Читать книгу Storms - Chris Vick, Chris Vick - Страница 14

THEY AVOIDED HANNAH’S house after that. And her family.

They took long walks on the cliffs. Searching. Because Hannah had heard a rumour. The sighting of orcas. Killer whales.

‘Not sure I want killer whales around, anyway.’ Jake said after they got home one day. ‘I’d freak if I saw one in the water.’

Hannah grinned. ‘Worried it’d surf better than you?’

‘Killer whales don’t surf.’

‘Yeah? I’ve seen it, Jake. I’ve filmed it.’

‘Get out!’

‘Wanna see?’

Hannah searched files on her laptop, a look of total concentration on her face. It surprised Jake when she got serious. She screwed up her eyes, sticking her tongue a little way out of the side of her mouth. It was cute. And sexy.

‘Can’t find it,’ she said. ‘I should give these files names, not just numbers. Listen to this, while I search. Sounds from a hydrophone we placed off the Scillies, last summer.’

Jake strained his ears. Bubbling, rolling currents, soft gurgles, washing white noise. Hisses and whispers.

Then:

Cik … cik … cik … Faster. Cik … cik … cik … cik … cik … cik … Ckkkkkkkkkkk …

‘Sonar,’ said Hannah.

The air filled with waves of echoes, whistles, clicks and thuds. Jake’s skin goosebumped.

‘Voices,’ he said.

‘The sounds amplify through the hulls of ships,’ said Hannah. ‘Sailors used to reckon it was mermaids. Or the cries of drowned sailors.’

‘What are they saying?’

‘Hard to know, exactly. We match sounds to observed behaviour, and work out the combinations for feeding, hunting, calling. It’s rudimentary language, which varies between communities. They have dialects, and they use sets of unique phrases for individuals.’

‘You mean … names?’

Hannah shrugged. ‘I guess so.’

‘That’s incredible.’ He slumped in his chair, open-mouthed. Hannah saw, and smiled.

‘Want to see incredible? Watch this.’ She shifted the angle of the laptop, and moved her chair up next to his. He put his arm round her and rested his hand on the curve of her hip.

The footage was of sea and islands, taken from a boat he guessed, as the camera was swaying. The water was smooth and the day was crystal-blue, but at the edge of the island were huge breakers. As if on cue, a wave rose up on the screen. The wave held up, feathering white off the top.

A dark blur emerged inside the wave. Sleek, big and fast. An orca. It waved its tail frantically as it cruised through the blue, then erupted out of the face of the wave, flying backwards. A huge fish in its mouth.

Jake shock-laughed. He almost clapped. The cheek of the thing. The skill, the grace, the power.

She stared at him, watching his reaction.

‘I’ve never seen anything like that,’ she said. ‘But I will again, one day. I’m going to study orcas.’ Her eyes misted, seeing a dream. ‘You know what’s different about them?’

‘Tell me.’

‘Animals spend their whole existence hunting or fleeing, finding food, breeding, caring for young, keeping warm, finding shelter. That’s their life. But orcas have evolved beyond that. They have no natural predators, they hunt easily and they’re resistant to cold. So they just … play. Travel. They have large families they stay with for life. Run by the matriarchs. And pods and super-pods that meet up, once in a while. Tribes of the sea.

‘They look after each other. They never leave a sick family member. They’ve got life sussed. They’re free.

‘A lot of people are like most animals, running around, chasing their tails. If they’re lucky enough to have a roof over their head and food to eat, they stress about exams or money or how they look.

‘We could learn from orcas. They just like hanging around, eating, playing and surfing. They’re a bit like you,’ she said with a sly grin and a nudge to his ribs.

‘You should see your face light up when you talk about this stuff, Hannah.’

Her dreamy eyes hypnotised him. The sun-smile, and freckled nose. How she was serious, but passionate too.

He showed her surf vids. She showed him more vids of dolphins and whales.

It was near dark when April, Hattie and Sean got home.

‘Get these on,’ said Mum, handing Jake frozen pies, peas and chips from her shopping bag. ‘Hannah, sorry, love. I’ll have to move you.’

Hannah had that look about her still. The sea-eyes, misted.

‘That’s okay,’ said Hannah. ‘Anything you want me to do, Mama orca?’

‘Mama what?’

‘It’s a whale,’ said Jake.

‘It’s a compliment, April,’ said Hannah. ‘I promise.’