The Neptune Promise

by Polly Holyoke

  Then we swim down into the total dark to monitor Dai’s beloved gorgonians, and we switch on our dive torches. The big orange corals are so bright, they almost glow in the dark.

  :I call this one Dragon, and that one the Hydra,: Dai says, shining his dive torch on some of his favorites along the wall. :Oh, and by the way,: he adds sheepishly, :I’d rather you didn’t tell your dad or your brother I’ve made up nicknames for these guys. It’s not very scientific.:

  I’m listening with only part of my mind because I’m remembering the gorgonian coral that caught me when my current harness broke.

  :You doing okay?: Dai asks.

  :I’m just thinking about when I got swept away by the current and one of your gorgon—:

  Suddenly, Ton and Densil race up, whistling and sawing in their excitement.

  :a big shark comes,: Densil warns us. :I think it is curious about your lights.:

  I relay Densil’s warning to Dai. My heart pounds as we shift closer to each other. Dai lifts his spear gun with his left hand and switches off his dive torch. I turn mine off, too.

  :You’re going to have to help me hold this,: he says. Just like the night we fought our way to the surface, I use my right arm to help steady his weapon.

  I stare into total blackness, wondering if the shark is going to attack.

  :It’s not charging,: Dai reassures me. :I think Densil was right. It’s just curious.:

  Moments later he switches on his dive torch again. Its beam plays across a sixgill shark approaching us. Gripping Dai’s spear gun together and revolving slowly to keep it trained on the shark, we watch the creature swim a slow, sinuous circle about us. It’s a big sixgill, maybe fourteen feet long, and it studies us out of dark gray, expressionless eyes. Then it swims off and disappears into the black sea.

  I let go a trembling sigh. The shark was beautiful, in its cold, remote way.

  :Thanks for the heads up,: I tell Densil.

  :That was like déjà vu all over again,: Dai murmurs as he stares after the shark and then looks at our hands. I let go of the spear gun and shift back from him.

  :I-I’m glad that sixgill wasn’t hungry,: I say.

  Dai stares at me and frowns in concentration.

  :That was like déjà vu. Nere, I remember when we shot the shredder together, and I remember what happened outside the wreck. Whitey didn’t break your arm. I did.:

  chapter twenty

  It feels like an anchor just dropped deep into the pit of my stomach as I gaze back at Dai. He knows I lied to him. I wish now that I’d prepared better for this moment. Some stupid part of me hoped he’d never remember what happened the night he helped me to escape from his father’s sub.

  :Why didn’t you tell me the truth?: Dai asks me, his jaw tight. I sense he’s fighting to hold on to his temper.

  :B-because I thought you might blame yourself for hurting me when you actually saved my life.:

  :Nere, I shoved you so hard, I broke your arm. I did hurt you. You’re probably lucky I didn’t break your neck.:

  :If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way, that shredder would have torn me apart for sure.:

  Dai rakes a hand through his hair. :This just proves that Tobin is right about me.:

  :W-what does Tobin have to do with this?:

  :He’s always worrying that I could hurt you, and now I know he’s right.:

  :That’s what you get for eavesdropping on other people’s thoughts,: I say in exasperation.

  Dai doesn’t reply to my snarky comment. Instead, his face set, he starts kicking toward the surface.

  :Where are you going? I thought you had a bunch more experiments down here you wanted to check.:

  :We’re heading straight back to Safety Harbor,: he says. :I can check my experiments later on my own. As of right now, the two of us aren’t spending any more time alone together.:

  :Dai, you’re being ridiculous. Stop and talk to me.: I end up having to reach out and tug his arm to get him to stop.

  He turns my way long enough for me to see the torment in his eyes. :Don’t you see? I couldn’t bear it if I harmed you again, or someone else here. What if I hurt Bria, or Robry?:

  :Dai, I know you won’t hurt anyone at Safety Harbor.:

  :You can’t know that. After all, I killed my own mother.: He says the words coolly, but I can sense the anguish and guilt raging inside him.

  :I still don’t believe you killed her,: I fire back at him. :Your father is lying to you about that just like he lied about so much else.:

  :I know I hit her, and I know she died. End of story. You all would be better off without me,: he declares and kicks for the surface again.

  :Y-you’re not going to leave Safety Harbor, are you?:

  He’s silent for so long, I’m afraid to hear his answer.

  :No,: he says at last. :I won’t leave. I don’t have any other place else to go, and if there’s a fight with my father, I could help you against his shredders and Whitey and the others. But this thing between you and me is over, as of now.:

  :You may be willing to give up on us, Dai Kuron, but I’m not.:

  :From now on there is no us,: he says, and he refuses to speak to me again.

  My eyes burn with tears as I follow him back to Safety Harbor. Kids pair up and break up in our colony all the time, but Dai and I must have had one of the shortest relationships, ever.

  ~~~

  True to his word, Dai refuses to be alone with me. He spends most of his days and nights outside the bubble wall, patrolling on his own or monitoring his corals. Every time I try to reach out to him, he ignores me.

  :You have to give him time,: Shadow tells me one day when I go to her for some Dai advice.

  :But it’s not like he’ll cool down eventually,: I argue. :The problem is that he’s dead wrong. He would never hurt me.:

  :He doesn’t know that. Since he was ten, he’s believed he killed his mother, the person he loved most in the world. Now you’re the person he cares for the most, and he just can’t risk hurting you.: Shadow’s dark eyes are filled with compassion.

  :But it’s hurting me to see him like this, feeling so bitter and spending so much time by himself.: It figures that I finally got up the guts to be with the guy, and then he dumps me.

  :He’d rather hurt your feelings than risk killing you.:

  :There’s only one way out of this mess. I have to find some way to convince Dai that he didn’t kill his mother.:

  :Ran Kuron is the only one who knows the truth,: Shadow says, her gaze thoughtful. :Back at Atlantea, I wondered if there was some way I could trick him into revealing to Dai what happened that day his mother died. But Kuron was so cool and controlled, I didn’t think I could pull it off. Plus, I was sure he’d kill me for trying.:

  :Kuron’s much less in control of himself these days,: I say, remembering the jumpy, manic man I saw on the sub. Shadow might be on to something. Ran Kuron is probably the only one Dai would believe.

  But that means Dai and I would have to confront his father one last time.

  ~~~

  Word has leaked out that the helper staff is making plans to start cultivating the c-plankton. We’re all wondering how they’re planning to grow and spread it, and how we’ll be helping.

  One night when I surface to visit my dad, the smell of smoke is worse, and I see bits of ash floating in the air. This September has been hot, dry and windy, and many of the fires on the mainland are flaring again. Uneasily I look to the southeast where a plume of gray smoke billows into the sky. It looks like it could be close to Tsukwani’s village.

  When Dad opens his door, James is already inside. From their tense expressions, I receive a strong impression I’m interrupting an argument.

  “Um, should I come back later?” I ask them both.

  “No, come on in. We weren’t getting anywhere,” my father says and gives me a hug. “Your brother inherited more than his fair share of the Hanson gene for stubbornness.”

  James’ arms are crossed
and his cheeks are red. Whatever they were arguing about, it must have been serious. Hoping to lessen the tension between them, I ask, “So, what’s up with the fires? I’ve never seen ash in the air before. Is there a fire near here?”

  “A bad one just broke out on Allman Island,” Dad replies. “That’s the source of the smoke we’re smelling now. I’m afraid our Kwawaka’wakw friends could be in real trouble if the wind shifts. I radioed Hemasaka to let him know we’re happy to help if they need us.”

  I swallow hard and hope Tsukwani and her family will be okay. Since Dad and James are still glowering at each other, I try another topic. “What are your plans for growing the c-plankton? Everyone below wants to know. Kalli guessed you can’t grow the stuff around here.”

  “She’s right,” Dad says. “Originally we had planned to set up our tanks and grow lights in some abandoned warehouses on the outskirts of Vancouver, but the war has made that area too dangerous now.”

  “So where are you going to grow it?” I ask.

  He and James exchange a look. “The backup plan is to cultivate the c-plankton down in LA,” James says.

  Chills trace down my spine. Almost the entire population of that city died in a tyrox epidemic forty years ago.

  “Because of the epidemic,” Dad is saying, “Los Angeles is a ghost city now, and it’s one of the few places the Western Collective rarely patrols.”

  “But will it be safe for the people who come to cultivate the c-plankton there?” I ask.

  “There have been no recorded cases of tyrox in twenty years, and the Western Collective made certain that all its citizens have been inoculated against it.”

  “More to the point, who are you going to find to cultivate the c-plankton?” I ask curiously.

  “We’re going to send Thom south and ask him to talk to Kyel’s father. Ty Rath has contacts all over the LA basin, and he’s passionate about stopping climate change. We’re hoping he will agree to help us staff and defend the warehouses.”

  I stare at my father. “But Ty Rath is one of the most notorious, ruthless guerillas fighting the Western Collective.”

  “That’s true, but he’s also a very forward-thinking, brilliant man which is why he allowed his son Kyel to become a part of the Project.”

  A pang of sorrow shoots through me when I think of Kyel, a boy who led our group traveling north until he was killed by a Marine Guard diver.

  “Exactly how are you going to get in touch with Ty Rath?” James asks. “Thom can’t just march up into the San Gabriel Mountains and find him. Those mountains are hours from the ocean. Thom would suffocate before he ever found the guy.”

  “Ty Rath is cautious and cagey about his communications, which has helped him to elude the Western Collective for thirty years. That’s why we need to find a way to contact him in person. He does trade with a network of smugglers who travel back and forth to the Southern Republic and Mexico. We’re hoping one of those smugglers will find him for us and bring him to the coast for a meeting. In fact, you know the first smuggler we’ve already contacted—Cam Cruz, Robry’s big brother.”

  “Cam’s alive?” I sit up straighter on Dad’s bed, a wave of joy rushing through me. Cam was my best friend back in Goleta.

  “He’s very much alive and has become the right-hand man for Scarn Kasporov, a leader of one of the biggest smuggling rings in that area.”

  “I was so afraid that Cam had been killed that day he helped me and Robry get away,” I murmur. That moment flashes through my mind again. With brutal clarity, I see Cam stepping forward to block the soldiers’ path to us. They shot him with a solar rifle and clubbed him to the ground.

  “Cam survived, and they sent him to a prison camp. He escaped after six months and promptly joined Scarn’s smugglers.”

  “He used to hate smugglers so much. I can’t believe he became one.”

  “What he saw inside the camp may have hardened him,” Dad says soberly. “It’s clear from his messages that he loathes the Western Collective. He might be willing to help us, but there’s a catch.”

  He pauses and clears his throat.

  “What’s the catch?” I ask, a sinking sensation in my belly.

  “He wants to see you and Robry first.”

  chapter twenty-one

  I stare down at my lap. As much as I’d love to see Cam again, the idea of swimming south to LA makes me shudder. My friends and I barely survived our long trip north to Safety Harbor because of ruthless Marine Guard divers and too many ocean predators who tried to eat us along the way.

  I look up and meet Dad’s gaze. “Two of us died on that journey, and the rest of us were lucky to get here in one piece. I can’t imagine making that trip again.”

  “Traveling here was hard on you and your friends, and no one will blame you if you decide not to go. As your father, I have to admit that I’d be much happier if you turned this mission down and stayed here.”

  Dad pauses to take a deep breath. “But as one of the founders of the Neptune Project, I have to ask you to consider going. Because of the friendship between our families and because he cares about you, Cam is our best chance to connect with Ty Rath, and Ty Rath is our best shot at cultivating enough c-plankton to make a difference.”

  “Has Thom already agreed to go?” I ask, stalling for time. Making that trip again terrifies me, but it sounds like they truly need me to talk to Cam, and I’d like to see for myself that he’s okay. Besides, life around here is pretty rough right now with Tobin and Dai barely speaking to me.

  “Thom has already volunteered to go, and we are planning to send a small patrol of our best fighters and Sea Rangers as his escort. You and Robry could join them, but this group won’t be leaving for another week yet, which means you don’t have to make up your mind tonight.”

  “Good, because I’d like to talk with Robry as well as Mariah, Sokya and Densil. I’m afraid if I agree to travel to the Southern Sector, the dolphins will feel like they have to come along, too, just to keep an eye on me.”

  And I’d feel awful if something happened to them. A pang of sorrow shoots through me when I remember brave, sweet Pani, one of Mariah’s granddaughters, who was killed by the Marine Guard on our journey north.

  “It would be safer than your last trip,” Dad says, reading the worry in my expression. “You’re used to the sea now, and we know a good deal more now than we did a year ago about how to keep you Neptune kids safe in it.”

  “Nothing about a thousand-mile trip down the coast of the Western Collective is safe,” I retort.

  “If it makes any difference to you, sis,” James says quietly, “I’ve already volunteered to go. Dad and I were just, um, discussing the details of that.”

  I twist around to look at my brother. “But why do you need to go? You’re a researcher, not a fighter.”

  “Because a Controller could prevent the Western Collective from reporting and arresting our teams if they notice any unusual activity at the warehouses we’re planning to use.”

  I turn on my father, fear clenching my insides. “You haven’t told the other scientists in the Project about James, have you?”

  “I haven’t told anyone,” Dad reassures me. “James would be going as my assistant. We three are the only ones who know what James is and why he’s truly going, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

  “You’re going, too?” I ask in surprise. “But it’s crazy dangerous for you to go back there.”

  “That’s part of what we were arguing about,” James says grimly. “If officials in the Western Collective find out that Dr. Mark Hanson, a citizen they presumed dead, is still alive, they’re not going to be happy, and he’ll end up in a prison camp or worse.”

  “And you still have so much work to do up here in Safety Harbor,” I say, panicked at the idea of losing my dad, too.

  “But our starting a new civilization under the waves isn’t going to do anyone much good if the planet keeps heating at its current rate,” Dad argues. “Your desce
ndants will be fighting to survive in dying oceans full of jellyfish and tubeworms.”

  “You’re that sure that this c-plankton can save our planet?” I ask, amazed that he’s willing to leave Safety Harbor and the kids he’s dedicated his life to.

  “Idaine Kuron’s c-plankton is our last, best hope to stop climate change. It will take years for it to truly have an impact, but yes, I do believe this c-plankton, once it’s spread throughout oceans of the world, can sequester enough carbon dioxide to cool the Earth. And that’s why I have to return to the Southern Sector.”

  I let go a sigh. Sometimes I forget that my dad can be just as stubborn as everyone else in our family. The itchiness in my chest reminds me it’s time I headed back to the water. I get to my feet. “I still want to talk to Robry and Mariah and her family and see what they think.”

  “Speak to Mariah,” Dad says, “but please don’t talk to the rest of your friends about the LA option yet. We’re still worried that Ran Kuron may learn about our plans.”

  “You can’t think that Dai would—”

  “No,” Dad cuts off my indignant protest, “after everything Dai’s done for you, I don’t think he’s our leak. But that means that one of the other kids from Atlantea is feeding information to Kuron, and we need to consider what he might do if he finds out we’re trying to cultivate and spread the c-plankton his wife created.”

  “I promise I won’t talk to anyone about your plans, but does Robry know yet that his brother’s alive?”

  “Not yet. I thought that was something you might like to tell him,” Dad says with a smile.

  “You’re right about that,” I say, starting for the door, “and please let me know if Tsukwani’s people radio for help.”

  I say goodnight to Dad and James and hurry back to the water. I hug myself as I stride across the topside clearing. I’m so happy to know Cam is alive. My best friend growing up, Cam always looked out for me. He never treated me like a freak even though I had lung attacks and my genetically engineered eyes were so weak that I had to wear dark glasses. Before he risked his life to help me get away from the soldiers, he swore that he would always love me. I’m dying to see him, but the prospect of making the long journey back to the Southern Sector makes my mouth go dry.