High adventure under the low seas, as one extraordinary boy, finds his destiny. Andee the Aquanaut becomes the greatest eco-warrior of all time.
This fast action story will appeal to children ages 8 through 16 as it takes them through Andee's transf...
Andee was moving faster than he'd ever traveled before, engulfed in darkness, spiraling into an unknown vortex. He drifted in and out of consciousness, shaking all over. It struck his mind that he might well meet his end.
Then, he stopped. The pull from the current slowed to a gentle drift. The lights on his facemask flicked back on. He was floating slowly downward coming back to his senses. "Where am I?" he murmured, touching down on an ocean ledge.
He stepped toward the edge, staring down. The land dropped away into a vast canyon. Enormous jagged plants rose from the seabed, creating an underwater forest with skeletal trees. The biggest fish he'd ever seen, with colossal heads and giant teeth swam past.
They're bigger than whales! he thought.
Giant red crabs the size of buildings scuttled about with strong clamping claws. Without warning, the ground he was standing on tremored like an earthquake. Andee shuddered at the movement. Portions of the ridge tumbled forward toward the giant crabs.
Andee quickly grabbed hold of what looked like a branch hanging off the ledge. But instantly, he realized he wasn't on a shelf—no, not at all. Instead, he was standing on the back of a gigantic monster rockfish!
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"What the—" Flung forward, he gasped as the rockfish gobbled up the jagged crab for its dinner, munching down its legs. Andee shot away, swimming for his life as fast as he could, noticing everything was coming to life ... it was like he was visiting a prehistoric world.
These aren't fish, he thought. They're underwater monsters. They're dinosaurs!
He remembered how, a long time ago, his father had shown him books on sea creatures that existed millions of years ago. "I've been transported back in time!" he said while hiding behind giant kelp.
The crunching sound of the shell was deafening as the monster rockfish locked its powerful jaws on the crab.
As Andee fled, the ocean darkened, a shadow growing over his head. He looked up, and his mouth fell open at the sheer size of what was above: a colossal sea serpent.
It had an enormous head with mangled teeth protruding from its jaws, and a snaking body stretching for miles. "It's bigger than a submarine!" Andee cowered in its shadow. Its fins were as large as boats. Four of them, two on either side of its body mass, propelled the beast along as it wailed like a banshee surging through the currents with hunting eyes.
Andee shot toward the seabed and hid behind a rock as the serpent thundered overhead.
Phew! That was close, he thought. I need to get out of here. This ocean is treacherous. I'm really in trouble now. He hunkered down for safety, watching the monstrous fish looming in the shadows. Just one wrong move and I'll be fish food for sure!
While he was hiding, he couldn't help but notice something glistening in the forest of seaweed below. It was beautiful in color and ... so mesmerizing. He searched around him; the serpent seemed to have gone. Quickly, he darted out from the rock and kicked on his flippers toward the vibrant object. As he got closer, the more colorful and impressive it became. It was like a pearl shining out into the ocean in all the colors of a rainbow.
How could something so beautiful, so pretty, be amongst all this danger? he thought.
Then he remembered the Wise White Dolphin's words: "You must find the most beautiful thing you have ever seen."
Maybe this is it?
His face lit up as he hovered over its sparkling, dazzling light that beckoned him closer. I can't help but want to touch it...
"Take it, Andee," a voice struck through his mind. He reached out for the pearly-shell. As he did, the seabed came alive, opening a gaping mouth. It grabbed Andee's arm, swallowing it up to his elbow.
Andee's eyes gaped wide as he shrieked in pain, struggling to free himself. But the thing gripped like a vise. Andee couldn't shake free. He wrestled and yelled in a cloud of bubbles; he was trapped. Then a terrifying blast came from behind. He glanced over his shoulder. The sea serpent was heading straight for him.
Its mouth stretched wide, revealing rows of razored teeth. It whipped its tail with a spiked ball on the tip; armored plates covered its humped back. "It's heading straight for me!" Andee panicked, desperately trying to free his arm.
If only I had friends here. If only Tingo and Tango were here to save me! Nobody can help me now.
He thought of his parents ... the Wise White Dolphin. Then of Richard the scientist. It seemed his young life was flashingbefore his eyes.
An echoing roar shook his body ... the ocean rushed over him like a tsunami. The serpent thrust its fins, furiously swiping its tail. A ball of spikes barreled toward him. With one last burst of energy, he frantically tried to free himself.
SMASH! The spiked-ball hammered into him, ripping his trapped arm free. He flew across the seafloor, crashing into rocks.
Andee wasn't breathing; he lay motionless.
Seconds later, the palm-sized jellyfish that had secretly been with him from the start squished away to the deep.
