Out of the Deep (5 page)

Steven nodded. “Yes, well, as I was saying, the sand on this particular beach isn't really sand. It's made up of ground-up shells that've been bashed by the waves until they turned flaky and gritty. Olivia and I came to this park when we were first married, and I found out just how different Sand Beach was. That shell dust stuck to my wet feet like a second skin, and it was all but impossible to brush off. Look,” he pointed, “there are the steps that lead to the beach. I see Ashley's already found her way down.”

“If there's no food, can I at least have some water?” Bindy begged. “You have some water in your backpack, don't you Mr. Landon?”

“I do. Jack, I know you're eager to get to the beach. You go on ahead while I dig out the water bottle.”

Jack didn't need to be told twice. The army of spruce had broken apart to reveal a stone stairway descending to the shoreline. Bolting down the steps, he emerged onto a crescent-moon beach of pinkish beige sand that stretched the width of more than two football fields.

On either end of the crescent, slabs of granite rose out of the waves, as though a race of giants had been making sand castles that suddenly turned to stone. Ashley stood at the water's edge, hugging herself as the ocean breeze whipped her hair into tight ringlets. Except for his sister, the beach was empty. The sand gave way under his feet as he walked over to join her.

“Where's Bindy?” she asked, her eyes still focused on the waves.

“Back with Dad. It'll take her a minute.”

“Good. No offense, but this place needs to be enjoyed in silence. Isn't this awesome?”

Jack nodded as he soaked up the view around him. Dozens of tidal pools shimmered like liquid glass in the dim sunlight, the largest of them surrounded by angry gulls quarreling over what was left of a fish. Beyond the tide, seawater pounded huge boulders, roiling and foaming white before retreating to the sea, only to surge again. It was the mix of colors that mesmerized Jack.

The Virgin Islands had been painted with pastels; Acadia's palette was forged of grays, greens, blues, and pearl.

“I've hardly had a chance to talk to you,” Ashley began. She stood unmoving, her eyes on the waves. “What do you make of Bindy?”

Jack shrugged. “I don't know. What's your opinion?”

“I'm the one asking you, Jack.”

“Well, I don't know what to say. She's…different.”

“It's just, last night, she—she told me some things. Do you believe all the stuff she tells you?”

He hesitated just long enough to give his answer. No. The more time he spent with Bindy, the more he was convinced that everything, from her brother to Hollywood and everything in between, had been embroidered with untruths stitched upon exaggerations so that nothing real remained. Maybe the fabric underneath was true, but that was all.

Placing his hand on his sister's elbow, he asked, “What's going on?”

“After we got back and Mom moved into our room to make sure Bindy didn't leave again,” Ashley began, her words rushing on top of each other, “Bindy started telling me this strange story about this guy in the bar that wouldn't let her use the phone.”

“Did Mom hear?”

“No, she was asleep. Bindy said the guy threatened her. The whole thing really weirded me out.”

“So did you ever tell Mom or Dad?”

“No! Bindy made me promise to keep it a secret. Besides, Mom's so stressed with the whale thing, and Dad was all upset about losing Bindy, and I didn't want to give them any more problems, especially if none of it's true. Do you think it's true?”

“I don't know,” Jack shrugged. “It all sounds pretty bizarre. Besides, if some guy really did threaten her, why didn't she tell the police? She was in the police station for over an hour, right? It doesn't make any sense she wouldn't tell them.”

A wave rolled in, this time licking the toes of their shoes with foam. Neither one of them moved, and Jack felt dampness seep into his shoes. The sea suddenly seemed a deeper gray, colder and unforgiving, as if the sun were hidden behind a cloud. Glancing up, he saw that the sun was shining, just as it had been moments before.

“Bindy said this guy told her he knew where to find her and that he would hurt her. Jack, if he could hurt her, he could hurt Mom or you or me.”

Jack pushed his hands deep into his pockets. “I wouldn't worry about it,” he said slowly.

“Why not?”

“Bindy makes up stuff. She's talking, that's all.”

“How do you know?”

“I know.”

“But how?”

“Because I overheard something back home, when Mom and Dad were talking in the kitchen. I'm not supposed to tell.”

“Wait a minute! That's not fair!” Ashley blazed. “I told you my secret! What do you know that I don't? Come on, Jack, tell me!”

Jack took a breath, then let it out slowly. His parents had told him not to speak of what he'd overheard, but this situation had changed in a way no one could have guessed. Bindy had graduated to spinning lies that spooked his sister, and that wasn't right. Some things were bigger than rules.

“OK, but don't ever say I told you! It was about why Bindy was put into foster care.”

“Why?” Ashley asked, wide-eyed. “I asked, but she never told me.”

“Basically, it's because her own family says she's a liar.”

“What?”

“I didn't hear what she said her brother did to her, but whatever it was, everyone in the school came to Cole's defense and nobody, not one person—not her aunt or her uncle or anybody—believed Bindy. What does that tell you? Plus, Bindy took that money right off the table at the bar—remember? If she really was going to replace it, she would have put those dollar bills down when she picked up the quarters. I don't believe her. It's like she spins everything, twists every story to make herself look good, but I think it's all just that—stories! I mean, just listen to her talk on and on about all the stuff she says she did. She says she's an actress, but was she really?”

“She had to be!” Ashley protested. “She knew all of Amanda's lines—”

“So what? You've seen that movie so many times you know the lines, too. It doesn't mean anything. The truth is—” Jack hesitated before blurting—“The truth is, Ms. Lopez said it was Bindy's own aunt and uncle, the ones who adopted her, who are trying to get rid of her now because she lies.”

“You mean they're the ones who stuck her in foster care? That's awful!”

“Yeah. I know they're not her birth parents, but when you adopt someone, you're supposed to become their real parents, aren't you? Like, be their real mom and dad? Anyway, now they're trying to give her back. How many parents would do that?”

“Jack,
shhhhh!”
Ashley hissed.

No! It couldn't be! In an instant Jack saw a third shadow darkening the sand, and as that realization slammed into his brain, he felt his insides turn upside down. Bindy was behind him! Bindy must have heard everything he and Ashley had been saying! Whipping around, Jack practically ran into Bindy's thick body. A deep flush had crept across her cheeks, and tears glittered at the edges of her lashes, but her eyes were on fire. The chattering Bindy was gone; a smoldering, angry person stood in her place.

“Where—where's my dad?” Jack stammered.

“Back on the path, shooting some pictures of an eagle. I kept wanting to call Aunt Marian, so he let me borrow his cell phone. So, you want proof that I was an actress?
You
call her.”

“Uh—I don't—” Jack stammered.

“Go ahead! I know her work number. Call her and ask her if I played Amanda in
Melissa's Dream
. That was the whole reason she took me in. I was a perfect, ready-made, talented little girl to match her perfectly golden son. Only I didn't turn out the way she wanted, did I? Guess that made me disposable. Go on! Hear it from her own mouth. She'll tell you I was in
Melissa's Dream
and on television. I do not lie, Jack! Everything I talked about was true!”

“Then why are they trying to get rid of you?” Ashley asked softly.

Bindy shook her head, her expression condemning Ashley for her foolishness. “Because my so-called brother Cole used to use me for a punching bag, and I finally tried to stop it. He's smacked me around ever since I moved in with them, and for years I took it and took it—I thought I had to be grateful. Remember, I'm just an orphan!” She spat out the word as if it were poison. “Then one day a speaker came to my school and said, ‘The worst secret is the one you hold inside. If someone hurts you, you must tell.' So I told. Look what it got me!” She laughed harshly. “There are things worse than bruises.”

“I'm—I'm sorry, Bindy—” Ashley began, but Bindy cut her off. “Forget it. You're just as bad, Ashley. You're just like everyone else. If I were still pretty, you'd believe me. Pretty people don't lie, right? Only ugly ones. The truth is, I don't care anymore what either one of you thinks.” Her eyes were gray now, a distant, cold gray that matched the ocean. “Here, let me dial it for you. Ask my aunt. She'll tell you.”

Silence suddenly enveloped them, a chill silence as clouds hid the sun. It was as if all the emotion had boiled over into the sea, churning the water and shooting it over the rocks like geysers, and now the very waters reflected Jack's insides. He wished he could take back his words, the same way the waves retreated back into the depths of the ocean. Too late for that. He didn't know how to make it right.

The phone's keyboard glowed orange as Bindy held it out to him, but when Jack shook his head, she slowly let her hand drop to her side.

Suddenly Ashley sprang forward, shielding her eyes. “Jack—Bindy—look at the water!”

“Ashley, we have enough problems here—”

“No, look. I see something. Over there by those big rocks. You see it too, don't you, Bindy? That shape—like a boat—but it's floating upside down or something. It's a dark color.”

Bindy rocked onto her toes. “Yeah. I see it.”

“Where?” Jack asked, and Bindy pointed the way. Jack squinted until a shape he thought was a rock rolled forward, then was drawn back by the tide. Whatever was out there, it looked at least as big as a rowboat, only thicker.

“Is it a person?” Ashley asked.

“If it is, he must be dead,” Bindy answered.

Ashley took a step into the water, and then a second step and a third until she was standing knee-deep in foam. “Jack, I know what it is. Call Dad!” she screamed.

“I
t's a
whale!”
Ashley yelled, splashing into the surf.

“I think it's stranding!”

The large, rounded mound rolled closer, but this time it seemed to flounder on the rocks as the waves sucked back to the sea, leaving the animal lodged in shallow water. Its top half was exposed to the fitful sun. If the clouds parted and the sun shone through, its heat could harm the whale in a matter of hours.

The whale didn't move at all on its own but seemed to rock with the rhythm of the sea. For a moment Jack had the sickening feeling it might already be dead. Another wave crashed around it, sending a spray of foam into the air.

“We've got to get Dad—” Jack cried, but Ashley had already plunged through the first swell. Now thigh-deep in seawater, she dashed toward the whale, instinctively slowing down before getting too close. A beat later, Jack plunged in, with Bindy close behind. “Wait, guys, don't rush at him,” Ashley ordered when they caught up to her. “You'll only scare him! Move slow.”

“Yeah, Bindy, quit splashing.”

“I'm
not!
The water—it freaks me out.”

Ignoring them both, Ashley gingerly moved forward with Jack right at her heels, while Bindy hovered behind. He'd never seen a whale up close before. The hide was slick and gray, and the grooves below its bow-shaped mouth looked like an accordion-pleated bowl. Fourteen feet long and four feet high, it had beached itself less than ten yards from shore. Another wave swelled around it, rocking its thick body forward like a boat tied to a slip.

“It's OK, we're not going to hurt you,” Ashley cooed, inching closer. “We're going to get you back in the ocean, where you belong. Don't be scared. It'll be all right.”

“Aren't you guys getting too close? Can't it bite?” Bindy asked.

“I'm not worried about that, but the tail could whip around and hit us,” Jack warned. “It would be like getting knocked over by a truck.”

When Ashley carefully placed her hand on the whale's back, Jack did the same. The hide felt like wet rubber beneath his fingers. Reacting to their touch, the whale shuddered.

“Look, it's just a baby,” Ashley wailed. “Oh my gosh, I can't believe another whale has beached itself! What is going
on?”

Bindy's voice seemed too thin as she asked, “Is it dead?”

“No,” Jack said, pointing. “Look at his eye.” He wasn't prepared for how human the whale's eye looked. A sliver of white showed at the bottom lid, and the pupil, liquid and brown, expressed plain, raw fear. This animal was scared to death.

Suddenly it let out a wheezy noise that made Jack jump back in fright. “What was that?” he yelled.

“Sounds like it has asthma,” Bindy answered.

“Don't be silly. Whales don't get asthma.”

“How would you know?” she asked him.

That was true. Jack knew next to nothing about real whales that stranded themselves, then made little thrashing movements and funny noises like this one did. He was amazed to find, on the top center of the whale's head, not one but
two
blowholes—crescent-shaped slits close together like nostrils.

A large wave swelled forward, pushing with cold force before it curled past to lose its energy at the shoreline. The three of them were suddenly soaked to the middle of their chests. Although Jack could feel the sun on his face, the water itself was frigid. They couldn't stay out here long. His feet were already beginning to go numb.

“Man, I
hate
these waves!” Bindy cried.

“Why don't you go back to the shore and find my dad?” Jack demanded.

“No—I want to help. If we could just push him back into the water…. We could grab him by the flippers and pull—”

“No!” Jack caught her as she put her hands against the animal's side. “Not the flippers!” Even though he was a baby, the humpback's armlike pectoral flippers, several feet long, were more delicate than they looked. To pull on them, Jack knew, could really hurt the whale. “Mom said a lot of people try pushing or pulling stranded whales back into the water and just end up hurting them. Anyway, this whale must weigh about two tons. It's too heavy for us to move.”

“Well, then, what's your idea? We can't just stand here staring at him! We've got to do
something!”
Bindy declared.

Ashley looked worried. “Mom said that when a whale's out of the water it can't deal with gravity, remember? She said a whale's insides can be crushed by the weight of its own body.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Jack answered grimly. “Not only that, but the way those clouds look overhead, there might be a storm coming. And if the waves start to whip up real hard, they might dash him against these rocks. That would really be bad.”

As if in response, another wave swelled forward, rocking the whale toward Ashley. The bottom three inches of her hair dripped salt water, flattening into tendrils that looked like black seaweed against her yellow Gore-Tex jacket. Staring out at the ocean, she cried, “Oh my gosh, I think I see another whale! Out there, in the bay, straight ahead. Do you see it?”

Shading his eyes, Jack strained to look. A huge, dark shape moved against the horizon, barely above the waterline, creating a slice that seemed to move against the ocean current. A small puff of water shot into the sky from the blowhole, and then the shape disappeared from view until the scalloped end of its tail flipped into the sky. The mother searching for her baby? Or just a lone whale gliding through the waters? Maybe it, too, had its sonar scrambled by some strange phenomenon. What if it was getting ready to beach itself? The thought spread a chill through Jack, colder than the Atlantic waters. Another animal might wash onto shore. It seemed impossible, yet nothing about these strandings could be considered normal. His sister must have been thinking the same thing, because her mouth grew tight. “Bindy, you've got Dad's cell phone. Call 911.”

Bindy visibly paled. “Uh-oh,” she gulped.

“What do you mean, ‘uh-oh'?”

Jack watched as Bindy reached into her back pocket to retrieve the cell phone. Water trickled out of it in a tiny stream. “I'm sorry. I forgot. I'll get him a new one.”

Great! Jack screamed inside his head. Just great! Now they had no way to call. Quickly scanning the beach, Jack looked for any flicker of movement that would let him know someone was there. Other than the gulls, the white sand gleamed empty. Where was his dad?

“Hey, it's not my fault your phone's not waterproof. Maybe it'll still work.” Shaking the receiver, Bindy punched the numbers, then held it to her ear. She jiggled it again, then pushed it into her sweatshirt pocket. “Maybe not. I'll go find your dad. Don't worry, we're not that far from the car. He'll find a phone somehow.”

“While you're gone, Jack and I will keep the back of the baby whale as wet as we can,” Ashley told her. “I remember that's important. I just hope the mamma whale doesn't decide to beach, too. I don't want 40 tons of whale on top of me.”

“She's just looking for her baby,” Bindy said. “Is that your mamma out there, searching for you? Huh? Oh, you poor little thing.” Gingerly, Bindy stretched out her hand, letting it hover over the baby whale as if feeling some energy force emanating from its skin. Then, almost imperceptively, she touched the back of the whale with her fingertips. “I hate to see any animal suffer. They're the only creatures on Earth that don't care if you're fat or thin. Only if you're nice.”

“Bindy,” Jack began, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice, “you've got to go
now!”

“But I think I've figured it out. No matter what, I won't let them get away with this,” Bindy said softly. “Look at what they're doing. They're liars who hurt innocent whales. It's not right.”

“Who? Bindy, what are you talking about?”

Jack stared at her, and she looked right back at him, her eyebrows arched like two half moons. “What would you say if I told you I think I know why all this is happening?”

Jack held on to his temper. “We don't have time for this—”

“Listen to me! I think the government
is
testing that sonar. I didn't put it together before, when we were in that meeting with your mom—you know, the one with Greg. But I've been thinking about it, rattling the whole thing 'round in my head ever since, until I
have
put it all together. I know, Jack. Our wonderful government is lying through its teeth.”

Another one of Bindy's wild stories? Why was she doing this now, when he couldn't possibly have time to pay attention to her ramblings? Jack clenched his teeth so hard he could feel sand grit between his molars. A baby whale was dying, another whale might come sailing on top of them at any second, and Bindy was up to her old headline-grabbing tricks. A government conspiracy? Bindy, possible child star and maybe abused adopted sister, had cracked the case while staying in Acadia less than 24 hours. Right. It was too ridiculous to waste his energy on—he had bigger problems than spies and aliens and all the other bizarre stuff that fermented in Bindy's strange mind. For now, he needed her, though. Keeping his face as smooth as he could, he said, “Make sure you tell my dad about the government thing when you find him.”

“Why should I tell him? He won't believe me.” Bindy's voice was flat. “No one ever believes me. It's obvious that
you
don't believe me. Even if I know the truth.”

From the corner of his eye he saw the whale in the ocean make another pass, closer this time. “Jack,” Ashley cried, “that big one's getting near. And we've got to get some water on the back of the baby before it dries out. Start bailing.”

“I'm sorry, Bindy.” Jack's words came out in a rush as he began splashing at the whale's side. “You'll have to let my dad handle your government conspiracy theory. I've got to keep this guy wet.”

“Fine. I'll go now.”

Another large wave crashed, but this time Bindy rode it to the shore. She stumbled only once before righting herself to stagger onto the sandy part of the beach. Waddling awkwardly, she made her way toward the steps until she finally disappeared from view. What a wacko, Jack thought.

Ashley started singing an Irish song to the whale, soft and melodic, but Jack could see how stressed the animal was. The whale's eyes rolled back, and every few moments his flukes strained or his tail would thrash helplessly in the surf as he made those wheezy noises.
“Shhh,”
Ashley cooed softly. “You're going to be all right. But why did you come up here, little one? Don't you know you should never come out of the deep water?”

“Did you hear what Bindy said about the government and the sonar?” Jack asked. “There is something really wrong with that girl.”

“Can't worry about that now,” Ashley replied. “Feel his skin—it's getting warm and dry on top. You've got to throw water on him. Cup your hands and sling water over his back!”

“Remember to keep the water away from his blowholes,” Jack told her. “Mom said they can drown from that.”

“Right. We'll start near his tail and work up.”

Jack splashed as much as he could onto the baby whale's back, but the tiny scoopfuls seemed as useful as a single raindrop on a garden. There had to be a better way. But what? His shoes? They'd hold little more than his hands did. He began to peel off his jacket, shivering as a wave washed over him.

“What the heck are you doing?” Ashley cried.

“Making a bucket. Here, take two corners of my jacket. We'll scoop the water over him.”

Without a word Ashley grabbed the ends and held them taut. Dipping the jacket as deep as they could, they counted to three and pulled up hard. The ends of the jacket ripped out of Ashley's hands and fell into the water, useless.

“I can't—it's too heavy.”

“We're scooping too much water. Don't go down so far this time. Wrap the sleeves around your wrists before you pull; it'll give you better leverage.”

They dipped his jacket again, this time being careful to go no farther than a foot beneath the waves. “One, two, three!” An arc of water sailed through the air and smacked onto the baby whale's back, trickling down his sides in a smooth sheet of liquid.

“It's working!” Ashley said gleefully. “We got ten times more water on him than we did using our hands. Don't be scared, baby whale, this is going to help you stay well.”

“We'll need a system so we can get all of him. Move down one step, and then we'll dip it again. We've got to keep his back wet without hitting the blowholes—we'll need to do his head, but we can do that by hand. Spud needs to stay hydrated until help comes.”

“Spud?”

“He's got to have a name, doesn't he? He looks like a Spud to me.”

“How long's it been since Bindy left?” Ashley asked.

“I don't know. Ten minutes, I guess. Maybe 15.”

Biting the corner of her lip, his sister looked out into the ocean. “The other whale's still out there.”

“I know it,” Jack replied. “And I hope it stays out there. The big ones almost never survive. It's going to be rough enough for Spud, and he's a baby.”

“But we're keeping him wet!”

“You know that's only half the problem. If he's stuck on the rocks when the tide goes out, he'll crush under his own weight. We've got to get him back into the ocean.”

“The rescue team will know what to do,” Ashley insisted. With a circular motion, she rubbed her hand over the whale. “Spud'll make it.”

“I hope they hurry because I'm starting to freeze. This water is so cold! We've got to keep moving.” Muscles strained on his back as Jack dipped, hurled, stepped, then dipped again. If it was tough for Ashley, she didn't let on. Every few minutes a wave would knock her off balance, but she'd right herself, take another step, then fling another arc of water onto the whale. When they threw the water, drops flew back onto the two of them, which meant they were both soaked from head to foot.