Part 1 · Chapter 7An Unknown Species of Whale

An Unknown Species of Whale. That crazy fall totally knocked me out, so I barely remember what I was thinking at the time.

I got pulled down about twenty feet. I’m a decent swimmer (not like Byron or Edgar Poe, who were pros), and I didn’t freak out during the drop. A couple strong strokes brought me back up to the surface.

My first thought was, "Where's the frigate?" Did the crew even see me go under? Did the Abraham Lincoln change direction? Would the captain send out a boat? Could I actually be saved?

It was pitch black. I caught a glimpse of a huge black thing disappearing to the east, its lights fading in the distance. It was the frigate! I was done for.

"Help, help!" I yelled, swimming towards the Abraham Lincoln, desperate.

My clothes were weighing me down; they felt glued to my body and were totally paralyzing my movements.

I was sinking! I was suffocating! "Help!"

That was my last shout. My mouth filled with water, and I struggled against being dragged down into the deep. Then, suddenly, a strong hand grabbed my clothes, and I felt myself pulled quickly up to the surface of the sea.

I heard a voice in my ear -

"If master would be so kind as to lean on my shoulder, master would swim a lot easier."

I grabbed Conseil’s arm with one hand.

"Is that you?" I asked, "You?"

"Yep," answered Conseil, "and waiting for your orders."

"Did that shock throw you into the sea too?"

"Nah," he said, "but I'm in master’s service, so I followed him."

The guy thought that was the most natural thing in the world. "And the frigate?" I asked.

"The frigate?" replied Conseil, rolling onto his back; "I don’t think you should count on her too much, though." "You think so?"

"I’m saying that when I jumped in the sea, I heard the guys at the wheel say, ‘The screw and the rudder are broken.’" "Broken?"

"Yeah, broken by the monster’s teeth. It's the only damage the Abraham Lincoln has, but it’s a bad situation for us - she’s not responding to the helm anymore." "Then we’re lost!"

"Maybe," calmly answered Conseil.

"But we’re still got a few hours, and you can do a lot in that time."

Conseil’s chill attitude totally calmed me down. I swam harder, but my clothes were like a lead weight, and I was struggling to stay afloat. Conseil noticed.

"Should I make a slit?" he asked.

He slipped a knife under my clothes and ripped them up really fast. Then he peeled them off me while I swam for both of us.

I did the same for Conseil, and we kept swimming close together.

Still, our situation was super scary. Maybe nobody even noticed we were gone, and if they did, the frigate couldn't change direction without a helm. Conseil figured that was the case and started making plans.

The kid was totally cool under pressure.

We decided that our only hope was to be picked up by the Abraham Lincoln’s boats, so we needed to wait for them as long as possible. I decided to save our energy, so we wouldn't both be exhausted at the same time.

We did this: while one of us lay on our back, totally still, with arms crossed and legs stretched out, the other would swim and push the other forward.

That towing thing didn't last more than ten minutes each, but switching off like that, we could swim for hours, maybe until sunrise.

Pretty slim chance, but hope is hard to shake from a person's heart! Plus, there were two of us. Honestly, I swear (even though it sounds crazy) if I tried to ditch all hope - if I wanted to despair - I couldn't.

The frigate crashing into that whale happened around eleven the night before. I figured we’d have about eight hours to swim before sunrise - totally doable if we took turns. The sea was super calm, which was in our favor.

Sometimes I’d try to see through the crazy dark, only brightened by the glow from our movements. I watched the glowing waves splash over my hand; it looked like a mirror covered in silver rings.

It was like we were swimming in liquid mercury.

Around one in the morning, I was totally wiped out. My legs cramped up something fierce. Conseil had to hold me up, and our survival basically depended on him. I could hear the poor kid struggling; he was breathing short and fast.

I knew he couldn’t keep it up much longer.

"Leave me! Just go! "I told him.

"Leave my master? Never!" he replied. " I’d drown first."

Then, the moon popped out from behind a thick cloud the wind was pushing east. The sea shimmered with its light. That light gave us a boost. My head felt a little better. I scanned the horizon. I saw the frigate!

It was about five miles away, looking like a dark blob, barely visible. But no boats!

I almost yelled out, but what good would it do from that distance? My swollen lips couldn’t make a sound. Conseil could manage a few words, and I heard him shouting "Help! Help! "over and over.

We stopped moving for a second, just listening. It might’ve just been ringing in my ears, but I could have sworn I heard a cry answer Conseil’s.

"Did you hear that?" I mumbled. "Yeah! Yeah!"

And Conseil gave one last desperate shout.

This time, no mistake! A human voice answered us! Was it another unlucky person, lost in the middle of the ocean, another victim of the ship’s crash? Or was it a boat from the frigate, trying to find us in the darkness?

Conseil made one last effort, leaning on my shoulder while I desperately tried to swim. He lifted himself halfway out of the water, then collapsed, exhausted. "What did you see?"

"I saw" - he murmured; "I saw - but don’t talk - save your strength!"

What had he seen? Then, I don’t know why, the monster popped into my head for the first time! But that voice! The days of Jonah hiding in whales are long gone. Still, Conseil was towing me again.

He’s head would pop up sometimes, looking ahead, and he’s shout of recognition was answered by a voice that got closer and closer. I could barely hear it.

I was totally drained; my fingers were stiff; my hand wouldn’t support me anymore; my mouth opened up, filling with saltwater.

I felt freezing cold. I lifted my head one last time, then I went under.

Just then, something hard bumped into me. I grabbed onto it, then I felt myself being pulled up, brought back to the surface, and my chest collapsed - I passed out.

I definitely woke up soon after, thanks to the vigorous rubbing I got. I cracked my eyes open. "Conseil!" I mumbled.

"Does master call me?" asked Conseil.

Then, by the fading moonlight sinking towards the horizon, I saw a face that wasn’t Conseil’s - a face I immediately recognized. "Ned!" I cried.

"The same, sir, who’s hunting his prize!" replied the Canadian.

"Were you thrown into the sea by the ship’s crash?"

"Yeah, Professor; but I was luckier than you - I managed to find a footing on a floating island almost right away." "An island?"

"Or, more accurately speaking, on our gigantic narwhal." "Explain yourself, Ned!"

"I soon realized why my harpoon didn’t go in and was blunted." "Why, Ned, why?"

"Because, Professor, that thing is made of sheet metal."

The Canadian’s last words hit me like a jolt. I scrambled up to the top of the thing - or object - half out of the water, which was our shelter. I kicked it.

It was definitely hard and impenetrable, not the soft stuff that makes up big sea creatures.

But this hard shell could be like an ancient animal’s armor; I could even classify this monster as a reptile, like a giant turtle or alligator.

But wait! The dark back I was standing on was smooth, polished, no scales. The kick made a metallic clang; and it’s crazy, but it sounded like it was made of metal plates bolted together.

No question about it! This monster, this weird thing that had baffled scientists and confused sailors all over the world, was even more astonishing than we thought - it was a human-made machine.

We didn't have time to think about it, though. We were on the back of a kind of submarine, which looked (as far as I could tell) like a huge steel fish. Ned Land was convinced. Conseil and I had to agree.

Just then, bubbles started coming from the back of this strange thing (which was obviously powered by a propeller), and it started to move.

We barely had time to grab onto the top part, which was about seven feet above the water, and luckily, it wasn't going that fast.

"As long as it’s moving sideways," Ned Land muttered, "I’m okay; but if it decides to dive, I wouldn’t give two cents for my life."

Ned Land could have said even less. We really needed to talk to whoever was inside the machine. I looked everywhere for an opening, a panel, or even a hatch, just to be technical.

But the rows of metal rivets, hammered tightly into the seams of the metal plates, were perfect and uniform.

Plus, the moon disappeared, and we were plunged into total darkness.

Finally, that long night ended. My memory’s fuzzy, so I can’t describe everything I felt. I just remember hearing strange sounds a few times - a kind of faint music, like someone giving orders.

What was the mystery of this submarine, which everyone in the world was trying to figure out?

What kind of people were living on this crazy boat? What made it so fast?

Daybreak arrived. Morning fog surrounded us, but it soon cleared. I was about to check out the hull, which formed a kind of flat deck, when I felt it slowly sinking.

"Ugh, seriously?!" Ned Land yelled, kicking the echoing plate.

"Open up, you stubborn jerks!"

Luckily, the sinking stopped. Suddenly, a grinding noise, like metal being ripped apart, came from inside. A metal plate slid open, a guy popped out, let out a weird cry, and disappeared.

A few moments later, eight strong guys with masks showed up silently and pulled us down into their awesome machine.