By Rachel Lynn Knapp
I rap my knuckles on the bucket of fish to get Delphine’s attention. My muscles tense as I scan the rippling surface.
She pops up next to me, sending a wave sloshing onto the slick surface beside the pool. Delphine’s grin reveals double rows of sharp teeth. She chitters. “G’day, Charlie.”
My insides quiver at what I must do. “Del, I need to get you out of the water. Now.”
Beneath limp strands of silver hair, her brows furrow. She sinks below the surface to her pointed chin. “Charlie. I can’t leave.”
“Blimey, Delphine. Listen.” I hold up a wriggling smelt to ensure I have her attention. “Someone is coming to collect you. Today.”
That someone is the part-owner of Oceana Land, an Australian theme park catering to tourists wanting to encounter creatures unique to our waters. Any minute, Kirstin Murphy could march into this lab with a crew in her wake—a month earlier than planned. Dread assaults me as I listen for the clack-clack of her black pumps on the metal ramps leading down to our hidden research lab.
Peering into Delphine’s pure blue eyes, my stomach tenses. I can’t let her become Oceana Land’s main attraction—she deserves a brighter future than that. Hands trembling at the risk I’m taking, I grasp Delphine’s slender wrists. With a hard tug, I try pulling her slippery form out of the pool.
Delphine yanks me down, headfirst into the tank.
Splashing to the surface, my sinuses burn from the salt and my eyeglasses are gone. Delphine squirts me from the crevice between her shoulder blades, right before her glossy face appears several meters away.
“Stop it, Charlie. If I dry out, I could die.” Her sharp, squeaking voice is almost unintelligible, very different from the human language I was hired to teach her. Advanced degrees in marine biology—earned online while putting in long hours at the park—got me the plum job as Delphine’s speech therapist.
Weighed down by my drenched clothing, I try swimming closer but she backs away with each stroke.
“No worries, Del. I’ll wrap you in a special cooling cloth. That way I can move you to a saltwater pool at a mate’s house, nearby.”
Delphine’s pale eyebrows perk up. “What about the ocean? Can you take me there?”
A shiver snakes along my spine. “Haven’t I told you how dangerous that would be for you?”
Delphine’s lips quiver. I’ve never raised my voice to her before.
“C’mon, Del. We’ve got to hurry. If they move you to Oceana Land, you’ll be nothing but a performing animal.”
What I don’t tell Delphine is that she’d be celebrated across the globe as the first successful human-animal gene splicing experiment, putting the park on the map and making Kirstin Murphy world-famous.
Even cloaked in the damp blanket, Delphine is tricky to keep slung over my shoulder. Her tail flops against me as if it’s operating on a separate circuit from her mind. Hanging onto her is like trying to wrangle a crocodile, though she’s tiny by comparison.
“Charlie. Somebody’s coming.” Delphine’s chirrupy voice sounds small. Compressed.
The echoes of doors slamming far above the windowless lab push adrenaline into my veins. I rush through the side door leading into the night.
My Land Cruiser hugs the curves as we speed along the coast to Meg’s house. She’s not just the geneticist who helped bring Delphine to life; she shares my concern for Delphine’s well-being. Meg even prepared a saltwater pool in her yard for an emergency like this.
Labored breathing and desperate squeaks come from beneath the tarp in the backseat. My heart lurches, imagining how uncomfortable and frightened Delphine must be.
The far-off scream of sirens makes my foot slam on the accelerator. The vehicle leaps forward.
No. I talk to myself. Slow down. Get off the asphalt. Turn onto a dirt road. Squinting, I try to make out the street signs without my glasses… my glasses! Probably still drifting along the bottom of Delphine’s empty pool. I push the thought of incriminating evidence from my mind while veering into a neighborhood close to one of my favorite surfing beaches.
“Charlie.” Delphine’s voice is a whistling sob. “Water.”
“Just a bit farther.”
“No.”
Her insistence makes me catch my breath. I have no choice but get her into the ocean. At least for now. The waters are packed with peril, not a place Delphine can survive. Just one box jellyfish, one blue-ringed octopus, one great white shark would spell death for this beautiful creature. Her sheltered existence hasn’t prepared her for the dangers of the sea.
In the barely-lit car park overlooking the sparkling bay, I gather Delphine from the back of the Landy, and haul her down the rocky steps to the beach. At the water’s edge, I unwrap her covering and gently roll her into the foamy shallows.
She sinks down. I kick off my shoes and wade in, nudging her farther out. Her tail slaps the surface and she vanishes from sight.
“Delphine!” I shout. The charging surf rises to my chest and I kick to stay afloat.
Her heart-shaped face breaks the surface, cobalt irises sparkling. A chorus of chitters and squeaks breaks from her lips, sounding more like laughter than human speech.
“What’s that you’re saying?” I ask.
“This place is amazing.”
Between us and the glittering horizon, several black fins appear. Panic clogs my throat and I splash toward shore. “We need to get back.”
A chorus of squeals and chirps rises in the balmy air.
Delphine’s eyes widen; understanding paints her face. “Goodbye, Dr. Charles. Thank you for everything,” she sings, then disappears beneath the churning waters.
“No…” My shout dissipates on the ocean breeze. “Don’t go.”
When she surfaces, Delphine leaps and dives in a synchronized dance with her companions. Her joyful movements drown my apprehension. Sloshing back toward the barren shore, my heart releases Delphine to the ones who protect their own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This is so quirky and fun! Yay for a bittersweet ending <3.
Belonging is a powerful force. Great story!
Enjoyed how it started off with a urban fantasy feel before it switched to science fiction.
Great story, where we belong as opposed to where we’re safe.
Definitely had my heart racing!
Fun story! Glad he was able to save her even if it wasn’t the way he wanted to
I enjoyed it.
Hi mom!
Every paragraph, my understanding of what was happening changed. This was quite fun.
Great job, Rachel!