The Neptune Project (Thomxoc)

Over the next several days we make good time. I can tell Nere is worried because some of us still don't trust each other. Only Bria, Robry, Nere, and I speak to Dai. Thom hasn't caused any trouble with Penn, but he hardly speaks to him, and Ree ignores Penn completely. Any order Nere gives Penn he is quick to follow. Every time Nere speaks to Tobin she gets resentful looks from Lena and it's amusing and annoying at the same time. Late into the eight day after Kyel's death we run into a new danger.

:Stop, everyone! Sokya says there is a big jellyfish swarm ahead of us.: Nere orders us. With fisherman fishing tuna, swordfish, and sharks, and netting sea turtles to near extinction, jellyfish populations have exploded. Even though our sea suits will give us protection from their stings, if we're in a dense swarm they could sting us on our hands and faces, and make us really sick. Also it doesn't help that we've been fighting a strong current that's carrying the jellyfish straight towards us. :We either have to head west, out to sea, or farther east, toward land, to avoid the swarm.:

:We're near the edge of the continental shelf here.: Dai warns Nere which makes me pale.

:I know, but every time we head closer to shore we encounter more boat traffic.: Nere reply's.

:I really don't want to run into any more Marine Guard ships.: Lena declares.

:Not being chased by divers has been nice for a change.: Kalli adds. Nere looks at Dai and me. We know that predators like squid and the bigger sharks roam the area beyond the continental break, the place where the continental shelf ends. Beyond the break, the ocean floor slopes down to the abyssal plain, the deep, dark bottom of the ocean. But big predators are rare, unlike boats along the coast.

:We should head out to sea. It should be safer than heading inland where there's too many boats.: I tell Nere on a private send.

:We'll head out to sea, and hope we can get around this swarm pretty quickly. If we head west, though, I'm warning you guys, we may be swimming after dark for a while.: Nere decides.

:That's cool.: Ree shrugs and everyone else agrees. I hope we made the right decision. We start to lose the light and when the jellyfish get too close, Nere calls the dolphins to come and give us tows. With their help,we're soon speeding farther out to sea and staying clear of the leading edge of the swarm. After awhile, we started heading north and we were only heading north for a few minutes before the dolphins started to slow their pace and start clicking and sawing frantically.

:What is it, Nova?: I ask her worried as I tighten my grip on my speargun.

:Something big is coming up beneath us. It comes quickly!: She replied. :It is a squid!: I feel my face pale as the word goes through my mind. What our luck to run into a damn squid!

:Dai, everyone, the dolphins say a giant squid is coming up beneath us. Spread out! We want to make it harder for it to grab more than one of us at once.: Nere orders us and we do as told as we stare down into the dark beneath us with our spearguns ready.

:Remember, the dolphins can't help us outrun it, and they will be little help fighting it. Our only chance is to kill it with our spearguns before it can grab us and tear us with its beak.: Dai tells us coolly. Then, a dark, rolling mass shoots up through the water beneath us. I raise my speargun before orange tentacles that are wildly waving around reach out. I felt my heart quicken as the squid grabs Thom and he shouts in pain as a tentacle wraps around his body. The squid is huge. It's head and mantle together are six feet long, it has an eye the size of a dinner plate, and its tentacles seem to stretch on forever.

:Aim for the eyes!: Nere and Dai yell. The squids arms are waving so wildly, there isn't a clear shot we can take. Thom yells and stabs at the squid as it pulls him toward its beak. But then Penn appears beside Thom and fired at point black range at the squid's eye. The water around the squid turns inky, making it harder for us to see. As Penn gets knocked away, Dai swims in close and fired at the wounded monster. I'm confused as I see a small flash and hear a muffled bang. Was that some kind of explosive spear dart? Then the squid shoots away from us, Thom still clenched in its tentacles.