Water warriors

The small waves were 40 feet above them, but in the clear waters just off Key Largo, Florida, they seemed a lot closer. Once there, Adam and Selina could get that breath each so longed to take after spending numerous minutes under the waves.

They glanced at each other, and then with a nod, their flukes kicked into action, and the duo raced each other toward the surface and fresh air. It was a dead even match until about five feet from the surface, when Selina found that extra gear and pulled just in front of her male counterpart.

She broke the surface of a second before her male companion, and once he appeared, Selina, now in her natural human form, couldn't help but smile a little, knowing she had bested Adam once again.

"Maybe next time we should change ourselves into sea lions," she said. "You might stand a chance, then."

"There's no way a pair of sea lions would have kept those sharks at bay," Adam responded with a serious tone.

"Perhaps Orcas, then," Selina said with a smile.

"Those guys on the boat wouldn't have jumped in if a pair of killer whales were circling it," Adam said.

"You need to loosen up. I'm just kidding."

"Fine," Adam said. "Let's head back to shore."

This time, there was no intent on racing each other. Rather, Adam and Selina each looked forward to a little bit of rest, food and relaxation after what had been a harrowing situation, not so much for them as it was for the women they saved.

Adam and Selina Verne were a married couple in their late 20s, with no children, and for the most part, they appeared to be deeply in love. Together, they crisscrossed the country as highly successful professional photographers, and, when not doing that, the couple would head overseas, often shooting events, natural phenomena and other newsworthy items. Their work often appeared in the world’s most well-known publications.

The two actually made the perfect couple, not only because each was attractive, but also by virtue of their opposite personalities. Selina was the more easygoing, and didn’t sweat “the small stuff,” as she liked to call such matters, or much of anything else. Meanwhile, Adam was dead serious in everything he did, almost to the point that on first glance, he appeared to have no sense of humor. That was far from true, as Selina well knew, and she could bring it out with the proper coaxing.

Indeed, each was the ying to the other’s yang, with Selina getting Adam to loosen up on occasion, and he getting her to focus hard where a sober viewpoint was needed. They each realized this early in their relationship, which made falling in love that much easier. It also didn’t hurt that they shared the same profession.

About a year after they first met, Adam and Selina were on their honeymoon in Mexico. On this particular evening, under a moon-lit sky, they were walking along the sands of Yelapa, a small beach resort near Puerto Vallarta, and were not paying much attention to anything but each other. It was then they each decided to sit down in secluded area, where they would watch and listen to the ocean waves as they hit the shoreline. Perhaps, they would do a little more.

Neither had enough time to react to what hit them. Time seemed to freeze for just a minute, as an unseen power took hold of them, paralyzing them right where they sat. Just as quickly, whatever gripped them was gone, and they were left sitting on the sand wondering what had happened. Neither could think of nor talk about anything else for the rest of the evening, even once back inside their hotel room.

“We now have the ability to mutate at will into certain sea creatures,” Selina said. “I can’t get that out of my head.”

“Only in times of need, specifically when others need our help,” Adam responded. “That’s what the voice told us.”

“The whole idea is crazy, isn’t it?”

“Logically, yes, but each of us heard the same voice and instructions, it appears. Maybe we ate something at dinner that messed with our minds.”

“Normally, I’d tell you to have a more open mind about such things,” Selina said. “However, this time I’m going to agree with you.”

After a good night’s rest, Adam and Selina went for a swim in the crystal waters just offshore. It wasn’t long before each heard a cry of desperation coming just beyond them. Each looked and saw a young boy struggling in the water. They couldn’t tell precisely what was wrong, but it appeared his legs were cramping, and he was struggling to stay afloat.

“Do you think we can reach him?” Selina asked.

“We have to try,” Adam responded.

“How I wish we could turn into dolphins and get there sooner.”

“So do I.”

The duo initiated their rescue attempt by swimming in the direction of the boy’s call for help. In a matter of seconds, where once existed two athletic humans were now a pair of 7-foot cetaceans barreling toward someone in need of assistance. The duo arrived as the boy was beginning to sink under the waves, and each moved toward him, pushing the unconscious lad back toward surface. Upon doing so, the two then locked their dorsal finals each of his arms and pushed the lad toward shore.

Their actions caught the attention of other beachgoers, who viewed in astonishment as both creatures towed the child toward shallow water, depositing him as close to the beach as possible. It was there that several beachgoers grabbed the boy and brought him to shore. After dropping the child off, the duo raced back out to sea, and then surfaced about 500 feet from shore, this time in their human forms.

“What just happened?” Selina asked.

“It appears what happened last night was not the result of something we ate,” Adam responded.

Stories of the two dolphins’ heroic actions began circulating around, with stories appearing in local newspapers, and eventually being published globally via the wire services. The one big mystery was that no one ever saw the dolphins again after they deposited the boy near the shore. Over the next couple of years, there would be stories of other dolphins, along with Orcas and sea lions, engaged in saving humans from precarious situations, and today in the Florida Keys the story would be no different.

Since that evening in Mexico, Adam and Selina honed their transformation capabilities to the point where, once they were immersed in water, they could morph into the desired creature instantly. Also, they had developed an acute sense of when their services were needed. All those traits came together early this day as they found a nice, private spot by their hotel near the waters of Key Largo.

They watched as a dive boat headed out to the area where the Christ of the Abyss statue lay, and soon it became apparent, even from they were sitting, that is what the divers were going to explore. Neither Adam nor Selina sensed any danger as the divers hit the water, but several minutes later, when a number of the divers reappeared near the boat, and were anxious to board the craft, the duo understood something was amiss.

Adam and Selina stood up, walked toward the water, dove in, and seconds later each had taken dolphin form. Before long, they were about 20-30 feet beneath the boat, and it wasn’t long before each saw the danger; a massive bull shark bent on attacking the divers. However, there was one diver, a woman, who appeared bent on battling the fierce creature, even if it meant losing her life. Her intent appeared to be making sure the others were safe by baiting the shark towards her.

The diver’s action worked as the shark came for her, only to have the woman duck at the last second and then slice the creature’s underbelly with her dive knife. The wounded creature swam away in a trail of blood, while the diver, worn out by her battle, attempted to swim back to the boat. Adam and Selina understood two things: the diver needed help fast, and they needed to act because other sharks might be in the area. Blood in the water would send them into a frenzy.

The duo took off, came up from behind the diver, and attached their dorsal fins to her hands and with all their strength dragged her up to the craft’s stern. Once there, they released her and began circling the craft, keeping an eye out for other sharks. A pair of people jumped from the boat, and assisted the exhausted diver aboard. Once Adam and Selina saw that the woman was safe, they ceased their circling and sped back to the spot from whence they came.

A short time later, Adam and Selina, back in human form, dried themselves off once back up on the beach

“By the way, you were right,” Selina said.

“About what?” Adam asked.

“About transforming into sea lions or Orcas. Neither one would have worked in that situation, for a variety of reasons.”

“Glad you see it my way,” Adam said, while cracking a slight smile.

“Oh, Mr. Serious decides to have a little fun with me,” Selina said.

“There is something that bothers me about that whole situation,” Adam said.

“What is it?”

“That shark, from what I could tell, looked like it was deliberately going after that group of divers, as though it knew what it was doing. Then, when that woman tried to divert it, the shark went right at her, as though she was its intended target all the time.”

“True, and from what I’ve seen and read, sharks aren’t that deliberate in their choice of a meal, and their eyesight isn’t that good,” Selina said. “That bull shark seemed to know it was pursuing a particular person. From what we witnessed down there; it made the wrong choice.”

“It sure did,” Adam said. “She was no recreational diver. That woman was trained to handle herself underwater. Also, her reactions were not that of a frightened individual. She baited that shark, and didn’t panic when it attacked.”

“What are you getting at?” Selina asked.

“Just that there may be others in this world who’ve been endowed with certain abilities, just not the same one we were given.”

“What were her abilities?”

“I’m not sure, but there is more to her than what we saw.”

“So, how do we find out?” Selina asked.

“Where did all this begin?”

“On a small beach in Mexico.”

“And it’s there where we’ll find some answers.”

The two finished drying themselves, and then stared out towards the water, where the dive boat was heading back to shore. Once it was out of sight, Adam and Selina picked up their belongings and made there way back to the hotel.