The Tragedy at Down Under

Gino O’Thorian, his little sister Sally O’Thorian, his two friends Melton and Rumi Hopkins, and their little brother Peter “Pete” Hopkins, all decided to leave the overground containment bubble called the “Down Under” during the underground evacuation process. They wanted to go whale watching, which was strictly forbidden!

So, Gino and Melton formulated a plan. The Down Under sat atop a hill overlooking the ocean. The “Overhang” was to the southeast, a collection of massive trees taller than any redwoods. The Overhang itself was split in two by the wide, fast moving Stelles river. This prevented anyone from reaching the outlet further beyond: Mobi’s Cliffs, a sheer drop-off straight into the ocean. But, right before the rains, the Stelles shrank up into a pithy line of water running through a deep, muddy creek. That was their time to strike.

Sneaking out of the bubble was surprisingly easy. Most had long since filtered underground, the only people still present aboveground were watchmen posted at the underground hatch and door technicians still unsure of exactly what post was theirs. So, the group of five slipped out the concealment door unnoticed.

They reached the edge of the Overhang. It was an imposing arboreal wall reaching hundreds of feet above them. Gino went to take a step inside, but Rumi grabbed his shoulder.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Her eyes drifted up towards the sky. The oppressive, ominous grey hung overhead.

Gino glanced upwards and smiled, “We’ll be fine. Straight there, straight back.”

The trees stood clustered together weaving and winding one-way paths in every direction. The thick treetops stopped most light from hitting the ground, so they held hands in a line to ensure no one got lost on the journey. Though the trek was eerily quiet. No avians whipping through the trees, nothing scurried out of sight at their advance, and no insects buzzed in their ears or nipped at their skin. Nothing, but the jumbled sound of footsteps pressing against the earthy forest floor.

“Ya know, these are some of the tallest trees in the world?” Melton made a dramatic gesture towards the fauna overhead.

Sally and Pete marveled, both looking skyward in awe.

“They’re some of the only trees in the world.” Rumi added.

Melton cranked his neck backwards to look at her in the dim forest light, “Must you ruin all my points?”

“Must you walk so slowly?” She gave him a shove, “I actually want to get back alive. Chop, chop.”

Soon, the path opened, and they found themselves facing the Stelles river. It was a meager trail of water trickling through the center of the creek. Each member slid down the embankment and hopped over the line with ease. All, except for Peter.

“What if the water comes back?” Peter yelled from the other side of the Stelles.

“Then keep watch and let us know!” Melton yelled back.

“As if!” Pete, finding a new source of courage, hopped over the miniature creek and raced to reunite with the group.

They continued walking, the density of the trees becoming lighter the deeper they got. Until they reached a field of flowers.

Gino pointed a slender finger toward the opposite end of the field. “Should be there. We almost made it!” He casually stepped into the field. The others hung back. He turns around and cocks his head, “Uh, what’s going on?”

All eyes were on the flowers. Most were opened, their star-shaped petals, a bright scarlet or indigo, each containing a handful of pistils that stood taller than any person. But a few were closed. These petals were wrapped up tightly forming a fat, round plant mass sitting atop the skinny green stalk of a stem.

Gino walked over to one of the flowers. It’s been a while since I’ve been this close. He ran his hand across the smooth stem. There’s some give to it, like pressing on a plastic jug filled with water. “They aren’t dangerous. Just…weird looking.”

“What are those?” Sally said, taking some tentative steps towards Gino.

“Pimpernels,” Rumi chimed in, “They’re used to forecast storms. When they close, a storm’s coming.”

“They’re closed now!” Pete shouts.

“Because the rains, ya genius!” Melton says.

“They just tell us when a storm is coming, Pete. Not when it’s here.” Rumi said. She started twirling her hair.

Gino clocked it immediately. She’s nervous. Let’s speed things up then. He reached down and scooped up Sally. “Let’s hurry then!” He took off across the field. Rumi followed, with Melton not far behind his arms holding a struggling Peter. Gino and Sally broke the tree line first.

It was noticeably darker now. During their short time in the woods, the clouds had evolved from grey to a foreboding, malignant black. Sally yelped and buried her face into Gino’s shoulder. Rumi, Melton, and Pete exited the trees and the entire group rushed over to get their glimpse.

There, 50 feet down from the cliff’s edge, the whale pod circled. Their anglers looked like fireflies swirling and blinking around in a black canvas. Gino’s eyes glowed with delight. From where he was, he could count the numerous blowholes covering each white whale’s ballooning mass. An echo invaded his ears, a booming guttural noise from below. Then another in response.

“That’s how they talk!” Rumi said. Her lips curl up, “I heard they even have different accents!”

“I heard they can mimic any sound they hear. Perfect copy.” Melton said.

Rumi waved away the notion. “That’s just folklore. Only little kids believe that stuff.”

But her words fell on deaf ears. Sally and Pete started concocting their own whale symphony.

“Arrrr ruuuu aahhh ruuuu,” Sally yelled.

“Reeeaaaaa reeeeee ahhhh,” Pete yelled.

“Guys, you gotta stop,” Gino said between suppressed laughter. He peered over the cliff edge. The whales had stopped moving. In fact, the entire group oriented towards the cliff edge where the five kids were. Their anglers blinked wildly.

Melton peered over as well, “Looks like they spotted us.” He turned towards the children, “You guys probably said something offensive and didn’t even know it. Probably called their momma’s a bunch of whales!” He shakes his head feigning disappointment, “I’ll apologize for you all. Areeee aaaaareeeee!” His impression sent the group into a fit of giggles. Even Rumi couldn’t stop herself from letting out a laugh. Then, a sound. Clear as day, crisp and sharp, they heard what sounded like Melton’s voice; intonation, pitch, it was all perfect. The laughter ceased and the group stared warily at the bestial whales below.

“Guess it wasn’t just lore after all,” Rumi said forcing a chuckle.

“Creepy,” Gino said as he backed away from the cliff’s edge. Sally joined him, clutching to his leg. She pointed towards the darkening clouds overhead. “In a minute,” Gino responds.

“I wanna go home now,” Pete says, the tears starting to well up in his eyes.

Melton gave a dismissive wave, “Soon, soon. I wanna hear it one more time.”

Pete looked over to Rumi to be the voice of reason. She obliged.

“Absolutely not! These things are smart. Scary smart. We shouldn’t mess with them too much.”

Melton cupped the sides of his mouth, “HARPOON!”

Rumi yanked him by the back of his shirt, “What the hell are you doing?”

He shrugged, “I wanted to see if they could do words.”

“So, you started with harpoon?”

“I was gonna go with ship or water, but they seemed too easy.”

Rumi groaned.

“Harpoon!” came from below. Rumi and Melton look down. The word came again in a flurry. The entire pod sang, all sounding exactly like Melton.

“It’s like I have my own crew,” Melton said standing. “Okay, we can go.”

But Rumi didn’t respond. Her eyes were fixed on the pod below.

Melton waved his hand in front of her, “Hey, Rumira. You there?”

She pointed down towards the beasts. “They’re closer,” she whispered.

“What are you talking about?” Melton glanced down at the water and then back at Rumi. “You’re seeing things.”

“I am not! Gino, come look at this.”

Gino walked over and peered over the edge. What he saw causes him to stumble backwards almost knocking Sally over. They were closer. The water, in the short time they were here, had risen. Before what was swimming lights circling around in a vast blue plane, now came into plain view. The anglers were bright white and bulbous, with thick veins running down the stalk. The blowholes were wind orifices, closing occasionally only to burst open with a cacophony of bellowing noise. But their eyes caused Gino the most grief. They were a deep, charcoal black colored only by a thin cyan iris in the middle. Gino blinked at the whale. The whale blinked back.

Gino swallowed hard, “Let’s head back.”

They all turned around, letting the greenery envelope them once more. Then they heard a sound, familiar yet horrifying. The alarm. It blared through the woods reverberating off the trees as it rushed through the forest. It was their last call to get back inside. So, they ran. Through the pimpernel fields, each plant lay snapped shut, an omen for the torrent to come. They rushed across the field to a terrifying revelation. The Stelles had regained its vitality, running as a full and violent river. The water whipped down the stream carrying large rocks and pieces of the embankment along with it.

Gino’s eyes dart around. Is this the same place we crossed?

“There!” Rumi pointed to an elevated hill on their side of the embankment. “We can jump from there.”

“Jump? Are you crazy? We land in the water we’re dead!” Melton screamed.

“If we stand here, we’re dead!” She yelled back.

Pete and Sally burst into tears.

“We’re gonna die!” Pete wailed. He dropped to the ground rocking and hugging his knees to his chest.

Melton yanked him up by his collar. “Damn it, get up! We are not going to die!”

Something small clamped onto Gino’s leg. He looked down to see Sally’s face pressed against him. “Are we going to die?” She asked, her voice small and fragile.

He wanted to answer. He wanted to say no. But something small hit his nose causing his voice to get caught in his throat. It was wet. He reached his hand up and wiped it away. Surely not. Surely, I’m sweating. Profusely.

But he wasn’t. Another drop, then another. Then, the sky broke open. Held back only by the Overhang’s densely packed foliage, streams of water rolled over the canopy sliding down to the floor like poured buckets.

The group didn’t think. They just moved. They collected on the small hill overseeing the Stelles. The water zipped below them like a hungry liquid serpent waiting to swallow them. Gino picked up Sally and Melton did the same with Pete.

“Ready!” Rumi yelled, her voice barely audible above the cascade of wet around them. “GO!”

They each raced to the end of the hill. Then, with all the force in their bodies, they took off leaving the earth far below them.

Time didn’t exist in the air. Gino didn’t perceive himself soaring in the air, Rumi screaming her head off to his left, or Melton and Pete matching her intensity on the right. He didn’t notice Sally’s cries right next to his head. Nothing seemed to matter, except landing on the other side.

When he did, it was with an audible pop. His ankle gave out as he contacted the ground, tumbling into a roll, and only stopping once his back smacked into a tree. Sally, still clutched in his arms, held her right hand limply. She babbled something nonsensical through the tears and rain sliding down her face.

“Gino!” Rumi screamed.

Gino looked up to see Melton struggling in the riverbank, his right arm grasped to a rock near the water’s edge. His left hand was behind him, struggling to bring something heavy from under the water. Gino guessed it was Pete.

Gino went to stand, but his ankle held no weight, and he collapsed immediately. Rumi looked back and forth between Melton and where Pete should’ve been. She’s overcome with tears.

Gino thought. She knows there’s only one way out of this.

“Let him go!” Gino yelled.

“What?” Melton yelled back.

“Let! Go!” Rumi screamed.

“Are you insane? I gotta get Pete home safe!”

“Pete’s dead!”

“No, he ain’t! Don’t you talk like that!” Melton’s voice grew high pitched and wild. “Once we’re all back inside, he’ll be fine! You just gotta come get us!”

Nothing Melton said made sense. Pete was clearly gone; he hadn’t reemerged from the water since they’d gone in. Also, getting them was out of the question. The rock Melton gripped was wide enough for him to stand on. He could jump the rest of the distance to shore. He simply needed to pull himself up.

“We can’t come get you, Melt!” Gino screamed, “You gotta climb up!”

“I’m not going without, Pete. He…he…” Melton turned back, for the first time. His arm bent downward, far too exhausted to resist the current. He squeezed. “This…is my fault, ain’t it?”

Gino managed to stand, baring all his weight on the good ankle. He hoisted Sally up and limped over to Rumi. “We gotta go.” The rain didn’t ease. It seemed like there was no end to the increasing intensity, the streams turned into their own waterfalls sending a barrage of water down to the ground leaving a small line of water across the forest floor.

Rumi bit her lip so hard it bleeds. “I-I can’t. I can’t leave them.”

But it wasn’t Rumi’s decision to make. They were at the mercy of the storm. A rumbling shook the ground. A booming sound raced towards them. Then, they saw it. A line of water, shin height, wider than the entire forest, rushed towards them.

Gino grabbed Rumi’s wrist. “Now!”

Her eyes darted to Melton one last time and she shut them hard. Gino, Sally, and Rumi ran off, into the winding expanse of the Overhang. Behind them, they heard Melton scream. “I’m sorry, Pete! I’m so sorry!” Then the wave crashed into them. Soaking their socks and filling their shoes with a soaked chill.

Luckily enough, the winding arbor provided some protection from slipping along with the current. As they walked the siren grew louder, almost melodic. They barely made it ten feet when another siren blared from their right.

What? Gino thought. Two? Why two?

He stopped in his tracks looking left and right. Were they going the right way? It’s too damn dark, and everything looks the same.

He dragged his limp foot down the right path. Rumi stopped him.

“Wrong way.” She jerked her thumb down the left path, “Don’t waste time.”

Gino hesitated.

“Are you kidding me right now, G? I know what I’m talking about!”

Sally started bawling and Gino stroked her head. “How do you know?”

The rain intensified, plummeting from the sky. The wind moved like an angry spirit howling against the trees and sending up rain from below. Gino could barely see Rumi. The wind blocked out her voice and the rain stabbed his eyes. Gino couldn’t afford to ponder anymore, only act. He turned and ran down the right path, leaving Rumi at the intersection. His ankle burned underneath him, each step reigniting the pain. He ignored it, all he was concerned about was Sally. He could barely make out her form in his arms. If she weren’t clutching so tightly to him, he wouldn’t know she was there. Up ahead, he saw it. A break in the tree line. He’s almost there! Just up the hill and home!

There, outside of the trees, Gino and Sally met face-to-face with a massive shadowy figure. The water, which was only 50 feet down mere minutes ago, had surged bringing the beast eye level with Gino and Sally.

Black, thick rain clouds sprinted across the sky illuminating the night with streaks of lightning. When lightning struck, Gino saw it, a wave grander than anything he’d ever seen before. It was maybe a mile out and growing with every passing second.

The beast let out a groan from its blowholes. Its angler flickered on revealing its form. A whale, its hungry maw spread open as if expecting Gino and Sally to walk right in. The inside was a fleshy pink with red scarring from the endless jagged rows of teeth. Its blackened tongue smacked excitedly against the roof and floor of its mouth. Hot, steamy breath seeped from deeper within. Sally screamed. Gino turned to run, but his ankle betrayed him. He tried to bear too much weight at once and it gave out, sending him careening towards the flooded forest floor. Slowly, they slid towards the hungry whale.

Lightning cracks in the air. The wave marches closer. Gino and Sally kick and scream, trying to find any footing beneath them. The whale, maybe tired or frustrated, decided enough playing with his food. It beaches itself, hopping out of the water and onto what used to be the land. The thin stream on the ground is still far too small for the whale. Still, it hops along, its massive body thudding and sending up shockwaves of water.

What is it doing? It’s killing itself.

Gino looked past the abomination; the wave was much closer its impact imminent. Does it know? It knows the wave is gonna save it? Matter fact, it even knew to mimic our sirens.

Rumi’s words echo in his mind: Scary smart. We shouldn’t mess with them too much.

Gino looked into the cyan ring one last time and he swore, the whale smiled. With one last push, the whale leaped over head, casting a growing shadow over Sally and Gino.