The Swarm

by Frank Schätzing

  'Hey, Leon! Leon!' One of the Blue Shark's passengers was waving at him – Alicia Delaware. She was bouncing up and down. 'Who are those guys? What are they doing here?'

  Anawak did a double-take. The other day she had told him she was about to leave the island. But right now it didn't matter.

  He manoeuvred his Zodiac towards Greywolf's boat and drew up at right angles to it. He clapped his hands loudly. 'All right, Jack, you can stop now. Tell us what you want.'

  Greywolf increased the volume. His monotonous chant rose and fell like an aggressive dirge.

  'For God's sake, Jack!'

  The noise stopped. Greywolf faced Anawak. 'Do you want something?'

  'Tell your people to back off. Then we can talk about whatever you like, so long as you tell them to stop.'

  Greywolf's face contorted with rage. 'We're not backing off.'

  'What's your point, Greywolf? Why all the fuss?'

  'I tried to tell you at the aquarium but you wouldn't listen.'

  'I didn't have time.'

  'And I don't have time to talk to you now.' His supporters laughed and jeered.

  Anawak nearly lost his temper. 'I'm going to make you an offer, Jack,' he said, as calmly as he could. 'You call this off, and we'll meet tonight at Davie's. Then you can tell us what you'd like us to do.'

  'Just keep away from here.'

  'But why? What harm are we doing?'

  Two dark islands surfaced next to the boat, textured and mottled like weathered stone. Grey whales. It would have made an amazing photo, but Greywolf had ruined the day.

  'Turn back,' shouted Greywolf. He stared at the Blue Shark's passengers and lifted his arms imploringly. 'Turn back and leave the whales in peace. Live in harmony with nature. Your boats are polluting the air and the ocean. Whales are being hounded so you can take photos. This place belongs to them. Go home. You don't belong here!'

  What a load of garbage, thought Anawak. Surely even Greywolf didn't believe it. But his supporters cheered.

  'Come on, Jack! We're here to protect the whales, remember? Whale-watching helps us to understand them. It lets people see them in new light. It's not in their interest for you to disrupt our work.'

  'Their interest? You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?' Greywolf jeered. 'Can you read their minds, Mr. Scientist?'

  'Jack, drop all the Indian crap. What do you want?

  'Publicity,' Greywolf said.

  'And how are you going to get that here?' Anawak waved his hand at the ocean. 'There's just a couple of boats and a few people. Let's talk about this properly and get some real publicity. Both sides can put forward their arguments, and may the best side win.'

  'Pathetic,' said Greywolf. 'Listen to the voice of the white man.'

  Anawak lost his patience. 'That's crap and you know it. You're more of a white man than I am, O'Bannon. Get real.'

  For a moment Greywolf stared at him. Then a grin spread across his face. He pointed to the Lady Wexham. 'Why do you think the people on your boat are so interested in filming us?'

  'Because of you and your mumbo-jumbo.'

  'Exactly,' laughed Greywolf 'You got it in one.'

  Then it dawned on Anawak. The people on the Lady Wexham weren't tourists: they were reporters whom Greywolf had invited for the show.

  The son-of-a-bitch.

  He was about to make a suitably cutting response, when he noticed that Greywolf was still staring at the Lady Wexham. Anawak followed his gaze, and gasped.

  A humpback had catapulted itself out of the water just in front of the boat. For a moment it looked as though it was balancing on its flukes. Only the tip of its tail was still submerged as it towered above the Lady Wexham's bridge. The throat grooves on its lower jaw and underbelly were clearly visible. Its long pectoral fins stuck out like wings, two shiny white appendages with dark markings and knobbly edges. A loud ooh! went up as the gigantic body tipped slowly to one side and hit the water in an explosion of spray.

  The people on the top deck shrank back. Part of the Lady Wexham disappeared behind a wall of foam. But the jet of water had cloaked another dark shape. In a mantle of mist and water a second whale surged up from the waves. This time it was even closer to the vessel. Even before the cry of horror went up, Anawak knew that the leap had gone wrong.

  The whale hit the Lady Wexham with such force that the vessel rocked violently. There was a cracking, splintering sound. The whale dived down, and people on the top deck were thrown to the floor. The sea around the craft foamed and boiled, then several humpbacks rose to the surface. Two dark bodies launched themselves into the air and hurled themselves at the hull.

  'Vengeance!' shrieked Greywolf. There was a hysterical edge to his voice.

  The Lady Wexham was twenty-two metres long, far longer than any humpback whale. She had a permit from the Ministry of Transport and conformed to the Canadian Coast Guard's safety standards, which required passenger vessels to be able to withstand rough seas, metre-high breakers and the occasional collision with a lethargic whale. The Lady Wexham had been designed to cope with all such misfortunes. But she hadn't been designed to contend with an attack.

  From across the water Anawak heard her engines start. Pandemonium broke out on the two viewing decks, and screams of terror echoed over the waves. People were pushing past each other in blind panic. The Lady Wexham started to move, but a whale rose out of the water, catapulting itself against the bridge. Even this assault wasn't enough to capsize her, but now she was pitching dangerously, as debris rained into the water.

  Anawak knew he had to do something. Maybe he could distract the whales. His hand reached for the throttle.

  At that moment another scream pierced the air, but this time it was coming from behind him. Anawak spun round.

  He was just in time to see the body of an enormous humpback surge vertically out of the water, looking almost weightless. It rose, ten, twelve metres into the air and, for a heartbeat it hung above the little red motorboat with the three protestors.

  Anawak had never seen anything so terrifying, and yet so beautiful at such close range.

  'Oh dear God no,' he whispered.

  As if in slow motion the body gently tipped and started falling. A shadow descended on the little red motorboat, then swallowed the Blue Shark's bow. It grew longer and longer as the enormous body plummeted downwards, travelling faster by the second…

  Anawak jammed down the throttle. Greywolf's boat was also quick off the mark – heading straight for Anawak. The two boats collided and Greywolf's driver disappeared overboard but Anawak didn't stop. Before his eyes, thirty tonnes of humpback crashed on to the motorboat, burying it and its crew in the water, and hitting the front of the Blue Shark. The Zodiac's stern flipped up at right-angles to the water, sending its load of orange-clad passengers spinning through the spray.

  It was a chilling sight. 'The campaigners' boat had been reduced to splinters and the Blue Shark was drifting upside-down. The water was full of people, shouting and paddling wildly. Their orange suits had inflated automatically to keep them afloat but some lay still on the water, killed by the weight of the whale. Across the waves, the Lady Wexham was surrounded by flukes and fins. He watched as she picked up speed, listing severely.

  Anawak picked his way slowly through the drifting bodies, trying to avoid causing more injuries. He flipped on to channel 98 and reported his position. 'We're in trouble,' he barked. 'Casualties and maybe fatalities.' Every boat in the area would pick up his distress signal. He didn't have time to say more or to explain what had happened – there'd been a dozen or so passengers on the Blue Shark, plus Stringer and her deputy, then the three protestors in the motorboat, seventeen in all.

  'Leon!' Stringer was swimming towards him. Anawak grabbed her hand and pulled her aboard, then spotted dorsal fins in the water not far from his boat. The orcas' black heads and backs poked out of the water as they sped towards the carnage.

  They were moving with a single-mindedness that made his sto
mach lurch.

  Alicia Delaware was floating nearby. She was holding the head of a young man whose orange suit hadn't inflated. Anawak steered the boat towards her, then he and Stringer hauled the unconscious man and the girl on board. Others were swimming towards them now, stretching out their arms to be pulled out of the water. The boat was filling rapidly. It was much smaller than the Blue Shark and already overloaded. Frantically they kept pulling people in, while Anawak scanned the sea for bodies.

  'There's one!' shouted Stringer.

  A man was floating motionless in the water, face down, no suit – a protester from the motorboat.

  Anawak and Stringer grabbed him by the arms and lifted him.

  He wasn't especially heavy.

  Not nearly heavy enough.

  His head lolled back and his eyes stared blankly. His body ended at the waist, torn flesh, arteries and intestines dangled from the torso, blood dripping over the weaves.

  Stringer gasped and let go, then Anawak lost his grip and the corpse splashed back into the water.

  All around the boat, sword-like fins swirled through the waves. There were at least ten of them, maybe more. A blow sent the boat spinning. Anawak leaped to the wheel, opened the throttle and sped off. Three vast backs rose out of the water before him. He swerved and the whales dived. Two more appeared on the other side, heading straight for the boat. Anawak swerved again. He heard screaming and crying and panic took hold of him, but somehow he steered the Zodiac past the black-and-white bodies blocking their escape.

  There was a crunching sound. He swung round in time to see the Lady Wexham shudder and heel in a cloud of spray. In that split second of inattentiveness, the Zodiac's fate was sealed. A giant tail was already hurtling towards the boat.

  The Zodiac flew into the air and flipped over.

  Anawak soared up, past a cloud of spray, then plummeted down into the ocean. It was bitingly cold. He kicked with all his might, and fought his way up to the surface. Gasping, he was pushed back down. Seized by panic he thrashed about, paddling madly until, spluttering, he surfaced again.

  There was no sign of the boat or any of its passengers. The coastline bobbed into view. He was lifted by a wave and at last he saw some of the others. – half a dozen at most. Then gleaming black blades cut through the surf and dived down. A head jerked under and didn't resurface.

  An elderly woman saw the man vanish. 'The boat! Where is it?' she shrieked.

  Where was the boat? It was too far for them to swim ashore. The woman's screams became more desperate.

  Anawak swam over to her. She saw him coming and stretched out her arms. 'Please! You've got to help me.'

  I'm going to,' called Anawak. 'Just try to stay calm.'

  'I can't keep my head up. I'm sinking.'

  'You won't sink.' He took deep long strokes to reach her. ''The suit won't let you.'

  The woman didn't seem to hear him: 'You've got to help me. Oh, God, don't let me drown! I don't want to drown.'

  'Don't worry, HI-

  Suddenly her eyes widened and she vanished under water. Something brushed against Anawak's leg.

  Fear coursed through him. He pushed his upper body clear of the water and looked around. The Zodiac was drifting upside-down. All that separated him and the others from it was a few metres – and three black torpedoes.

  As the whales powered towards them, something in Anawak protested. Not once had an orca attacked a human in the wild: they treated humans with curiosity, amity or indifference. And whales didn't attack boats – they just didn't. Suddenly he was hit by a rush of water and a flash of red came between him and the whales. Hands reached down to grab him. Then Greywolf steered towards the rest of the swimmers. He pulled Alicia Delaware out of the water and set her down on a bench while Anawak hauled up a wheezing man. He scanned the surface for others. Where was Stringer?

  He caught a glimpse of her head between two waves. A second woman was with her. The orcas had surrounded the upturned Zodiac and were closing in from both sides. Their shiny black heads cut through the waves, jaws parted to reveal rows of ivory teeth. In a few seconds they would be upon the women. But Greywolf was at the wheel, steering purposefully towards them.

  Anawak held out a hand to Stringer.

  'Take her first,' she shouted.

  Greywolf helped him drag the other woman to safety. Then Stringer tried to climb on board. She slid back into the water and the whales dived down behind her.

  Suddenly she was alone. 'Leon?' She stretched out her arms, eves wide with fear. Anawak caught her right hand.

  The blue-green water parted as something shot up at incredible speed. Its jaws were open, exposing white teeth. Then they snapped shut and Stringer screamed. Her fist hammered on the snout that held her prisoner. 'Get off she yelled.

  Anawak's fingers dug into her jacket. Their eyes met. 'Susan! Give me your other hand!' He held on to her, determined not to let go, but the orca's jaws were clamped round her. Her mouth opened in a dull cry that become a piercing scream. With a sickening jolt, she was wrenched from Anawak's grip. Her head disappeared underwater, then her arms and her twitching fingers. For a second her orange suit shone in the water, a scattered kaleidoscope of colour that paled, faded and vanished.

  Anawak stared at the water. Something glittered in the depths. A column of bubbles. As they reached the surface they popped and foamed.

  Then the water turned red.

  'No,' he whispered.

  Greywolf pulled him away from the railings. 'There's no one here,' he said. 'Let's go.'

  As the motorboat roared off, Anawak tripped and steadied himself. The woman whom Stringer had saved was lying on a bench, whimpering softly. Delaware was soothing her, voice shaking. The man stared fixedly ahead.

  From across the water Anawak heard another commotion. He whirled round and saw that the Lady Wexham was surrounded by blades and humps. She was barely moving and listed dangerously to one side.

  'We have to turn back!' he shouted. 'They're not going to make it!'

  Greywolf was powering towards the coast. 'Forget it.'

  Anawak reached over and snatched up the walkie-talkie. He tried to call the Lady Wexham. The radio crackled and hissed. 'We've got to help them, Jack! Turn back, damn it!'

  'With this boat it's hopeless. We'll be lucky if we make it ourselves.' The worst thing was, he was right.

  'VICTORIA?' SHOEMAKER YELLED into the phone. 'What the hell are they doing in Victoria?… Why? Doesn't Victoria have its own Coast Guard? There are people drowning in Clayoquot Sound! We've got one skipper dead and a boat going down and you're telling me to be patient?'

  He strode up and down in the office, waiting for a reply. He stopped in his tracks. 'As soon as they can? Sorry, but I'm not interested in your damn excuses. Send someone else… What? Now, just you listen to me…'

  The voice at the other end of the line was so loud that, metres away, Anawak heard it. The station was in turmoil. Davie and Shoemaker had been talking non-stop into radios and phones. Shoemaker dropped the receiver and shook his head.

  'What's going on?' asked Anawak. Greywolf's decrepit old boat had fought its way back to Tofino fifteen minutes earlier, and since then the office had been swamped with people. The news of the attack had spread like wildfire through the town. All the skippers who worked for the station had come in and the frequencies were jammed. At first nearby sport fishermen had called in, ridiculing the inexperienced idiots 'too dumb to dodge a bunch of whales', and bragging about how they would save them. Then the calls had dried up. Anyone who tried to help had become the target of a fresh attack. All hell had broken loose – and no one knew for sure what was going on.

  'The Coast Guard's run out of people to send us,' said Shoemaker angrily. 'They've all been dispatched to Victoria or Ucluelet. Apparently the Lady isn't the only boat in trouble.'

  'More attacks?'

  'And deaths, by the sound of it.'

  'News from Ucluelet,' Davie called. He reached behind the co
unter and twiddled the dials on his shortwave radio. 'A signal from a trawler. She picked up a distress call from a Zodiac and went to help, but she was attacked. She's turning round.'

  'What kind of attack?'

  'Signal's gone. I've lost her.'

  'And the Lady Wexham?

  'No news. Tofino Air has sent two planes – I got hold of them just now.'

  'And?' asked Shoemaker impatiently. 'Can they see the Lady?'

  'Tom, they only just took off.'

  'Why aren't we with them?'

  'Don't be a jerk. You know perfectly well why-'

  'They're our boats, for Christ's sake! We should be in those darned planes.' Shoemaker was pacing wildly. 'What's happened to the Lady?'

  'We'll have to wait and see.'

  'Wait? We can't wait! I'm going out there.'

  'Tom-'

  'We've got another Zodiac, haven't we? We'll take the Devilfish and see for ourselves.'

  'Are you nuts?' said a skipper. 'Haven't you been listening to a word Leon's said? We need to leave this to the Coast Guard.'

  'There is no Coast Guard!' yelled Shoemaker.

  'Maybe the Lady Wexham will make it back without us. Leon said-'

  'Maybe isn't good enough. I'm going out there!'

  'That's enough now!' Davie held up a hand to silence them. He shot Shoemaker a warning glare. 'Enough lives have been lost, Tom. I don't want anyone taking needless risks. 'We'll wait for the pilots to report back, then we'll decide what to do.'

  'Doing nothing never solved anything!'

  Davie didn't answer. He was tuning his radio, trying to make contact with the seaplanes. In the meantime Anawak did his best to persuade the crowd to leave the office. His knees trembled and he felt dizzy. He was probably in shock, he thought. He would have given anything to lie down and close his eyes – but if he did, he knew he would see Stringer in the jaws of an orca.

  The woman she had saved was lying semi-conscious on a bench near the door. If it hadn't been for her, Stringer would still be alive. The man they'd rescued was sitting next to her, crying softly: he'd lost his daughter, who'd been with him on the boat. Alicia Delaware was looking after him. For someone who'd only narrowly escaped death, she seemed remarkably composed. A helicopter was supposed to be on its way to take them to hospital, but right now they couldn't count on anyone or anything.