders, I struggl
e to plug the connection into my seasuit, but none of them will help. My cheeks heat as the others grin at my awkward efforts. At last I get the pack plugged in, and we enter the waterlock again.
As we wait for the pressure to change, Whitey turns to Dai. :So, Ice, where do you want to search this afternoon?:
:I want to look in the forward salon again,: he replies, :but the water will be too cloudy from us moving around in there this morning.:
:Besides, we’ve covered every inch of that salon already,: Sham complains.
:It’s still the most likely place she would have left her computer,: Dai says. :We’ll look there again tomorrow. This afternoon we’ll check her personal quarters again and the crew’s. And big guy,: he says to Sham, :you gotta move around more slowly when you’re inside the wreck. You churn up so much silt, it’s impossible for the rest of us to see anything.:
:So, salvaging wrecks ain’t my thing,: Sham grumbles with a belligerent thrust to his jaw.
:It’s not something any of us want to do,: Whitey retorts, :but we’re stuck with the job until we find that mucking computer. So slow down and let’s find it.:
Since Sham and Whitey look like they’re about to tear each other apart, I’m relieved when the hatch slides open. Dai goes first, and I sense the tension rise in all my captors. They raise their loaded spear guns and search the black water before swimming fast for the Storm Petrel. Even Whitey is scared, and I’ve only sensed fear in him around Kuron. Why are they all so frightened?
We enter the silent, black wreck through a hatch amidships on the top deck, and Sham pulls the hatch shut after us. Dai assigns each of us an area to search, and I get the captain’s cabin. It’s small space, but it still takes me a long time to sift through it thoroughly.
As I work, I consider how I could possibly escape. Should I try to slip out of the sub in the middle of the night? From my time at Atlantea I know that Sham and Wasp sleep at night like most humans, but Whitey and Dai have so much shark DNA that they need only a few hours of rest each evening. I’ll have to see when they sleep and figure out if I’ll set off any alarms if I try to leave the sub. Would Kuron really feed the others to the shredders if I escaped? For now, anyway, I think he needs his kids too much to kill them.
If I were truly brave, I’d stay until they found Idaine’s computer and try and take it with me, but Wasp, Whitey and Sham hate me so much, I’m afraid they may kill me long before we ever find her computer. If we ever find it.
While I’m looking through the storage compartments under the captain’s bunk, a large crab scuttles out so suddenly that I jump. The angry crab snaps its claws at me and then scurries away down the passageway. Thankful that compartment was the last place I needed to search, I fin backward out of the cabin, still shaking in reaction.
I bump into someone in the blackness. My pulse pounding again, I twist about and shine my dive torch upward to see Whitey glaring at me.
:Stop shining that light in my eyes!: Whitey raises his right hand to slash me with his long, claw-like nails. I lunge backward and bring up my fins to protect myself.
A moment later, Dai flashes between us and grabs Whitey’s wrist.
:Use your brain, bro,: Dai says coldly. :You cut her and her blood in the water could cause us all a world of hurt.:
:Yeah, I guess you’re right,: Whitey says with a scowl. :Don’t touch me again,: he snarls at me, :or I’ll tear you to pieces.:
As Whitey swims down the passageway, Dai stares at me, his black brows drawn together. :Are you trying to get yourself killed?:
:No,: I protest shakily. :I was backing out of the cabin and I just bumped into him.:
:Well, if you want to stay alive, you’d better be more careful. I guess you’re going to have to work with me. It’s the only way I can make sure our hostage survives until dinner time. Come on, I want to search the wheelhouse next.:
Even though this cold, callous Dai makes me furious, I’d much rather stay with him than the others. He leads me through the wreck up to the wheelhouse where the captain piloted the vessel. Dai takes one side of it and I take the other.
:Dai, why are you so nervous outside the wreck?: I venture on a private send as we search. Wasp may be listening in, but I need to know why these kids are so scared.
He’s silent for so long, I think he’s not going to answer me.
:It’s probably better that you know,: he says at last. :Maybe it will keep you from doing something stupid like trying to escape on your own. We’re on the lookout for rogue shredders. The chips in their brains are degrading as are the links between those chips and the shredders’ minds.:
:What does that mean?:
:It means that there are nine shredders out there that my father can’t control anymore. Fifteen shredders survived the Sea Ranger’s attack on Atlantea. Six remain under my father’s control, but nine have slipped away. The problem is, most of those rogue sharkheads are used to hanging around my father’s sub and associate it with food, and they almost seem to like the dark and the pressure down here.:
Goosebumps rise all over me. So there are nine rogue shredders prowling the black waters outside. :No wonder Wasp looks so frightened every time we cross between the wreck and the sub.:
:The other six shredders patrol the area and are programmed to drive off the rogue shredders. Those six can be a problem too, though, because my father isn’t as… alert as he used to be, and sometimes he forgets to keep them away from us. We’ve already had some pretty close calls.:
:Wow, and you left Safety Harbor to come home to this?: I can’t keep the sarcasm from my tone.
:At least here I know exactly where I stand and people don’t pretend to trust me. I’m done talking with you.:
True to his word, Dai doesn’t speak to me again. After we finish searching the wheelhouse, we move on to search the crew’s mess and cabins. By the time Dai finally calls an end to our searching, I’m too cold and numb to concentrate on anything.
Wearily I follow the others out of the wreck. I try to hurry across to the sub, but my legs are so stiff, I can’t swim as fast as the others.
I’m halfway to the Ophion when Whitey yells, :We’ve got company!: His dive torch picks up a shredder charging straight at me.
chapter thirteen
They should have let me keep my spear gun, I think stupidly as I stare at the shredder rushing toward me fast as a torpedo. My only chance is to reach the sub. I try to kick more quickly, but the water is so dense down here, it’s like forcing my way through cold jello.
Dai grabs my arm and sprints for the waterlock. Wasp and Sham are already there. Seconds later, Whitey flashes in and Wasp hits the door control. The door starts to shut just as the shredder reaches it. I glimpse its staring gray eyes, round like a shark’s but with a disturbingly human pupil, and its rows of serrated teeth. It reaches its clawed hands toward us. Whitey shoots a spear dart into its mouth, and the creature rears back as the door closes. Then we hear a series of deep booms. The shredder must be ramming against it.
:Th-thanks,: I tell the boys as the water pressure begins to change. :I thought it had me for sure.:
:I’d have let it eat you,: Whitey says with a shrug, :except then the bossman might let them eat us.:
:You’ve got to keep up,: Wasp tells me angrily. :We shouldn’t have to risk our lives for a Neptune idiot.:
I’m too cold and tired to think of a comeback—and Dai was right. I’m probably safer if I just keep quiet. The temperature feels wonderfully warm when we swim out of the waterlock. We strip off our heating packs and heavy seasuits. Wasp is shaking as she strips off hers. With a pang, I realize no one on this gray submarine is waiting for us with hot drinks or fresh heating packs.
The others head back to the mess again, and I follow them. I’m so exhausted that it’s hard to find enough energy to scoop the old tuna out of its container into my mouth. The others must be tired, too, because they say little as they down their own food.
When they finish, Whitey an
d Sham leave the mess. Just Dai, Wasp and I are left.
:I guess we’d better show you where you can sleep tonight,: Dai says.
He leads me into the central passageway. I’m very aware of Wasp following right behind us. He stops in front of a tiny cabin with a hammock and sea toilet. It’s about the size of a closet, and it doesn’t have a porthole. I suck in a deep breath as I try to imagine being alone in such a close space all night long.
:We don’t have anything bigger,: Dai says gruffly, and I glance at him in surprise. Is that a note of concern I hear? I search his face, but he looks as expressionless as ever. I’m very aware of Wasp watching us with avid interest.
I lift my chin. :I’m better with small spaces now,: I say, :plus, I’m so tired, I’ll probably fall asleep in thirty seconds.: I swim into the tiny cabin and face them both.
:Nighty-night. I hope you don’t have sweet dreams,: Wasp says spitefully, and then Dai swings the door shut. There’s a thud outside as a bolt slides home.
I take deep breaths and count to twenty. Then I try to shove open my door, but it doesn’t budge. They’ve definitely locked me in. I take more breaths and try not to freak. I miss Tobin so much. The last time Wasp locked me in a small space, he was there to help me fight my claustrophobia and the panic attacks that seized my whole body.
Imagining Tobin’s here and humming to me, I climb into the hammock. Even though I’m so exhausted that my whole body aches, I lie awake for hours, more frightened than I’ve ever been before. Again and again, I reach out to Tobin, Janni and Mariah, but Wasp’s dampening field prevents me from contacting them.
I miss my friends, my family and my dolphins. I wonder if I’ll ever see any of them again. Between the rogue shredders lurking outside this sub, the insane man who created them, and his savage kids, the odds of my getting back to Safety Harbor aren’t good.
I don’t want to believe it, but Dai truly has betrayed us. But we betrayed him first. It took so much courage for him to defy his father and friends. It took even more guts for him to try to change. We should have trusted him. If we had, maybe he wouldn’t have come back to this.
The Neptune Promise Page 9