Underwater Call (Animal Transformer 4)

Author: K.A. Applegate [USA]
Publisher:
Publish Date: Not available
Features: Chapter 10
lt;Let's go! Come on, everyone come! Let's go play!gt; I don't like this river. I want to go to the sea. I feel it's nearby. I feel the current carrying me toward it, deep in the belly of my dolphin body, I can feel it. The sea, I want the sea. That's my home, that's where I belong. The four of us swim toward the sea, Tobias flying above us. We race the current, soon I taste the salt of the sea water. I feel the waves washing over my skin. It's like opening the door to a toy store with all the toys in the world, and also having all the time in the world to play. I see the agile figures of my companions in the water. They look like gray, sleek torpedoes when they surface for air. I live in two worlds—underwater and in the air. I see the azure sea and the light blue sky. I leap up and down at the bright boundary between water and sky. Jack swims past me, suddenly leaping out of the water from beneath me. I hear the sound of his belly slapping the water as he enters it. He's playing a game! I dive into the sea, diving to the sandy bottom, which slopes away so steeply that it almost reaches the unreachable depths. Then I swing my tail, raise my fins, and shoot straight up toward the surface. I see the silver shimmering water above me. Faster, faster! Even faster! I'm a missile. lt;Great! Hahaha!gt; I shoot out of the water, leaping into the air. Leaving the cold sea, a warm breeze brushes over me. I linger in the air, almost skimming the surface. Now the surface is below me. Headfirst, I dive back into the water. lt;Hahaha!gt; The water surrounds me, welcoming me back into its embrace. lt;Isn't this cool?gt; Marco laughs. lt;Yeahgt; I reply. lt;Totally coolgt; Rachel says. lt;Let's do it together!gt; Jack shouts. The four of us dive into the sea. The bottom is still far away, uneven, with rocks and dense seaweed scattered around. Near the bottom, we swim close to the ground, our bellies almost brushing the sand. Then we race toward the silver surface, enjoying the energy our bodies release. We leap into the air like a team of acrobats. We soar side by side, breathing the warm air. Life is happy, life is like a game. I want to dance, to dance freely in the sea. And I do. I feel like I can do anything. Whatever my body wants to do, it does it. Accelerate, spin, tumble, dive, surface, leap into the air—any move is possible. I'm not just in the sea; I am the sea. lt;You guys are going to play all day like this?gt; Tobias says. lt;You know, you've already wasted 45 minutes.gt; How many minutes? I laugh. Who cares about time? How many minutes? I laugh. Who cares about time? lt;Hey, guys, I know you think dolphin thinking doesn't affect you, but you're wrong. You need to take a break. You came here for a mission.gt; Mission? What mission? lt;You're supposed to find, uh, find something,gt; Tobias says. lt;Something unusual. An Andalite ship.gt; That's right, he says, he's completely right. But is that mission fun? Is it a game? lt;Find the ship. Cool!gt; Rachel says. lt;I bet I can find it!gt; lt;No way!gt; Jack says immediately. lt;I can find it!gt; lt;Where is it? Let's go see!gt; Marco says. lt;Wow,gt; Tobias says. lt;You guys are like a group of five-year-olds.gt; But I don't have time to worry about that. lt;Hey, are you guys like this?gt; I focus, and suddenly, a series of rapid clicking sounds come from in front of my head, like loud static. lt;Oh! What's that soundgt; Then, to my surprise, I hear something in the noise. It's strange. It's like I'm listening, but I'm not. The clicking sounds hit something deep on the seabed. I feel the sounds bounce back, like scattered echoes. In those echoes, there's a lot of information. Some of it makes me uneasy. lt;Guys,gt; I say. lt;I know it's unbelievable, but I feel something. I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it.gt; The others also sense the clicking sounds with their dolphin sonar. That's called echolocation. lt;Right,gt; Marco says. lt;I see it. I mean, I don't really see it, but you know what I mean.gt; I search in the dolphin's mind, looking for the instinct hidden beneath layers of wisdom. Suddenly, an image appears in my mind. lt;I know!gt; I shout, as if winning a race, lt;It's a shark!gt; Instantly, we stop playing. They all have the same instinctual sense. Echolocation tells us there's a big shark nearby. One thing's for sure—we don't like sharks. P93-97