El Niño, page 5
Kai scrambled back up onto his board and straddled it, his legs dangling over the sides. Breathing heavy, he was staring into the water when something slid against his ankle. He jerked both legs up. The creature rushed below him and bumped the bottom of his board. He lay on his stomach and gripped the sides, his heart pounding. Whatever it was kept zigzagging beneath him, so swiftly it was only a blur in the water. Kai braced for another hit.
Then, as quickly as they’d disappeared, the dolphins resurfaced and circled him, and the creature swam off, its tail waving underwater.
Kai quickly paddled toward shore. Luna, baby on her flank, stayed close, like a sentinel, until Kai reached the break. Still lying on his board, he caught whitewater all the way in.
Aaron paced the beach. “What happened out there? I was just about to head back out to see if you needed help.”
Kai explained.
“Could it have been a sea lion?” asked Aaron. “One knocked me off my board once.”
Kai shook his head. “This looked different. And the tail was fluked. Whatever it was definitely wanted me in the water. The dolphins protected me.”
“Yeah, they’ll do that. Glad you’re okay. Typical El Niño waters. Brings all sorts of out-of-the-ordinary creatures.”
“Like what?”
“I guess you were only five or six the last time the waters were this warm. One day, I came down the stairs and the entire beach was covered with by-the-wind sailors. They look like moon jellies but purple, with little sails that protrude up to catch the breeze. Another day, thousands of red crabs. Both unusual for here.”
“Anything bigger, like what I saw?”
“Yellowtail, mahi-mahi, bluefin?” said Aaron. “You should stop by and see Gramps. He’ll know. He has lots of stories about weird things he’s seen during El Niño years. You still want to swim to the buoy?”
Kai shook his head, unnerved. Besides, it wasn’t wise to swim out that far when something unknown was lurking about. “Another day. Let’s head in.” Kai tucked his board under his arm and followed Aaron up the beach stairs.
In his yard, he turned on the garden hose and sprayed the salt water from his board and leash. He peeled off his wet suit, rinsed it, and slipped it on one of several hangers they kept on a nearby tree limb. Now, wearing only his board shorts, Kai sprayed himself. The water was tepid, almost as tropical as the ocean had been. Warm waters and odd sea creatures. He glanced at his wet suit, dangling from the tree like a discarded shadow, the legs overlapping as if they were one long appendage.
Whatever he had seen had a similar shape—almost humanlike. Almost … mermalien.
Kai found Ray in his garage, where buoys dangled from the ceiling and jelly jars filled with seashells lined the windowsill. His bike was turned upside down on a workbench.
“What happened?” asked Kai.
“Hit a nail when I rode to Cardiff this morning. Heard an anglerfish washed ashore near Swami’s Beach. Very rare for these parts. I wanted to get a look before the marine biologists pick it up.”
“I saw something strange while Aaron and I were surfing,” said Kai. “What does an anglerfish look like?”
“This one was about the size of a football. Dark brown. Almost black. Huge wide mouth full of vicious teeth. Scary-looking thing.”
Kai shook his head. “What I saw was a lot bigger, like a large seal except with a fluked tail. And black hair, or maybe whiskers floating all around its head. The thing kept zooming by and ran into me a few times. Aaron said you’ve seen a lot of weird things when the water warms.”
Ray tinkered with the bike. “I’ve seen some peculiar anomalies. Green sea turtles, sea hares that look like human hearts. Once saw an oarfish the size of a school bus, and a poisonous yellow-bellied sea snake. Could it have been a hammerhead shark?”
“Wrong shape and no dorsal fin,” said Kai.
“Were you wearing anything shiny?”
“Just the neon leash. The toggle reflects a little. Why?”
“Barracudas are attracted to bright things, thinking they’re little fish. They can get pretty aggressive, too.”
“How big do they get?”
“Can be over five feet. They’re long and streamlined with silvery sides.”
“This didn’t have silvery sides and it wasn’t streamlined. It was the size of a human.”
“Maybe you did see a human. A lot of people snorkel and skin dive in these parts, looking for treasure. Usually north of Oceanside, though.”
“Treasure?”
Ray smiled. “Gold from a sunken island. Sailor lore. Rumor is there’s a cache somewhere between here and Catalina. They say the underwater cliffs glow. No proof, though.”
“You mean from the Island of California?”
“That’s the one.”
“Do you believe it?” asked Kai.
Ray shrugged. “I’m a scientist. I deal in facts. A story from hundreds of years ago borrowed from stories from thousands of years ago is hard to wrap my brain around. Is it possible? Maybe. Veins of gold occur in hard rock. And some islands do sink over time. Gold could act as a catalyst and turn solar rays into energy and cause a glowing effect. Currents could cause gold to splinter off an underwater cliff after enough erosion. But that’s a lot of supposition. I’m not convinced.”
“Fortune hunters believe it’s true, though?”
“The possibility of finding gold makes people believe almost anything,” said Ray. “Boats are out every month with divers hoping to strike it rich, but usually beyond the kelp beds north of here. So, I’m guessing you saw a wayward diver.” Ray wiped his hands with a rag. “Need to head inside. Making my famous chili for the bunch of us. Aaron’s request. Your mom’s making jalapeño corn bread.”
Kai’s mouth watered.
“See you later,” said Ray. “Hope you figure out your mystery.”
“Me too,” said Kai. He walked back to his house, even more confused. It didn’t make sense. Wouldn’t a diver have waved or surfaced? And why try to knock a surfer off his board? Plus, he’d never seen a human swim that fast in the ocean, ever.
If it wasn’t a barracuda or a diver, what was it?
For decades, Queen Califia and the mermaliens lived in the underwater Realm, peacefully and with great purpose. For there was no more important work than to protect and care for the contents of the Library of Despair and Sorrow.
When mourners cupped their hands and offered their sadness to the comfort of water, their tears—as little as a few and as much as a torrent—transformed into luminescent pinpoints and traveled the channels to the sea. The mermaliens received it and embraced the heartache, welcoming it to the shelter of the Realm.
Even though the mermaliens were safe in the Below, an occasional ship would slowly cruise far above on the water’s surface, the hull a dark and shadowy ghost. As the years passed, the ships appeared with greater frequency. The queen grew curious about where so many vessels were headed, and their intentions.
She sent a contingent to spy on one galleon. The mermaliens followed the ship for days, resting off the bow at night, until it reached its destination—a seaport. They returned to the Realm with news of a mainland. They had found the rumored continent.
It wasn’t long before the mermaliens began to take occasional excursions to the continental shore, where they transfigured to their human form. A few chose to live on land and raise families there, but they still traveled seamlessly between the two worlds they loved. And Queen Califia always welcomed them back with “The Realm awaits.” They never betrayed the existence of the island, their abilities, or the library and the contents they fiercely protected.
For some, though, the seeds of greed were planted. A group of renegade mermaliens realized the extravagant lifestyle they might have on land if only they could access the sunken island’s wealth. Calling themselves Los Lobos del Mar, they secretly recruited others from the Realm with the promise of riches on land. They trained a legion of tiger sharks to protect them and devised an elaborate underwater heist. In a series of nighttime raids, they chipped away at the island cliffs and smuggled caches of gold ashore.
When Queen Califia discovered the theft, she once again saw the inevitable. As sure as she had been that the island would sink, she knew that Los Lobos del Mar would never be satisfied, and would eventually set their eyes on the Library of Despair and Sorrow. After all, the contents were a far greater arsenal than any country had ever known. Those who controlled a debilitating threat—the ability to release all the anguish and sorrow onto humankind—controlled the world.
Queen Califia gathered the Realm in a great congregation. Again, she instructed her warriors to build a conclave of rock towers, and after an ancient ceremony of chants and spells, the mythic ancestors appeared. She beseeched her superiors for a defense against Los Lobos del Mar.
They answered, bestowing a gift—two gold cuffs that, when worn on each wrist by the reigning queen, contained the power to protect the Realm forever. With both, she could summon the wind and rain in unimaginable forms on land and sea—fantastical squalls, thunderstorms, hurricanes, waterspouts, and tempests—and keep Los Lobos del Mar at bay.
The ancestors warned, though, that the cuffs should be used with the greatest restraint, and with only a glancing touch. For once they were wielded with full force, the temperate harmony of sunshine, light rain, and gentle breezes would disintegrate, potentially altering the face of the earth.
The second week of practice, the morning lectures grew stranger.
In the weight room on Wednesday, Xosé tapped the pointer on a diagram of a bottlenose taped to the wall. “Dolphins have sophisticated acoustic abilities, most notably, whistles, clicks, and very high-definition—”
In unison, they answered, “Burst-pulse signals.”
Kai was bored. Mom had taught him everything about dolphins’ aerodynamic bodies, how they slept with only one side of their brains at a time, defended themselves from predators, and hunted cooperatively.
Xosé nodded with satisfaction. “Okay, that’s enough for this morning. Today, there will be an extra lecture after lunch. For now, you can have a ten-minute break before stretches.”
The coaches huddled as the swimmers walked toward the pool deck. Serena echoed Kai’s thoughts. “Be one with the dolphin. What is the point? And what is up with all the lectures? I thought we were here to swim. My dad is not happy with these coaches. This is day eight of practice, and I know more about dolphins than I do about improving my backstroke.” She held up a hand and started ticking off her fingers. “Kai was flailing like a windmill during the butterfly yesterday. Spinner’s kick is pitiful. Oliver, your flip turns are a mess.”
Nick smirked. “Don’t hold back, Serena.”
“I won’t. I want us to be better. I want us to be golden—and demolish the Sea Wolves. You need more weight training. If you strengthened your upper body, you’d increase your speed.”
“When would you suggest I do that?” asked Nick.
“I don’t know,” said Serena. “At home in your spare time, maybe? Based on how we are now, this team is going nowhere. The only ones who are up to par are Lydia, and, of course, me,” said Serena. “I’m just pointing out—”
“—how we’re not as good as you,” said Spinner. “We get it.”
“They’re playing with our psyches, that’s all,” said Kai.
Every head turned.
“What do you mean?” asked Serena.
“The lectures about dolphins and their oneness with their community. That’s how we should behave as a team. In concert. Together.”
“That’s … sort of brilliant,” said Lydia. “Where did that come from?”
Kai shrugged. His words surprised him, too.
Spinner nodded. “Right … All the dolphin information is a metaphor for cooperation. Maybe when we’re all in a cohesive mindset, the coaches will start—”
“—acting competent?” said Serena. “I’m not waiting to find out. And Kai, I get that you’ve been through a lot, but let’s be real. You don’t seem ready to compete, and if you don’t improve, you’re going to drag down the whole team. I need the team to shine so we get noticed. And I’m not going to let anything or anyone hold me back. My dad is rallying other parents to go to the league. Don’t be surprised if there are changes soon.” She strode ahead of them.
“What’s got into her?” muttered Nick.
“Her ego,” said Oliver.
“It’s more than that,” said Lydia. “Serena only has her dad. He works three jobs to make ends meet. In a few years, she’s counting on a swim scholarship for college.”
Spinner nudged Kai. “Don’t worry. This isn’t all on you.”
Kai’s stomach sank anyway. If Serena’s dad complained loud enough, Kai would be the first to go. And if he stayed and didn’t improve, he could jeopardize the team and someone’s entire future.
After lunch, Dominie stood in front of an easel with a large pad of paper. He drew a vertical line down the left side of the page with a marker. “This is a cross view of our coastline.” Then he drew a wavy line across the top. “And this is the water’s surface.” He continued drawing. “Here’s the land beneath the water and”—he drew a line that dipped down toward the bottom of the page—“this is the continental shelf.”
Spinner and Kai exchanged puzzled looks.
“The marine environment is divided into zones,” continued Dominie. “The surface layer, or sunlight zone, is called epipelagic, and includes organisms and animals that live in the open sea, specifically dolphins.”
Serena muttered under her breath, “We know.”
Dominie tapped the easel with the marker to get their attention. “And other sea creatures. For instance—”
“—great white sharks,” said Spinner.
Dominie nodded. “Spinner is correct. Many types of sharks spend most of their time in the epipelagic zone, except for the leopard shark, who lives in the—”
“Announcement,” said Spinner. “I have galeophobia, a major fear of sharks, great whites in particular. It’s a legitimate condition. That’s why I swim in a pool and not the ocean.”
Dominie cleared his throat. “You might like to know, Spinner, humans are technically highly evolved fish. In early stages of embryo development, humans and fish have a tail and a folded necklike feature. If you are a fish, that feature becomes gills. If you are a human, it becomes a jaw.”
“We’re related?” asked Spinner.
“You could be considered a very sophisticated and advanced fish, and we’re going to channel that ancestry,” said Dominie. “Let’s move on. So, tiger sharks, who live in the intertidal …”
Kai hadn’t even felt his eyes closing when someone yelled his name. He jerked upright.
Dominie’s gaze pierced through him. “This is important. And you, especially, need to be present!”
No one made a sound.
Dominie paced back and forth like a caged animal.
As if reading Kai’s mind, Serena said, “Dominie, what does all this have to do with swimming?”
“We are going to be doing some open-water training soon. So now you understand the pertinence of my information. Correct?”
Lydia raised her hand. “In the bay? Or the ocean?”
Spinner wagged a finger. “I’m not going in the ocean. I don’t even surf. I read about shark attacks. I listen to the news reports …”
“Don’t worry,” blurted Nick. “We’ll save you!”
Everyone laughed.
Dominie’s body tensed. “I mentioned that my approach might be unorthodox. Yet the entire pod seems to be questioning my methods. And for your information, what I just told you could very well save your life. Since it wasn’t important enough to keep one of you awake”—he stared directly at Kai—“let us revisit the pool so I can regain my credibility. Add ten laps at the end of your workout. Choose your stroke.”
There was a collective groan. If there was one thing all swimmers knew, it was that any disrespect to a coach could be easily disciplined within the workouts.
Kai chose breaststroke but tired quickly. It was the same as every day. Halfway through the laps, he felt as if he towed a skiff of heaviness he couldn’t release. He was the last one out of the pool again. Wasn’t he improving at all?
When Kai pushed open the locker room door, there was none of the usual banter, and everyone avoided his eyes. The extra laps had been his fault. Nick and Oliver hurried past him. Kai quickly gathered his things and followed, already dreading the carpool.
He dashed through the rain and climbed into the front passenger seat just in time to hear Oliver grumble, “She’s right. He’s going to drag down the team.”
No one spoke during the ride to his house, but the words hammered in Kai’s mind, keeping time with the windshield wipers whooshing back and forth. Drag down. Drag down. Drag down.
Kai hurried inside and upstairs, as much to escape as to get out of the rain. All he wanted was to collapse in bed.
Abby came flying down the hall. “Kai, look! A sand dollar!”
“Not now, Abs.”
“Cali said it’s a mermaid coin.” She held the sand dollar in her cupped hands, her face innocent and sincere. “It’s for you. Best brother ever.”
He gently lifted the fragile remnant of a sea urchin, positioning it in his palm. It was perfectly shaped, almost round and slightly puffed with the distinctive five petaloids shaped like a flower. “It’s a beauty.”
She nodded and then skipped down the hall.
Kai dropped his bag on the floor of his room and fell back onto his bed. He stroked the smooth yet grainy surface of the sand dollar, imagining it on the seafloor with a lavender flush, moving on tiny spines and tube feet, alive and well, instead of only a shell of its former self.
