The Girl Who Dreamt of Dolphins (24 page)

‘
Spirit, listen to me. You can’t outrun that thing, you can’t
escape it, so you’ve got to confront it. You’ve got to fight
back!’

‘
What, how?’ Spirit answered, hardly able to concentrate on
what she was trying to tell him. ‘I can’t, I’ve got to get away
from it…’

‘
That’s what I’m trying to say’ replied Lucy. ‘To escape it,
you’ve got to confront it. You’ve got to take a great big running
jump at it!’ They both looked up at the outline of the Jet Ski in
the water above them. ‘Look, it’s just about to turn’ Lucy
continued. They could hear revving above them, just before the man
let the throttle out for another surge of speed. ‘When it comes at
you next, you have to swim at it as hard as you can and when you’re
close, you must jump clean out of the water, as high as you can,
right towards it.’

‘
You think so?’ asked Spirit.

‘
I know so’ replied Lucy with certainty. ‘He’s a coward, I’m
sure of it, just like some bullies in the playground I
know!’

As the Jet Ski finished turning and began its next run, Spirit
summoned up all his remaining energy. He surged forward, going
headlong straight at the approaching machine. ‘Like two knights
jousting’ thought Lucy to herself. He burst from the water, in a
great jump, as high as he could, aiming straight at the man and
machine.

‘
What the blue blazes?!’ yelled the man as the dolphin broke
through the water towards him. He had barely a moment to think and
tried turning the Jet Ski as sharply as he could to avoid being
struck by the dolphin flying through the air towards him. Instead
he sent the machine crashing into the water and flung himself off
it forcefully. The dolphin sailed elegantly over his head and
sliced back into the water again. This time it was the man’s turn
to feel dazed and confused as he tumbled over in the waves, the
water boiling up into his eyes, mouth and ears, not knowing which
way was up and which way was down.

The engine of the Jet Ski cut out and instantly Spirit felt
the terrible pain in his head subside.

‘
You’ve done it, you’ve done it!’ cried Lucy delightedly by his
side. ‘You beat him.’

‘
We beat him’ replied Spirit with relief, ‘I couldn’t have done
it without you.’

‘
Swim away with me’ said Lucy urging him to swim away from the
rocks. They swam clear and then surfacing, they turned to glance
back at the man and his machine.

‘
Do you think he’s okay?’ asked Spirit, worried now for the man
that only a minute before had brought him near to death. They could
see his yellow life jacket. He’d swum back to Jet Ski, floating
listlessly on its side in the water. He was trying to turn the
throttle, but there was no way he could get it started again. Lucy
glanced away. In the distance she could see the yellow shape of the
local lifeboat making its way towards them.

‘
He’ll be ok’ she assured her friend. ‘Help is on it’s way.
Let’s go!’ Spirit swam away, with Lucy gliding along by his side,
but after the initial burst of adrenalin and excitement, Lucy could
feel an enormous weight of tiredness pulling her back inexorably to
the chair and the table where her physical self was sitting, in the
dry world above.

‘
I’ve got to go’ Lucy said to her friend. I can’t hang on any
longer, it’s just too tiring. Take care of yourself!’ she called,
as she began to fade away. Spirit turned.

‘
Goodbye Lucy!’ he said. And then she was gone.

Spirit rested awhile and watched as the lifeboat approached
and quickly pulled the man to safety and up onboard, before moving
off, towing the Jet Ski on its side behind it. The lifeboat made
noise as well, but the sound wasn’t as bad and Spirit quickly felt
the great pain in his head lifting. He felt his mind grow clear and
with it the energy came flooding back into his body. They’d done
it! Between him and Lucy, they could achieve anything!

Spirit felt the urge to swim, so great was his relief and
exhilaration and he darted off through the water, leaping and
turning this way and that. He dived and turned effortlessly now
through a chicane of rocks at the base of the cliff. It felt so
good again to be a dolphin exploring the world around him. The
rocks seemed to curve around to his left and Spirit plunged into a
forest of kelp, hanging suspended in the water, undulating gently
in the waves.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain over his back and on his
underside too. He thrashed instinctively to escape it, but that
only made the pain worse. He had swum into a great tangle of thick
steel wire that hung suspended from a discarded buoy, that was in
turn lodged in the rocks at the base of the cliff. The steel cord
had been completely hidden by the curtains of kelp, but now Spirit
was ensnared in its coils. He struggled again, certain that one
last thrash of his tail would set him free, but instead the steel
noose tightened around him, cutting into his skin just above his
tail. He was trapped!

Chapter Fourteen
:

Lucy and the lady stood on the platform at Truro station, Lucy
with her back pack slung up onto her shoulders and the lady with a
small suitcase on wheels parked next to her. A voice echoed over
their heads with some announcement or other and people walked along
the platform towards the exit.

‘
Can you see you aunt from here?’ asked the lady brightly, ‘or
shall we walk up the platform to the exit?’

‘
Well, I’m not sure really’ said Lucy uncertainly. They
advanced slowly up the platform and went through the ticket
barrier.

‘
Can you see her now?’ the lady asked again.

‘
No, I’d better just go to the bus station and get a bus’
replied Lucy, hoping the lady would let her go.

‘
But I thought that you said your aunt would be meeting you
here at the train station?’

‘
Or that I’d get the bus’ added Lucy defensively.

‘
But what if your aunt gets here just after you’ve
left?’

‘
Oh she won’t mind’ said Lucy. This lady just asked too many
questions and was catching her out. What was she going to
do?

‘
Maybe we should just wait here together until your Aunt
arrives’ pondered the lady speculatively.

‘
Oh I can just wait here alone.’ Lucy hoped that this might be
her chance to escape the lady at last.

‘
Stations are not safe places dear’ replied the lady firmly. I
think I should just wait here with you, just to make sure. Lucy
looked around. It was still only early afternoon and it looked
perfectly safe to her. Everyone had left the train now and if
anything it looked a little quiet to her. The lady seemed to read
her mind.

‘
You get odd types hanging around stations sometimes when it’s
quiet.’ The lady cast her a quizzical glance. ‘Are you sure your
Aunt was going to meet you here?’

‘
No, I think actually she said I should get the bus.’ Lucy’s
fibs were taking her around in circles.

‘
Do you know where the bus station is?’ The lady was obviously
getting increasingly sceptical about her story. Lucy desperately
guessed which way she should go.

‘
Err, it’s that way’ she said, gesturing down the street to the
left.

‘
And then where?’ asked the lady.

‘
Just, err, down there, and, err, turn left’ mumbled Lucy. She
looked up at the lady. She could tell she’d got the direction of
the bus station completely wrong. ‘I can always ask anyway’ she
added hopefully.

‘
Listen dear’ said the lady with a concerned look on her face.
‘You do really have an Aunt do you?

‘
Oh yes’ answered Lucy emphatically.

‘
And you’re really on your way to Merwater to visit her?’ the
lady added.

‘
Yes of course.’ Lucy smiled. Telling the truth was much
easier.

‘
And she knows that you’re coming does she?’ the lady
continued.

‘
Err, well, no, not exactly.’ The lady pulled a face as if to
say she thought as much.

‘
Maybe we should call your Aunt to tell her you’re on your way’
the lady suggested, her face concerned. Normally Lucy would have
been glad to oblige, but she’d lost Bethany’s address and telephone
number on the train. She couldn’t agree even if she wanted to. She
considered her options. Honesty was probably the best policy if she
wanted to avoid getting into anymore trouble.

‘
I’ve lost my piece of paper with the phone number on’ she
admitted. ‘It must have fallen out when I pulled my money out to
buy the ticket’ she added. ‘I’d call her if I could. Really I
would.’

‘
What’s her address then?’

‘
Err, that was on the same piece of paper’ answered Lucy, a
worried look upon her face.

‘
Then how will you find her house?’

‘
Oh err, you know, I’ll know once I get there.’ The lady looked
disapproving.

‘
Maybe I should just drive you there.’

‘
Oh no, Dad told me never to take lifts from strangers!’
replied Lucy. The lady paused and smiled. It was obvious that Lucy
was a sensible girl and although she hadn’t exactly been truthful
with her, she seemed to have common sense, the lady thought. The
girl was smartly dressed and who ever heard of anyone running away
to Merwater. She decided to give Lucy the benefit of the
doubt.

‘
I tell you what we’re going to do’ she said firmly. You and I
are going to walk to the bus depot. I’m going to put you on the bus
to Merwater. You’re going to call me when you get there. If I don’t
get a call from you and your Aunt within an hour of your getting
there, I shall be calling the police. Is that clear?’

‘
Yes’ said Lucy simply. She had no idea really where the bus
station was and it was a relief to have someone to help her. The
lady seemed nice enough really, but Dad had always drummed into her
that she should never take lifts from strangers, no matter how
friendly they looked and it was much better for her to take the bus
really. She’d figure out how to find Bethany once she got there.
She knew that Merwater was a small place. Someone must know Bethany
she reckoned.

She and the lady turned right up Station Road and then
Richmond Hill. It got confusing then, but after a while she noticed
they were on Kenwyn Street and kept an eye on the way they were
going in case she needed to retrace her steps later. The lady
quizzed her as they walked companionably along, checking her Dad’s
name and town, the name of Lucy’s school and finding out all about
Bethany, her art and how long she’d lived there. Lucy had given up
all attempts at lying by this time and answered the lady’s
questions as truthfully as she could.

They found the right bus stand for Merwater and checked the
bus times. The bus didn’t arrive for another forty five minutes and
so the lady insisted that Lucy join her in a nearby café for a soft
drink and a sandwich. Lucy was feeling hungry by that point and
gladly wolfed down the sandwich and drink. Lucy carefully wrote
down the lady’s name and phone number; Agnes Trescothick. She saw
Lucy onto the bus.

‘
Thank you for helping me Mrs Trescothick’ said Lucy, turning
to look back at the kindly lady, from the step of the
bus.

‘
You remember what I said’ replied Mrs Trescothick firmly. ‘If
I don’t receive your call within an hour of arriving, you know who
I shall call?’

‘
Yes Mrs Trescothick’ replied Lucy obediently. She felt awkward
enough already. She certainly didn’t want the police appearing from
nowhere. Mrs Trescothick waited while she bought a ticket and sat
down.

‘
Bye!’ she called through the window.

‘
Bye now dear’ called Mrs Trescothick. She watched as the bus
pulled away and turned the corner. Then she looked in her handbag
and fished out her mobile phone. She spent several minutes talking
on the phone with an intent look on her face, before dropping her
phone back into her bag and turning to walk back up the road,
pulling her little suitcase on wheels behind.

Lucy settled back into the seat on the bus. It wasn’t very
comfortable, but she was glad to feel that she was drawing closer
to her destination. She was still worried about finding Bethany
once she got there, but there must be someone she could ask, she
thought. It didn’t stop her feeling anxious though. She still
wasn’t sure what Bethany might say when she arrived and she knew
that Dad would absolutely hit the roof when he found out. He might
just turn up and drag her back home that night. The bus bumped
along the road. She saw Merwater on the road signs, as the bus
slowed and turned right into a smaller road.