DARK
WATERS
Jason
was arriving out of the lift when he passed his mother, "Where
have you been Jason?" she asked.
Seeing that there were other people in the
corridor nearby Jason simply replied, "I'll tell you later,
OK?" and headed off to continue his duty shift.
* * *
It was late and Neri was unable to sleep. Over
the past few nights she was having dreams and flashbacks to when
she was a little girl and had fallen into the ocean. Although
rescued by her friend Charley, the event was still traumatic for
her. The only event that bothered her more was the
death of her father.
Getting up, Neri decided to go for a swim in
the ocean. It was too dark in her lagoon so she
quietly walked to the beach and waded into the shallow water. Charley
was not nearby so she swam off alone, surfacing occasionally
under the light of the full moon.
Night swimming wasn't something Neri did very
often. She knew it could be dangerous if one wasn't
careful. However the water was calm and the sky was
clear, so she didn't expect any problems.
* * *
It had been a long day and Jason was glad it
was over. He had received a call from the parents of
that girl asking whom the 'strange girl' was that their daughter
had spoken to. Jason made some excuse suggesting she
was 'seeing things'. He told them that he was 'alone
on an excursion' when he heard the call come over the radio.
With everything said and done he considered the
matter closed. Once back to his living quarters he saw
everyone was already in bed, so he figured he would hit the sack
as well.
* * *
A figure in the distance caught Neri's eye... It
was Charley! She tried communicating with him, but he didn't
answer, so she thought he might be sleeping. Swimming
up to him she swung around in front of the large mammal. All
of a sudden the whale thrashed and Neri's body was struck by the
edge of its right flipper!
The impact knocked Neri senseless for a moment. She
floated away from the large whale, which she now knew was not
Charley at all. It was foolish of her to swim up to
this strange whale, she should have known better. It
was too late for regrets now. After pulling her
sluggish body to the surface, Neri noticed that she had a
laceration on her upper right arm.
Her chest hurt too much for her to swim and she
was quite a ways from her island. Since the
communicator she could use to contact Jason was also on the
island, her options were very limited. Although she
had tried contacting Charley already, she decided to give it one
more try. With all the effort she could muster she
sent out a telepathic cry for help.
* * *
Swimming in one of his favourite feeding
grounds, Charley was busy eating when he thought he heard
something. Pausing for a few moments, he waited to see
if he would hear it again.
Charley my friend... Help me... Please!
It was Neri, and she was in trouble! Swinging
his massive body around he set out in the direction of her call. Although
he could swim quickly, he was unsure of how long he could sustain
this speed. As Charley continued towards Neri he was
unaware that he was going faster than any humpback whale was ever
recorded swimming.
Nearing a speed of 20 knots the large whale
ripped through the water. Once close enough, Charley
began to communicate that he was on his way.
* * *
For a few moments, there was nothing. Then
Neri received a very short and faint response...
I am coming.
It was Charley; he had received her message and
was on the way! As time passed, she continued to float in the
water, awaiting his arrival. About 20 minutes later
she sensed he was near and called out to him again. Speaking
aloud as she communicated with him, she explained her predicament. "Charley,
I am hurt, cannot swim."
I will help, stay still.
Coming up from below, Charley moved his
enormous body so he could surface with Neri on top of him. As
his dorsal fin cleared the water's surface he exhaled through his
blow hole and took in fresh air while working out what to do.
Neri relaxed as they surfaced and then took a
look around. Although it was still dark she could tell
she was far from her island.
Go to metal place?
'Metal place?' Neri thought as she wondered
what he meant. "Oh yes," Neri said, "NOREO
not far from here. If you take me, I get help from
mother."
Cannot go quickly, must stay above water
Charley was referring to the fact that he would
not be able to swim underwater with her on his back since she
would likely not be able to hold on. "That's OK,"
Neri continued, "is better we go slow anyway."
* * *
BUMP... BUMP...
Jason opened his eyes and sat up in bed. He
could have sworn he heard something.
BUMP... BUMP...
There was no mistaking it this time; it was
definitely something hitting the outer hull of the station. Getting
out of bed, he moved to the common area. Jason looked
out the only window in the room and was shocked at what he saw. There
was Charley, swinging around to make another pass at ramming the
station.
Moving closer to the window, Jason got a better
look outside. Although it was dark, he could see
something floating near the emergency escape hatch.
"What's all the noise Jase?" Brett
inquired as he entered the room.
"It's Charley, there must be something
wrong." Jason replied. At that moment, he saw her. Neri
was in the water near the hatch, hardly moving. He
could see the gash on her arm. "OH CRIKEY!"
Jason shouted, "Go get mom, NOW!"
Brett ran to his mother's room as Jason ran
into the hall. He was still in his pajamas when he
opened the inner hatch. Entering the chamber he sealed
the hatch behind him. Grabbing an emergency breather
off the wall, he hit the button that would flood the chamber with
water. Once submerged he opened the outer hatch and
swam to Neri who was not far away. Gently moving her
back into the chamber, he closed the outer hatch and hit the
button to empty the water. Right after hitting it, he
put his arms under Neri so he could carry her once the water was
gone.
Brett and Dianne were waiting in the hall as
they watched the lights on the control indicate the pressurizing
of the small chamber. As soon as the lights both
changed to green, Dianne opened the hatch and saw Jason with Neri
in his arms. She was bleeding from a cut in her arm
and seemed weak.
Jason didn't pause as he rushed her into the
cabin, going straight for his mother's room.
"What happened?!" Dianne asked, her
voice filled with concern.
"I don't know," Jason replied
abruptly, "I just found her outside."
Brett ran into the room announcing "Here's
the med-kit Mom."
"Thanks Brett" Dianne replied. Opening
the med-kit she began to tend to Neri's wound.
Jason was still by Neri's side, when he asked
with concern, "Neri, what happened?"
"Was out for swim," Neri began,
"thought was Charley, but was not. He scared and
bump into me."
Finished dressing her wound, Dianne begin
pressing her hands along Neri's ribs, "Does this hurt?"
Dianne asked, "How about this?"
"Ow! Yes," Neri yelped.
"What is it Mom?" Jason asked.
"It looks like it's only a bruised rib,"
Dianne replied, "If it was broken she would be in a lot more
pain. Neri, tell Charley you'll be sleeping here
tonight. Brett, use the communicator and let Ilona
know that Neri will be here overnight. Jason, why
don't you get Neri some water. You just rest Neri,
you'll be fine."
"Thank you mother," Neri responded
with a smile, "I always know you will look after me."
* * *
The next morning Jason was walking into the
living quarters when he saw his mother come out of the room were
Neri was staying. "How is she?" he asked.
"She's asleep right now," Dianne
replied, "but I have some things to take care of, so I trust
you will look after her in the meanwhile. Let her
sleep as long as she wants. When she wakes up, see how
she feels. If she is still in a lot of pain we'll have
to deal with it then."
"OK Mom," Jason replied, "I'm
not on the duty roster anyway, so it should be no problem."
* * *
Around 11 in the morning Neri wandered out of
his mother's cabin and into the common area. Jason was
staring out the window when he saw her in the corner of his eye,
and he immediately asked "Neri, are you OK? How are you
feeling?"
"I feel better," she said with a
small smile, "Not hurt so much like last night. I
sleep long time though."
"There's some fruit over here if you like,"
Jason offered.
Neri took a piece and fruit and sat on the
couch, pulling her legs up under her.
"We let Ilona know you were here so she
wouldn't worry," Jason continued, "What were you doing
out swimming at that time of night anyway?
"Is hard to say," Neri replied,
"could not sleep, was thinking about that young girl who
fell in water, reminded me of when I fall in water as little girl."
"You really shouldn't be swimming alone at
night Neri, it's too dangerous." Jason responded with
concern.
"I know," she replied, "but is
not often. Next time I go with Charley, and make sure
he answer."
* * *
Dianne was in her office when Jason buzzed her
on the intercom. "Mom? Are you alone?"
he asked.
"Yes Jason, what is it?" she replied.
"Neri is leaving now, she's feeling
better," Jason announced, "She's still a little bit
sore, but I'm going to give her a ride back by boat to save her
the swim."
"Good idea Jason," his mother
replied, "just make sure Ilona is there when you leave in
case Neri needs anything."
"Will do Mom." Jason said as he
completed his transmission and shut off the intercom. "OK
Neri, you head out the emergency hatch and meet me at the
surface, I'll be there shortly."
* * *
Jason looked around as he piloted the boat out
of the hangar. Seeing no one around, he motioned to
Neri who was bobbing in the water. She quickly climbed
aboard and the pair set off to her island.
This derivitive work is copyright to Jonathan M. Shiff Productions Pty. Ltd. and the author Savant, ©2001