CLORAL
(CONTINUED)
Mark and Courtney feltas if they had stepped inside a dream.
They had experienced the wonders of Cloral through Bobby’s journals, but now they were seeing it for themselves. Firsthand. For real. It was everything they had imagined.
“I’m proud to meet you, mates,” Vo Spader said as he pulled himself out of the pool of water in the cavern. He laid his air globe on the edge of the pool and stood up to his full six-foot height. Mark and Courtney saw that he was wearing his jet-black aquaneer uniform with no sleeves. He held his hand out to Mark and said, “You’re both just as Pendragon described.”
Mark shook Spader’s hand while staring at him with his mouth hanging open, like he was looking at a celebrity. Spader gave him a reassuring wink, then shook Courtney’s hand. “That’s a right strong grip, Courtney,” he said. “Pendragon said you were a handful.”
Courtney held eye contact with him and said with a confident smile, “He wasn’t lying.”
Spader gave her a big smile in return, and said, “I’ll remember that.”
“D-Did W-Wu Yenza get our note?” Mark asked.
“Yes indeed,” Spader answered. “Can’t say I was happy about what it said, though.”
“There’s big trouble, Spader,” Mark said quickly. “Saint Dane somehow got hold of the Cloral poison and-“
“First things first, Mark,” the Traveler said. “Let’s get home and take a look at that new journal.”
“Really?” Mark asked in awe. “Home? You mean to Grallion?”
“Is that a problem?” Spader asked back.
“No, I think it’s great!” Mark exclaimed. “Can we have some sniggers, too?”
“Mark!” Courtney scolded. “Could you be any more of a geek?”
Spader laughed warmly. “No worries. This must be strange for you, splashing around a territory you’ve only read about.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty bizarre,” Courtney admitted.
“I’ll try to make it as comfortable as I can,” Spader said with a wink. “Right?”
“Right!” Mark answered.
The first task was to get Mark and Courtney into Cloral clothes. They each chose a matching set of bright blue two-piece swimskins from the pile. They also picked out pairs of soft swim shoes.
“No peeking!” Courtney teased Spader as she took off her dripping-wet Second Earth clothes.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Spader teased back.
While Mark and Courtney changed, Spader took Bobby’s latest journal and sealed it into a watertight pouch that he attached to his belt. Mark saw what he was doing and said, “Put this in there too.” He handed Spader the plastic bag that held the fur sample from Seegen. Spader took it without question and sealed it inside the pouch. He then grabbed two air globes that were near the pile of Cloral clothes. The round, clear globes were the size of basketballs, with silver harmonica-looking devices on top that turned water into oxygen.
“Did Pendragon explain how these work?” Spader asked.
“Absolutely,” Mark answered. “They form to our heads so we can breathe and talk underwater.”
“Right you are,” Spader replied.
“We need belts, too, right?” Courtney asked. “To keep us neutrally buoyant?”
“Indeed,” Spader answered. “You two really know what you’re doing.”
“We try,” Courtney said.
Mark gave a quick look to Courtney. He realized that she was flirting with Spader, and Spader was flirting back! Mark hoped this wouldn’t get icky.
“I’ve only got one water sled,” Spader said, pointing to a device that was floating on the surface of the pool. It was bright purple and roughly the shape of a football with handles. From reading Bobby’s journals, Mark and Courtney knew Spader used it to propel himself underwater.
“Only one?” Mark said with disappointment. He really wanted to use one of his own.
“No worries,” Spader answered. “It’s got enough go to pull us all.”
“What about quig-sharks?” Courtney asked.
“Haven’t seen one since the natty-do with Saint Dane,” the Traveler answered. “Seems as if they’re long gone.”
Mark and Courtney were ready. Their swimskins fit perfectly, with long sleeves and long pants. Mark checked out Courtney and noticed how good she looked in the skintight Cloral suit. He wondered if Spader noticed too.
“Either of you have trouble swimming underwater?” Spader asked.
“Not me,” Courtney said quickly.
“M-Me neither,” Mark lied. Truth was, Mark was a terrible swimmer. But he put his faith in the fact that using the air globes was as easy as Bobby described. He wasn’t going to let something silly like an irrational fear of a horrific death by drowning stop him from seeing Cloral.
“Right!” Spader announced. “On with the gear.”
Mark and Courtney picked up the round air globes and put them on like helmets. Instantly the clear globes rippled and shrank until they fit snugly to their heads. Though Mark knew what was going to happen, the sensation took him by surprise. He took a step back, tripped, and fell on his butt.
“Easy there, mate!” Spader said as he helped Mark to his feet. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” Mark said, embarrassed. “Everything’s…spiff.”
Courtney rolled her eyes at Mark’s use of the word “spiff.” It was a word they knew Spader always used.
“Here’s the do,” Spader said. “We’ll descend a bit to get you used to being underwater. Once everybody’s happy, grab on to my belt, hang on tight, and I’ll get us to the surface. Right?”
“Hobey-ho!” Mark chirped.
Courtney tried not to roll her eyes again.
Spader laughed and gave them a genuine smile. “Hobey-ho. Let’s go.”
Spader jumped into the water first, followed by Courtney. Mark eased himself in slowly. Both Mark and Courtney instantly felt their swim belts tighten around their waists, keeping them afloat. They didn’t have to kick or move their arms to stay on the surface.
“Let’s drop below,” Spader instructed. With a quick arm swing, he sank underwater. “Courtney?” Mark called out. “Yeah?”
“Can you believe this?”
“Not really,” she answered.
“I feel bad about saying it,” Mark added. “But this is awesome.”
“Don’t feel bad; I think so too,” Courtney replied. “There’s plenty of time for things to get un-awesome.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Hobey-ho, you geek,” Courtney added teasingly.
Mark laughed and the two dropped below the surface. Spader was waiting for them in the sand, about fifteen feet below. Mark and Courtney sank to the bottom and sat on their knees.
“Everything spiff?” Spader asked.
Both Courtney and Mark were surprised that they could hear Spader so clearly underwater. Bobby had explained it all in his journals, but it was still strange to hear it for real. Mark signaled a thumbs-up.
“You can talk, Mark,” Spader instructed.
“Oh, right,” Mark said. “I’m cool.” Truth was, he was so nervous he was having trouble getting a deep breath.
“Courtney?” Spader asked.
“This is freaky,” she answered, also breathing hard.
“Relax,” Spader said calmly. “Breathe normal. I promise, you’ll get used to it.”
They stayed kneeling in the sand for a few minutes, adjusting to the sensation of being weightless in the warm water and breathing through the globes. Spader was right. It didn’t take long for them to calm down. He instructed Mark and Courtney to grab on to his belt. Once they had a firm grip, he took his water sled with both
