Shark Wars by Ernie Altbacker Page B

never let us leave.”
    â€œI’m not saying we should ask for permission,” Striiker told the thresher. “Do you all still accept me as your leader?” Barkley didn’t quite know what was going on. But if he was going to be led, he’d rather Striiker do it than Goblin.
    They all nodded, Mari hesitantly. “Why are you asking?”
    â€œI’ll challenge him.”
    â€œAre you crazy?!” Snork blurted out.
    Shell agreed. “Why are you so anxious to swim the Sparkle Blue?”
    Striiker stubbornly whipped his tail back and forth. “I can take him.”
    Barkley shook his head. “Look, no one wants to leave more than me, but why fight at all? Why not just go?”
    â€œWhere?” Striiker asked. “The Sific? It’s a long trip.”
    â€œAnd it could be worse than here,” added Mari. “No, if we’re going to do anything, we should go back to our old place at the landshark wreck. They don’t know where it is.”
    â€œBut,” Shell said, “they’d find us.” The group knew this was true. If they left the shiver without permission and were caught again, it would be certain death.
    â€œLet’s not do anything hasty,” Barkley said. “No fighting. No leaving. Who knows, maybe Goblin will go to the Sparkle Blue at the Tuna Run.”
    â€œNow that’s a thought,” Striiker mused, a faraway look in his eyes.
    Mari got in Striiker’s face. “Don’t do anything stupid! Do. Not.” She stared at the great white until he nodded.
    â€œSomeone will have to stand up to Goblin one day,” he told Mari. “We’re just putting it off.”
    Barkley didn’t want to fight the great white or his shiver. That wasn’t the way to find his family, if they were still alive. It wasn’t a way to remain alive, either. “Look, we all know I didn’t eat during the game, so I’m going to take a swim and hunt,” Barkley said. “Thanks for coming, all of you. I’ll meet you later. You’re good friends.”
    â€œUnlike Gray,” Striiker said under his breath. But everyone heard. The four swam back to the Goblin Shiver homewaters.
    A short time later Barkley spied a few fat mackerel feeding on sardines. He zoomed in and caught one, picturing Wisko instead. “Oh, please, Barkley, your teeth are so sharp!” he imagined the wahoo crying. That would serve her right. He pursued another mackerel into the low greenie but lost the fish.
    Keep dreaming about catching a wahoo, dog breath, he told himslef. You can’t even catch a stupid mackerel.
    It was then he heard voices. Barkley moved forward slowly, not disturbing the sand or leaving a trail as he swam through the kelp bed. He peered through the feathery strands of blue and red greenie while hovering with the tide.
    â€œYou like how I piled on?” the voice asked. Barkley stalked forward to get a better look but remained wellhidden. It was Thrash.
    Then a female voice sighed, irritated, “Fine, it was funny. But we have more important things to do.”
    â€œLike that little muck-sucker didn’t deserve it!” Thrash huffed. “He’s always looking down on me, like he thinks I’m stupid or something.” Barkley’s eyes popped open in surprise as he hadn’t given Thrash credit for being smart enough to know he thought that. Apparently he was mistaken and had made a large tiger shark into an angry enemy.
    â€œWe have to get along for now,” the female voice said. The tide pushed Barkley ever so slightly. Instead of correcting, he let it ease him sideways. This gave him a different angle which revealed—Velenka! The mako continued, “You can annoy his friends, but don’t hurt them.”
    So the whole thing was a setup? Were the wahoo in on it, too? No, Barkley thought, he was just really bad at Tuna Roll. But what was the rest about?
    â€œI