Chapter 8
8
T he water churned like a washing machine as small, irritating plastic debris floated around them, and Kai could see the panic building in Hollyn’s eyes. She was about twenty feet away from him, and he wasn’t certain he could reach her before she had a full-blown panic attack. Yet, he used sure, even strokes to reach her, and a few seconds later, he had his arms wrapped around her.
She clung to him as if her life depended on it, and it was only his strong swimming ability that kept them afloat.
He leaned forward until his lips hovered around her ear. In a low, reassuring voice, he said, “I’ve got you, Hollyn. You’re safe now.”
With soft swipes of his hand over her wet hair, Kai continued to touch her reassuringly. After a few more seconds, she stopped struggling and relaxed in his arms.
The calm didn’t last long, though, as they both turned toward the sound of a deafening roar. They turned to watch as long, tentacled arms broke the surface around the boat, wrapping around the vessel and squeezing it like a piece of aluminum foil until it resembled an empty, crumpled soda can. Within seconds, the monstrous creature was dragging the destroyed boat below the surface and out of sight.
Hollyn’s voice shook with fear as she asked, “What the hell was that? Do you think it will return for us next?”
Kai didn’t really know, but as he glanced at Hollyn, he knew he had to give her reassuring words, not reality. So, he squeezed her tighter to him as they treaded water together.
“I believe the captain called it a leviathan, and I think it has what it came for. I don’t think it will return.”
Her stiffened body eased once more, but she still wasn’t totally reassured as she asked, “What are we going to do now?”
He looked around at the ridiculous amount of plastic trash around them, and he realized they were slowly floating toward the swirling center. If they made it to the middle, they’d go down with the power of the vortex, like water down the drain.
Then, he heard a familiar voice, shouting over the sound of the waves and the bits of plastic.
Akamu called out to them. “Swim toward me quickly. You’ve got to get out of there!”
Kai looked around and saw the man just outside of the debris field, waving his hand toward his own head in a gesture meant to encourage them to hurry. Without another thought, Kai hooked an arm across Hollyn’s chest and began swimming one-armed toward Akamu. It was harder than he expected because of the floating trash in the way of each swim stroke. Yet, he knew they were no longer headed toward the middle.
Finally, the pieces of plastic began to dissipate, and Kai had a clear path toward Akamu.
When he reached their floating friend, Kai asked, “How did you know we were off track?”
“It was too quiet. When I awoke, I expected to hear the chatter of the sea creatures below us, but it was silent. There’s only one place in the ocean that the animals mostly avoid—The Vortex.”
“You can hear the sea animals?”
“Not currently, but I usually can. Can’t you?”
Kai continued to tread water, holding onto Hollyn as he thought about Akamu’s question. “I guess I’ve never tried to listen.”
The water around them dipped and rolled, and their bodies moved with each slosh around them. Kai knew they couldn’t keep this up forever. How exactly were they going to get to land now without a boat? He felt at a loss, and he was worried about Hollyn’s state of mind. She was conscious but limp in his arms.
He turned to the only man who seemed to have a confidence in the water. “So, what do we do now, Akamu?”
“What we should have done in the first place—we swim to Hanupali City.”
He felt Hollyn stir for the first time. “What? That’s impossible!”
Kai was happy she was coming out of her shock, but she had a great point. “And how do you suppose we can swim to your city? Is it just on the other side of the trash island?”
Akamu smiled. “When you were last underwater, did you feel an urgency to take in a breath of air?”
He thought back to when they’d crashed into the Atlantic and Hollyn had tried to dive after the man hired by her father who decided to try to swim to the bottom of the ocean because he’d been mesmerized by Hollyn. Kai couldn’t recall at any time during the dive feeling like he needed to fill his lungs. As a matter of fact, he never struggled when he competed as a swimmer either. Was it possible, he had another ability he didn’t even know he had?
Hollyn spoke up again as she questioned, “What about me? How am I supposed to swim an ocean?”
“We’ll have to take trips to the surface so that you can get a breath, but as a siren, you can go farther and longer than a human.”
“I’m only half-siren.”
Akamu laughed. “Well, let’s aim for making it at least half-way, I guess.”
Kai turned Hollyn so that he could look directly at her. “I don’t think we have any other choice but to try at this point.”
“You don’t think there’s a flotation device amongst the flotsam and jetsam of The Vortex?”
They were suddenly interrupted when bubbles surfaced a few feet away. As the bubbles popped, a wild roar escaped from the depths.
Akamu broke the stunned silence. “I don’t think we have time to look.”
Kai knew when Hollyn decided to try to swim despite her obvious doubt. She pulled back from his arms, and he felt the absence immediately. He liked holding her, and he wasn’t exactly sure when it had begun to feel so right, but it did.
Akamu dove under the waves, and Kai motioned for Hollyn to follow. Surprisingly, she went without an argument, and after taking a deep breath, Kai followed.
Once under the waves, everything calmed immediately. At first, Kai only saw a hazy, deep blue nothingness, but as his eyes adjusted, he began seeing the glow of animals all around them. Microscopic plankton and luminescent fish swam nearby. And for the first time, Kai began to pick up on sounds, some nearby and some distant. He knew this is what Akamu had meant by hearing the creatures. It was exciting to realize he could do things he never knew he could.
And, even better, somehow he knew he didn’t need to return to the surface to breathe. It was like his skin was pulling the oxygen from the water and supplying his body with exactly what it needed to continue swimming.
He watched Hollyn, and she didn’t seem to be struggling either. He wondered what she thought of such a twist. Was she as surprised as he was? Neither one of them knew enough about their abilities. She was the one person he felt would understand the feelings he was dealing with. He couldn’t wait to talk to her about it all.
They swam into a current, and like a space ship hitting light speed, it propelled them forward, pushing them along without any effort on their part. But after about an hour, Hollyn pointed upward, and they all surfaced to allow her to take a deep breath. After a few seconds, though, she was ready to go again.
They continued this pattern for hours, and Kai couldn’t believe the ease of the trip. He didn’t even feel fatigued. Hollyn seemed to be holding up well also, and at one point, he was certain he’d even seen a smile as they rode the ocean current.
At their next trip to the surface, Akamu explained, “We’re getting close.”
Kai couldn’t help but notice the tension in Akamu’s shoulders and face.
“What do we need to be prepared for?” Kai asked.
Akamu sighed heavily. “I’m not exactly sure what the welcome will be.”
But Kai was determined to get the last piece of the amulet, and that meant going forward, even if it was into an unknown situation. Whatever it was, they’d handle it together.
They swam on for another hour before Akamu exited the current. They took one last breath at the surface and began to descend into the dark blue depths.
Kai couldn’t help the wonder that hit him as he began to see cylindrical golden towers reaching toward them. His gaze searched each kelp-dotted inch of the emerging civilization below.
The sight of the underwater city was breathtaking. Kai couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was like seeing the setting of a fairytale.