The coastguard crew saw enough to hesitate. “Maybe Elena’s right,” one officer said quietly. “About the whale?” “Look at it. If this were feeding behavior, why keep holding him?” The senior officer stared at the water. “Then our job is to remove the shark.”
Nathaniel closed his eyes and listened to the deep calls around him. He wondered whether the other whales knew he was there too. Perhaps they were not only keeping the shark away. Perhaps they were making sure he did not end up in the middle of their own feeding activity.