Shark Wars (6 page)

GRAY AND BARKLEY LEFT IMMEDIATELY FOR THE
reef and didn't speak, conserving their energy on the long trip. After two nonstop days swimming with no food or rest, they finally reached the Coral Shiver homewaters. Gray saw that the greenie path into the reef was intact.

But it was quiet. Very quiet.

There was usually noise by the reef. Keen shark senses picked up the sounds and disturbances caused by dwellers and other sharkkind talking or swimming. When you weren't hunting, you'd ignore these as background noise. Now all Gray felt, all he heard, was the gentle tide swishing the greenie back and forth. There were no snatches of conversation, or shouting, or tail strokes from any ocean dweller. It set him on edge. Gray's heart was pounding so hard, it felt as if it would hammer its way out of his body.

“Follow me,” he whispered.

The entire reef was still and silent. When he got closer, he noticed there were a few tiny, darting fish about, but not many. The larger dwellers had been scared away. Or eaten. He could smell the faint scent of blood everywhere. The beautiful corals and greenie were gouged and torn, as if hit by a mighty undersea storm. A few urchins and anemones were there, but faded their colors into muted browns and grays, the better to hide themselves. For a moment neither Gray nor Barkley said anything, hushed by the devastation around them. Gray had expected the worst, but it still didn't prepare him for this. The reef was totally destroyed.

“Do you think everyone…” Barkley left the question hanging in the water.

“Mom! Mom!” yelled Gray, startling the dogfish. No one answered, though.

“All of them?” Barkley asked himself in a dazed voice. “How can…how?

“NO!” Gray sped around the entire reef but it was the same everywhere. Desolation and stillness. Gray and Barkley cried by the edge of the reef, where they had gone after the drove of bluefin. It was quite some time before either could speak.

“This is my fault,” Gray told Barkley.

“Gray—”

He cut his friend off. “If I had listened to you none of this would have happened! If I had listened to Mom! If I—”

Barkley gave him a sudden stinging tail slap to the flank. “You didn't do this! You. Did. Not.”

This didn't make Gray feel any better. He knew deep inside that this was his burden to carry. I'm sorry, Mom, he thought silently as the slow tide carried his tears away.

“Gray? Barkley?” asked a small voice. They looked to where a few sad strands of greenie were still in place. There! Something moved. Gray and Barkley tensed, scared and alert.

Out poked Yappy's head. “Is it really you?”

Barkley exhaled loudly. “Yappy! You nearly scared us to death!”

Gray quickly swam up to Yappy and asked loudly, “Who did this? Have you seen my mother? Where is everyone?”

The little sea dragon zipped back into the greenie. “Stop yelling at me!” he squeaked.

Barkley nipped at Gray's tail, almost getting bitten as a result. The dogfish couldn't believe it and yelled, “What's wrong with you? Yappy's our friend.” Gray saw the look in Barkley's eyes and was ashamed.

Yappy poked his head out of the greenie again. “Really, Barkley? I always thought you didn't like me!”

“No, Yappy. Sometimes I get annoyed and take stuff out on you. Sorry,” said the dogfish. “Do you know where our families are and what happened?”

“I don't know where your cousins are, Barkley. They were on the other side of the reef, so I didn't see. The shiver, they tried to fight. They tried. But there were so many. So many.”

“My mom?” asked Gray fearfully.

“I'm not sure.” The little sea dragon choked back a sob. “I ran and hid! I'm a coward!”

“You're not a coward!” Barkley told him. “The shiver—were they taken?”

“No! They got away!” Yappy told them. Gray's heart leapt as Yappy continued. “Atlas was shouting, ‘Go! Go! We'll meet at the Tuna Run!'” The sea dragon brightened a little. “You shoulda seen Atlas! He wanted everyone to leave, but Overbiter stayed with him, flank to flank! They held them off as Quickeyes and Onyx led everyone away! Sent at least three of them to the Sparkle Blue! But then…” Sadness returned to Yappy's eyes.

Gray couldn't speak, so Barkley prodded in a low voice, “Then?”

“They both were eaten.”

Gray felt a hotness growing inside him. A reddish haze descended over his eyes as he thought of someone eating sharks from his shiver family. “Who did that?” Gray asked in a deathly quiet voice.

The little sea dragon's eyes grew misty. “They came at high moon when everybody was resting. But not me. I saw them. I saw…”

“Yappy! Saw who?” Gray asked his voice rising, Barkley gave him a look when the sea dragon cringed.

“Saw who?” the dogfish asked in a soothing tone.

The sea dragon answered in a shaky whisper, “Bull sharks. They were bulls.”

Barkley was struck dumb with a look of disbelief. Gray swam over, but not too fast or close this time. He kept his voice low so he wouldn't scare the sea dragon off. “Yappy, this is no time for stories. Who really did this?”

“STORIES?” he yelled into Gray's face. “Look around, you big lumpfish! Two of my sisters were eaten!” Gray actually backed away from the tiny sea dragon's rage and grief. Yappy got hold of himself. “I'm sorry I yelled. But they were definitely bull sharks. The one who ate Paxson had a weird scar on his snout. Looked like a clam shell.”

Paxson was the sea dragon's oldest sister. She had always made fun of her brother for talking with Gray and Barkley. Now she was gone.

“Do you want to come with us?” Barkley asked. “We have another place.”

The sea dragon shook his head. “My family's leaving. We have cousins in the Dark Blue. We'll stay with them for a while.” Yappy's eyes grew hard for a moment. “When we find those bulls, we'll get them. You'll see.” The diminutive sea dragon flicked his flippers in a wave good-bye and left. “See you around. Maybe.”

Barkley shook his head. “Yappy and his giant cousins getting revenge on a shiver of bulls. If it wasn't today that would be funny.”

“But it is today,” said Gray. “And it's a good idea. We'll find who did this and somehow, someway—”

Barkley flicked a fin at Gray. “Whoa, whoa,” he said. “Didn't you hear the good news? Yappy didn't see our families get taken or eaten. He said the shiver escaped! We'll go to the Tuna Run and find them.” Gray was about to ask if Barkley really believed that everyone was still alive and there would be a big, happy reunion at the Tuna Run. His friend saw the question in his eyes and answered before Gray could say anything. “I have to believe that,” he said. “We both do.”

Barkley was right. No matter what, their families would be at the Tuna Run.

They would find them. Or swim the Sparkle Blue trying.

THE SWIM BACK WAS QUIET. GRAY WAS WORRIED
sick about his mother. But there was another thought that cut through this sadness, and he was ashamed that it terrified him more than anything else. Gray was homeless now. Barkley was also, of course. And the dogfish was certainly worried about his family. But Gray's overriding feeling wasn't sadness, anger, or confusion. It was fear that he had no place to go. And this made him feel awful because he was only thinking about himself. Again.

Before this, after his banishment was over, Gray's exile would have turned into an adventure he'd tell stories about around the reef. But now his mother was missing, and there was no Coral Shiver reef to go back to and he was petrified.

Gray could feel that Barkley was also scared, but grief was the biggest sensation coming from him right now. He grew mortified when he realized that his friend could probably feel his state of mind, too. “I'm the worst shark ever,” Gray muttered.

They reached the edge of the Rogue Shiver homewaters, where they were met by Mari. Her silhouette was easy to spot with the sun shining overhead. She raced over. “Are you okay?” Then she saw the looks on their faces and knew everything wasn't okay. “I'm so sorry. I hate Goblin!”

“It wasn't him,” Barkley told her. “They were bulls.”

“Oh, no! Please don't tell Shell that!”

Gray was going to ask why, when the big bull steamed toward them. “Striiker saw Thrash on patrol! We should get back to the wreck and hover low.”

They began swimming, picking up their pace with steady, powerful tail strokes. They were nearly home when they saw Striiker and Snork. They were being circled by at least ten other sharks!

“Goblin Shiver!” Mari exclaimed.

There was no trouble picking Goblin out of the pack. He was as large as Gray, but all muscle, his teeth flashing in a harsh grin. Striiker and Snork had nowhere to run. The seabed was clearly in sight, and the greenie and rock formations in the area were too sparse to hide in.

“We can make it home without being seen if we stay away,” whispered Shell.

“Shell's making some very good sense,” said Barkley, tapping Gray's side with his tail.

Mari bristled. “We can't just leave them!”

Then they heard sharks laughing and Goblin's booming voice carrying through the current. “If you don't join us, we'll rip your pointy-nosed friend to pieces in front of you!”

That did it. “You guys can go. I'm not.” Gray swam toward Goblin, who taunted the sawfish by nipping at his tail as his other shiver sharks laughed.

Gray picked up his pace by ferociously whipping his tail back and forth. He lost speed blasting two whitetips out of his way. Gray hit the great white in the side, doing no real damage but forcing him from Snork. There was yelling and screaming and total confusion for a few seconds. Gray saw that Barkley, Mari, and Shell had followed him into the melee! His heart pounded with pride and fear as the two shivers faced one another, ready to fight. Rogue was outnumbered about three to one, but at least they weren't surrounded anymore.

“Who the heck are you?” shouted Goblin.

“Come find out!” Gray yelled back.

It seemed like the shiver leader would surely attack, but a mako got his attention and whispered something only he could hear. The mako was black as night with eyes even blacker. She stared at Gray as if she was looking inside him. Inwardly Gray shivered and wondered why he was doing so. Goblin calmed down, curiously looking him over from snout to tail tip.

“Told ya he was different,” said Thrash, off to one side. Goblin silenced him with a hard look. Gray watched Goblin, who was distracted by the mako speaking low and urgently to him. Gray probably would have been distracted, too. Even in this life-threatening situation, he couldn't help but notice that the mako was stunningly beautiful. Every now and again her sleek, black upper half would reflect the sunlight from above, making her skin shimmer with color like a rainbow.

“All right, all right,” Goblin told the mako, irritated. He swirled his fins and made an incredibly quick turn to face Gray. This great white was much faster than Striiker! Gray was lucky he'd caught the big fish by surprise, or he might have ended up swimming the Sparkle Blue. “So, how's your day been? Good?”

The change in tone caught everyone by surprise. Gray didn't have the first clue what to say. Striiker shoved in front of him. “Like I told you, we were just leaving, Goblin.”

“I wasn't talking to you, flipper,” the larger great white told him. He flicked his tail dismissively at Striiker, who gritted his teeth at the insult. Goblin looked right at Gray. “You! Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“Don't be a turtle. Say something,” Barkley whispered to Gray, who slapped him quiet with his tail. He didn't need the dogfish's special brand of humor right now.

“I was—” as Gray spoke he was reminded that he had just come from his destroyed home and missing mother. He was nearly overcome with emotion. I'm going to bawl like a pup in front of everyone, Gray thought. Way to make a tough impression.

Mari, sensing his hesitation, took over the conversation. “He's lost his home and family, Goblin. He and the dogfish were passing through when we found them.”

The mako swam smoothly in front of Goblin and gently scraped against Gray's side. It felt wonderful. “You poor fin,” she said. “You must feel so alone. I'm Velenka, by the way.”

Mari stared daggers at the mako and gave her a quick slap with the elongated upper lobe of her tail. “He's not alone, Velenka. He's with us!” She stared defiantly. That was odd. Mari seemed to know both Velenka and Goblin.

Snork chose this time to exclaim, “You attacked his family just like you attacked mine!”

Goblin struggled to keep his temper. “I asked you to join us and your leader said no. That was his choice, not mine.”

“You're a murderer!” cried Snork.

“A realist,” Goblin insisted. “I won't let my shiver starve, and I won't share what little food there is in these waters. Your leadership failed you.” The great white was very much in control as he stared down the sawfish.

“Rogue Shiver forever!” Snork yelled.

Goblin chuckled, joined by everyone else on his side. “Rogue Shiver?” The great white shook his head at Mari. “I should have known you were involved when the reports came in of sharks hunting in our territory without permission, Mari.”

Barkley and Gray looked at each other. Goblin
did
know Mari!

That wasn't the end of the surprises, not by a long shot. It turned out both Striiker and Mari were former members of Riptide Shiver and had left after Goblin became the leader. In fact, they'd left right when he renamed the shiver after himself. Mari's mother and father were members too, before they died. She blamed Goblin for the loss of many shark lives, including her father's.

The big great white was offended. “That wasn't my fault,” he said in a quiet voice. “Your father was on a patrol, and Razor Shiver attacked us. I'm sorry about him, just like I'm sorry when we lose anyone from the shiver!”

Goblin seemed genuinely upset, which confused Gray. He expected the great white to be evil and nothing more. Certainly not a fin with feelings. Velenka saw his reaction. “I see you've heard Mari's lies about our shiver,” she remarked. The mako moved closer, as if to stroke Gray's flank, but stopped when Mari glared. “Goblin Shiver is about family. We protect our friends and our hunting grounds. Is there anything wrong with that?” Valenka asked Gray, her big black eyes boring into him. He couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Gray turned to Mari. “So Razor Shiver sent your father to Sparkle Blue?”

“Goblin and Razor have been fighting for years. They won't stop until everyone's dead!”

“But the bulls did that. Just like they did to Coral Shiver,” said Gray.

Goblin shook his head at Gray. “Mari needed someone to blame, so I let her blame me. Should we leave our territory and wander the Big Blue homeless? No. We stand and fight.”

Velenka looked pointedly at Gray. “Don't you want revenge on the ones who destroyed your home?”

“I do.”

Barkley grew alarmed. “Gray, no! We'll meet our families at the Tuna Run!”

“If they're alive,” he answered. “But we need to survive until then.”

Goblin smiled a toothy smile. “Then come with us. But I won't let you hunt in our territory. You join the shiver or leave the area.”

“Oh, really?” Striiker asked sarcastically. “You'll just forgive and forget? You must be pretty desperate.”

Goblin's eyes flared with anger, but his answer came calmly as he looked at Mari and Striiker. “We need to band together and put aside our differences, so I forgive you both.” Next he flicked his tail at Snork. “I'm sorry I threatened you. It was Striiker who made me angry. You can leave here in peace or come along. Your choice.”

Barkley looked absolutely pained. “Gray, this is crazy.”

“It gives us the best chance to get to the Tuna Run and find everyone,” he told his friend. “And I want to fight the bulls. Sorry, Barkley.”

Shell, who was a bull himself, had been silent for the entire exchange. Now he asked, “What about me? Can I join?”

Mari looked horrified.

Goblin swam around the bull, taking his measure. “I recognize you. You've battled against us.” Shell gave a terse nod. “You'd fight your own shiver? Why?”

There was a long silence. “You don't need to know why. You just need to know I'd fight against Razor and anyone who swims at his flank.”

The great white nodded. “That's good enough for me.”