Novo Cetus

Chapter Two

Chapter 2

The calf drifted with the flotsam and jetsam regurgitated at the backside of the hurricane. Drifting side-by-side, were natural items, like the orbs created by turbulent water that whipped palmetto grass and seaweed tightly around a shell and man-made junk, like blown-glass Japanese floats and plastic mermaid tears. He welcomed the return of the remora fish as they battled their way through the marine debris to latch onto his skin.

Orcas followed the gyre – the circular water current where the calf floated. He was not alone adrift in the debris; seals, turtles and dolphins also took shelter there. Safely nestled within the nurdles and rubbish, the small calf heard the terrified barks and high-pitched whistles as the sea's black and white assassins picked off those at the edge of the ocean garbage patch. Tightly cocooned in the litter, the calf also heard a hum rising from the deep; in the distance, he saw something large and gray breach the surface.

At the edge of the garbage patch, the military's largest Marine Remotely Operated Vehicle (MROV) bobbed to the surface, scattering the Orcas. The hurricane had freed the post-World War II submarine from its deep-water tether. Redesigned as a stationary science laboratory, this freed underwater test site pushed through the ocean.

The calf stirred; the melodic whir and forward motion of the MROV pulled at him. He remembered when a blue whale and her calf swam with his pod for an afternoon. He and the young blue had breached and flopped onto the surface for hours. He'd watched in awe as the blues unhinged their giant mouths and skimmed the water for krill. The blue whale's mother had hoo'd and hummed directives to her calf. Maybe this is a blue whale; he thought and let himself float away with the submarine.

Hope heard the mechanical song she'd learned to stay away from years ago. Did this calf know the danger of the deceptive song? This creature had been far from the pod's thoughts this season – Orcas were the danger they avoided. She headed toward the artificial sound and saw her baby floating next to the sub. She clicked out to him with joy. He saw her and snapped his jaws together frantically, clicking his delight to her. Instinctively, she moved her massive body between her little one and the deceitful ocean swimmer.

The false song stopped. The ocean was eerily quiet; and then the submarine exploded. There was time enough for the calf to notice the quiet. He turned to his mother for an explanation and saw sadness in her eyes; she knew death was upon them. She offered up a prayer to the ocean's wisdom to spare her calf from suffering. Ahead of the flames, a powerful surge of water pushed the calf. He heard a horrible hiss as the water around his mother turned to steam. The sound his mother made as she cooked to death carved into his brain. The surge dissipated and fire and debris swept over him. It engulfed his body and burned his flesh. He screamed out as the flames burned into his eyes. As the calf drifted to the bottom of the ocean, parts of the sub fell down around him. He was in agony, alive and alone.

Minute metallic fibers inched out of the debris; several slowly twisted their way to the calf. When they reached him, the strands jacketed the injured body like spiderwebbing. More filaments stretched, burrowed, and raked through the debris field. As they gathered fragments into their fibrous web, a camera poked up out of the rubble. Designed to withstand explosive impact, the camera turned in each direction and assessed the damage.

Concussion from the blast left the calf disoriented. He thought he felt Red Algae Seaweed surrounding him; indifferent to the ocean current, it moved with malevolent purpose, tugging and burrowing into his flesh. The calf remembered playing in the algae, letting the fronds caress him as he glided through a meadow of the deep-water sea grass. This grass did not caress him; it tormented him.

He was on the bottom; he sensed this for sure.

Noise overwhelmed him. There was more noise in his head than what the gulls made when they feasted at an anchovy ball. Strange noise mingled with memories. He struggled to escape the clamor and clawing, but the algae anchored him. He fell into an unnatural sleep.