The Neptune Challenge

by Polly Holyoke

  My father rubs his eyes again and straightens his shoulders. “Your job is to heal as quickly as you can and get back to dolphin training. We had another ten kids arrive while you were gone, plus your new friends need to learn how to work with dolphins, and Seth can use all the help he can get.”

  “I’m happy to pitch in.”

  I look at my mother’s picture on his desk and take another deep breath. “Maybe not tonight, but sometime soon, will you tell me more about Gillian and how you two got involved in the Neptune Project? Sometimes I feel like I didn’t know her very well.”

  “Your mom was a brilliant, driven, complex person. After all the years we were together, I think there were sides to her I never knew or understood, either. But I’d be glad to tell you more about her and the Project.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  We talk about James and dolphin training until I grow short of breath, and then I return to the ladder and the sea. As I swim back to the dorm caves, I realize that Safety Harbor really feels like home now. My father, my brother, my dolphins, and my friends are all here.

  Except for one.

  I MEET SHADOW for an early breakfast in the mess cave. Before our workday begins, she’s going to take me to the place they buried Mako. I’m surprised when, one by one, our new friends from Atlantea and my old friends from the southern sector appear, yawning and stretching. Pretty soon they’re all here except Tobin and Ocho, who are still in sickbay.

  :What are you guys all doing up so early?: I ask the others.

  :Guess word got around where you’re planning to go this morning.: Ree smiles at me.

  :And we wanted to keep you company,: Kalli says.

  I already know that Shadow, who was a frequent visitor to Mako’s greenhouse, made sure they buried him in a cedar grove. As soon as we finish breakfast and leave the mess cave, I call the pod, and they tow us to the small cove near Mako’s grave.

  When we surface, morning fog is still thick on the water. Swirling gray clouds muffle everything but the sigh of the gentle surf and the rustle of round beach pebbles under our feet as we leave the water and walk inland.

  “It’s just here,” Shadow tells me and leads us to a grove of ancient cedars. It’s even quieter here under the old, tall trees, and the air is filled with the clean, pungent scent of cedar bark.

  “I think Mako would have liked this place,” I tell the others. They’ve heaped his grave with moss, and someone marked it with a simple M made out of white sand dollars.

  We stand around the grave without speaking. Picturing that last sweet smile Mako sent me, I wish he could have had a chance to start over again at Safety Harbor. I really believe he could have been happier with us. Remembering all the plants he loved and the places he hoped to travel someday, I hope I’ll have a chance to see some of those places for him.

  “Thank you for my life,” I whisper to him, and then turn and leave the grove.

  When I reach the shingle beach, rays of early morning sun break through the fog and dance and shimmer on the waves. Even though Tobin’s not here to sing his hymn, I’m glad there’s still a flashing sea for Mako.

  I pause to watch my friends. Rad’s talking to Penn and Robry about some computer project. Thom’s helping Lena look for seashells for the necklaces she likes to make. Shadow smiles as she watches Sunny taking a picture of the disappearing fog.

  If only Dai were here. If only I knew he was safe.

  A dark head breaks the surface of the water. I don’t think it’s anyone I know from Safety Harbor, and then my breath catches. It almost looks like…

  I take several steps toward the shore.

  It is Dai!

  I race forward, splashing through the small waves. He swims toward shore until he’s standing hip-deep in the water and facing me, his black braids shining in the morning sun. He looks tired and more than a little sad. That sadness stops me in my tracks.

  “Is this where you buried Mako?” he asks, his gaze going to the grove behind me.

  He must have been listening to my thoughts again, but this time I don’t mind. I’m just so happy and relieved to see him.

  “Shadow thought he’d like being under some cedar trees.”

  “It seems very green and quiet here,” he says approvingly.

  Seconds later, Rad, Sunny, and Shadow notice Dai, and they mob him. Rad actually tackles him back into the water. I join them under the surface, knowing it will be easier for Dai to breathe there anyway.

  :Did you find your dad?: I overhear Shadow asking him.

  :I searched and searched, but I couldn’t find any sign of him.:

  :I’m sorry,: Shadow says for all of us.

  :I’m sorry, too. In his own way, he was trying to save the world.: Dai looks away from his friends and swims toward me. The others fall back and give us some space.

  :How’s your shoulder?: he asks, his gaze going to my bandage.

  :It’s better.:

  :I’m sorry I’m a little late. Am I…Do you think I’m still welcome here?:

  I’m not used to seeing Dai look so unsure of himself. :I know there’s still a place for you at Safety Harbor, and for Ton,: I add when I notice my pod is swimming in ecstatic circles around the big dolphin.

  :Hey, Nere, you guys coming? We don’t wanna be late to our work duties,: Rad calls to me.

  :Yeah, we’re coming,: I reply with a grin.

  I reach out and grab Dai’s hand. I’m going to help him and Ton get settled in their new home, and then I have some dolphins to train.

  THANKS SO MUCH to Sue and John Manion of NOAA for sharing their knowledge and experience on a wide variety of marine topics. I’m grateful to Kristin Gonzalez for her botanical suggestions and help with my teachers’ guides, and to Cindy Gay for patiently answering my random biology questions. Maria Isabell Cruz, I appreciate your graciously providing Spanish translations. Bill Burton educated me on the topic of how electricity behaves underwater. John Klemzak, Erin Harrington, and Margaret Commins all contributed some much needed salmon expertise.

  It was so helpful and exciting to share early drafts of this story with my enthusiastic beta readers: Holly, Maia, Marie, Joselle, Abby, Lou Anne, Lori, and Corinne. Karen C., I’m so very glad we are sharing the dream and facing its dragons together. Doug and Shirley, you two are the best agents ever. Alex A., it goes without saying that you are “bloody brilliant.” Lisa Y. and Julie M., I’m so very grateful for your careful and insightful editing that transformed my sprawling manuscript into a much better story. Robert, Randy, Hema, Pam, and Brenda, members of the best little ol’ critique group in Texas, once again you helped me to make Nere and her undersea world come alive.

  POLLY HOLYOKE (www.pollyholyoke.com) grew up in Colorado, where she spent her childhood skiing, camping, reading, and dreaming up fantastical stories. Polly went on to graduate from Middlebury College, become a middle school social studies teacher, and write The Neptune Project. She lives in Plano, Texas, with her husband and their two daughters, as well as two cats, two Chihuahuas, and a beagle.