Spotters yelled directions, pointing where a tail broke surface or a spout hissed white spray. “Starboard! Two hundred meters!” The chase turned frantic, men against titans. Nets were readied, lines coiled, and fish dumped by the crate. Still, the whales neither scattered nor attacked. They simply maintained their formation.
Nathaniel felt each shift of muscle around him, the whale’s movements deliberate and measured. The walls pressed tighter whenever turbulence surged outside, then loosened again as currents steadied. He realized with wonder that the whale was adjusting to shield him from jolts, treating him less like prey than something fragile.