The Eye of Neptune (11 page)

Chapter Twelve

Worse Than Sharks

Dakkar kept a wary eye out of the porthole but the shape remained an indistinct outline. Soon the motion of the ship and the stubborn silence lulled him into drowsiness. He began to wonder if he’d imagined the shape. His eyelids felt like lead and, finally, he fell asleep.

Dakkar woke and jumped in his seat, wondering at the strange girl steering the submersible. His memory caught up with him and he breathed a sigh. He squinted through the porthole into the murky depths but couldn’t see anything.

Georgia’s head nodded wearily. She quickly corrected herself and widened her eyes.

‘You’re going to have to sleep sometime,’ Dakkar said, his voice deliberately loud.

Georgia gave a start and then glowered at him. ‘You gave me a shock . . .’ She broke into an involuntary yawn and Dakkar suppressed a grin.

‘I think you should let me steer for a while,’ he said, sitting up straight. ‘A good captain gives his crew responsibility.’

‘You’re right, I guess.’ Georgia yawned and rubbed her eyes. ‘But don’t crash into anything, and wake me if something happens.’

‘Of course,’ Dakkar said through gritted teeth. ‘Though you’ll find I’m an expert sailor.’

‘We need to wind the engine again,’ she added, ignoring him. ‘You turn all the keys. Multiple engines power the main one . . .’

‘Ingenious,’ Dakkar said, distracted by the intricacies of the engine. He turned the four keys and climbed down into the lower cabin to turn the main crank handle until it felt tight.

‘The compass is housed in that box to the left of the wheel,’ Georgia said, her eyelids drooping.

‘Right,’ Dakkar said, climbing back up to Georgia. He slid into the captain’s chair.

Georgia clambered below, curled up on the small bed and within seconds she was snoring gently.

Dakkar grinned and gripped the wheel.
Let’s see what she can do
, he thought. He rose close to the surface and extended the snorkel to let some fresh air into the craft. Then he sank again. Most of the controls were the same and in the same place. The front of the craft had four viewing portholes, which greatly improved visibility. He had to admit this was a much better version of the
Makara
.

The days rolled along with the tide. As they journeyed south, the sky became bluer and the air warmer. The squid didn’t appear again and Dakkar put it from his mind.

Now he sat on the rim of the hatch, enjoying the calm and the sun on his face. Georgia sat at the helm below, poring over the sea chart. Dakkar took a breath and squinted across the blue horizon. This wasn’t like the sea back in England. It was perfect. No land, no people to tell him what to do. For a few seconds, his troubles seemed so distant.

‘What was that?’ Georgia’s voice called up from below, making him wince.

‘What?’ he snapped.

‘Something just passed the porthole – something large and close,’ she said.

Dakkar’s breath hissed between his teeth. A triangular fin cut through the water ahead of the
Liberty
and the huge grey shadow beneath it told him all he needed to know.

‘Shark!’ he yelled. The fin veered left and circled back. Dakkar clambered over the top of the boat to track its progress. ‘It’s coming back.’

The fin passed just feet away from Dakkar as he scrambled for the hatch. But the boat rocked violently. With a cry, Dakkar’s feet slipped from beneath him and he slammed on to the curved deck of the
Liberty
. Winded, he tried to scramble to his feet but gravity sent him sliding over the edge. The heat of the sun made the water feel cold and he gasped as he plunged in.

Floundering, Dakkar struggled for breath. The realisation iced his stomach: he was in the ocean and the shark was coming back.

Dakkar thrashed at the water, powering his way towards the
Liberty
. Clearly Georgia hadn’t realised that she had lost him, and the gap between Dakkar and the craft widened.

‘Georgia!’ Dakkar yelled, the salt water making him splutter.

He glanced back. The shark was almost upon him. He could see the wave carved into the sea by the fin. The creature looked huge, its black button eyes fixed on him. Dakkar lashed out with his foot and felt his heel hit something rough and hard. The shark veered to one side, its black eyes rolling white, shying away from the sudden impact on its nose. But Dakkar didn’t pause to celebrate. Water boiled in his ears as he plunged forward, desperate to catch up with the
Liberty
.

The shark appeared again, its red mouth framed by row upon row of serrated teeth. Dakkar twisted in the water and felt its rough skin skim his back. Gritting his teeth, he turned and jabbed his fingers into the shark’s gills, gripping as hard as he could and punching at its eye. The shark thrashed its tail and plunged underwater, throwing Dakkar aside. The sea thundered around him and the blood pounded in his temples as he struggled to right himself.

With a gasp, Dakkar swam on. He saw Georgia’s pale face through the front portholes of the
Liberty
. She’d seen him! But where was the shark? He risked a glance beneath and saw the bullet shape of the shark careering up towards him. Dakkar could see the cruel teeth again, the raw redness of its mouth.

The
Liberty
was inches away. He reached out, grabbing one of the brass handles that punctuated the side of the craft. With a yell, he dragged himself from the water and threw himself up towards the hatch.

The shark’s gaping mouth filled his vision then it vanished. Thick red tentacles wrapped themselves round the shark’s grey body as it thrashed from side to side just a few feet beneath him. Blood clouded the water as the giant squid’s suckers cut into the shark’s body.

‘Get inside!’ Georgia yelled.

Dakkar scrambled through the hatch and slammed it shut. He fell on to the floor behind her.

‘Quickly,’ he gasped. ‘Full ahead!’

Blood and ink darkened the sea as Georgia sent the
Liberty
surging forward. Dakkar glimpsed a grasping tentacle, and then another, reaching from the dark cloud.

Suddenly the
Liberty
lost speed, jerking Dakkar and Georgia forward.

‘It’s caught us!’ Georgia yelled.

The engine whined and groaned, battling with the pull of the squid. The extra weight of the creature sent them plummeting downward. The hull began to creak ominously.

‘Do you have a friction machine?’ Dakkar shouted.

‘A what?’ Georgia said, glaring at him.

‘It gives an electric charge,’ Dakkar snapped, wringing his hands. ‘It’s a crank wheel and a red button.’

‘Yes, there!’ Georgia pointed above her head. ‘Why didn’t you say that’s what you wanted?’

Dakkar spun the handle as hard as he could. His body ached from his encounter with the shark but he managed to get twenty good turns and then jabbed the red button. The underwater world flashed blue and the portholes went dark as another cloud of sepia ink engulfed them. Dakkar’s stomach lurched as the
Liberty
floated upward.

‘Thank goodness for that –’ Dakkar started to say but found himself flying forward, bent double over the seat in front of him. His head cracked against a porthole and he staggered back.

The tentacles of the squid thumped against the hull again. Georgia twisted the wheel sharply to the left, sending Dakkar stumbling across the cabin. His face pressed against the porthole and he saw the squid’s suckered arms a glass-width from his face.

‘It’s pulling us down again!’ Georgia groaned.

Dakkar whirled the friction machine wheel once more. His head pounded and he could feel blood flowing from his nose. He stabbed the button, sending a crackling charge into the water. The squid slid back and Georgia accelerated away, swerving the
Liberty
towards it.

‘What are you doing?’ Dakkar yelled.

Georgia gripped the wheel, her knuckles white, as the
Liberty
hurtled towards the squid. The squid threw open its arms as if to ensnare the craft. Dakkar dived into his seat as the sharp nose of the
Liberty
sliced into the centre of the beast. The huge eye stared and then was lost as the squid’s razor-sharp beak opened. Dakkar was flung forward again. Blood and ink boiled in the water around them. The
Liberty
resounded with bangs and thuds as the squid thrashed out the last few seconds of its life.

Gradually the noise subsided as the squid drifted off the sub’s nose and floated into the blue. Dakkar stared after it.

‘It’s missing an arm,’ Dakkar whispered. ‘It’s the same squid that attacked Blizzard. I cut one of its arms off.’

‘You’re saying it followed us?’ Georgia said, wide-eyed.

‘I’m sure it’s the same one,’ Dakkar murmured.

‘There can’t be many squid that big,’ Georgia said, her voice quavering. ‘I hope not anyway!’

‘At least the
M– Liberty
held up!’ Dakkar said, smiling and giving the wall an affectionate pat.

Immediately a jet of cold seawater sprayed into Dakkar’s face, sending him tumbling backward in shock.

The
Liberty
was letting in water.

Chapter Thirteen

Grounded

Dakkar stumbled forward and pressed his palms against the spray.

‘Keep your hands against it,’ Georgia said, and began to rummage at the back of the
Liberty
.

‘Well, I wasn’t going to let the water flow through and take a bath,’ Dakkar grumbled. ‘It looks like the squid did more damage than we thought.’

‘Stand aside,’ Georgia snapped. ‘This should do the trick.’ She pushed him out of the way and slapped a strange sticky substance over the crack.

‘What’s that?’ Dakkar asked, peering closely at the grey mush.

‘Some kind of clay,’ Georgia said, smoothing it out. ‘My uncle invented it.’

The spray stopped but the clay seemed to sweat, and droplets trickled down the inside of the craft.

‘Will it hold?’ Dakkar murmured, stepping back.

‘For a while but we need to beach and repair it,’ Georgia replied, grabbing the map and staring at it. ‘We were lucky we were hit above the ballast compartments in the hull.’

‘We’d better not submerge until we’ve fixed it,’ Dakkar said, poking the clay.

‘Don’t prod it,’ Georgia said briskly, and folded the map. ‘There are no islands nearby. We’ll have to head for the coast and try our luck there. You go up top and keep a lookout.’

‘The squid killed the shark and we killed the squid,’ Dakkar replied. ‘Surely there can’t be any other creatures out there!’

‘How can you be certain of that? I’d be grateful if you’d oblige by keeping watch,’ Georgia said, holding her head up. ‘And don’t mention it.’

‘Mention what?’ Dakkar said, frowning.

‘Me saving your life.’ Georgia grinned.

Dakkar felt his cheeks reddening. ‘Saving my life?’ he spluttered. ‘You nearly left me behind! You didn’t save me!’ He turned and dragged himself out into the sunlight.

Despite what he had said, he scanned the sea for any fins or waving tentacles. It remained calm and serene.

Are all girls like this?
he thought as he sulked on the curved deck of the
Liberty
.
I’ll be glad when this is all over and I don’t have to have anything more to do with her!

He sat for an hour or so as Georgia steered the submersible. The sun dried his wet clothes as he stared out to sea.

Something grey and misty appeared on the horizon.

‘Come and see this, Georgia,’ Dakkar called down.

Georgia stopped the engine and they drifted as she clambered out of the hatch.

‘I can see an island,’ she said, peering through a telescope. Dakkar reached out but she snapped it shut. ‘How strange that it isn’t on the map. We’ll head there anyway, see if there’s somewhere to land the
Liberty
.’

The tiny island looked lost amid the vast blue ocean, a tuft of green poking up out of a desert of water. Its shape reminded Dakkar of a door wedge. At the high end, he could see a scrubby forest and a waterfall cascading from a cliff. The island sloped towards white breakers and foamy spray.

‘It looks like we could anchor there,’ Dakkar said, pointing to the narrow end of the island. ‘But we’ll have to watch that the sea isn’t too rough. We don’t want to be dashed against the rocks.’

Georgia steered the
Liberty
round the island and found a small shingly inlet on which to beach her. Dakkar and Georgia anchored the submarine and splashed ashore.

The pebbles crunched under Dakkar’s feet and he gave a grin. ‘It feels good to be on dry land again,’ he murmured.

‘I know what you mean,’ Georgia agreed.