Maddy's Dolphin

by Imogen Tovey

  During the picnic, Ishbel brought up in conversation that the President was staying in the same hotel as Lucy and her dad. ‘Have you seen him? They say his daughter is here.’

  ‘No, I haven’t seen them. There’s lots of security, though.’

  Then they talked about all the dolphins and the sperm whale in the Gulf and about swimming with Indigo and the sperm whale, Lunar, the day before. CJ entertained them with tales of his diving exploits and Maddy told Lucy about him wearing his swimsuit to bed so he could get up and out for his morning swim as quickly as possible. They spent most of the picnic laughing and chatting away.

  They left Ishbel to finish off her book and moved off, out of earshot. Lying down in the sun, they started to discuss what they could do to help the whales and dolphins. ‘We need your dad to understand how important the whales and dolphins are.’

  ‘If America stopped using the sonar, would the other countries?’ asked CJ.

  ‘Probably,’ said Lucy. ‘That’s how it usually works, and we use the sonar more than any other country anyway.’

  They lay on their backs silently for some time, then CJ said, ‘If Indigo saved you from drowning or something then your dad would have to thank him. Then he might stop the sonar.’

  They were all silent again for about thirty seconds, then both Maddy and Lucy sat up and said at the same time, ‘Yes, that’s it, CJ.’

  It took them a while to then thrash out the plan. The basics were that Lucy would go out on a motor boat. She would have to be with James, as he was always with her to protect her. They would stop to do some fishing from the boat and Maddy and CJ would swim up from behind and get a rope tangled in the motor. Meanwhile Lucy would accidentally lose the radio and all mobile phones over the side of the boat and Lunar would pull the boat by the rope further out to sea, then pull it over. It would look like a freak accident; both James and Lucy would be lost miles out to sea. By this time people would start getting worried.

  They would have to time it to perfection, but they would then get Indigo and Lunar to rescue them and swim them both in towards the shore as the air-to-sea rescue came to get them.

  They all agreed it would work, and worked through the timing and details a second time to make sure the plan was sound. They would let Indigo know that evening and see what he thought and then do it in the next couple of days. They had a plan, and they were all confident it was a good one.

  The Keeper

  Maddy walked down the nine steps to the little concrete dock where she spent most of her evenings talking to Indigo. She had left CJ playing football. It was an important game for his team tonight and both Jorgos and Ishbel were watching. CJ was very good. He was playing for the Under-13s and was a great midfield player. Jorgos was very proud of him. Maddy felt bad not staying until the end of the game, but she had seen his goal and had then run along to meet Indigo. She had an awful lot to tell him.

  Indigo was waiting for her, bobbing gently in the sea near to the dock with just his head showing. The rest of his body was nearly vertically down in the sea. He was resting. On hearing Maddy’s footsteps on the concrete steps, though, the left side of his brain woke and he was fully with it again.

  After their greetings, they both spoke about their day. Maddy was first and she explained to him what CJ, Lucy and she had done and then filled him in on the plan they had come up with. ‘What do you think, Indigo? It should work, don’t you think?’

  Indigo was silent for a good couple of minutes, then he started telling her what he had done all day. He had swum out into the Gulf and come across a pod of bottlenose dolphins. Indigo is a bottlenose dolphin and they greeted him well. They had told him that they usually lived around the island of Paros, but a couple of weeks ago the noise had turned up. It was just annoying at first and only affected the youngsters, making them upset, but each day it got worse. It was a repetitive beep which continued over and over again. It started to affect the use of their sonar, which meant that they weren’t so good at catching their fish. Some of the older dolphins and the youngsters kept swimming into everyone, and they had lost the odd dolphin from the pod. By the time they got into the Gulf, there were about ten dolphins missing.

  The dolphins had moved away from Paros, but the noise was worse and they were all becoming very confused. The four most dominant males decided to swim for the Gulf. They had been there once before and hoped that it would be a safe haven.

  Small groups of adult male dolphins can join up, making tight friendships within a pod, and so become a force to be reckoned with. Stone, Star and Riddle were such a group, so when they made the decision, the others followed. They had swum long and fast; on reaching the mouth of the Gulf, a few of the pod were ready to give up. They were so disoriented that two of them had stranded themselves. Luckily the tide was on the way in and, having led the others into the Gulf, Stone, Star and Riddle had returned and helped the young mother and her calf off the beach and safely into the Gulf. A little way into the Gulf, the noise had stopped.

  They were OK, but there were lots of dolphins and whales around and there was some concern about the food lasting if they all had to stay for long. Indigo said that he had spent the day with them. His life was very solitary usually and he had very much enjoyed watching how they all interacted. Dolphins are very sociable animals and love to play and touch and be together. There were some little calves and Indigo enjoyed watching them get into trouble. He had had a lovely day with them all.

  Maddy felt sorry for Indigo that he couldn’t live in a pod. Indigo turned back to her and the faraway look in his warm, clever eyes vanished in an instant. ‘I am a Chosen One, Maddy, and I may be able to help many whales and dolphins. I pay a small price. I also love spending time with you and your family and friends and I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

  The Keeper had told Indigo that his life would be lonely and hard, but that he could help lots of whales and dolphins; he could be instrumental in bringing humans and dolphins together again to make the world a better place for everyone. Indigo had a lot of respect for the Keeper, who was a very old dolphin now. He was sixty-five years old and had seen a lot of the world, having been born a Chosen One like Indigo. The Keeper hadn’t found a human who had the gift, but he had learned a lot about humans and the hazards around the seas – for humans, but mostly for whales and dolphins. When the last Keeper died, the present Keeper had been voted in by the other Chosen Ones.

  His role was to advise and coordinate all the actions of the chosen dolphins, and his aim was to bring humans and dolphins to live in harmony together and to work with each other. Indigo had learned a lot from him.

  After they had been silent for a few minutes again, Maddy said, ‘What about our plan, Indigo?’

  Indigo had been thinking it through carefully. He did not wish to put any human or dolphin in any danger, but he realised that it would take something spectacular for this important man to change his mind and his priorities. He also knew that worry about a family member, and then relief that they were safe, could have a big effect on the way he looked at things.

  ‘I will have to be close by all the time, to make sure nothing goes wrong. I will not have her hurt for this.’ Maddy agreed. ‘And you and CJ will have to be with your dad, on the water, skiing at the time, so that if I need you I can call and you can come quickly.’ Maddy nodded her head vigorously again.

  ‘That’s settled, then?’ said Maddy.

  ‘Yes,’ replied Indigo, nodding his head. ‘It’s a very good plan. Well done.’

  They heard the putt-putt of Jorgos on his little motorbike and then his voice shouting, ‘Maddy, Maddy; come on, we are going to the taverna.’

  Maddy stood up and said goodbye to Indigo before she turned and ran up the stairs. Then she ran alongside her dad as they headed back towards the taverna. Jorgos was telling her that CJ’s team had won and he had scored two goals. Jorgos was so proud of CJ and Maddy felt happy as well. They had a plan. They would stop the noise.

/>   Deep Water

  ‘Ok, you ready, Lucy?’ James walked into their suite of rooms. He had just finished organising the powerboat and fishing equipment and Lucy was finishing her lunch. He had been surprised at her request to go fishing that morning. It was quite unlike her, but the President had been happy for her to go so he had made the arrangements. James loved boats and being on the water, so he was looking forward to it himself.

  Lucy had her swimsuit on with a T-shirt on top and she jumped onto the boat alongside the jetty, getting into the seat next to the driver’s seat. James unhooked the rope and jumped in himself, hopping into his seat and easing the throttle forward slowly. Having inched his way out from the jetty, he increased the speed. They were away, with the wind in their faces as the front of the boat lifted off from the surface of the sea. The land got further and further away behind them and they headed off straight up the Gulf, towards and then beyond Cape Heraion.

  Eventually James slowed down. ‘I guess you want to fish then, Lucy?’

  Lucy looked around. They were well out to sea. The location looked perfect. ‘Yes, let’s fish, and see who can catch the most.’

  Lucy hadn’t done any fishing before and so James took his time taking her over the rod and talking about bait. Lucy became quite interested and when she made her first attempt at casting the line whooped for joy as the weight and hook flew through the air and then plopped into the sea. ‘Nice one, Lucy, you’re a real pro,’ said James as he cast his line; it went flying past where Lucy’s had hit water and just went on and on.

  They were quiet for a while as they cast the lines out a few times and wound them back, before sending them out once again. After about half an hour, when they had caught nothing, Lucy started to get distracted and looked around to see where James had put the radio and mobile phone down.

  ‘Lucy, you’ve got a bite.’ Lucy felt the tug on her rod and, as she wasn’t concentrating fully, she nearly let it fall from her grip. She grabbed hold and braced herself just in time. James put his own rod down and moved in behind Lucy, who was shouting, ‘What do I do, what do I do?’

  ‘First things first, you calm down.’ James took hold of Lucy’s arms with his hands. ‘Then you pull the rod up gently and then wind in the slack, nice and easy.’ And they did this together. ‘You just keep doing the same; the secret is to keep the pressure on so that the fish doesn’t get a chance to break free.’

  After pulling up and winding in the reel four times, Lucy was beginning to think that she must have caught a really big fish. Wow! It could even be a shark! How good would that be!

  After winding in about ten times, she saw a flick of silver break the surface momentarily. Well, maybe it wasn’t a shark, but the fishing game was pretty hard work. She was glad James was there to help. Then she thought, I wonder if Dad can fish. She had never done anything fun like this with her dad. It always seemed to be James she had fun with and who taught her new and exciting things.

  A final pull and the fish jumped right out of the water; but as it came back down the line, which was hooked into its mouth, it wasn’t long enough for the fish to reach the water again. Instead he hung there, flapping his tail, as James reached with the net and brought the fish in to the boat.

  Lucy was well pleased with herself, but then immediately afterwards felt cruel and guilty. The poor fish! It had been swimming around, happy as you like, then this girl, on a whim, throws a hook over the bow of a boat and hooks its mouth, pulling it out of its environment into hers, where it could not breathe and was about to die. ‘Can we put it back?’

  James looked up at her with the fish in his hand, having pulled it from the net. He took hold of the hook and carefully pulled it from the fish’s mouth, saying, ‘Of course we can, Lucy.’ And he dropped the fish into the water over the side of the boat.

  Lucy quickly stepped up to the side and leaned over, to see the fish that had so recently been fighting against her at the other end of the line swim off, back down into the depths of the sea from where it had come. Lucy stood up and, with a huge smile on her face, jumped up at James, throwing her arms around his shoulders saying, ‘Thank you! Thank you, that was great.’

  They both heard another plop. Lucy’s feet, as she was being swung around by James, had hit the handheld radio and knocked it from the dashboard, where it had been, and into the sea.

  James was not so happy now, but it was no big deal. He still had a mobile and Lucy should have one as well. But still, he had better head back to shore just in case. He was responsible for Lucy and he didn’t want anything to happen to her.

  Lucy had left her mobile behind in the hotel. The radio had gone, so that just left James’s phone. It was in his jacket pocket. It was really too hot for a jacket in Greece, but James had to wear one to conceal his gun which was always in his chest holster. Out in the boat, with no one around, he had taken his jacket off. Lucy dropped it over the side as James looked over the back of the boat; he was looking at the engine, which had not started when he pushed the button. He didn’t notice her, or the jacket as it slowly sank beneath the surface.

  James leaned further over the back and saw that some rope had become tangled up in the rotor blades of the engine. This was not good. He didn’t like to be so vulnerable. He was suspicious by nature and took his time to look around carefully.

  There was a flash up in the hills on the shore. Was he imagining it? No, there it was again. Was it a signal to someone? He turned to get his phone; he wasn’t going to take a chance. He would call for back-up; help would be with them in five minutes. ‘Lucy, have you seen my jacket?’

  ‘No.’

  James picked up the binoculars and, looking around, saw two jet skis heading towards them at speed. ‘Lucy, give me your phone.’

  ‘I left it in the hotel,’ Lucy replied.

  At that moment, the boat lurched backwards, jolting them both off their feet; they landed in a huddle at the back of the boat. The boat was moving backwards and was picking up speed; as well as that, it was getting lower in the water, which was climbing fast and then coming over the back. Lucy was quite scared, although she knew it was only Lunar pulling them under and that Indigo was around to make sure they were safe.

  The jet skis were nearly on them before Lucy noticed them. As she did, the boat went under, leaving her and James swimming. He had taken his gun out of its holster and was keeping it above water.

  Then she noticed that the men on the jet skis also had guns and they shot at them! James fired back and pushed Lucy under the surface. James was hit in the arm and he dropped his gun, but he kept moving himself in front of Lucy, keeping the men’s hands away from her as they tried to grab her.

  He was kicked in the face and knocked away. One of the men grabbed hold of Lucy and dragged her out of the water and onto the jet ski in front of him; they both sped away, leaving James unconscious behind them.

  Suddenly Indigo jumped up alongside the jet ski with Lucy on and she looked into his eye; Lucy was very scared and Indigo could see that, but with that one look she felt that he would look after her. He quickly vanished back into the sea.

  She next saw Indigo as he jumped from the side towards the man who was holding her, knocking the man a glancing blow as he flew through the air. Lucy thought he had done it. The blow knocked the man from the jet ski, but he just managed to hold on. There was a massive bang and she saw that as Indigo landed the second jet ski had crashed into him.

  Indigo was hurt, his breath was knocked right out of him and he screamed, ‘Indigo, Indigo, Indigo’, over and over again. It was instinct, what dolphins do when they are in trouble. They call their name out over and over again, and that’s what Indigo was doing now as the two men on their jet skis rode off with the President’s daughter.

  Disaster

  ‘Indigo, Indigo, Indigo’; Maddy was driving the boat, with her dad waterskiing behind, when Indigo called out his name in distress. The shock of his call caused her to momentarily bring the pressure off th
e boat’s accelerator and the boat dramatically slowed. Jorgos suddenly lost momentum and, being way out to the side of the boat and executing a sharp turn, needed all his skill to pull himself up to vertical and not fall into the sea.

  Maddy then forced the accelerator down to push the boat to its limit, surging forward as fast as she could in the direction of Indigo. Jorgos, who had only just readjusted to the slowing down of the boat, then nearly lost his grip on the rope as the boat accelerated away, almost pulling his arms out of their sockets. ‘Hey, hey, what are you doing?’ he shouted.

  At the same time, CJ was in the boat hanging on to his seat. He was also shouting at Maddy, ‘What’s up, what’s happened?’

  All Maddy could say was, ‘Indigo! He’s in trouble’ and she gritted her teeth, pushing the boat forward to its limit. Jorgos had to use all his skill to hang onto the rope and stay up on his ski.

  ‘There, in front, there’s Lunar and a few dolphins, Maddy,’ shouted CJ.

  Maddy had seen them too and raced to them, but now started cutting back on the speed. The last thing she wanted to do now was to hit a dolphin with the boat.

  Lunar was up on the surface. Having pulled the boat under, she had been surfacing when she became aware that something was wrong. There were two jet skis above her, then something very small whizzed past her head, and then she saw a man floating there on the surface. On taking a closer look she noticed that he wasn’t moving and he was face down in the water. There was also blood coming from him. Then she heard the jet skis speed off and, shortly after, she heard Indigo calling his name over and over again.