"Read. I'm thirty one years old. You are the closest thing I've had to a friend ever since you were hatched." Pock declared, "If you're going up to the surface. I'm going with you."
Read's gleaming, bulging eyes, gleamed as he looked up at his old friend.
"Thank you."---
Although Pock was short one fin he was still a fast fish, all sharks could be fast if they wanted to, and Read had to clamp down every single one of his legs around Pock's dorsal fin.
"You better get ready." Pock said softly, gliding to the side quickly and hiding in the shade of a rock.
"For what?"
Suddenly a giant wave of ropes erupted into through the water. Read had never heard such a sound, it had come from above. A rustle like something breaking the water itself.
The ropes were all crisscrossed into a net. He had seen much smaller pieces down in the metal wreck Pock lived in. The net pulled closer and suddenly it closed in on itself. Read cried out in shock as all the fish swimming inside of it were squashed together.
"Pock!" Read called, "What's happening?"
"They are being hunted. By the ones who hunted me." Pock explained.
"We have to help!" Read cried as he bolted through the water, propelling himself towards the thick ropes.
"Help!" A little halibut sobbed from just beside Read.
The young octopus jumped back quickly. The sharp little teeth gleamed through the tight rope that was dragging the cloud of halibut up to the end of the water.
"Please!" Another halibut cried.
Read hesitated. He had lost a few of his siblings to halibut... But this wasn't the time to think of that. No fish deserved to be hunted in masses like this.
"Pock!" Read cried, "I can't break the ropes!"
The hesitation in Pock's eyes was evident as he stared out from his hiding place but as Read wrapped his long legs around the ropes that tied up his natural enemies, Pock had no other option but to blast forward.
It took only a second for the rows of teeth to rip straight through the lines and the halibut poured free. Pock immediately circled around Read and opened his mouth wide as the halibut jumped at the little octopus.
"No!" the little halibut that had spoken to Read cried, "We need to leave now!"
The cloud answered without a word being spoken and dove down into the depths of the water. Through the giant cloud, resonating on the walls created by the giant flat fish, Read heard the distant call of thanks from the little halibut.
"Are you sure you still want to go up?" Pock asked.
"Yes."
"We wait till the metal belly is gone." Pock pointed up to the shadow off in the distance.
It was a long dark shape and as the rope was completely pulled away a low groan echoed through the waters. Read watched in horror as the water behind the shadow started twirling frantically in all directions and the giant slab of metal crept forth.
To be continued in: the second tale - Part 4
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