Chapter 23

GRAY WAS STUNNED. FOR A MOMENT HE couldn't speak at all.

Velenka, Ripper, and Streak looked on from their favored positions above

him and the other full members of the shiver not in the Line. Goblin wore

an amused expression, hovering highest of all above the Speakers Rock.

"Snapper got your tongue, Gray?" the big great white joked. "You have

to actually answer the call."

"Of course, I mean—yes!" Gray said loudly so everyone watching

could hear. "I accept the position of fifth in the Line!"

Then there was whooping and hollering. Goblin came over and bumped

him, then Ripper, and then Thrash. Gray lost track after that as everyone

was bumping and finning him. It was all in good sport, though. Moments

before Gray's appointment, Velenka had received the same treatment when

she ascended to fourth in the Line. Later Gray found out that in the old days

sharkkind actually drew blood in this part of the ceremony by biting the

newly ranked shark, becoming family in the tasting of their blood. But there

were times that the celebration got out of hand, and the promoted shark died

from his wounds, so the practice was wisely stopped.

Gray couldn't believe it when Goblin offered him fifth! He didn't have

a clue that it was about to happen. Everyone was congratulating Velenka—

he was right next to her—and Goblin said in a loud voice from his position

above Speakers Rock, "I now name Gray as my fifth. Does any full member

want to contest my decision and fight him in mortal combat for the right to

his rank?" Gray didn't want to be in the Line if it meant fighting, especially

when there were so many sharkkind who had been members for so much

longer. He was about to open his mouth when Velenka stopped him.

"It's just old-timey language," she told him. "No one will go against

Goblin's wishes, and he wants you!" And she was right. After a bumping

and jostling melee, the great white made introductions to everyone Gray

hadn't met, and even a few important dwellers in the homewaters. Then the

party began.

The celebration lasted all night long. A trio of whales sang songs while

a school of lantern fish swam around the shiver area, brightening the place

with their colored lights. Very festive! It felt good to flick his tail back and

relax after the previous few days. Gray was still shaken by Churn's death

and the ferocity of the fight against the bulls. True, Gray hadn't known

Churn that long, but he had been a shivermate, and they had gone patrolling

together once. Even though they hadn't said two words to each other, in

Gray's mind, it still counted for something.

The weird thing was that Gray found something enticing about the

battle after it was over. He'd felt horrible right afterward, of course. He'd

sent a bull to the Sparkle Blue and watched Churn die. There was no way

that wouldn't jolt even the toughest shark to his core. Gray had been so

shaken, in fact, that he'd actually thrown up on the way home. Oddly, this

broke the pall hanging over the survivors, who'd swam in silence until that

point. Goblin and Ripper laughed, along with everyone else, and confessed

that they did the same thing after their first battles.

The remarkable thing was that after the immediate, horrible blackness

of terror and death subsided, there was something else. After you battled for

your life—and won—it was incredible! He felt the bond he had with both

Ripper and Goblin change. The huge hammerhead had pretty much been a

rude and icy fish to Gray before that day. But since he and Rip (the

hammerhead said to call him Rip!) had fought flank to flank, they talked

often, Rip even divulging little secrets now and then. Who knew Rip had

sea horse friends? Not that Gray was going to tell anyone about that. And

Goblin? Gray would go into the blackness of the Dark Blue for Goblin.

They were brothers now. They had fought together and survived.

And then to hear that Thrash's patrol was attacked by another shiver

that same day! Thankfully they didn't lose anyone to this Jetty Shiver.

Apparently their leader was so crazy that a bunch of their sharkkind decided

to leave him and join Goblin Shiver. That was good! There was strength in

numbers, just like the great white said. They would need every shark they

could muster if they were going to avenge the death these bulls were

causing.

Velenka glided over, her shapely form moving through the crowd like a

sea wraith. "I need a little clear water," she told him, scraping against his

flank. "Would the new fifth like to take a swim with the new fourth?" Her

big, black eyes bored into him.

The mako occasionally made Gray nervous and this was one of those

times. She seemed so sure of herself. He took a quick glance over at Goblin

who was furiously pushing against Ripper in a test of strength. Whoever

was moved over a glowing line of coral underneath them would lose. It was

all in good fun, though. Goblin would probably get the best of the

hammerhead, but not for a while.

"Sure," Gray told her. They swam from the raucous crowd. But Velenka

didn't appear to be going for an aimless swim.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"I want to show you something. Something special." The mako smiled

and flicked her tail for him to follow.

They headed into a cave mouth. It was dark inside. "In there?"

Velenka chuckled. "You're not afraid, are you?"

Gray flicked his tail. "Of course not. I just don't want to get stuck." The

cave looked creepy as all flip, but he wasn't a pup to be scared of the dark

and followed her.

"Don't worry," Velenka answered. "It opens up into a cavern after a

bit."

As soon as they entered the cave mouth, a few body lengths in, it was

absolutely black. Luckily, Gray had a keen sense of direction, even though

he couldn't see a thing. The water got much colder as they angled down,

down, down. After a long stretch Gray thought he saw a faint, white glow.

Were his eyes playing tricks on him? No, something was definitely

glowing, and it was getting brighter. After another turn, it got really bright.

Gray slowed to let his eyes adjust.

"Come on," Velenka prodded. "Just a little farther!"

Gray emerged from the tunnel into an underground cavern. It was

immense. There was even a surface to the water above him, meaning there

was an air pocket. How strange! The walls above and below the surface

glowed pale white like the moon. Now that Gray's eyes had adjusted, he

could see it wasn't algae or lumos, but the rock itself that was glowing.

"So, is it worth it?" Velenka asked as she flicked her fin at—

"Tyro's tail!" Gray gasped. "What is that?"

There, at the wall of the cave, half covered by rock sediment, was a

giant skeleton of a shark. You could tell it was sharkkind from its curved,

dagger teeth. But it was the size of a whale!

"We call this the prehistore cave," Velenka began. "This is a

megalodon. They were the rulers of the Big Blue when the oceans were

young. Some think that Tyro was a megalodon."

"No way!"

"It's true," she told him. "Why? What type of shark did you think he

was?"

"Hmm, guess I never pictured him as anything. He's the first fish, so

he's kind of like all fish, I suppose." Gray learned about prehistore

sharkkind in Miss Lamprey's class. It was one of the few times he paid

attention, because it was so cool. But she only described how they looked.

It was one thing to be told that sharks were the size of whales but quite

another to see it in real life! One time they took a class trip to a rock tower,

where Miss Lamprey showed them a rib bone of something she said was a

prehistore sea dragon. Yappy got really annoyed when Barkley said he

thought it was just a whale rib. That trip was a disappointment. But this!

This was incredible!

"It's huge!" Gray exclaimed. "What a monster!" He drifted over to the

skeleton's rib cage. Gray could fit inside the beast's stomach with room to

spare. He swam around the megalodon and stopped in front of its aweinspiring jaws, frozen open as if striking at some other giant fish. Its teeth

were at least three times the size of his own. "Wow. This is great." Some of

the meg's skeletal teeth shined reflectively because of a silvery mineral

coating. It was so smooth Gray could see himself, a rare occurrence. The

last time he got a good look at himself was a year ago when he was near the

surface of the water and the sun was shining at just the right angle. Today,

however, he wasn't pleased with what he saw. "Flip, I'm really fat!" he

whispered to himself.

"What did you say?" Velenka asked.

"Nothing, nothing." Gray looked deeply into the reflective surface of

the petrified teeth. He smiled and gnashed his teeth, making a scary face

into the silvered surface. He was pretty fierce, indeed. Gray looked closer as

something caught his attention. His teeth were smaller than those of the

giant prehistore skeleton, but they were shaped exactly the same. Exactly.

How could he have the same teeth—it was then he realized the truth. A

cold prickle danced down his spine, and he unconsciously whispered, "I'm

not a reef shark at all."

He turned to find Velenka staring at him, the blackness of her eyes like

two holes in the ocean. "I don't think so, either," she said.

"You knew?"

"I suspected."

Gray shook his head from side to side. "No, it's impossible. Even I

know these things lived a really long time ago!" he told her. "They're all

swimming the Sparkle Blue."

"Yes," the mako said nonchalantly. "Except you."

"You're yanking my tail, right?" asked Gray. "This is some sort of new

fin in the Line joke, right?"

"No," Velenka said matter-of-factly.

"How?" was all he could think to say.

"That I don't know."

What did this mean? How would others react? "It can't be! It just

can't!"

Velenka swam over, scraping against him. "It'll be all right."

"I'm a monster!" Gray yelled. "How's that going to be all right?"

"Accept it. You're a megalodon, or at least a cousin of one. I think it's

fantastic."

Gray looked at the meg's teeth again, hoping to see some difference he

could point out to Velenka. But they were the same, which practically

guaranteed that nothing in Gray's life would be the same after today. He

wanted to scuttle underneath a rock like a crab. "I'm here to help you

through this," Velenka said as she slid her tail underneath his belly.

"Thanks," he told the mako. His mind whirled. Why would his mother

keep this from him? Is this why she never spoke of his father? Did she

know? Maybe she didn't. But if so, where did he come from? How could it

be possible?

A nagging feeling whirled inside his stomach when Velenka smiled at

Gray. It was probably the combination of such a huge, life changing

discovery and this creepy cavern.

Probably. But in any case, Gray was now much more worried than when

he first swam inside.