Gamma Accidents #2: Creatures from the Deep

  "Is it possible, in any way, for jellyfish to float above water?"

  Dean frowned. "What do you mean 'float?' And, before you answer that, just tell me: are you asking theoretically or seriously?"

  "Hey, if it were an obscure science question, don't you think I'd call Professor Darkins?"

  "Please don't tell me you've actually seen jellyfish floating above water."

  Jack went on to relate the bizarre evening he and his friends had, which included a very honest description of bioluminescent jellyfish floating above water, not too far from shore.

  Dean fought to stay awake as he listened, respectfully, while Jack explained everything he could. He didn't again accuse Jack of kidding: Dean took him at his word.

  "So, do you think you can help us? I mean, it's not just that you can talk to animals and stuff..."

  "Dude, don't patronize me: it's totally because I can talk to animals."

  "Okay, yeah, it is," Jack sheepishly confessed.

  "You got bored of a long, relaxing summer, didn't you?"

  Dean sighed, trying desperately not to yawn. He rubbed his weary eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again.

  "Fine. I'm in."

  "Great."

  "Hey, I might even be able to get my hands on a boat, if you think it'll come in handy..."

  "Even better."

  3

  Almost exactly twenty-four hours after the initial sighting of the floating jellyfish, the five teenagers congregated in the yard of an old, abandoned warehouse dubbed "Clive's Hideout" by Crashton locals.

  The warehouse's out-of-the-way location, desolate condition and unused docks made it the perfect assembly point, especially for this particular expedition.

  In its day (approximately seventy years ago), Clive's Hideout was really the heart of Crashton, back when the popular tourist hotspot was nothing more than a little fishing village. Imports and exports came and went smoothly, thanks to the three docks.

  But, as time marched on and business boomed, requiring bigger and better facilities, the lonely warehouse fell into disrepair.

  Now, its boarded-up windows were either broken or covered in thick layers of sand and dust; the yard was littered with trash and foliage grew unrestrained; and two of the three docks were unsafe to even consider treading upon.

  A couple of decades ago, the site earned the name "Clive's Hideout" due to a notorious gang led by a mysterious man named Clive that used the warehouse as a covert base of operations.

  The gang had long since been run out of town but no one dared step foot near the warehouse thanks to the somewhat inflated tales of crates filled with volatile bombs stored in the dilapidated building.

  However, the five teenagers currently hanging around the warehouse with a nefarious past had no ill intentions. They were simply waiting for a friend.

  "You did tell Dean to meet us just after sundown, right?" Ethan asked Jack, impatience starting to taint his voice.

  "Yeah. But I don't know what he has to do to get us a boat," Jack replied, sounding slightly apologetic.

  "Are you sure he's not building it?" Bella questioned, sarcastically, not bothering to hide her own impatience.

  "Have a little faith in the guy," her neighbour chastised. "He came through for us at Hero High, he'll come through for us ton-"

  A loud honking noise, much like that from a car horn, interrupted Jack's statement.

  The five friends whipped around, curious to see the cause of the abrupt noise. Jaws dropped as a monstrous fusion of bus and boat slowly rolled into the poorly-lit yard on tall, thick tyres.

  The hulking hybrid vehicle came to a stop and Dean leaned out the driver's side window. "Sorry I'm late!" he called, cheerfully. He shut the noisy engine off and moved to the rear of the vehicle, where he swung open a little door, positioned a ladder and climbed down. "My uncle only lets me use it after sundown, after the last scheduled tour of the day."

  "What is it?" Bella asked with an expression of horrified curiosity.

  Dean swept his arms through the air in a broad, presentation gesture. "This is an amphibious vehicle. She can go on roads and in the water. My uncle uses it to take people out on tours around Crashton: through the streets and around the coastline. She's called the 'Duck.'"

  "Obviously," Ethan said, absently, as he observed the twin, large, goofy, cartoon ducks painted on the sides of the bulky vehicle.

  Dean proudly patted one of the heavy-duty tyres that came up to his shoulders. "She's sturdy, she'll get us where we want to go and she's completely at our disposal until morning. (We just have to remember to fuel her up before we return her.)"

  Jack inspected the unusual vehicle. "When you said you could get us a boat, I sort of thought you'd rock up with a paddle boat or a kayak. Not... this."

  "I only have access to this baby. I don't know anyone who can lend me a dingy at this hour." Dean frowned. "What, haven't you guys seen one of these before?"

  "Honestly, man, I have never seen anything like this," Ty said.

  "Well, it'll have to do," Jack conceded, eventually. "But how are we going to get it into the water?"

  Dean glanced at the triplet docks, realizing why Jack had chosen such a location to meet up. "We need to drive into the ocean, you know, like on a beach."

  "So, we're going to have to drive through town, in that," Jack said, pointing to the Duck, "drive onto a beach and then into the water? Just like that?"

  "Don't you think it'll look a little... suspicious?" Caleb asked.

  Dean waved away all his friends' concerns. "We can take the back roads."

  ~~~

  Travelling at an almost sloth-like speed as if it would aid their attempts at stealth, the six teenagers made their way to a moonlit shoreline in a long, tall vehicle barely slender enough to fit in one lane.

  It was basically a tour-bus structure sitting atop ridiculously big tyres. It had no windows, allowing passengers to feel the environment, not just observe it. Neat, slim rows of seats lined the sides, with an aisle down the middle, leading to the captain's chair up front. It smelled of sand, sweat and salty water.

  "The next time someone offers a ride, I'm gonna make sure I ask more questions," Jack pledged, purposely raising his voice to be heard over the obnoxiously loud engine.

  "What are you guys so worried about?" Dean asked with a confused shrug as he focussed on steering the bus-like vehicle along Crashton's roads. "We're not doing anything illegal. There is no reason for the cops to pull us over and drag us off to jail. Seriously, just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's free!"

  "This is kinda cool," Bella admitted, scooting across a row of seats and leaning over the side to peer out the permanently open windows, a late-night summer breeze rustling her dark curls.

  "We're on a bus... but it's actually a boat," Caleb summarized. "So... do we say it has a helm or a steering wheel?"

  Dean shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea."

  Eventually, the Duck reached a vacant section of Crashton's coastline. With ease, the hybrid vehicle left the asphalt, mounted the shallow kerb, and drove straight onto the sand, determinedly heading for the softly crashing waves.

  From land to sea in one, smooth transition. The teens could feel the moment the Duck's tyres lost touch with the ground and the vehicle began riding atop the moonlit waters. Now, it's monster-truck worthy tyres acted as rudders.

  "Can any of you see in the dark?" Dean called over his shoulder. "We need to keep a look out for sandbanks. A run-in with one of those bad boys will make my uncle explode."

  "I can see in the dark," Bella offered.

  "Really? You can?"

  Bella shrugged. "Well, I'm not totally sure... I've never seen total darkness: I've been glowing since day one."

  "You'll do." Dean turned to Jack. "Point me in the general direction you... oh, never mind."

  Dean's request became redundant as soon as he saw the swarm of bioluminescent jellyfish floating freely and gracefully above their natural ho
me.

  "Yeah, this is the spot," Ethan said, pointlessly.

  Dean switched off the Duck's engine. As the constant, loud droning died down, a calm quiet mingled with the sounds of waves lapping against the vehicle's sides.

  At a distance, the creatures' light show was merely interesting. But up close, right in the middle of the spectacle... it was unlike anything and there was no way to describe it precisely.

  The gelatinous creatures seemed completely untroubled by the presence of humans in a garishly painted amphibious vehicle. Blissfully unperturbed, they continued their almost choreographed dance in the late-night air.

  "It's like... if Bella were a fish," Caleb breathed, his brown eyes widening and gazing in awe.

  "This is pretty amazing," Ethan commented as he stared, enraptured by the moment. Blotches of the magenta, indigo and lilac glows reflected off his glasses.

  Squishy bodies pulsed, their array of illuminated colours mixing together, countless spaghetti-thin tentacles trailing along yet never entangling.

  "So, uh, Dean? Can you, I don't know, ask them what they're doing out of the water?" Jack asked, unsure if he wanted to interrupt this enchanting scene.

  Dean nodded, reassuringly, as he leaned forward, over the steering wheel, and began addressing the incredible creatures.

  "Hey, how's it hanging, little dudes?" he asked, casually. He spoke as if he and the jellyfish had been friends for years. "Mind curing my friends' curiosity?"

  "He just speaks English to them?" Ethan whispered to his brothers and friends as Dean continued to question the jellyfish.

  Bella frowned, a little confused. "Exactly how did you think he was going to talk to them?"

  Ethan shrugged. "Remember the cartoons we used to watch? I just assumed he'd speak jellyfish to them."

  "What noise does a jellyfish make?" Caleb questioned, completely stumped.

  "Guys," Dean called, an underlying tone of urgency in his voice. "Something's wrong."

  "What? What did they say?" Jack asked with obvious anticipation.

  Dean shook his head. "That's just it. They spoke back, but they weren't speaking... you know, like they normally do."

  "You mean they speak Japanese or something?" Ty said.

  "No, no: it's not that. Look, it's hard to explain how this all works, but I talk to them and they understand me. They talk back and I understand them. But... I couldn't make sense of a thing they said."

  "That's... strange," Caleb commented, unsure how to respond.

  "Does that mean anything?" Ethan asked Dean.

  Dean replied with an unenthusiastic shrug of his shoulders. "I have absolutely no clue."

  "Well, at least they're nice to watch," Bella said, promptly dropping the issue and turning back to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime light show.

  For a good, solid ten minutes, the teenagers basked in the moment, forgetting their mission completely as they enjoyed every last second of this bizarre moment.

  Gradually, however, the moment began to slip away.

  "They're diving," Ty pointed out, shaking his brothers and friends out of their daze.

  Diving was not exactly the right term. The creatures sank into the water, drifting below the surface, dragging their glow with them.

  "We need to go after them," Jack said.

  "Uh... none of us can shape-shift into dolphins, genius," Ty said. "Exactly how are we gonna go after them?"

  "Hey, Dean, any chance your uncle keeps scuba gear on here?" Bella asked.

  "He doesn't do diving tours," Dean informed her.

  "Oh."

  "But... he is into recreational diving."

  Dean moved past his friends and began searching under the rear rows of seats. With a triumphant, "Aha!" he stumbled upon a large crate filled with an array of items. He started sifting through them. "Uh... well, so far I've found some flippers and... a snorkel."

  "Your uncle's obviously not an avid diver," Ethan said.

  "Okay, who can hold their breath the longest?" Dean asked, holding up the pair of flippers.

  "I can," Jack said. "But I can't see in the dark so well. I'll be blind down there."

  Bella snapped her fingers, loudly. "Okay, boys. Listen up: I've got an idea..."

  4

  Bella's plan was a thing of beauty. Simple as it was, it seemed completely faultless.

  Jack removed his sneakers and slid a floppy flipper on each foot. Wasting no time, he tumbled over the edge of the Duck, straight into the inky water.

  "He does know how to dive, right?" Dean asked, a little uncertainly. "I mean, you don't just swim down. There's a whole technique -"

  "Our school had a field trip a couple years back," Ethan explained. "Taught us the basics of diving and diving safety."

  "Just checking."

  Bella knelt on a row of seats and leaned as far out of the vehicle as she could without falling into the water herself. "You good to go, Jack?" she called.

  Her neighbour responded with a thumbs-up.

  "Okay, down you go, then!"

  Without further prompting, Jack disappeared beneath the dark, glassy surface of the water.

  As her lifelong friend swam deeper, chasing the quickly vanishing jellyfish, Bella concentrated harder than ever before. She shut out all interferences, totally ignoring the ambient noise of the Duck bobbing atop the gentle yet feisty waves and her friends' idle banter in the background. She closed her eyes and focussed.

  She could feel the light as she controlled it; manipulating and bending it to her will.

  When she felt confident her concentration was stable enough, she cracked her eyes open to observe her handy work.

  Orbs of jade-tinted light sank beneath the waves, following Jack as he followed the jellyfish.

  Bella didn't bother to hide her triumphant grin.

  "That's so cool," Caleb commented as he watched the show, enraptured.

  "I hope it works," Bella replied.

  ~~~

  The water cooled as Jack dove deeper, employing every technique he could remember.

  Jack could hold his breath longer and with more determination than a normal person. He had never recorded his limits, but he knew, at least, he could go a whole twenty minutes before he felt the urge to breathe again.

  Swimming towards the ocean floor, his dense molecular structure aiding in his sinking with speed, Jack held his breath with ease.

  Light had a hard time illuminating the world below the surface. The jellyfish had already drifted too far away for their light to reach him.

  Thankfully, just as it became nearly impossible to see, bluish-green balls of light graciously joined Jack, floating beside him like faithful little companions. He didn't doubt his friend for a second: he knew Bella would come through for him.

  Diving with a bit more determination, Jack pursued the strange creatures capable of leaving their natural habitat.

  In no time at all, he caught up to the jellyfish. In the disorienting environment, he couldn't tell how far down he was. Cautiously, he followed at a distance as the gelatinous creatures changed direction.

  In formation, they slowly swarmed towards a man-made structure of glass.

  An airlock? Jack thought to himself, frowning as he swam a little closer, Bella's lights loyally clinging to him.

  Feeling the urge to hide, he quickly spotted a patch of seaweed and stealthily hid amongst the swaying blades.

  From his vantage point, he watched as the fuzzy forms of the glowing jellyfish entered the airlock structure, disappearing from sight.

  Jack wanted to pursue this curious case further, but he'd seen enough. Carefully, he began his ascent to the surface, remembering not to climb through the water too fast.

  Sooner than he imagined, he made it back to the Duck. As soon as he broke the surface, Bella's lights dissipated. He lifted himself out the water and flew into the amphibious vehicle, glad to be back in an environment where he could use his favourite ability: flight.

  He shook his head, like
a freshly washed dog, water droplets flying off his short chestnut brown hair.

  "And? What did you see?" Ty asked, his almond-shaped eyes widening with anticipation.

  Jack grabbed the edge of his shirt and started ringing it out, creating a small puddle of salty water around his feet. "I saw... an airlock. I don't know what it led to: it was really dark down there. Thanks for the lights, Bella."

  "Anytime, pal."

  "An airlock?" Ethan repeated. "As in, something a human would have had to plan and build?"

  Jack nodded, his expression honest and serious.

  Suddenly, as the weight of the situation began to sink in, it was a lot less funny than when they set out earlier that evening.

  "So... what does that mean?" Caleb asked, searching the faces of his brothers and friends for an answer.

  "It means..." Jack began, absentmindedly looking out at the ocean. He sighed, heavily. "It means our plans for summer just got a whole lot more complicated..."

  ~~~

  Maybe it was the fatigue catching up to them or the knowledge of something odd going on beneath the water's surface, but no one felt like talking on the way home.

  Dean steered the Duck back onto the beach and returned to the road, water droplets dripping off the vehicle as it rode along.

  They were halfway to Clive's Hideout (where the friends' old jeep idly awaited their return) when Dean muttered an almost inaudible, "Rats."

  "What's up?" Jack asked. Despite his sitting all the way at the rear of the bus/boat, he heard the muted expression without even trying.

  "I forgot: we gotta top up the gas before we can go home," Dean explained, speaking louder for the others to hear. He pointed to the little instrument on the Duck's unique dashboard that gauged the gas. "It's the rules. My uncle only lets me use the Duck if I remember to return her in tip-top shape."

  Bella shrugged, as if it were of no consequence to the friends at all. "We don't mind if you make a detour."

  "But I suggest we go to the gas station on the edge of town," Ty spoke up. "I hate people seeing us at this hour."

  "Thanks," Dean said, changing course. "And why do you guys hate people seeing you out late?"

  "We have a... reputation," Caleb supplied.

  "Oh."

  "No, it's nothing bad," Ethan assured, picking up on Dean's slightly confused tone. "It's just, normally when we're out at this kind of hour, we're doing something that requires our powers."

  "Like finding cherry bombs I accidently dropped in a bunch of desserts Bella's mom was serving at a function," Caleb continued.