On deck, the crew leaned over the rails, eyes straining. “It’s opening!” someone cried. The coastguard cut engines, letting the sea still in tense anticipation. Fish shimmered around the pod in restless clouds. The giant lingered at the surface, jaws parting wider as though deciding whether to yield its secret.
Nathaniel tumbled forward, light blazing across his mask. He kicked instinctively, propelled out past baleen fringes into a torrent of bubbles and silver fish. For a heartbeat, he hovered in dazzling chaos, then shot upward. Above, a chorus of voices erupted, shouting his name like a prayer suddenly answered.