Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter eight of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just five days to get out. This chapter features appearances by J-Pod orcas. I want to mention that Merlin was a real orca. His designated number was J3. He was the son of Sucia (J7) and the brother of Slick. He died in 1995. The fandoms will meet in the chapter after the next one. Stay tuned for chapter nine.
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Chapter 8: A Need for Sailing
The ferry's horn blew loudly as it went at a slow yet steady speed toward Anacortes in the early afternoon. Jesse, Nadine, and Elvis chatted amongst themselves on port. Randolph and Heather stood next to Jesse. They watched the water. Nancy hummed to herself while moving her head from side to side. She hit her hands on the railing in a rhythmic fashion.
"It's going to be great seeing Mom, Dad, and Missy," Jesse said in much excitement. "I miss them."
"I do too, bro," Elvis agreed. "Do you remember when we first rode the ferry to San Juan Island?"
"Boy, do I ever!" Jesse admitted and made a funny noise. "We kept looking at each other. You asked me what I was staring at after you got annoyed. I asked the same thing. You answered you were looking at a bunch of water. You asked if there was an amusement park on the island. I said there wasn't one, but there was a whale-spotting station. You asked if it was where people painted spots on whales. I jokingly answered yes."
"That confused the heck out of me," Elvis commented with a nervous chuckle. "Then someone started shouting, 'Look! Whales, whales!' Both of us saw an orca riding the bow waves. I yelled, 'Oh, wow! Look at that!'"
"I was happy to see that, but it also made me feel a little sad because the orca reminded me of Willy. I missed him so much," Jesse whispered with a frown.
"Look on the bright side," Nadine said with pride. "You got to see him with Uncle Randolph and me later."
"That's right," Jesse answered and pointed his finger in the shape of a gun.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Nadine yelled in fake fear as she held up her hands. "I surrender!"
"Me too!" Elvis blurted out while holding up his hands.
"Good for you," Jesse said and put his hand on the railing. "I remember when I told Mom that I wanted a BB gun for my seventeenth birthday. She jokingly said I couldn't have one because I'd shoot my eye out."
"She said the same thing when I asked for one on my sixteenth birthday," Elvis added and made a weird noise.
"Daddy, why did everyone tell Ralphie he'd shoot his eye out when he asked for a BB gun in A Christmas Story?" Nancy wondered.
Jesse, Nadine, Elvis, and Randolph looked down at the little girl. She raised her eyebrows, her eyes showing much curiosity.
"Everyone in that movie thought that BB guns were dangerous and shouldn't be handled by nine-year-old boys. They probably heard stories about children shooting their eyes out," Jesse explained.
"Oh," Nancy whispered in awe.
Randolph showed seriousness. "It is true that a BB gun can be very dangerous. People have gotten hurt badly by these guns."
"Grandma and Grandpa showed you their handguns and the damage they could do if you played with them last year. All of us told you that you should leave the area and tell an adult if you encounter a gun," Nadine added.
Nancy nodded at her. "I know. When will I get to handle a gun?"
"You won't be doing that until you are at least ten years old," Jesse said, picking her up. "Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Elvis, and Uncle Randolph don't want you getting hurt or you hurting someone else accidentally."
"Why do kids play with guns after they are told not to?" Nancy wondered.
Nadine pressed her lips together. "Some kids are dared to fool with guns. They do because they want to look cool in front of their friends. Then they end up accidentally shooting someone."
"It's the same with BB guns," Jesse pointed out and waved his hand in the air. "They need to be treated like real guns."
"If you ever see a BB gun, don't touch it. Leave the area, and tell an adult. You got that?" Randolph asked.
"Mm-hmm," Nancy responded as she turned to him. "Yes, sir."
Elvis smiled. "The bright side is you can still shoot water guns."
Jesse laughed. "That's right."
Jesse tickled his daughter's stomach, causing her to laugh. She turned to him as he growled as if he were a monster. He ceased his assault and became quiet. He flicked her nose twice.
"You make a great tickle monster, Daddy," Nancy said sweetly.
"I sure do," Jesse agreed. "Anyway, it will be great to see Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone. They will be amazed at how big you've gotten."
"We'll just tell them we've been feeding you too many cupcakes," Elvis quipped with a snicker.
"Of course—" Nadine started.
Suddenly, people started yelling, 'Hey, look! Whales! Whales! Whales!' Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, Randolph, and Elvis turned toward the water. They spotted three J-Pod orcas surfacing a short distance away from the ferry. The orcas slipped underwater. Three did spyhops, followed by two leaping out of the water. They went back in as a crowd gathered. Cameras clicked away.
"Yippee! J-Pod decided to come with us to Anacortes!" Nancy cheered in great glee and pumped her fist.
"We are so lucky!" Elvis blurted out.
"Oh, yeah," Jesse agreed.
"Hey, Granny and Samish are down there!" Randolph called while pointing his finger eagerly.
Granny and Samish (J14) surfaced together. The latter's closed saddle patch and slight rise in the bottom of her right eyepatch were clearly visible. They headed underwater. Bubbles left their blowholes. They turned upside down, as they went for the surface. They leapt backward in which they hit the water on their backs with three huge splashes each.
Granny and Samish came up again. They did eight rolls before stopping on their backs. They flicked their tails to throw water upward. They slipped underwater. They dove deep. They rolled right side up while going toward the surface. They leapt into the air. They turned on their sides. They landed in the water. This created two huge splashes for each of them. The entire group broke into a wild cheer.
"Yahoo!" Nancy squealed very joyfully.
"They are such athletic orcas," Benny commented.
Nadine pointed her finger. "I see Princess Angeline down there."
Randolph put her hand over her eyes. "I see Shachi as well."
Princess Angeline (J17) and Shachi (J19) leapt out of the water. The former's hook at the top of her dorsal was clearly visible. The tiny dip in the latter's right eyepatch and closed saddle patch could be seen. They reentered it very quickly. They slipped beneath the surface. They dove deep and turned upward. They leapt into the air. They landed on their stomachs. This caused two huge splashes for each of them. The entire crowd broke into a wild applause.
"Talk about incredible!" Elvis exclaimed.
"I see Willy, Nessa, and Rhapsody!" Jesse yelled.
Willy, Nessa, and Rhapsody surfaced. They rolled on their sides, slapping their flippers against the water. They darted underwater with playful squeals. They moved right side up before going upward. They leapt backward. They arched their backs as they reentered the water.
"Now, that is what I call a triple back bow," Jesse said and kissed his daughter's temple. "Isn't that right, Nancy?"
"Oh, yeah!" Nancy squeaked and waved at Willy, Nessa, and Rhapsody as they spyhopped. "We will miss you, guys!"
Nadine sniffled. "We sure will."
"It's hard saying goodbye to these guys every time we go to Seattle," Randolph mumbled with a big frown. "I don't want them to leave at all."
"Who does?" Elvis said and swallowed hard. "Unfortunately, they must eventually. They have to go forage for food." She sniffled.
"We'll be back to see them next week," Jesse pointed out in a warm voice.
"Oh, yeah," Nadine said while nodding slowly. "We will wait a few days before we go whale-spotting. We do need to rest."
Randolph ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth. "Hmm."
Kyle spyhopped, air coming out of his blowhole. He resembled Alex, but he had Luna's eyepatches. Rake marks could be seen on his dorsal. His saddle patch was open on both sides. His right fluke contained two notches in it. His white areas were orange. Alex, Luna, Polaris, and Star came up next to him. They went underwater. They dove downward, turning toward the surface. They leapt clear of the water. They reentered it just as fast.
Kyle, Alex, Luna, Polaris, and Star dove deep. They turned upside down while heading for the surface. They threw their tails upward, sticking half their bodies out of the water. They headed back down to hit them on the surface. They returned to it and performed four rolls. They stopped on their backs. They flicked their tails in which they threw water upward.
"Yeah! Throw water upward as much as you want!" Elvis shouted as he touched the railing.
Nadine pointed her finger with an eager squeal. "I can see Slick and Blackberry down there!"
Slick surfaced, followed by Blackberry. Catspaw and Littlespot came up beside them. Quiet squeaks came out of their blowholes. They slipped underwater. They went deep. They turned upside down, as they headed for the surface. They leapt backward. They hit the water on their backs, three huge splashes coming from each of them. They broke the surface with loud bursts of air.
Max appeared beside his grandmother. His dorsal resembled his father's, but it showed no signs of bending in either direction. The knick in it was a little bigger. He spit water on her. She mimicked him. Ben came up beside his uncle on his side. He swung his tail in which he splashed him with water. Littlespot mimicked both of his nephew's actions. Max and Ben went over to Catspaw's side. They nibbled on it underneath her saddle patch very gently.
Just then, Isabella and Sparkle came up beside their brothers. They rolled on their sides, swinging their tails to splash water on them. They darted away with playful clicks. Max and Ben chased after them, catching up to them. They gave them light rakes on their sides behind their saddle patches. Their sisters turned, pushing them away. They proceeded to spit water on them. They emitted amused clicks from their blowholes. Willy and Nikki appeared. They spit water on the young orcas. They swam off rapidly. Their children, their nephew, and their niece darted after them. They squealed very playfully. Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, Elvis, and Randolph smiled widely.
"They are such playful orcas, especially Catspaw and her sons," Elvis said in much amazement.
"You would think she would've lost all of her playful nature by the time her children were physically mature, but she hasn't," Nadine commented.
"I have little doubt many of her children's rake marks are from having playtime with her," Jesse said in thoughtfulness.
"Granny has done such a remarkable job of leading J-Pod. Who knows which orca will take over as matriarch once she is gone?" Randolph murmured in much curiosity.
"I can imagine her getting frustrated when she leads her pod to where she believes there is food, but they don't find any or a whole lot," Nancy said, frowning somewhat.
"These orcas share food with each other, especially in lean times. The adult orcas go hungry to give young ones enough to eat," Jesse said.
"It is just like poor parents do with their children," Elvis said, breathing deeply. "All of us feel so fortunate we never had to go hungry."
"Being hungry and having no food to eat is terrible," Randolph mumbled in much sadness. "Before Merlin passed in 1995, he had peanut head. It was probably the first time the condition had ever been seen in an orca."
"That is the orca with the designated number of J3, right?" Nancy asked.
"That's right," Randolph answered with a nod. "As he went downhill, his dorsal flopped over like Willy's. Then he disappeared, never to be seen again."
"It stinks he passed away like that, but at least he is at peace now," Jesse whispered in relief.
"Yeah," Nadine agreed. "Anyway, let's watch J-Pod play around while we can. What do you say?"
The others voiced their agreement, making Nadine smile warmly. Nancy clapped three times. She proceeded to sing nonsense. J-Pod continued swimming and playing around.