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Authors: EJ Altbacker

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BOOK: Into the Abyss
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Well, if it worked once, it could make the difference again!

Of course last time Takiza had woven Gray a greenie harness that held a rock, which dragged him downward. Now, he would have to power himself. Takiza had also gotten two devilfish to guide Gray. Now, he would need to find his own way.

Oh, come on, it’s straight down, Gray thought. It doesn’t get any simpler! Don’t be a baby turtle!

It was well known that turtle hatchlings were the least brave dwellers in the entire Big Blue, and he definitely wasn’t one of those. Yet Gray shivered as he felt the cold water rush past him on its way down into the blackness. It gave him the chills something fierce.

The Maw was so deep, it went into what sharkkind called the Dark Blue. Regular sharks didn’t live there. Regular
dwellers
didn’t live there. Everything that swam in the Dark Blue, at least those that Gray saw when he went down the first time, was weird and scary.

“You don’t bother them, they won’t bother you,” Gray said to himself, trying to ease his fright. He hovered over the edge and yelled into the dark, “I’m not looking for any trouble. Just getting some maredsoo and then leaving.”

No one answered, of course. The only sound Gray could hear was the heavy, black water whisking past his flanks. “Good, then,” he announced, as if someone had answered that it was okay.

There was no sense in putting it off any longer. Here we go, Gray thought as he pushed himself over the ledge into the Maw. He pointed his snout straight into the deep blackness.

Going down.

Gray had timed his journey so it would begin when the sun was straight up above the chop-chop. But soon enough, there was only total darkness.

Gray kept his wits about him, concentrating on the currents and making sure he swam a straight course. If he didn’t reach the bottom, it would all be for nothing.

Down, down, down, he went.

Gray panted heavily, his gills pumping the thicker, freezing waters into his body. It hurt. And the cold water made his body ache more than he remembered.

“I c-c-can do this,” Gray told himself, teeth chattering. “I c-c-can do—”

BOOM!

Gray saw stars!

But there can’t be stars! I’m nowhere near the sky, he thought. Then the tiny motes of light disappeared, leaving only pitch-blackness. Gray swam forward and
hit
something. He tapped at it with his tail, then rubbed a fin against it.

A rock.

What is a rock doing in the middle of the Maw? Gray puzzled. At least he wasn’t cold. In fact, it was pretty warm, which was nice, but now he couldn’t think straight. Everything seemed kind of fuzzy, like when the warm waters of the Caribbi Sea where he grew up had a mass of plankton float by. Maybe he should just relax and take a nap until his head cleared …

Wait a second!

Gray shook his snout from side to side, clearing it. He couldn’t go to sleep in the Maw! What was he thinking? Gray tried to move forward and discovered it wasn’t a rock in the middle of the Maw. It was the
mountain wall
of the Maw!

Sometime during his descent Gray had turned
sideways
! But when? For how far? And in which direction? Since he hit his head, Gray couldn’t remember. And everything was dark around him.

“You look losssst, friend,” said a hissing voice.

Gray tried to move away but hit the mountain wall again! “Who’s that?” he asked, hoping his voice didn’t crack too much.

“They call me Mog,” the voice answered. “Jussst hold sssstill.”

Gray might be dumb every now and again—like when I started swimming down here, he thought—but he wasn’t
that
stupid. He rocketed away from where he thought the unseen voice was coming from. It was then that Gray felt the thickest, ropiest greenie ever, wrapping onto his flank. He adjusted his course, but the greenie stuck to his side.

Then a light flared!

It was a small light, not even that bright, but in the total blackness around him it was like a flashnboomer had gone off! Gray saw that what he
thought
was thick greenie wasn’t greenie at all.

It was a giant octopus’s tentacle!

There were voices speaking, but his concentration was totally on the monster attached to him. The ugly head seemed larger than Gray himself. Its beaky mouth screeched, a sound that chilled his blood. And the huge octo’s other creepy, super-long, and very thick arms were coming for him, too!

The light went out when someone screamed in terror.

Is that high-pitched screaming coming from me? Gray thought woozily.

He churned his tail back and forth but didn’t feel he was moving. He spun around and saw the huge octo holding onto his side. Gray was dragging it! He had to get
this deep-sea horror off or else the giant Maw dweller would have him for lunch.

As if reading his mind, the creature growled in a raspy voice, “Sssstay sssstillll!”

Two more voices started talking! “What’s his name again?” asked one.

The other, more irritated, answered, “I don’t remember. Big dumb fin? Chunky pup? Something like that?”

Gray felt himself being dragged closer to the immense octopus. He was about to give in to complete terror when he remembered something Takiza had told him: A clear mind is your best weapon.

Gray stopped struggling and let the cold waters wash over him.

Then, he knew.

If he were dragging the immense octo, swimming away would tire him out. He needed to attack and get it to detach. Gray turned and streaked at the Maw dweller, whose giant eyes—each the size of a fully inflated giant puffer fish—blinked in surprise.

BAMMO! Gray rammed the octo in its big, fat head, driving it down into the darkness.

“Ouuuuch!” it yelped.

That was kind of odd. Not really the reaction a Maw monster should have, Gray thought. He heard the other voices again, but now they were closer.

Another light pierced the darkness around him.

Gray found a devilfish floating by his eye. The little horror’s
mouth bristled with long needle teeth, and its black, slimy skin glistened in its light.

“I hope you’re happy! Now Mog is going to have a lump!”

A smaller devilfish, attached to the larger one’s side with his fangs, said, “I can see why Takiza doesn’t take you anywhere!”

As if through a haze, their names floated into Gray’s mind. “Briny? Hank?” he asked, not sure if it could be true.

“See?” said Briny, the larger of the two. “He’s coming around. I told you he didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Do what?” asked Gray.

The smaller, male devilfish moved from his position on Briny’s side. “First you blast through our party without even a hello. Then you smash your head on the wall, and when we send Mog to
show
you which way is up, you try and jerk one of his tentacles off. And you top it off by
attacking
him. I’m curious, I really am—where were you raised?” Hank then asked Briny, “I mean, really, who does that?”

Gray shook off his pain and weariness. The giant octo was closer and favoring the one tentacle. “It hurrrrtssss,” he rasped.

Gray felt awful. It sounded like Mog was
crying
. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I thought you were trying to eat me.”

“You’re a sssstupid jerrrrrk,” Mog replied. He was definitely sniffling. Could the giant octo be a
pup
? Unbelievable!

Gray’s throat grew tight, but not because of the water. I’ve done something stupid!
Again!
he thought. And he was no closer to finding a way to save his friends from Finnivus and his mariners.

Briny swam closer, concern etched on her horrible, fang-filled, but somehow still kind features. “What’s the matter?” she asked. She turned toward Hank. “Something’s the matter.”

“I’ll tell you what’s the matter,” Hank grumbled. “He’s a jellyheaded party ruiner. That’s what’s the matter.”

“You shush,” Briny told her husband. “Gray, tell me what’s got you upset. You tell Aunt Briny this instant!”

So he did.

Gray told Briny, Hank, and even Mog—who had stopped sniffling and seemed to regain the use of his injured tentacle—about everything that was happening in the waters above: Finnivus, the finja, the armada, the death of Shell, how Takiza had gone who knew where, Lochlan’s injury, and how Gray was expected to lead everyone to victory over the Indi armada! He ended with, “And I just don’t think I can do it! I’m going to fail, and everyone I care about will swim the Sparkle Blue!”

“You poor boy,” Briny said.

“Sssooo ssssad,” Mog agreed, and then placed one of his huge tentacles gently over Gray’s flanks. It didn’t feel so bad, once you got used to it.

Kind of comforting, in fact.

“Hank, say something nice,” Briny ordered.

“You care for your friends, so you’re not a total loser,” Hank said. “Let’s get you back where you belong before you catch your death.”

Gray was so tired from the swim that he knew there was no point in going deeper for the maredsoo. He would never make it. He let Hank and Briny guide him upward.

The depths, physical strain, and terror made him numb. Though Briny said many encouraging things, all Gray could focus on were Hank’s words
before you catch your death
. The phrase echoed in his ears, and the blackness of the Maw seeped into his mind and darkened it.

When Gray got to the training fields, he swam home. He went fast, the time spent on his failed quest making his face burn with shame.

Finnivus is coming, and all I did was waste time! he chastised himself.

Gray felt like crying.

There is no hope, he thought. I
will
catch my death. Everyone will …

 

 

 

BOOK: Into the Abyss
13.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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