Chapter 10

GRAY AND BARKLEY LEFT IMMEDIATELY FOR THE reef and didn't

speak, conserving their energy on the long trip. After two nonstop days

swimming with no food or rest, they finally reached the Coral Shiver

homewaters. Gray saw that the greenie path into the reef was intact.

But it was quiet. Very quiet.

There was usually noise by the reef. Keen shark senses picked up the

sounds and disturbances caused by dwellers and other sharkkind talking or

swimming. When you weren't hunting, you'd ignore these as background

noise. Now all Gray felt, all he heard, was the gentle tide swishing the

greenie back and forth. There were no snatches of conversation, or

shouting, or tail strokes from any ocean dweller. It set him on edge. Gray's

heart was pounding so hard, it felt as if it would hammer its way out of his

body.

"Follow me," he whispered.

The entire reef was still and silent. When he got closer, he noticed there

were a few tiny, darting fish about, but not many. The larger dwellers had

been scared away. Or eaten. He could smell the faint scent of blood

everywhere. The beautiful corals and greenie were gouged and torn, as if hit

by a mighty undersea storm. A few urchins and anemones were there, but

faded their colors into muted browns and grays, the better to hide

themselves. For a moment neither Gray nor Barkley said anything, hushed

by the devastation around them. Gray had expected the worst, but it still

didn't prepare him for this. The reef was totally destroyed.

"Do you think everyone…" Barkley left the question hanging in the

water.

"Mom! Mom!" yelled Gray, startling the dogfish. No one answered,

though.

"All of them?" Barkley asked himself in a dazed voice. "How can…

how?

"NO!" Gray sped around the entire reef but it was the same everywhere.

Desolation and stillness. Gray and Barkley cried by the edge of the reef,

where they had gone after the drove of bluefin. It was quite some time

before either could speak.

"This is my fault," Gray told Barkley.

"Gray—"

He cut his friend off. "If I had listened to you none of this would have

happened! If I had listened to Mom! If I—"

Barkley gave him a sudden stinging tail slap to the flank. "You didn't do

this! You. Did. Not."

This didn't make Gray feel any better. He knew deep inside that this

was his burden to carry. I'm sorry, Mom, he thought silently as the slow tide

carried his tears away.

"Gray? Barkley?" asked a small voice. They looked to where a few sad

strands of greenie were still in place. There! Something moved. Gray and

Barkley tensed, scared and alert.

Out poked Yappy's head. "Is it really you?"

Barkley exhaled loudly. "Yappy! You nearly scared us to death!"

Gray quickly swam up to Yappy and asked loudly, "Who did this? Have

you seen my mother? Where is everyone?"

The little sea dragon zipped back into the greenie. "Stop yelling at me!"

he squeaked.

Barkley nipped at Gray's tail, almost getting bitten as a result. The

dogfish couldn't believe it and yelled, "What's wrong with you? Yappy's

our friend." Gray saw the look in Barkley's eyes and was ashamed.

Yappy poked his head out of the greenie again. "Really, Barkley? I

always thought you didn't like me!"

"No, Yappy. Sometimes I get annoyed and take stuff out on you. Sorry,"

said the dogfish. "Do you know where our families are and what

happened?"

"I don't know where your cousins are, Barkley. They were on the other

side of the reef, so I didn't see. The shiver, they tried to fight. They tried.

But there were so many. So many."

"My mom?" asked Gray fearfully.

"I'm not sure." The little sea dragon choked back a sob. "I ran and hid!

I'm a coward!"

"You're not a coward!" Barkley told him. "The shiver—were they

taken?"

"No! They got away!" Yappy told them. Gray's heart leapt as Yappy

continued. "Atlas was shouting, 'Go! Go! We'll meet at the Tuna Run!'"

The sea dragon brightened a little. "You shoulda seen Atlas! He wanted

everyone to leave, but Overbiter stayed with him, flank to flank! They held

them off as Quickeyes and Onyx led everyone away! Sent at least three of

them to the Sparkle Blue! But then…" Sadness returned to Yappy's eyes.

Gray couldn't speak, so Barkley prodded in a low voice, "Then?"

"They both were eaten."

Gray felt a hotness growing inside him. A reddish haze descended over

his eyes as he thought of someone eating sharks from his shiver family.

"Who did that?" Gray asked in a deathly quiet voice.

The little sea dragon's eyes grew misty. "They came at high moon when

everybody was resting. But not me. I saw them. I saw…"

"Yappy! Saw who?" Gray asked his voice rising, Barkley gave him a

look when the sea dragon cringed.

"Saw who?" the dogfish asked in a soothing tone.

The sea dragon answered in a shaky whisper, "Bull sharks. They were

bulls."

Barkley was struck dumb with a look of disbelief. Gray swam over, but

not too fast or close this time. He kept his voice low so he wouldn't scare

the sea dragon off. "Yappy, this is no time for stories. Who really did this?"

"STORIES?" he yelled into Gray's face. "Look around, you big

lumpfish! Two of my sisters were eaten!" Gray actually backed away from

the tiny sea dragon's rage and grief. Yappy got hold of himself. "I'm sorry I

yelled. But they were definitely bull sharks. The one who ate Paxson had a

weird scar on his snout. Looked like a clam shell."

Paxson was the sea dragon's oldest sister. She had always made fun of

her brother for talking with Gray and Barkley. Now she was gone.

"Do you want to come with us?" Barkley asked. "We have another

place."

The sea dragon shook his head. "My family's leaving. We have cousins

in the Dark Blue. We'll stay with them for a while." Yappy's eyes grew hard

for a moment. "When we find those bulls, we'll get them. You'll see." The

diminutive sea dragon flicked his flippers in a wave good-bye and left. "See

you around. Maybe."

Barkley shook his head. "Yappy and his giant cousins getting revenge

on a shiver of bulls. If it wasn't today that would be funny."

"But it is today," said Gray. "And it's a good idea. We'll find who did

this and somehow, someway—"

Barkley flicked a fin at Gray. "Whoa, whoa," he said. "Didn't you hear

the good news? Yappy didn't see our families get taken or eaten. He said

the shiver escaped! We'll go to the Tuna Run and find them." Gray was

about to ask if Barkley really believed that everyone was still alive and

there would be a big, happy reunion at the Tuna Run. His friend saw the

question in his eyes and answered before Gray could say anything. "I have

to believe that," he said. "We both do."

Barkley was right. No matter what, their families would be at the Tuna Run.

They would find them. Or swim the Sparkle Blue trying.