Obtuse Angles: A Science Fiction Tree, Novella
by Brian GarrisonPublish: Nov 01, 2015Science FictionBook Overview
Nicolas was born different and raised without leaving his Navy community, any further than he could swim. All he wanted after high school was to live a peaceful life, maybe see land once in his lifetime. But the Willow Bay Sea Colony had other plans./^-_ /^-_
A calm ocean surface refracted moonlight. Shifting light beams always intrigued me, random chaos and yet a pattern, like it ought to mean something, but never does. The moon-rays angled into the depths, illuminating the cloud of krill around us.
One, two… four, five, full-grown manta rays emerged from the darkness, flying circles around the drifting cloud and pressuring it into a tighter ball, for easier eating. Each of the beasts was three or four meters across, but not a threat to Maria or me. One soared especially close, looking black and white in the moonlight. A kick of my flukes and I would have been able to grab it, but neither species intruded on the other.
Watching them fly mesmerized me. Not enough to make me forget the disturbing feelings which alerted me. I could hear nothing wrong and see nothing wrong, but something bothered me. Was it the harmless mantas? Paranoia? Perhaps post-traumatic fear after the previous shark attack?
There weren't many things I feared. Jellyfish wouldn't hunt us, wouldn't intentionally hurt us. But their lack of intent wouldn't be a consolation, if we found ourselves surrounded by stinging tentacles. Killer whales, a giant squid in the night? Possible, but not likely. Sharks were the obvious answer. Had a great white passed nearby, through a blind spot, felt but not seen?
The krill cloud and attendant manta's drifted away, but they didn’t take the creepy feeling with them. Minutes later, another krill cloud moved toward us. It convulsed as if driven by something attacking it from the other side. The cloud parted and two, giant sharks thrashed toward us.
