Down and Out
TorrentBoy cut through the waves and started kicking fast, trying to catch up. It took him a second before he could see anything, but then he caught sight of David, kicking and flailing, pushing himself deeper with every movement.
Wesley was terrible at swimming lessons, always stuck in second level with all the kindergarteners, but TorrentBoy was even worse. All the armour weighed him down.
Luckily, “down” was exactly where he wanted to be, so he swam as hard as he could, finally catching hold of David’s shirt.
The trouble with being underwater is the lack of air, and TorrentBoy was finding it especially hard not to breathe. Worse yet, David was looking like he was about to drown. They needed TorrentBubbles around them, and fast!
“Blugggah slurrrrrrk!” TorrentBoy yelled.
He had to remember not to try and speak underwater. He started to freak out, swinging his arms and legs around just like David, so they both looked like a pair of electrocuted spiders in the wind.
“Need some help?” Rezzit asked.
TorrentBoy nodded urgently.
“Say please.”
TorrentBoy sneered.
“Just kidding. Here we go! TorrentBubbles!”
A pair of electric-blue bubbles shot from the depths of the ocean and wrapped themselves around TorrentBoy and David, letting them float safely in a cushion of air.
They both barfed up water.
“That was a close one,” TorrentBoy gasped.
“Everything’s a close one with you,” Rezzit sighed.
“Th-th-thank you!” David said from his bubble. “It’s a good thing you were nearby!”
“I love the ocean,” TorrentBoy smiled. “Well, I mean, from the outside. Down here, it’s not as much fun.”
“No kidding,” agreed David. “I think I have a starfish stuck in my ear.”
“Don’t worry,” TorrentBoy said. “We’ll get back up to the surface in no time! Just hold on!”
All of a sudden, David’s bubble shot sideways and down deeper. TorrentBoy watched him go for a second.
“That’s not what I was expecting,” he said.
Before he could investigate, his bubble got hit with a giant blast, and went tumbling down too! It was like bobsledding inside a clothes dryer, spinning in circles and feeling quite ill. TorrentBoy grabbed hold of the sides of the bubble and tried not to pass out.
Before he knew it, things had calmed down, and he was floating so deep in the ocean that the sun above was barely visible anymore. The brightest thing he could see was…
“Look out!” Rezzit shouted, but it was too late! A giant twelve-level submarine smashed right into the bubble, sending it spinning again!
“I hate this job sometimes,” TorrentBoy grumbled as the bubble slowed again. He looked around for David, but couldn’t see anything past the giant submarine. It was bright blue and yellow, with a big proud-looking eagle painted on the side, right above the words: “PROTECTORATE GUARD”.
“Protectorate?” TorrentBoy asked. “Protecting from what?”
“Avast!” boomed a voice from behind, and he turned in time to see a smaller black-and-red submarine go charging by, firing its energy cannons like crazy. The Protectorate ship shook as the blasts hit, almost knocking it on its side. It spun around, opened half-dozen ports in its shell, and fired back!
One of the shots glanced off TorrentBoy’s bubble, and a small flood of water shot in.
“I don’t want to be a party pooper,” said Rezzit, “but I don’t think you should be here anymore.”
“No kidding,” TorrentBoy nodded, looking around for David urgently.
Finally, he found him! Stuck on the tail of the black ship, waving his arms around again!
“Rezzit!” TorrentBoy called. “Give me a boost!”
“Boosters on!” Rezzit said, as the bubble shot forward at an incredible pace. They smashed straight into David and kept on going, swirling through a school of fish.
“Rezzit!” TorrentBoy yelled. “I’m going to throw up! Stop it!”
All at once, the bubble stopped spinning, and TorrentBoy collapsed onto the ground.
“What a baby,” Rezzit sighed.
From this far away, the battle between the Protectorate Guard and the black ship didn’t look so bad. It was like fireworks, reflected in a pool of water. The Protectorate ship was getting blasted pretty hard, though…
“Are those… pirates?” David gasped, and then TorrentBoy saw it too: a big jolly roger painted on the side of the black ship! Real, actual pirates!
“Looks like it!” TorrentBoy nodded, watching the Protectorate ship start to run away from the enemy. “Pirates are bad guys, right, Rezzit?”
“Don’t go dragging me into this.”
“But I’m supposed to help the good guys, and from here, it looks like the good guys are about to get blown up.”
“They’ve got a giant ship with blasters,” Rezzit said. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
Just then, a giant boom rippled through the water and a flash blinded them. When things calmed down, the Protectorate ship was on fire on one side.
“That’s it!” TorrentBoy said. “I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t below! Let’s go!”
Both bubbles shot forward so fast the pirates had no way to react. They were smashed from behind, spun around and pushed down, further into the darkness. Gun ports along the back opened up, but they couldn’t hit TorrentBoy or David… they were moving too fast!
“What cowards be ye!” came the voice from the pirate ship. “Come an’ fight fair!”
“Look who’s talking!” TorrentBoy yelled back. “That’s the last time you pick on the good guys!”
“Bah!” shouted the pirate. “Ye know nothin’ of it!”
One of the blasts came dangerously close to hitting David’s bubble. TorrentBoy glanced over his shoulder quickly.
“You okay back there, David?”
“I’m okay!” David yelled back. “Just… where are all these fish coming from?”
“It’s the ocean, David. That’s where fish live.”
“No, not that,” David said as another blast shot by. “It’s a lot of fish, and they’re all going in the same direction…”
TorrentBoy noticed it too. Lots and lots of tiny fish, all racing past them, as if… something… were… chasing…
“Full power!” the pirate voice yelled suddenly. “Full power and hard to starboard!”
TorrentBoy turned himself around and saw what the fish and the pirates had already seen: the biggest whale he’d ever seen, big blue face marked with hundreds of years of scars, charging towards them…
And its mouth was wide open!