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The guy signals us to a whale lying on its side facing away from us. Water lapping halfway up its body. The guy holds a rolled up yellow mat that we need to get underneath the whale. He positions us to hold onto handles along one side of the mat. Then he starts to unravel the mat. Dips down under the water to pull it along. His mate follows him at the other corner, and they emerge a few seconds later.
‘Again, pull hard!’ the guy shouts to his partner. They dip down to come up a bit farther along the whale’s side. ‘That’s good, again.’
Gethin and I grip the rope handles either side of Aiden. Hands freezing in the wetsuit gloves. The guys haul the mat and the whale moves a few centimetres, flipper waving helplessly.
‘Again!’ They heave and heave and suddenly the whale slides towards us and starts to turn. A shining black wall of flesh coming for us, and I tighten my hold for all I’m worth. Aiden shouts as the whale advances and splashes into the open water. Then he loses his balance and slides under the surface, still gripping the mat. I can’t frigging see him, just the flailing mat and the massive bulk of the half-submerged whale.
I stare at the spot where Aiden fell. Gethin looks round frantically. Moves along the side of the mat.
‘Stay where you are!’ the guy yells.
‘Gethin, careful!’ I scream as he ducks down under the mat.
The guy lunges towards us as the ripples settle from where Gethin went under. I lean forward, my eyes straining to see beneath the water’s surface.
The whale shifts its shiny wall and I hang onto the mat and steady my feet. Cold shiver in the small of my back. Time stands still as the guy approaches. Face strained and anxious. Distant shouts from the other boat. Pierce of the whales’ whistle. Smell of rotting fish and diesel. Bitter taste in my mouth mingles with the salt on my lips. Stomach hollow with fear. Forgetting to breathe.
Suddenly the water parts and rolls off the hulk of Gethin rasping for breath and hauling Aiden onto his shoulder. Aiden splutters, face ghostly green, and the guy grabs him under the arms and drags him onto the boat with Iain. Gethin stands shivering next to me.
‘For God’s sake.’ I grab his arm. ‘I thought we’d lost the pair of you, right?’
He looks at me, hair plastered to his face. A bit of seaweed hangs from his ear like some merman’s jewellery. Opens his mouth to speak but can only shake his head. I squeeze his arm tight with the relief I feel.
We make our way to the boat, like wading through treacle, still clinging to each other. Iain helps us get on while Aiden sits shaking pale and blue lipped.
‘Aiden, what happened? Are you OK?’ Gethin asks.
Aiden’s eyes are blood-shot but his skin is a slightly pinker green. ‘Dunno… got caught up in the mat… panicked,’ his voice breathless. ‘I can’t swim, you know. Jesus, I pure thought I was gone.’ He rests his head in his hands. The lumpy line of his skull looks right fragile under his thin fuzz of hair.
‘Gethin did well to drag you out,’ Iain says.
‘I pretty much just grabbed him; we weren’t like in deep water.’ Gethin can’t hide his beaming proud grin.
‘Good on you, either way!’ I encourage.
Aiden nods, manages a tight smile.
‘We’ll get you all back to shore. I should no’ have brought you. It’s too dangerous.’ Iain pulls the throttle to start the outboard.
‘I’ll be right,’ Aiden says. ‘It won’t happen again.’
Iain laughs. ‘We’re rescuing whales, not teenage heroes, and the marine team have arrived now.’ He points to a few people unloading equipment out of a van. A couple of dinghies being made ready to launch. ‘We’ll get you warm and you can help on the shore again if you want.’
Aiden hangs his head, looking shamed.
‘Dinnae fash,’ Iain says. ‘At least you were up for it and good for you.’
‘Absolutely.’ Gethin doesn’t sound superior at all.
I nudge him with my bulky elbow, and he leans into me, his wet hair tickling my cheek.
‘We’ll be guiding the floating ones out in an hour when the tide’s right,’ Iain says as we get out of the boat. ‘Go and get changed, see if someone’s got a hot drink for you. You can come along in the boat then if you want, as long as you promise to stay in it.’
Aiden stamps his feet on the jetty, squelching water as he goes.
‘That’d be grand Iain’ he says. He looks over at me and Gethin, shakes his head. ‘Will there be room for my pals as well?’
‘Of course, laddie.’ Iain laughs. ‘With you owing your life to them.’
