Dolphins at Daybreak (4 page)

“What's a ship's log?” said Annie.

“It's a diary of an ocean trip,” said Jack.

He peered at the computer screen and read a log entry:

“Hey, that was just last week,” said Jack. He read further:

“This is like your notebook,” said Annie.

“Yeah, the oceanographer was writing notes on the computer,” said Jack.

Jack and Annie read further:

“A crack where?” said Annie.

“I don't know,” said Jack. He read further:

“Uh-oh. This doesn't sound good,” said Jack. He read further:

“ ‘Defective' means broken, right?” said Annie.

“Yep,” said Jack.

“So this sub is broken, right?” said Annie.

“Yep,” said Jack. “And it was waiting to be taken away by a helicopter. To a junkyard.”

“Yikes,” said Annie.

“Now we
really
have to get back,” said Jack.

“Let's try pressing the waves picture,” said Annie.

She pressed the waves picture on the computer screen.

The mini-sub began to rise slowly.

“Oh, good,” said Jack.

The sub went past a small coral mountain. It went past schools of fish and waving plants.

“Oh!” gasped Annie.

Jack gasped, too.

Two eyes were staring out from behind a giant sea plant. They looked human—except
they were as big as golf balls.

The sub moved past the giant plant. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

“What—? Whose—?” sputtered Annie.

“Don't ask,” said Jack.

They stared back at the plant.

Just then, a long arm came out from behind it.

Then another arm came out.

Then another—and another—and another—and another—and another—and another!

Jack and Annie stared in horror at a giant octopus.

“It's coming after us,” said Annie.

Slowly, the octopus crept through the water. Its eight arms reached for the mini-sub.

The octopus hugged the mini-sub. Each of its eight arms had two rows of suckers. The suckers stuck to the window.

The mini-sub stopped.

The octopus stared at Jack and Annie with huge, human-like eyes.

“I don't think it wants to hurt us,” whispered Annie. “It's just curious.”

“I—I'm going to research it,” said Jack.

His hands shook as he flipped through the
pages of the ocean book.

He found a picture of an octopus and read aloud:

“Aw. See, I told you, he's shy,” said Annie. She yelled to the octopus, “Hi! I'm Annie! He's Jack!”

“Oh, brother,” moaned Jack. He read further:

“Oh, great,” said Jack. “We'll never get rid of this thing.”

Just then, Jack felt a drop hit his arm. Water. He looked up at the ceiling.

“Uh-oh,” said Annie.

A thin crack ran along the ceiling. Smaller cracks branched out from it.

Water dripped from the cracks.

“We found the cracks,” said Annie.

“The octopus better let go! Before the whole ceiling breaks!” said Jack.

“Let go,
please
. Please!” Annie shouted at the octopus.

The creature blinked, as if trying to understand her.

“Please! Please! Please!” she shouted.

“Come on, Annie,” said Jack. “It doesn't care if you're polite.”

The octopus blinked at Jack.

“Get out of here!” Jack yelled at it. “Now! Beat it! Scram! Go!”

The octopus shot a cloud of black liquid into the water and disappeared into the dark cloud. Its long tentacles trailed through the water.

The mini-sub started to rise slowly again.

“You hurt his feelings,” Annie said.

“I don't think so … ” Something bothered Jack.

He looked back at the ocean book. He read to himself:

“Oh, no,” said Jack.

“What's wrong?” asked Annie.

Jack looked out the window. The water was growing clear again.

A shadowy figure moved toward the mini-sub.

“What is that?” whispered Annie.

The fish was way bigger than the dolphins. And it had a
very
weird head.

Jack could feel his heart nearly stop.

“A hammerhead shark,” he breathed. “We're
really
in trouble now.”

The shark swam behind the coral.

“Where did it go?” said Annie, peering out the window.

“It doesn't matter,” said Jack. “
We
have to get to the top.”

“More water's coming in,” said Annie.

“Yeah, I know. Come on … come on … faster!” Jack ordered the mini-sub.

“Even
more
water's coming in,” said Annie, “lots more!”

Jack looked up. The water wasn't dripping now—it was spurting.

“A few seconds, a few seconds,” said Jack.

Suddenly, the mini-sub burst out of the water. It bobbed on the waves like a cork. The ocean sparkled all around it.

“Safe!” shouted Annie.

Jack felt the water rising around his bare feet.

“Uh—not really … ” he said.

“Oops,” said Annie. “The octopus must have made cracks in the bottom, too.”

The water was up to their ankles now.

Jack looked out. He saw the reef in the distance.

“The sub can make it. It doesn't look that far,” he said.

“Go, go,
go
,” said Annie.

She pressed one of the steering keys.

Suddenly, the screen went blank.

“What's happening?” said Jack.

Annie pressed the key again. Then Jack pressed the other pictures. Nothing happened.

“It's dead,” said Annie.

“Oh, great,” said Jack.

Now the water was up to their knees.

“I guess we'll have to swim,” said Jack. He took a deep breath.

“Right,” said Annie. “It's a good thing we had swimming lessons this summer.”

“Right,” said Jack. “And it's a bad thing we just saw a shark.”

Jack quickly found the picture of the shark in the book.

He read aloud:

Jack closed the book.

“We better do the breast stroke,” said Annie. “So we won't splash.”

“Yep, and stay close,” said Jack.

“
Very
close,” said Annie. Her eyes were wide. But she seemed very calm.

Jack took a deep breath. He tried to be calm, too. He calmly took off his glasses. He calmly put them and the book into his pack. He calmly put his pack on his back.

Annie opened the hatch.

“Be calm,” Annie said. She slipped out of the mini-sub.

“Help,” Jack said calmly. He held his nose.

Then he calmly lowered himself into the ocean.