The Unexpected Hero

The Cave

Mercifully, the cave was empty of any creatures that might want to make a meal out of the tired penguin and his patient. The inside of the cave was grim and dark, with just enough light filtering in from the entrance to see by.

Peso swam over to the side of the cave, and gently set the injured fish down upon the scattered pebbles that covered the sandy floor.

As he examined the hurt fin he realized that it was badly sprained and would require bandaging so that it could heal properly. As he opened his medical bag and got out one of the smaller bandage rolls, he began to introduce himself.

"Hello, I'm Peso and I'm an Octonaut and a medic. I help any creature that is hurt or sick. And you are...?" He trailed off inquisitively.

The fish replied, her voice still somewhat weak. "Well, first off I'd like to thank you, Peso, for saving me." At this the penguin paused in his unrolling of the bandage roll and a faint blush spread over his cheeks. "It was nothing." He replied, "Just doing my job."

"And second my name is Silvia the Silver dollar fi--ow!" As she had been introducing herself Peso had started bandaging her fin. "I'm sorry Silvia, I should have warned you, but I need to get your fin bandaged, or else it'll never heal."

"Tha-that's all right, I was just a bit startled," she replied in a slightly shaken voice,"Go ahead I'm ready now." Peso quickly finished wrapping her fin, and gave her a sticker.

"You should rest that fin for awhile, so that it heals faster. Would you like to come to the Octopod with me after the storm subsides, so you can get better?" As Peso was asking this he rewrapped all the extra bandages he hadn't needed, and neatly tucked them away in his medical bag.

"No that's all right," Silvia said, testing out her newly wrapped fin by swimming a short distance back into the gloom of the cave. "I don't live that far from here and I really need to get back to my family, they'll be worried about me."

"Don't worry." Peso replied, "I'll make sure you get back to them as soon as this storm stops."

It was as if the sea had heard him. Abruptly the waves stopped churning, the currents slowed, and there was a moment of eerie calm. The sudden silence was jarring after the unending roar and crash of the tempest's waves.

In that moment of silence, a word rang out, tinged with desperation over the still waters.
"Help!"