| Chapter Two |
| A week had passed since Robby's dive. News had started to fly around the station that Robby was missing. His father, John McBrad was franticly worried. Brett heard this, so he signed out a wave runner and headed out to the island to talk to Neri. Jason was unable to join him as he was in school. "Neri!" Brett called out as he beached the wave runner. Neri came running from the dense forest and answered, " Brett is that you?" "Yes. I was wondering if Charley found anyone in the ocean alone?" Brett asked. "No, But I will go and look. Who is the person?" She asked. "His name is Robby. He is the same age as me. If you can find hi, come to ORCA and tell Jason or I. OK?" Brett said. "OK, I go now." After she finished talking to Brett, she dove into the ocean. * * * Abuot three hours passed, Brett was just finishing dinner, when Neri walked in. "I found the boy. He is 100 kilometers that way.": She said as she pointed west. "What was he doing out there?" Brett asked. "Swimming. He is not in pain, not injured." Neri explained. "I go now. Bye Brett." "Bye Neri." Bret said as she walked away. * * * "Mr. McBrad, I know where Robby is." Brett told him when he saw him in the corridor. "Where is he?" Mr. McBrad asked. "One hundred kilometers west of here." Bret said. "Are you serious?" Robby's father asked. "Yes." Brett said, trying to reasure him. "Let's go to the bridge so that i can contact him." Mr. McBrad said. "Ok" Brett said. When they got to the bridge, Mr. McBrad talked to a security officer. "Can you bring up th grid that is 100km west of here?" he asked the security officer. "Sure. Sir the area that you described is in the middle of the ocean. The closest land is over 40 km away, Australia's coast." The security officer told him. "That is impossible. Can you scan the area for a person?" Mr. McBrad asked. "I'll try, but there is no guarantees that I'll be able to even pick up any thing the size of a child. --- Well this is the best that i can do. There is something there, but I can't find out what it is. It is moving west at aproximately 15km/hr." The security officer told him. "Where can i get a wave runner?" Mr. McBrad asked. "At the docking platform. I'll show you." Brett answered him. "Meet me at the platform in five minutes. OK?" "Ok, I'll be there." Robby's father said In five minutes Brett emerged from the lift, wearing his wetsuit and a personal flotational device (PFD). "You take that one." He said pointing to a wave runner as he climbed on another. "You're not coming." Mr. McBrad told Brett. "I'll be ok, besides regulations require that any persons going more than 10 km must be a party of 2 or more. Since I know Robby, and i can drive one of these wave runner's, why don't I come?" Brett asked. "Oh alright, but please, be careful. Let's go!!" Mr. McBrad said. * * * They had gone over two hours without seeing Robby. At the top speed of 60km/hr they had travelled over 120km. Approximately 5km later the sonar picked up something. As they got closer to what the sonar picked up, they could tell it was Robby. They slowed down so they wouldn't run into Robby. They cut their engines, then Robby's father asked, "What are you doing way out here?" "Dad! I was just swimming. I didn't think there would be a problem." Robby said. "Do you know how far you are from ORCA?" Robby's father asked. "A couple of kilometers. Why?" Robby asked "You are over 130 km!" Robby's father said in amazment and shock. "You can't be serious?" Robby asked, thinking that his father was playing one of his jokes. "I'm not joking. I wish I was though." His father said. "Funny, I don't feel tired." Robby paused for a minute. "This isn't good." Robby's father opened a compartment in the front of the wave runner. "Here, put this on." He said as he reached into the compartment and grabbed a nylon jacket and pants. After Robby put them on, his father then reached in and grabbed a PFD. He threw it to Robby. He put the PFD on, and climbed on to his father's wave runner. "How was the swim?" Brett asked Robby just before they started to leave. "Excellent. Oh well, it was good while it lasted." Robby answered, and with that, they headed back to ORCA, at a more leasurely pace of 30 km/hr * * * Four and a half hours later thay were back on ORCA, safe and sound. Brett's mother was happy that Brett had helped to find Robby, but she was happier that he was back. "Dad I told you I am ok. Why do I need to see the doctor?" Robby asked his father "Hey, you've been though a lot. I just want to be sure that you are ok. That's all. You know, to be able to do what you did without being tired is next to impossible, so I want to do what a normal parent would do, find out why. Ok? He asked his son. "Ok, I guess." Robby said reluctantly "Oh, and by the way, don't do that again without telling me. I've been very understanding with all of your recent crazy swimming related ideas. Is that a deal?" Robby's father asked. "Yeah, ok, I guess." Robby said. "Brett thank you for going with my dad. See you tomorrow in school" "No problem, bye" Brett said as he walked towards his cabin with his mother. * * * Later when Jason and Brett went to bed, they started talking about the day's events, mainly about Robby's swim. "You know, Robby's swim seemed like something Neri wouldn't be able to do without being a little tired. He hadn't even showed signs that he was even affected by the swim. I'll bet that he was wanting to swim longer." Brett told Jason. "Well, did he say anything about this being normal for him?" Jason asked. "No, not realy, the only thing he has said about it was that something happened to him when he was younger, but he didn't want to talk about it. He never said why." Brett told Jason. "Well, I think Neri could help us find out. Tomorrow we will see if he want to go with us to the island." Jason said. "You think that is a good idea?" Brett asked. "What do you think his reaction would be?" Jsaon asked. "He'll be shocked but he probably won't tell." Brett said. "Tomorrow you can talk to him, and we'll go." Jason said as he turned off the lights in their room. |
| to chapter three |