Pacific Ocean, south of Hawai’i
image [https://www.coralguardian.org/app/uploads/2024/07/DSC_0063_copyright-Julien-Holleville-copie-1024x678.jpg]
Sophie pushed herself from one rock to another, filling her bag with shells. Razan swam behind her, scanning the water around them.
“Is this a jellyfish?” she asked, seeing a small translucent thing floating along. “It looks so silly.” She reached out to poke it.
Razan grabbed her wrist, pulling her sharply back. “Yes. They are poisonous.”
“How?” she asked, looking at the creature. “There’s nothing to it.”
“The hairs burn if you touch them. Don’t.”
She huffed, moving away. She saw a purple shell and picked it up, adding it to her bag. A nearby fish was startled, and puffed up. Sophie laughed as the scales turned to spikes.
“Oh how threatening,” she told it, reaching out.
Razan grabbed her wrist again. “Pufferfish. Also poisonous.”
“But it’s so cute,” she said.
“You wouldn’t find it cute if your hand turned black and fell off.”
She rolled her eyes, spotting a tiny ball of spines. “Is that poisonous? It’s adorable.”
“Yes! Urchin! Poisonous!”
“Honestly, Razan, is anything in the ocean not poisonous?”
He gave her an annoyed glare. “Oysters. ...Usually.”
“I shall search for oysters, then,” she said, turning away. Another shell caught her eye, and she swam to it. When she picked it up she laughed. “Look, something’s made a home in this one!”
A baby octopus peeked out, showing blue rings on a white body.
“I know what an octopus is, you can’t tell me this is poisonous.”
Razan grabbed the shell and threw it as far away from them as he could manage. “Sophie, if you somehow survive until noon it will be heaven's own doing.”
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Peter followed Marie, searching the sand and coral for shells.
“Air is down to half, let’s turn around,” Marie said, checking her gauge.
He checked his and saw it was in the yellow. “Yes, Captain.”
They changed course, heading north-east.
“There’s someone alone to our east,” he said, scanning the water. “Can’t see colors at this distance.”
Marie looked over. “That makes four we’ve seen alone. I admit, I thought the groups would be closer together.”
“The ocean is big, so I hear,” Peter said. “They can probably spread groups out as wide as they like.”
“The ocean is big, but reefs like this are small,” she told him. “Usually. And usually they’re near islands.”
Peter spotted a shell and pocketed it. His bag was getting full.
“Have you ever seen the ocean?” Marie asked.
“No. I almost got sent to the Gulf once, but orders changed and I… didn’t go.”
She picked up a shell and turned it slowly in her hands. “I’ve never been more than two hours inland. I was born by the water and I thought I’d die by it. Even so, I’ve never seen half the creatures here.”
“I’ve never seen any of them,” he said, shrugging. “This isn’t your sea, it’s an unknown ocean. At least you know what’s likely to be dangerous.”
Marie looked towards the sky. “I’m going to the surface.”
“Are you s-” He stopped as she shot up, moving like an arrow through the water. “All right then.” He followed, going slower.
Peter grew nervous as he left the life and color of the reef behind. Somehow the emptiness of the ocean closed in, making him feel exposed and vulnerable. He checked all sides constantly, watching for an attack. He desperately wanted his poncho.
Finally his head broke through the surface. Peter pulled the mask down and gasped, noticing he was trembling. He needed land; he was drowning with nothing to hold on to. He flailed, searching for something solid.
Strong hands grabbed his arm and neck, steadying him.
“Breathe,” Marie ordered. “Relax your arms, let the waves carry you.”
Peter ripped his goggles off, opening his eyes. He felt the cold wind and hot sun on his face, and started to calm down.
Marie let go, smiling. “Here. This is my world. Not whatever’s below us. The waves and currents, the contradiction of being burned and frozen at once. You can die of thirst in all this water. You can lie on your back and become exhausted.” She took a deep breath. “There is no safety here. Only this close to death can I feel alive.”
He looked at her as she turned her face to the sun. “Should we go back down? I don’t want to get lost…”
“Current’s headed north. Two minutes and we’ll be directly above our platform.” She opened an eye to glance at him, then closed it. “Relax a bit.”
Peter tried to relax. He still felt exposed, in danger. Turning, he noticed a black and white bird sitting nearby. He’d seen one of those birds at the seafloor, too.
“Do you suppose those are the underwater version of hawks?” he asked with fake calm, pointing.
“Don’t see how else a puffin could be here,” Marie answered without opening her eyes.
“Puffin?”
“Arctic seabird. They don’t survive in heat. Knew a whaler who wanted to train one like a parrot but they never survived past Brazil.” She chuckled. “He must have killed a dozen of those poor things. Finally someone found a black parrot for him, but it died as soon as they reached Nantucket. Birds don’t do well outside their native climates.”
He watched her, not sure what to say. Not sure why she was telling him this.
Finally Marie sighed. "We should be above our platform. Ready to go down?"
Peter pulled the goggles back over his eyes, still wishing for a poncho. "Yes, Captain."
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Razan followed Sophie away from the platform, carrying extra air bags.
She seemed to attract every dangerous creature in the ocean. He half expected an angry dragon to emerge from the sand, claiming she'd stolen a sacred pearl or something. That or a giant shark would pass by and she'd try to befriend it.
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"Razan, what should we do if someone comes towards us?" Sophie asked suddenly, slowing down.
"Fight," he answered simply.
Her hand went to her spear. "Maybe they're friendly?"
"We are on a schedule," he said, looking around. "Passing by for a chat would put them at a disadvantage." Finally he saw a bald head watching them from behind a mass of coral.
"Yes, but attacking just as we leave our platform can't benefit them," she pointed out nervously.
Razan stopped. "Excellent observation. Let's go say hello." He turned and moved in the direction of the head. "Hello!"
Sophie followed, hand still on her weapon. "Lovely day, isn't it?"
Their watcher came out of hiding. "Greetings," she said. She was a dark-skinned woman with two-toned green fabric wrapped around her chest and hips. "It is a lovely day, yes. Would you mind giving me your bags?"
"Our air bags?" Sophie asked.
"No, the collection bags."
Sophie held hers up. "They're empty."
"Yes, but without them we can only carry four or five shells at a time," Razan said slowly, pulling out his new knife. It was a good sharp thing, the thin blade twice as long as his hand.
"Precisely." The woman pulled a long-bladed spear from behind her. "Sorry, but I will have to threaten you now."
Razan adjusted his stance, aware Sophie was doing the same. For a few seconds no one moved, and then the woman shot forwards, her spear moving so fast he barely had time to duck. She caught the very end of the shaft and swung it at him.
The water forced it to go at an angle she wasn't expecting. Razan took the opportunity to move in, slashing at her as he grabbed at the spear's shaft. She knocked his strike away with a fist, pulling the spear back just in time for his hand to close around the blade.
Cursing loudly as saltwater touched fresh cuts, Razan slashed at her with his knife again. The woman laughed as she backed away, spinning her spear to swipe at his stomach. Razan pushed himself over it in time to avoid what could have been a nasty cut.
He wished he had his swords. A long weapon would be very useful in this situation.
The woman spun around, a move that when not in water would help gain speed. In water, though, it just made her telegraph her strike. Razan crouched under it, then kicked himself off the sand to tackle her.
To her credit, she didn't let go of the spear as they floated back and down. Razan slashed her across the chest, drawing a line of blood. She yanked her spear back across his skull, the blade thankfully at a wrong angle to cut anything more than a few strands of hair.
Razan grabbed the strap of her air bag, using it to pull himself forwards and press his knife against her throat just as she shoved the tip of her spear against his neck.
They looked at each other for a few seconds, locked in a stalemate.
The woman's eyes flicked away, and suddenly the spear was yanked back. Sophie, the tip of her spear wrapped around the other's shaft, put her foot on the woman's arm and pulled away her weapon.
Honestly, Razan had forgotten about Sophie. He gave her a nod, and she looked stupidly proud of herself.
"I surrender," the woman under him said calmly. "Keep your bags. I'll leave."
Razan glared at her, knife staying against her throat.
"Oh, you're new," she said. "This is not life or death. I have nothing to prove. This is a game. I acknowledge my defeat."
Cautiously, Razan stood. She lifted a hand, and he helped her to her feet. Sophie held the woman’s spear out, blade straight up.
"If you steal bags, do you have any spare to offer us?" Razan asked.
"Yes, behind the coral," the woman said, pointing. She watched Sophie.
Razan sighed, swiping the spear. "Forgive my companion for not knowing the first thing about weapons." He laid the shaft flat across both palms and held it out, bowing.
The woman smiled, taking it. "Thank you. And, forgiven. Wasn't sure what you were doing, girl."
"Sorry," Sophie said sheepishly.
The woman slid the spear into place between her air bag and back. "I look forward to fighting you again," she told Razan. She gave them a salute and turned away. "Good luck."
"You too!" Sophie called, waving.
Razan went to find the bags she'd left behind. "Have you never held a weapon before?"
"In front of other people? No."
He glanced at Sophie. "We'll have to discuss that with Marie."
"You mean I'll get training?" she asked, bouncing along after him.
"You need it," he grumbled. Then sighed again. "Thank you for your help."
She beamed. "You're welcome!"
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Marie pulled herself along the seafloor using her hands. There wasn't much cover, but if she moved slowly and steadily it would be enough.
Meanwhile, Peter was purposefully being very bad at hiding. He walked towards their prey in clumsy steps, using things for cover that were far too small.
Finally the man they were stalking gave up pretending to not see Peter and called out.
"You're embarrassing me. Just attack already."
Peter stood to his full height, pulling the crossbow off his belt. He aimed it at the man. "If that's what you'd like… Drop your bag and back away."
"No," the man said.
Marie wasn't sure if he felt he could dodge Peter's harpoon, or if he thought the shot would go wide. Either way, his back was towards her. She drew her dagger and moved closer.
"Ah, sorry, please drop your bag," Peter said.
The man laughed. "Are you an idiot?"
Marie struck. She grabbed the straps of his air bag, using them to steady herself as she pressed her dagger under his chin. "I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my crew like that. Especially when he's been an excellent distraction."
The man stiffened, then relaxed. "Fair. Not an idiot. But what are you going to do? You can't kill me. And I'm not giving up my shells."
"Kill? I would never do that." She pulled her dagger back, then pushed the blade down on his ear. "I know how to avoid important blood vessels. There are surprisingly few in your face. You don't need ears or a nose to survive. Hell, you don't need your fingers or skin, either. I've seen men lose both eyes and be just fine. Trust me, I'm far too experienced a torturer to kill you." He was trying to shrink away from her blade, but she kept pushing harder. Blood tinted the water.
"You'll get in trouble!" he yelled, putting a hand on her wrist.
In a flash she let go of his bag, pulled out her serrated knife, and wrapped her arm around him. She pressed the blade into the skin just above his nipple and pulled it back, sawing down. "You don't need this, either. Certainly won't end your life if I cut it off."
"Fine!" he snapped. "Take the shells! I don't care!" He shook the bag off from around his wrist. "You're insane!"
"No, I'm experienced." Marie moved away from the man, letting him paddle away.
Peter swam up to her, catching the bag just before it hit the sand. "Think you scared him enough?"
"Scared, yes. Hurt, no. He didn't fight at all. Should have taken some skin."
"Some people prefer diplomacy to action," he said softly.
Marie looked at him. "You prefer talking to fighting, but you will fight. He didn't even touch his weapon. He just growled and whined like a toothless dog."
Peter tied the bag to his belt. "True. You cut him, though, be happy with that."
“It’ll heal up in a week,” she said absently, her eyes catching another lone figure.
She watched the person in a full diving suit move slowly across the sand. Peter followed her gaze and watched as well. The Mask member didn’t notice them, focused completely on the reef.
“Should we?” Marie asked.
It took Peter a few seconds to answer. “We have been warned against it, Captain.”
She grinned at him. “I tend to ignore warnings that don’t involve hurricanes.”
He looked back at her with emotionless eyes. “I follow your lead.”
“You, Sergeant, are quite a good soldier,” Marie decided. “Let’s go. Same as before.”
“Yes, Captain.” He pushed himself forwards, clumsily making his way towards the stranger.
Marie, meanwhile, crouched down and swam into position.
Peter stopped to collect a shell, and the diver spotted him. Marie watched from behind a tall coral as the diver waved, then went back to searching the sea floor.
Curious, Marie looked around. She couldn't see any other Mask member. This person was just wandering about as if strolling through a park. How stupid.
She motioned at Peter to hang back. He nodded, changing to search for shells parallel to the diver. Marie smiled to herself as she moved quickly along the sand. He was a very good soldier.
Soon she was behind the diver. She switched from moving swiftly to moving silently. The huge diver's helmet obscured most of the person's vision, but she wasn't going to risk anything.
Peter yelped, flailing comically as he tripped over a protruding rock. He managed a full somersault in the water before landing softly flat on his back. Marie thought it was a bit extreme, but the diver's attention was fully on Peter.
Marie, meanwhile, had taken hold of the diver's shell bag and pulled it off their belt. She backed away quietly; the longer she could go without being discovered the better.
As she turned, she noticed six puffins watching her. So far there had been three at most. A part of her wanted to drop the bag and run. Another wanted to simply swim away as fast as possible.
But years of experience overrode instinct. The puffins were merely watching. They weren't going to attack or alert the diver.
Marie continued moving until she was safely behind a boulder. She sat back, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. She'd gotten away.
A crossbow bolt hit her in the arm.