On deck, everyone fell silent as the whale surfaced. “Its mouth is opening,” Elena said. Rescue swimmers stood ready at the rail. The captain cut the engines. “Nobody moves until Nathan is clear,” he ordered. Even the radio chatter seemed to fade.
Nathaniel kicked hard. His tank scraped along the roof of the whale’s mouth, then he slipped forward through the baleen. Suddenly there was nothing around him but bubbles, fish and bright blue water. He was outside. He turned upward and kicked for the surface.