Ch 24
The flag was planted, word was out that the island was US territory being used for weapons research, and the area was off limits. Official word was also put out that a rare and unique species lived on the island, and extreme care was being taken not to endanger this species. Although what the species was, had yet to be mentioned. The destroyers arrived in the area to chase away the first Chinese fishing boat that arrived. After a shot across the bow, the fishing boat did leave but another one came and insisted the US had no claim here and ignored the warnings, so the destroyer sunk it and picked the crew out of the water to hold them prisoner.
Meanwhile, the Russian and US subs played cat and mouse, creeping around and sticking a periscope up now and the to get pictures of the island. The Russian sub got some pictures and sneaked back out of the area. Sonar pinged them, and they sneaked out much faster.
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Fred's world was crumbling. The money he was to pay his lawyer with never arrived. Not getting paid, his lawyer told him he was releasing Fred to a 'public defender'. On top of that news, more charges were being brought against him from statements made by the ones on the island. The people he'd abandoned on that island had been found and now he was facing charges of falsifying official statements, illegal imprisonment by proxy, and endangering minors now that it was known Randy was only 17 years old.
Penniless and facing charges he'd never get out of without a decent lawyer, he was clueless and had no idea how this could happen to him. The world was turning against him. Being let out into a court room to meet his 'new' young lawyer who was fresh out of law school, he snapped and tried to grab the guard's gun to just shoot himself. Even that turned out bad, he was declared mentally incompetent and criminally dangerous. He was sent to a mental institute for evaluation before his trials could begin.
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Getting information from her mothers and John Henry, at dinner where they had real plates, forks, knives, spoons and cups or bottles, and food being cooked on a covered grill and steamed veggies they were able to identify, while they sat on crates, and had a larger crate-table, Jackie explained what was happening in the world.
"That ship I accidentally chased away reported being shot at. "she said, "With everyone coming to see what was here, the destroyers sent to pick us up are busy with guarding the area. Our people know about the mers here and are setting this island up as a protected zone like the Galapagos islands are, meaning no one can hunt or fish here except for the current population. My Mothers are on their way, they expect to be here in five or six more days. They are on a research ship, and due to the destroyers being occupied with keeping others away, they will be the ones to pick us up." Jackie then looked at Randy. "When they get here, Randy, are you coming or staying?"
Randy glanced at Moahan and said, "I have to talk to Moahan about that."
"Then do it. Don't let it come as a surprise to her," Jackie said firmly.
Moahan tapped him on the arm, wanting to know what they were talking about.
"Oh! One thing we need to ensure is we clean up all the mess from our supply drop," Jackie added. "We got plywood and bits of packing here and there. We don't want to be leaving any trash behind. Since We don't need our own boat any more, I want to build a dock out so when that ship comes, it will be easier to get on and off that ship."
"We do have a lot of logs laying around," Duncan said. "That shouldn't be a problem making the framing. A floating dock would be the best, I think we can manage that in just a few days."
"Make it and push it out as we keep adding to it," Wanda said.
"Yes, and it will go up and down with the tide," Duncan agreed.
"Can we anchor it in place?" Randy asked.
"We will. We have plenty of vine to tie the logs together, and it will only take a few to ensure the dock doesn't drift away."
"Crate panels for a walking surface!" Wanda said brightly, "That will work, won't it?"
"That's a good idea," Jackie agreed.
"In the morning I'll look for a good place to put the dock," Jackie said. "Someplace out of the surf where the water gets deeper faster."
An old new annoyance did arrive after dinner that they hadn't been worried about. Doing the dishes.
At least that night Jackie and Duncan were able to get some good private time in.
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In the morning, Jackie got her tail on and looked at the sea bed around the island. The slope was about the same everywhere. Talking to her moms, the Eternal Explorer drafted only 12 feet. She figured they had more than that only ten yards from shore right where their camp was. She swam out to make sure there was nothing sticking up near the surface around the area, then swam back to the shore to begin building the dock. She returned to find Duncan and Wanda already picking logs to use.
Lashing logs together was easy. The shortest logs were 12 feet long - the ones that made the short legs of the 'E' of the Help sign. They made the dock 12 feet wide. Instead of trying to plant logs on the bottom for support, Duncan decided to use vine-rope to hold the dock side to side from the beach. It was faster and easier. One end of the vine was tied to the dock, the other tied onto an upright log mostly buried in the sand. Out at 45 degree angles from the dock, they would hold the dock from moving side to side. The end of the dock being on land would prevent it from drifting straight back into the shore.
Jackie had been thinking a single layer of logs for the dock. Duncan insisted on a double, layer for a little more buoyancy. The work went well. Jackie cut logs to length, Duncan and Randy lashed them together, Wanda rolled the logs from where Jackie cut them up, over to where the logs were being tied together and pushed out into the water. With only thirty feet of dock to be built, Jackie got the logs cut, and grabbed Styrofoam packing to put under the dock now in the water.
Moahan helped Jackie push the foam under and tie it underneath the dock logs.
By the end of the day when they ran out of logs and packing, the dock was nearly done. At the end of the dock, Jackie measured her best and determined the water here was 15 feet deep. They had made 25 feet of dock. The last work for the day was tying the end of the dock to the support poles to the sides.
Instead of going back to the beach, Jackie got up on the end of the dock to take her tail off. Walking back to shore, she walked slow, bouncing a bit. Of course the dock recoiled some, but it was solid. She called her mothers to let them know about the dock they were making.
Randy tried to explain to Moahan why they were floating logs on the water. Moahan saw now why they cut down trees and cut them up. She didn't get why they wanted to walk over water. She helped Ha-kee because whatever this was for, it was important to Ha-kee. By the way her mate was making motions, she figured he was explaining to her how people would meet on the floating logs on the water. Why they would do that, she was clueless. Seeing he was becoming a little frustrated, she decided he needed to relax and be inside her for a while. That always made him happy. It made her happy too.
It was when Moahan was talking with her mother about why Ha-kee wanted a 'water walk', that they saw Ka-kee walk out onto the end of the walk and put her tail on. They watched Ha-kee jump in. What she got from her mate was that this was a place to meet people. Suddenly Moahan got it. Instead of going up on the beach to hand walk out of the water, here they could get up with a simple pull and thrust, and be sitting out of the water!
She wanted to go try it, mother did also. This was easy! A little speed and a jump and they were up and out. Going back in was just as easy. One could just fall right off the walk, or as her little brother did, put your tail under you and jump to fly though the air and splash down like Ha-kee did. Moahan tried it, this was fun!
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Randy came looking for Moahan to again try and explain what the dock was for, and wanting to know if she wanted to leave with him, or stay here. He saw a gaggle at the end of the dock. Mers were getting up on the dock, then jumping off with happy yells. He grinned at this. A form came swimming along the side of the dock and came up at the shore. It was Moahan, she waved and pointed down the dock, then turned around and swam back out to the end.
Randy followed, walking down the dock. Up ahead, Moahan jumped up on the dock to sit and waved for him to come again. He went up to her, She got up on her knees and made motions for him to lift her. Grinning, she pointed to herself, then the water She pointed to him and made throwing motions. OK he got it. She got behind her lifted her higher under her arms then lifted her up more and shoved her off the dock. Moahan let out a happy yelp and dove in.
After a swim to turn around and come back up onto the dock, she smiled and made the same motions. OK, she's found a new game. Another mer boy saw this and wanted Randy to throw him off the dock. Randy did. Then another mer girl waved to get his attention and throw her off the dock. Moahan was back up and on, so right after Randy threw the girl off, he threw Moahan back off the dock again.
Well this kinda was like pushing the swing for his little sister in the park. At least they were having fun.
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Jackie had swam out to check the path the Eternal Explorer planned to take coming to the island like her mothers wanted. She didn't see any reefs or obstructions for two miles out. The water was deep out here, so she doubted anything was sticking up out here. She swam back to the island to hear constant splashing. Coming up out from the dock, she saw Randy toss a mer kid in the air to fly out and hit the water. Another came over and had him throw them in also. Giggles and happy cries sounded when they flew through the air.
She never meant for the dock to be a playground, but that was fine they were getting some entertainment out of it.
Going back under, Jackie swam under the dock, scrutinizing the foam support. they all looked solid, and with a load on it now, the dock was holding together just fine. She knew the logs would waterlog and sink down after a while, but for the next few days they would be fine. Coming up along the side, she noticed the upper log was all but clear of the water. That meant the dock was plenty able to carry light loads.
Up and out of the water, Jackie went back to the tent with the radio and assured her mothers that the way in was clear. She also told them about the dock they'd made.
"In a hurry to leave?" Delilah asked with a crooked grin.
"Myself, Duncan and Wanda are. I don't know what Randy's doing. He's gotten attached to a mermaid, Moahan, and he's trying to decide if they are coming or going to stay here."
"Depending on the current, we'll be there if not late day after tomorrow, early the next morning," Delilah told her. "The Navy wants us in and out as soon as possible, so that couple only has that long to decide. We pull in, pick you up and head back."
Jackie sighed. "I'll tell them. The Navy knows about the mers?"
"They do, hence the protected status of this island. The plan is to make a station here to ensure no one else tries to claim it. One of the destroyers is to send a boat to us when we dock."
"That'll be fun." Jackie grumbled. "I'll keep a watch out for you. See you in a couple days."
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Thinking on how to get across to Moahan what was going to happen, Jackie figured a visual explanation was best. Looking through the couple crates of debris from the supply drop she found some pieces of wood. One she used to show the dock, another for the ship coming, and five for them.
Duncan agreed to cook tonight, Jackie had Randy and Moahan follow her over to the beach pool and sat them down beside the water. She put the dock stick on the water against the shore. Pointing to the stick and the dock, she got Moahan to understand that stick represented the dock. She then pointed to each short stick and named them, then put they on the shore by the dock. The sticks for Moahan and Randy she named and put them side by side near the others.
Moahan grinned and looked at Randy. OK, she understood. Jackie then put the last stick on the water and brought it over by the dock. One by one, she put the stick representing her, Duncan and Wanda on the floating stick. She made motions of going away and pointing to the floating stick. She then handed Moahan and Randy their sticks, pointed to the shore and the floating stick and shrugged.
Moahan seemed to get it. Her face blanked briefly, then she handed Randy her stick and shrugged, eyeing Randy.
"It looks like she'll go wherever you go," Jackie told Randy.
Randy licked his lips. "I ... can't take her home," he whispered.
"You want to come to Driftwood?' Jackie asked. "There are other mers there."
"Wasn't that place bombed with a nuke?" he asked.
"It was, not very many of us survived." Jackie replied. "Still we have a tight community that supports each other, and I know Joan can help you see to Moahan's needs. Moms have already said you're both welcome there."
Randy looked at Moahan, who was waiting for an answer. Thinking about the very long trip, he took her hand so they were clasping the sticks together. He looked down briefly and shrugged. Moahan pointed at the beach.
Randy put their sticks on the beach. "We're staying," he said. Moahan hugged him and kissed him. They were hugging and kissing more. Jackie got up and left. She had their answer.
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The next day seemed to drag. To keep busy and try to make the day go faster, Jackie waked around and collected three coconut crabs. She then cruised the water until she found a shark. It was smaller and quick, she let it go and looked for another one. Why was she looking for a shark to cook? They didn't taste the best. She swam back by the dock that had a diving party going on and got out of the water. The mers were having a ball, Good for them.
Thinking about that, she called her mothers to explain the mers were all over the place, playing by the dock. She didn't want to see one get chopped up by a propeller. Delilah assured her the Eternal Explorer used a pump jet, not a prop. She'd call the navy to meet their boat off-island and bring them in so they wouldn't endanger any mers either. She also told Jackie they would be there around 4 to 6 tomorrow afternoon.
At least by now it was getting on lunch time so she could cook up those crabs she got. Fried sliced potatoes and boiled crab. They even had pepper for the potatoes.
"Cooking lunch?" Duncan asked as he came up.
"Yeah, trying to keep busy. Today is just dragging along," Jackie replied.
"You're anxious to leave. I think Moahan really likes our camp. Is there anything up there you wanted to take with you?" he asked.
Jackie shrugged. "Not really. After all, everything here are things we made. If they want it, let them have it. Do you know how the mers are coming with their fishing net?"
Duncan chuckled. "They have a unique way of using that net. They lay it on the bottom in shallow water with four mermen at the corners. Others swim around and chase a school of fish to the net. When the school passes over the net, the four waiting lift it up, trapping them. The bigger fish are caught, the smaller ones get away. They drag it to shore and feast."
"Good or them," Jackie said with a grin.
Putting an arm around her, he said, "That parachute they have draped over an area I think is their main camp. Keeps the sun and any rain of them."
"At least we did some good being here."
Hearing laughter from the dock, they both looked. Another mer tried to stand on his tail to jump off the dock, and fell backwards. Laughter roared again. 'And they are having fun," Jackie noted. She leaned into Duncan and put an arm around him. "I wish Moms would get here."
"Tomorrow afternoon, right? What do you say to an early dinner with guests from those boats coming in?"
Jackie grinned. "I'd say we're going to need more crab. Possibly a shark or two."
"And coconut cups. Don't forget those," Duncan reminded her.
Jackie giggled. "No coconut bras and grass skirts?"
"If you want, but please tell Wanda to wear her shirt tomorrow," Duncan said with a grin.
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Jackie had another excuse to call her mothers. This time Cameron answered. Jackie told her the consensus was to give them and the navy boys a dinner for coming to rescue them and wanted a head count. There was also at least one mer coming to dinner.
"Jackie, you don't have to do that," Cameron told her.
"But we want to. Also, think about it, if there's going to be a station here, the mers need to know whoever comes is going to be friendly. This will give them a chance to interact," Jackie explained.
"I see your point. I'll call back as soon as I know how many are coming.
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Lt. Cdr McDonald, Captain of his destroyer was called to the radio room. He listened to Mrs. Connor, then asked, "Did you say there would be mermaids there too?"
"That's what Jackie told me. Apparently they like playing on the dock she made, and they are there every day. I'm letting you know so I can get a head count of how many are coming."
"I was going to send just a retrieval team, but... they'll be making dinner for us?"
"Yes, to show their appreciation for rescuing them. Their main diet has been sharks they can catch and coconut crabs. I guess the crabs are all over the island, and killing sharks makes the area safer for the mers."
They made fishing equipment?"
"Jackie hunts the sharks down in the water and drags then back up onto the beach." Cameron told him. "Instead of the boat they were trying to make, they used the logs and wood to make a dock for us. They haven't been just sitting on their hands waiting for someone to come get them."
I guess not. Well, I'll come with a party of ten. We're to meet you a mile out from the shore, correct?"
"Yes. Captain, best ETA is now 4:30. Rather 1630 for you."
"Very well, I am eager to meet your daughter. She sounds like someone ambitious."
Cameron grinned. "My daughters can't seem to sit still. They are very active."
"'See you tomorrow then," he said.
Lt Cdr McDonald called his officers to the wardroom. He began by stating this was a top secret meeting. He then told them, "I just found out what this species is that's being protected on that island. There are a pod of living mermaids there. I'm serious. Real ocean going mermaids. Tomorrow afternoon, ten men are invited to dinner with the castaways to thank us for their rescue. There will be at least one, if not many mermaids there. Mr. Reynolds, whoever you have for your boat crew must sign Top Secret non disclosure agreements. From what I was told near the shore, mermaids are all over the place. We'll be tying up to the Eternal Explorer to get towed in so the prop on our launch doesn't accidentally kill any of them. That ship has a pump jet, not a normal prop. So, with a two man crew, myself, and seven of you, who else is going to dinner?"
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Jackie also cornered Randy and Moahan and asked if Moahan's parents and siblings wanted to come to dinner tomorrow. This would be their last meal here on the island. After dinner, She Duncan and Wanda were leaving with the ships. She also told Randy she needed a head count. Randy had to walk Moahan back to their lagoon so she could find out who was coming.
Cameron called back to let Jackie now there would be 17 for dinner coming from the boats. 10 Navy, the five man crew of the Eternal Explorer, and herself and Delilah.
Randy found it was tiring walking to the lagoon carrying Moahan. She seemed to sense this and had him take her to the water so she could swim, and he'd follow on land. It was a long walk to the lagoon. Just as he thought he'd never get there, he saw the inlet and Moahan half on the shore waving to him. When he got to the shore, she waved him down to sit, then went back in and under to swim up the inlet. He waited for a while and Moahan returned with seven other mers. Her mother was obvious, she looked older and had nearly Jackie sized boobs. The other five were her siblings. Well by what he understood, four siblings and the oldest boy had his mate with him. He wasn't sure but got the idea that this was a kind marriage ceremony for the mers as well. The only time families were called together for a meal was to acknowledge a mating. What Randy remembered the most was the head count. Seven more guests.
Moahan didn't know exact time, so her mother assured her when the sun was high, she'd bring the family. They loved to play on the dock anyway.
With a good head count, Jackie spent time planning the meal. She had only one glass chair, and making a total of 37 chairs would take the next two days! Logs, they used logs for everything else, she she found a good fat tree, cut it down and made seat-sized chunks to sit on. The log crate for the flag pole had the top and sides used for the dock but she still had the bottom to use for table, along with the pallet all that stuff came on. Duncan and Wanda readily helped her. Moahan urged Randy to help too. Moahan collected coconut half shells to do her part. She'd hand walk up to pick the best ones up, then with them on her tail, she butt-slid and hand walked her way back to deposit them at the pool on the beach and wash them out. Leaves for plates were easy to collect.
All that was left to do tomorrow was collecting all the food and making it. Since tomorrow was their last day here, Jackie and Wanda used veggies and drinks from the drop. The last flat of vegetables, the two bags of potatoes, and the rest of the canned meat, she asked Duncan and Randy to take up to the camp so they had a stock of food to start with.
Knowing neither crab nor Shark stayed fresh the day after it died raw, all the meat had to be collected the day it was cooked. Duncan and Jackie would get started on that early morning. Wanda was going to make sure they had enough stuff to cook with. Rand would be the firewood runner.
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The day of retrieval started early for Jackie. she rousted Randy up to start getting firewood together, and had Wanda fill the glass bowl to get it heating up once Randy gathered wood. Being only able to cook maybe 5 crabs at a time, she asked Wanda to also make a warming rack above the shark cooking pit so the first ones done didn't get cold.
Wanda thought Jackie was taking on too much. By the time Wanda got down to the beach, Jackie had already dug a new, long fire pit beside the shark pit. "Hey, Jackie," she asked. "How many crabs do you think we'll need?"
Eyeing the new pit, Jackie said, "Twenty. Half a crab for each person. I'm thinking at least two sharks too, or another big fish."
"Maybe just the crabs?" Wanda asked. "Collecting those alone is going to be a big task. That's going to take most of the day."
Jackie shrugged. "This is a big event. We're finally going home. This is also going to be, for the mers, an official recognition that Randy and Moahan are mated. It's a big deal to them."
Wanda scrunched her face up. "How can you support something like that?"
Jackie eyed her. "What do you mean?"
"Come on Randy marrying a fish? That's not a real marriage!" Wanda said firmly.
"It is too. Just because Moahan isn't human, doesn't mean she can't think, or have the same feelings." Jackie retorted.
"That's the thing, she's NOT human," Wanda stated.
Jackie let out a dry snort. "You are racist, aren't you?"
"I am not!" Wanda cried.
"Yes you are. You won't ever see mers as equals, will you?" Jackie stated. "You will always see them as just animals. Never mind the human race came from them, forget the fact they can do whatever you can. Well you can walk, they can also swim much better than you. I also think they are more tolerant than you'll ever be."
Wanda noted red creeping into Jackie's eyes. She backed up a step. "I'm just saying, Randy shouldn't be involved with her."
"His choice and hers, not yours," Jackie stated. "So you believe humans should only marry pure humans, and don't forget to match the skin color, that about right?"
With Jackie's hardening stare and her eyes that were now completely red, Wanda held up a hand. "OK, I get it, I have nothing to say about it."
"That's right, you don't." Jackie stated. Seeing the wood in the fire pit wasn't lit yet, Jackie morphed out her plasma canon and fired a shot into it, blasting the wood on fire. Casting a hard stare at Wanda, she said, "You probably don't want to be around me either, I'm only partly human."
Wanda quickly walked away. She resisted the urge to run away. Jackie could be frightening! Duncan was right, Jackie was dangerous.
The sun was up, it was about mid morning. Jackie decided to go start looking for coconut crabs. She also thought about how to cook them. Boiling whole was the easiest, but it also used too much space. It wasn't the entire body they ate, but the legs and claws. To cook 20 crabs, it would be better to cook just what they were going to eat. That would take up much less space. Instead of the meat of a half a crab in the glass bowl, She figured the could put at least three in the one bowl.
Walking along, Jackie found two meaty crabs up in a tree getting their coconuts. She climbed the tree to go get them.
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Duncan had gone into the woods some. Coconut trees off the beach were taller and thicker. He just had to watch his footing on the ground. Coconut grabs weren't the fastest beasts, but the big claw they had could crush ankles. He had a bucket with him. He wasn't planning on dragging whole crabs back, just the parts they were going to eat.
Not having a plasma canon to blast the bodies apart, Duncan had stout wooden pole. Six inches around and five feet long, he found that driving into the head of the crab, he could smash the shell and kill it. He'd found one big crab, smashed it's head and tore the claws and legs off it. He was looking for another and came upon a broken down camp. The collapsed wood structures looked like they used to be lean-to's. the remains of a fire ring were visible, and so were pieces of skeleton. He found a pair of mostly there skulls. Looking out at the beach, he saw the rotting boat. OK, this was old, it had happened years ago. He also found some long thin, looked like finger bones to the side. Looking closer, they were longer than finger bones. He then noted the fan shape they took. This was the remains of a mermaid tail.
He searched more and found other skeletal remains. Unless he found foot or tail bones, it was impossible to determine if the skeleton was human or mer. Finding both around the area, he got a bad feeling they had been fighting. The big question was why? Seeing another crab climbing up a tree, Duncan noted it was another big one, It was still low enough that a good swing smashed the crab's shell and dropped it to the ground. he collected the legs and claws from this one, then noted a mermaid watching him from the surf. He waved to her.
The mermaid looked at him, the rotting boat, then went back into the waves and disappeared under water.
BY early afternoon, Jackie and Duncan had collected legs and claws from 18 crabs. Only taking the biggest ones, there were many the both passed up. Looking at the bounty, Duncan convinced Jackie that had enough. Wanda had a big pile of coconuts collected, up on a crate so a crab wouldn't wander by and grab one, and Moahan had led Randy to a grove of papaya near the inlet, and he came back with a pile of them. Duncan figured they had enough, this was a thank you dinner, not stuff yourself until you couldn't move, feast. It was time to start cooking.
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Moahan was near the bottom off shore searching for tasty bits to add to the feast. With fewer sharks now, thanks to Jackie grabbing them for food, she noticed a bigger fish eyeing a crevasse in some rocks. Slipping up behind it, she shoved a hand onto it's gill and grabbed on. The fish wasn't as long as her, but it thrashed and fought to free itself and tried to swim away. She guided the fish to flee towards the shore. Seeing the floating dock just ahead she pulled to get the fish to thrash and flee shallow. It was tiring itself out. She was able to surface right at the dock, grab a hold of the dock with the other hand and pull the fish partway up. It was too heavy for her to get out of the water by herself.
Her mother and father who were on the dock, came over to help. The fish tried to flop, but with Moahan in one gill, her mother on the other and her father pulling on it's lips, they got it up onto the dock. The flops the fish only helped them get it up farther on the dock.
Moahan was praised for her catch, this was a BIG fish! Long and tall. Once they had it on the dock, the fish kept gasping, but didn't move once they let it go.
"Aneee!" Moahan called and searched the beach. Seeing her mate, she waved him over. Randy came down the dock to see the Grouper lying on the dock. He ran back to get some vine, then came back to lace it in the fish's mouth and out a gill. Moahan had made a good addition to the feast!
Randy pulled the fish to the shore where Duncan helped him lift it up and carry it.
Moahan got smiles and pets for catching such a big tasty treat. It was then her brother's mate let out a warning cry. They all looked to see she was pointing out at the water, and let out another cry.
Far out on the water, was the shape of another floating thing like the one at the shoreline near home. Moahan remembered the stories and mother had taken her to see the thing those bad people had come on. The ones who killed them, who made mers scream in pain and helplessness, who did not stop until mers attacked them and made them dead.
More were coming again.
Mother pushed her children into the water to go hide, father pushed her older brother and his mate in before he jumped in. Mother grabbed Moahan. Moahan pleaded she had to go warn mate and Ha-kee. She pleaded with mother to go. Mother hugged her, then fled.
Moahan tumbled back in the water to race at the beach, she had to get their land friends to safety! She hit the surf fast and knelt to yell a wanting cry and point out to where the bad thing was. Involved in cooking now, Ha-kee, mate and the others all looked. Ka-kee talked briefly to them, grabbed her tail and raced to the surf by Moahan. She got her tail on and hand walked into the water and swam away, right at the thing coming.
Moahan gaped at where Ha-kee went. WHAT was she doing? Moahan followed, she was certain something bad was going to happen to Ka-kee!