Jake woke up with a jerk and slapped his leg hard. Ugh! Something had snaked across his calf. He sat up. It was still dark. Jake felt gingerly about, but found nothing lurking nearby. With a shoulder he lay back against the rock and try to make himself comfortable again. The water lapped his body soothingly. Maybe he'd been dreaming after all.
But Jake couldn't get back to sleep. He felt uneasy. He look deeper into the darkness and could just make out the form of Cal's sleeping body not far from his feet. Yet they were not alone, he knew it.
Then, as Jake's eyes became accustomed to the gloom, he saw it wasn't utterly dark after all. Countless specks of light were slowly sinking through the blackness beyond. Tiny white moons and stars fluttered down as if the glittering night was falling from the sky. Jake was mesmerized. It seemed to him that the whole universe, heaven itself, was tumbling silently into the sea. He rose and made his way towards it.
Jake was drawn through the water as if still asleep, hardly aware of his own motion. He passed beyond the rocks into more open water and there, as if stepping into a snowfall, he came among them: millions of minute, delicate creatures, like ghostly glass insects, their transparent bodies lit by splinters of moonlight as they descended through the dark. Some were like tiny centipedes, others miniature shrimp and jellyfish, paddling, pulsing, wriggling their antennae, trailing thread-like tentacles. Those that fell close towards him darted away.
Jake swung his arms around him and laughed. For some inexplicable reason he felt immensely happy. He swam further, on and on, sharing the secret night dance, pausing to twist and somersault like an acrobat. "I can fly!" he cried. "I can fly!"
After some time Jake sank to the seabed, still laughing, shaking the living confetti from his hair. He looked around once more. The water was clearing now. The creatures begin to disperse and faint morning light was penetrating the darkness. All of a sudden, Jake realized he had no idea where he was. He stared to his feet but a forceful swell knocked him down again. He was completely lost! Panic ran through him like an electric shock. In an instant Jake realized the horror of his situation: lost in the sea, where only one person in the world cared whether he existed at all; lost in a sea of haunting shadows, murderous marlin and worse, somewhere out there, Bloodfin, sent to hunt him down.
"Keep calm," he said. "Think clearly, now..." Cal had said he was meant to to be there. He had something important to do. He remembered her words about "reading the water". Maybe the water can tell me something, he thought, help me find my way back. Not knowing what to hope for, Jake sat still and steadied himself. He shut his eyes, stretched out his arms and concentrated on the fluid movement around him. At first he was distracted by his cloths flapping against his body and his hair floating around his head. The a starfish grabbed one of Jake's toes and broke his concentration. He shook it off and began again.
Nothing. He remained motionless, receptive, waiting for something meaningful. Still nothing. He tried once more, urgently now, desperately...
A chilly stream rippled across the seabed. As it passed, an odd sensation crept over him: a tangy, salty sensation, as though he were actually tasting the water through his skin, all over his body. The feeling was alarming and unpleasant. It sharpened, drenching him with a bitter, stingy wave. Jake began to tremble uncontrollably. His skin felt raw, as id some protective layer had dissolved. What was happening? He tried to keep a grip on himself and stay focused. "Learn this," he told himself, "remember this..." Suddenly the sea heaved into him and a biting acid blast shot across Jake's back.
"Cal!" he screamed and, kicking off the sandbed, swam as fast as he could away from the course of the pain.