Beeeep beeeep beeeep.
Alana silenced her alarm clock and pulled herself off of her cot with a yawn. She quickly changed into her favorite green wetsuit, putting Matthias' pendant around her neck as she had every day since her departure. She smiled as she ran her fingers over it, thinking of her husband and daughter that she would see once again next week. Although the trip had been both exciting and interesting, she couldn't wait to be home.
Alana ran up the stairs and greeted Hailie, who was working on deck. "I'm up next, right?" she asked.
"Yep," replied Hailie, "you've got swimming next. You know the drill. Just stay with the pod and tell us if anything changes. Make sure to take plenty of pictures too!"
"I know, I know. This isn't my first time diving," Alana teased, "Got anything special for me to do?"
"Not really. Just have fun playing with the whales one last time."
Alana smiled. Of the crew, she was by far the most attached to their whale pod. She grabbed her equipment from the corner and put it on. She checked her radio and lowered herself into the water.
They had been following the same group of humpback whales for two weeks, and it was almost time to leave them and return home. Most of the time Alana spent in the water was swimming along with them, as the whales moved much slower during migrations, but when she needed a rest she would simply hitch a ride on top of one.
Now she swam along next to a little calf that was swimming below his mother. She patted it on the head, snapping a quick photo of the markings around its eyes. With a smile, Alana pulled out her sea whistle, which was hanging around her neck, and sounded it softly. The calf squeaked in delight, as if answering her. Alana laughed and swam up towards one of the larger whales in the pod.
"Hello there, old girl," she said, swimming alongside one of the whale's massive eyes. "Mind if I tag along?" The whale blinked lazily, although whether in response or circumstance, Alana couldn't tell. She held back a little until she could grasp the whale's fin, making sure not to obstruct its powerful movements. She flipped onto her back, letting herself be tugged along.
"One more day," she sighed, only half to the whale. "And then I go home. Oceana will be so pleased. Suppose she's learned to walk?"
"How's it going, Alana?" Hailie's voice crackled over her radio.
"Fine as ever," Alana answered with a smile. "What'd you expect?"
"Just doing my job," Hailie replied. "Got to check in, you know the drill. Keep in touch."
"I can't hardly avoid it, can I?" she teased.
Smiling, slightly, Alana looked down and realized that she had been stroking the pendant's chain. Now she took it off to examine it closer. As she floated through the water, it flowed through easily. Surprisingly, The hunk of stone seemed to give no resistance to the water's currents. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, holding it up for the whale's inspection. "Hard to believe it wasn't worth anything."
She hooked a finger through the chain, letting it dance along behind her until it was completely horizontal. "Almost like another little fish," she laughed, making a mental note to try the same trick with Oceana as soon as she got home.
The whale she was grasping lunged forward suddenly, jolting her a little and knocking the pendant chain off her finger. "No, wait!" she gasped, letting go of the whale's fin and diving down after it. An eerie melody echoed in the ocean around her, an odd combination of major and minor, almost like the sound of a sea whistle, but strangely twisted. Putting on a burst of speed, Alana snagged the edge of the pendant, pulling it close.
A burst of static came over her radio, and then she heard Hailie's voice. "Everything alright, down there, Alana?"
"Yeah," she answered, "yeah, I'm fine. Just dropped my pendant, is all. Although I did hear sort of a strange noise, did you get that?"
"Let me play the recordings back, see what I can find," Hailie answered, going to her radio controls. She twiddled a few dials, trying for a replay. "Nothing," she said into the radio. "Must not have been loud enough for us to pick up."
"Alright, just thought I'd try."
"How're the whales?" Hailie asked, settling down on a deck chair and looking out over the ocean. "Any changes?"
"Well…" There was a pause. "Yes, actually. They're sort of agitated, almost. Sort of… well… milling about, I guess. I almost think-" There was a burst of static. "-to do?"
"I'm losing you," Hailie said, turning knobs on the controls. "Hold on just a sec, I'm trying to get you back. Alana, can you hear me?"
She was answered only by static. "Hailie!" a voice called from across the deck. "You'd better come see this."
Hailie hurried over, abandoning the radio for the moment. Sara stood at the railing of the boat, shading her eyes with her hand. "It's the whales," she said, pointing out to sea. "They're going berserk! I've never known whales to be this active, especially not with so many calves in the pod. We have to find out what they're doing!"
"Are you crazy?" Hailie cried. "Forget the whales, Alana's down there! We have to get her out!" Hailie ran back to the radio and started turning the knobs frantically, trying to get a reading. "Alana! Come in, Alana! Are you alright? Answer me! ALANA!"
"Hailie, stop," Sara said, pulling her away. "She can't answer you."
"And how would you know that?" Hailie screamed, fighting Sara's hold. "We've got to keep trying, we-"
"Hailie." The gentleness in her friend's voice was enough to make her go still. Sara pulled her over to the other side of the boat. "Just look."
Hailie looked. The sea was calmer now, the whales back to normal. And in the middle of the pod floated a patch of bright green.
A.N: Hi guys! Apologies for that ending. My sister was inclined to think it too traumatic, I thought it could have been way worse, but that's what we got. Cheers. Sorry we're so dreadfully slow in posting, but seeing as basically nobody reads this I suppose it doesn't really matter all that much. But props to you that do! Our faithful few, we appreciate every view we get. If you are interested in reading the aftermath of the above, do shoot us a review - we'll probably be much more inclined to work on it that way. It's in your hands, my dears.
-Forever the Optimist