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Authors: EJ Altbacker

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BOOK: Into the Abyss
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Grinder shook his fins in irritation. “Just waiting for the right time.”

“If Finnivus destroys us, he’ll point his snout at you next,” said Lochlan. “Maybe not that day, or even the next month. But he
will
come.”

“And we’ll fight!”

“I know. But in the end, you’ll lose. Just like we’ll lose without you.” Lochlan looked at both Grinder and Silversun. “Separately, each of us will lose
everything
. This evil cannot be hidden from, it cannot be bargained with, and we cannot swim far enough away. Finnivus is
coming to destroy everything we hold dear. But together—together we have a chance. It’s not a sure thing, but it’s the best chance we have, mate.”

Gray felt like cheering, but he was also chilled to his core. In just a few words, Lochlan had made the specter of Finnivus feel as if it were hovering next to them. The golden great white was a true king, and Gray would follow him into the Dark Blue if he asked.

But the stubborn hammerhead wasn’t so easily convinced. “And who’s going to lead us? You, slopping blood into the water every time you take a tail stroke? I can taste you from here. It doesn’t inspire confidence.”

Gray exploded. “Okay, chowderhead! How about I shut that cod hole of yours?!”

The hammerhead was more than ready for a fight, but Lochlan pushed between them. “Stop! Both of you, stop!”

Gray stared balefully at the hammerhead who gnashed his teeth in fury.

“What we’re not here to do is fight each other,” Lochlan continued urgently.

Grinder eyed Gray a little longer and then grumbled, “Fine.”

Lochlan gestured pointedly with a fin at Gray. “And don’t you have something to say?”

Gray dropped his tail, ashamed. “Grinder, I’m sorry. You’re a shiver leader and deserve respect. I got angry.”

Grinder nodded sharply. “Done.” The hammerhead turned to Lochlan. “I know you’re a king and a great
leader. And my father’s father told me he thought AuzyAuzy Shiver was the paragon of all shivers, even as he fought against you. That was a stupid war, and I see this isn’t. But the question still stands. You’re in no shape to lead your forces into battle against the Indi armada. AuzyAuzy won’t follow me because of our past, I know that. So, who will they follow? Because a fighting force needs someone out front and strong. They need someone to believe in.”

Gray’s eyes drifted toward Silversun. The brown and white shark chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, no. I can’t swim an attack sprint with a raging current at my tail. Besides, as you might have guessed, we port jacksons aren’t the fiercest fighters in the Big Blue.”

“Yeah, Finnivus would laugh himself to death if you swam diamondhead,” muttered Grinder to himself, but everyone heard. The diamondhead was the lead position in the center of a massed formation. The fin who gave the orders. Grinder didn’t say it as an insult. He said it more in the realization their situation was dire. The hammerhead said it like they were facing the danger
together
. Gray was amazed. Lochlan had done it. Grinder was now on their side.

The hammerhead then realized just how insulting the comment was and turned apologetically to Silversun. “Oh, that didn’t come out very—I—I—wow. There’s no way to make that better, is there? Umm, whoops. Again, sorry.”

To see the always puffed up and irritated hammerhead twitch his fins in total embarrassment made everyone burst out in gales of laughter. They howled so loudly that it took a moment for them to get control of themselves.

“Your question is a good one,” Lochlan said when he was able to speak again. “It just so happens the leader of the AuzyAuzy mariners is right here.”

It was a second before Gray noticed everyone was looking at him. “Me?”

“Him?” echoed Grinder.

“He has the look of a commander,” remarked Silversun.

Lochlan kept going so Grinder couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “Gray was the one who led the key attack that won the Battle of Riptide. He swam the diamondhead for us and swam it well.”

Grinder nodded. “I heard. But he was there for one charge. Then you took over.”


After
the Indi armada was smashed and scattered,” Lochlan pressed. “Look, I know I’m injured. But with our dolph signaling system, I can still lead. If you don’t think so, Gray
can
take over. He knows our system, and my Line respects him, as does everyone in Riptide.”

“But you think you’ll be there?” Grinder asked hopefully.

“Our scouts say Indi’s main forces are two weeks away, so I
will
be ready,” the golden great white
answered. “But if you don’t think I’m able, Gray will do it.”

Grinder thought, then nodded. “I’ll send for the rest of my mariners.”

After the hammerhead swam off, Silversun bobbed his head in respect. “Well played, Lochlan. I’m with you also.” As he left, the Vortex leader added with a grin, “But you already knew that.”

When both sharks were out of earshot, Lochlan swirled his tail through the water victoriously. “Got ’em! Got ’em both!”

“That was great!” Gray said. “I can’t believe you said all that stuff about me leading!” Gray imitated Lochlan’s earnest speech. “‘If you don’t think I’m able, Gray will do it.’ What a load of chowder!”

“Oh, that wasn’t chowder, mate,” Lochlan said. “Grinder’s right. There’s no way I can swim diamondhead. Let’s start teaching you how to direct a massed formation! Exciting, huh?” The great white slapped Gray’s flank as he passed.

“Wait, hold up,” Gray pleaded, stunned. “You’re not serious! Loch? Loch!”

 

 

 

 

IT TURNED OUT THAT LOCHLAN WAS VERY
serious. Gray spent most of the next three days practicing with the core of the AuzyAuzy force, half their mariners taking the place of Riptide United (which would now include Hammer and Vortex Shivers) with another group pretending to be the opposing Indi armada sharks. They trained east of the old Riptide and Razor Shiver territories. The rocky area wasn’t good for hunting, so hardly anyone went there, which was ideal for their purposes. Lochlan didn’t want anyone to see Gray practicing so hard and he certainly didn’t want Grinder and Silversun having any second thoughts about joining Riptide United.

And wow, did they train.

The pace was fevered. Everyone knew that Finnivus and his mariners were swimming ever closer, tail stroke by tail stroke. The Black Wave was coming, and they had to be ready.

“Tripletail Turns Down, execute!” yelled Gray. Olph, the lead dolphin swimming in close order above his dorsal fin, click-razzed the commands. Their formation lurched downward as if it were a single fish.

Gray had met “Olph the battle dolph” after the Battle of Riptide. His family had been battle dolphs with AuzyAuzy Shiver for centuries. To work with Olph, Gray had to take a crash course in the dolphin language, which was maddeningly hard to follow. But their clicks, whistles, and razzes would cut through the noise of a battle, when yelling wouldn’t.

Gray was surprised to learn that dolphins had several dialects. Click-razz was the quickest (which is why it was an excellent signaling system), whistle-click-razz was what dolphs normally spoke with each other, and whistle-click was the slower, more elegant version of their language used for formal occasions. Gray didn’t care about this newfound knowledge at the moment. He was blundering right and left, and one of the reasons for this was that Olph the battle dolph was swimming so close to his topside that it seemed like he was
glued
to Gray’s dorsal fin. But Lochlan wasn’t making allowances for distractions.

“Don’t
yell
‘execute’ unless you have to!” the AuzyAuzy leader shouted from the side. “It slows you down! You were swimming level and could have used a fin signal.”

“What if Olph misses it?”

The dolphin made a grating series of razzing noises. Gray didn’t
understand a word, but he could sense it wasn’t a compliment.

Lochlan shook his head in an exaggerated way. “Olph
never
misses! Now, continue, my young Nulo—”

“Do
not
even start with that!” Gray shot back.

“The enemy has reformed and outnumbers you two to one,” the golden great white said in a strong voice. “They close with Grouper Dances Through the Greenie before attacking with a Tang Twist! Now!”

The opposing formation did the maneuvers and rushed at Gray’s forces.

“Umm, uh, Snapper Skims the Seabed!” Their own formation went even lower. “Manta Ray Rising!” Olph clicked out a signal immediately. The rest of the mariners followed Gray as if they were part of his own body. Sometimes, when they got it right and the hundreds of sharks around him whooshed a turn totally in sync, leading from the diamondhead was absolutely thrilling. Unfortunately, those bits of wonder were few and far between.

“Spinner Strikes!” Gray called out.

When used in single combat, the Spinner Strikes was an attack from below aimed at a shark’s soft underbelly. If successful, it was almost always fatal. Gray remembered too late that it wasn’t very good for
massed
fighting, though. The opposing force fell on them with the ferocity of a flashnboomer, crushing their formation using Orca Bears Down.

“Oh, come on, mate!” yelled Lochlan, irritation showing. “You can’t make that mistake!” Lochlan flexed his fins and winced. His injured side was oozing blood again and clearly bothering him. “Sorry. Let’s take a break.”

“I understand why you’re disappointed,” Gray told him when they were off to the side. “I wouldn’t want me leading your friends, either.”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Lochlan said with a weak grin. “And I’ll be there just in case. No worries.”

“You know, I have an idea!” Gray said, getting the golden great white’s attention before he swam away. “Dolphins give you a big advantage, don’t they?”

“Well sure, that’s why we use them, especially Olph. He’s magic, you’ll see.”

“But my point is, what about other dwellers? How about whales?”

Lochlan shook his snout from side to side. “Whales are defenseless in a fight. Too slow, and they don’t like to scrumble in general. Big enough to be pacifists, though, and that’s why they aren’t lunch. Most of the time.”

“All whales are like that?” Gray asked, surprised. “What about those Arktik ones, the orcas?”

BOOK: Into the Abyss
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ads

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