The Swarm

'What's going on?' asked Anawak. Greywolf's decrepit old boat had fought its way back to Tofino fifteen minutes earlier, and since then the office had been swamped with people. The news of the attack had spread like wildfire through the town. All the skippers who worked for the station had come in and the frequencies were jammed. At first nearby sport fishermen had called in, ridiculing the inexperienced idiots 'too dumb to dodge a bunch of whales', and bragging about how they would save them. Then the calls had dried up. Anyone who tried to help had become the target of a fresh attack. All hell had broken loose – and no one knew for sure what was going on.

'The Coast Guard's run out of people to send us,' said Shoemaker angrily. 'They've all been dispatched to Victoria or Ucluelet. Apparently the Lady isn't the only boat in trouble.'

'More attacks?'

'And deaths, by the sound of it.'

'News from Ucluelet,' Davie called. He reached behind the counter and twiddled the dials on his shortwave radio. 'A signal from a trawler. She picked up a distress call from a Zodiac and went to help, but she was attacked. She's turning round.'

'What kind of attack?'

'Signal's gone. I've lost her.'

'And the Lady Wexham?

'No news. Tofino Air has sent two planes – I got hold of them just now.'

'And?' asked Shoemaker impatiently. 'Can they see the Lady?'

'Tom, they only just took off.'

'Why aren't we with them?'

'Don't be a jerk. You know perfectly well why-'

'They're our boats, for Christ's sake! We should be in those darned planes.' Shoemaker was pacing wildly. 'What's happened to the Lady?'

'We'll have to wait and see.'

'Wait? We can't wait! I'm going out there.'

'Tom-'

'We've got another Zodiac, haven't we? We'll take the Devilfish and see for ourselves.'

'Are you nuts?' said a skipper. 'Haven't you been listening to a word Leon's said? We need to leave this to the Coast Guard.'

'There is no Coast Guard!' yelled Shoemaker.

'Maybe the Lady Wexham will make it back without us. Leon said-'

'Maybe isn't good enough. I'm going out there!'

'That's enough now!' Davie held up a hand to silence them. He shot Shoemaker a warning glare. 'Enough lives have been lost, Tom. I don't want anyone taking needless risks. 'We'll wait for the pilots to report back, then we'll decide what to do.'

'Doing nothing never solved anything!'

Davie didn't answer. He was tuning his radio, trying to make contact with the seaplanes. In the meantime Anawak did his best to persuade the crowd to leave the office. His knees trembled and he felt dizzy. He was probably in shock, he thought. He would have given anything to lie down and close his eyes – but if he did, he knew he would see Stringer in the jaws of an orca.

The woman she had saved was lying semi-conscious on a bench near the door. If it hadn't been for her, Stringer would still be alive. The man they'd rescued was sitting next to her, crying softly: he'd lost his daughter, who'd been with him on the boat. Alicia Delaware was looking after him. For someone who'd only narrowly escaped death, she seemed remarkably composed. A helicopter was supposed to be on its way to take them to hospital, but right now they couldn't count on anyone or anything.

'Hey, Leon!' said Shoemaker. 'Will you come with me? You'll be able to tell me what to look out for.'

'Tom, you're not going,' snapped Davie.

'None of you idiots should go out there,' said a deep voice. 'Not ever again. I'll go.'

Anawak swivelled round. Greywolf had walked into the station. He pushed his way through the milling crowd, brushing the hair out of his eyes. The room fell silent and everyone stared at the long-haired giant dressed in suede.

'What are you talking about?' said Anawak. 'Go where?'

'I'm going back to your boat, to rescue your people. I'm not afraid of the whales. They won't hurt me.'

'That's very noble of you, Jack, it really is. But from now on maybe you should keep out of it.'

'Leon,' Greywolf snarled, 'if I'd kept out of it earlier, you'd be dead by now. You should keep out. In fact, you should've kept out in the first place.'

'Out of what?' said Shoemaker, with a dangerous edge.

'Nature, Shoemaker. You're the ones to blame for the whole damn disaster – you and your boats and your cameras. You're responsible for the deaths of my people and your own people and the people whose money you pocketed. It was always going to happen. It was only a matter of time.'

'Asshole!' Shoemaker screamed at him.

Delaware got to her feet. 'He's not an asshole,' she said firmly. 'He saved us. And he's right. If it hadn't been for him, we'd be dead.'

Anawak was well aware that they were indebted to Greywolf – he more than anyone else – but he couldn't forget all the trouble that the man had caused them in the past. He said nothing. For a few seconds there was an uncomfortable silence.

'Jack,' said Anawak, 'if you go out there, someone's going to have to fish you out of the water. The only place you should take your boat is a museum. It won't survive another trip.'

'You're going to let them die out there, then?'

'I don't want anyone to die – not even you.'

'Oh, so it's me you're worried about, is it? But I wasn't planning on using my boat. It took a few knocks out there. I'll take yours.'

'The Devilfish?"

'Sure.'

'I can't just hand it over to anyone,' he said, 'least of all you.'

'Then you'll have to come with me.'

'Jack, I-'

'You can tell that loser Shoemaker he can come too. We'll he in need of some bait, now the orcas are eating their enemies.'

'You've lost it, Jack.'

Greywolf bent down to him. 'Leon,' he hissed. 'My friends died out there too. Do you think I don't care?'

'Well, if you hadn't brought them along…'

'Arguing won't get us anywhere. We're talking about your people, and I'm not the one who needs to go out there. You owe me a bit of gratitude, Leon.'

Anawak swore. He glanced at the others. Shoemaker was on the telephone. Davie was speaking into his walkie-talkie and beckoned to him. 'What do you think of Tom's idea?' he said, in a low voice. 'Would we be able to help or would it be suicide?'

Anawak chewed his lip. 'What did the pilots say?'

'The Lady has capsized. She's on her side, taking in water.'

'Oh, God.'

'The Victoria Coast Guard says it can scramble a helicopter in a rescue operation, but I doubt they'll make it in time. They're busy enough already, and the calls keep coming in.'

The idea of re-entering the hell that they'd just left was a terrifying prospect, but Anawak knew he would never forgive himself if he didn't do everything in his power to help the Lady Wexham. 'Greywolf wants to come too,' he said quietly.

'In the same boat as Tom? You've got to be joking. I thought we were trying to solve a problem, not create one.'

'Greywolf could be useful. God knows what's going on in his head, but we could do with having him around – he's strong and completely fearless.'

Davie nodded gloomily. 'Keep the two of them apart, OK? And if it looks hopeless, come straight back here. I don't want anyone playing the hero.'

Anawak headed over to Shoemaker, waited for him to put down the phone, then told him of Davie's decision.

'You want to take that phony Indian with us?' Shoemaker said indignantly. 'Are you crazy?'