The Tooth Collector

Chapter Eight

It had been no longer than a few days after Henry and I's conversation, and I knew I had to do my duty soon. No matter how much I didn't want to do it, I knew the consequences would be worse if I did not complete the job.

But first, dinner. I was planning on leaving that night abruptly after everyone fell asleep, but first I had to deal with whatever discussions were held during supper.

"So I know this might be a sensitive topic," My mother spoke carefully as she chewed the dolphin. My father hadn't gone out hunting in a bit, so the dolphin was from a hunt held a few days ago, and we needed to eat it before it decomposed.

"Bobby found another tooth." My mother declared.

"No he didn't." I spoke, not realizing I had said that aloud. Had he found Henry's collection? Or found the tooth that I had been hiding under the limestone? Or even perhaps a fang of his own under the sand? I felt that tingly feeling in my stomach again at the mere thought of him, and tried to stuff it deep down inside of me. He was my enemy. There was no need for me to think of him in any other way.

"What was that, Finnley?" Father questioned.

"N-nothing father. Continue, mom." I mumbled.

"He found it under a limestone not too far from here, and showed it off without a second thought. Everyone's began calling him a Palaeontologist." She explained.

"A what?" My father asked, pausing his eating for a second to speak, his mouth still full with food. He looked up at my mother, wearing a stern expression, as if he were on the verge of scolding her.

"A paleontologist. It's someone who studies fossilized past life." My mother defined it.

"There is no such thing as past life, Beatrice. You know this, we are the first of our kind." My father explained to her, shifting his attention back to his meal.

"Well John, with what's been happening with our community recently, you have to consider the possibility of . . ." My mother trailed off when father glared in her direction. I chose to direct my focus towards my thoughts, rather than whatever argument I felt might sprout. Had my hiding place really been that obvious that someone as self-centered as Bobby could locate?

After a bit of time and thinking, and a lot of hours spent in the dark listening to my parents snore, I decided that I should do my part of the plan. There was no need to wait any longer, for I knew well enough that my parents were deep asleep. I had heard my mother tell me that there was no harm done to her for finding the tooth, and I had seen with my very own two eyes what had become of Bobby for finding one as well. I had made my decision.

Lifting myself up, I looked at my obstacles. On one side of the room laid my mother, deep asleep with soft snores as gentle as a lullaby. On the other side was father, his loud snores echoing throughout the night.

The room was dark, almost pitch black with the exception of a dim light from outside the cave entering it. I slowly moved my fin from side to side and began to exit the room, holding my breath and making sure to not make a single noise.

Before I knew it, I was swimming in place outside of my family's cave, debating whether or not this truly was a good idea. Listing down the positives and the negatives, it seemed the positives outweigh the negatives of my situation. I mean, I could educate my community and get no consequences for doing so, who wouldn't do it? It's just a single task, right? Nothing too hard.

Deciding to go with what seemed the most logical, I swam away from home. It didn't take very long to reach Henry's secret cave filled with teeth, so there was no need to rush. Yet a worry still came to mind. What if my parents awoke and I wasn't there? What if they woke up and went to check on me and I was missing? Oh, how much trouble I'd be in once I arrived. And I'd have to make up an excuse as to why I had left, and that would be difficult enough, maybe I'd even tell the truth!

I paused in my tracks, far enough from my family's cave to be able to. Deep in my heart I knew I'd never do that. I could endanger not only myself but Henry as well. And why would I want to endanger someone who has helped me so much?

And so I continued. On with my path, with my journey. As I traveled the empty coral reefs, I took a deep breath, nearly drowning in the adrenaline. Peeking under limestones, I saw familiar faces and families similar to mine sleeping peacefully.

The water was cold, it felt fresh against my skin. I felt like I was gliding through the open sea, my fins and sides being gently caressed by the water around me. I took another deep breath, hoping to keep me as calm as possible. Before long I had reached my destination. Shocked that I had remembered it, I entered the cave carefully by the slight chance that I may have been entering the incorrect one. Fortunately, I wasn't, as I could tell from the beginnings of teeth lined up against the walls.

I decided to make this quick and easy, in and out. I snatched one of the teeth by the entrance and fled as quickly as possible. I studied the tooth as I began to swim back through the open waters to my family's cave, and it seemed rounder than usual. The fang was thick, and not as long as the others were. It wasn't quite sharp enough to cause any harm, and seemed to be only useful if it were to gnaw on the plants among the coral reefs.

Too focused on the tooth to notice what was occurring around me, I heard a yell come from somewhere below, perhaps from under a limestone. I had just reached my community's homes and didn't expect there to be any residents in the area, but of course there was always the chance of me being incorrect.

I quickly turned around, darting my head around nervously as I tried to pinpoint the suspect. At first I saw nothing out of the ordinary; limestones filled with sleeping sharks, the occasional snore or movement from a fish of some sort; but it wasn't long before I saw an adult shark swim out from under a limestone merely thirty feet from behind me.

"Hey!" The shark whispered harshly at me, trying not to wake the others around us. I couldn't tell from their voice their gender, but I didn't want to stick around and find out. As soon as I heard their voice, I turned around again so my back was facing them. The last thing I needed was for them to identify me.

"What are you doing up, kid?" The voice asked me. I refused to turn around or even peep a word, afraid of being recognized. Gosh, how could I have not seen this coming? Attempting not to fret, I slowly began to do my best to swim away before I was stopped again by that stupid shark.

"I said, what are you doing?" I knew that tone from anywhere. The shark raised his voice, growing frustrated with me. I knew how the males in our community raised their voices when they weren't being obeyed, and I was not planning on obeying the shark in the slightest. Doing what I thought would be best, I made a run for it, dropping the tooth in the process.