Nnedi Okorafor - Lagoon

Thump, thump, thump .

It was coming from the back of the boat, where Adaora crouched. She listened. Thump, thump, thump. “Help!” The word was nothing but a whisper. But it was human. Thump, thump, thump.

“Agu,” Adaora said. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he said from the other side of the boat.

“Please,” the voice wheezed.

Adaora took several breaths, working hard to ignore Femi, who was right beside her. They were under attack; a woman had fallen into the water, and yet this man was recording everything.

“Please, stop it,” she said to him calmly.

“No,” he whispered.

Fine . She had more important things to do. She stood up and looked into the blue waters. There was Hawra, clinging to the side of the boat. She was soaked but OK. “How…” Then Adaora saw something below Hawra swimming up, quickly. Something huge, black, with too many fins. Adaora threw herself forward. “Agu, come help me, o. Hurry!”

She could see the thing more clearly now. A mouth. Opening. Full of teeth. Adaora dug deep within herself. Within all that she was. Her love of logic and science. Her love of the water. Her love of the sea. She came to the story of her birth she’d heard so many times from her parents.

That.

She hung on to that.

It was in the knowing. She knew. She stepped over the side of the boat, out onto the water.

“No!” Hawra said. “What are you… ?”

Adaora’s feet landed on the water and the water held her up.

“Shit!” Femi shouted, camera pointed and recording.

Hawra clung to the side of the boat, eyes wide, her mouth hanging open. “Agu!” Adaora yelled back. “I need you!”

Then she knelt down and spread her hands, palms flat on the water’s surface. It felt solid and warm. She pushed, and felt something emanate from herself. Something solid. The enormous creature with the mouth full of teeth below slammed against Adaora’s invisible force. Adaora felt it push against what she’d sent. It was the same thing she’d done when she was fighting with Chris, except this time she did it to save another person. She took one hand from the water and reached out to Hawra. The other woman grabbed at her.

“Are you… ?” Agu was staring at Adaora, mouth agape, as she knelt on the water, holding Hawra up and pushing the thrashing monster down.

She looked into his eyes, needing him to understand, to trust her. “Remember how you got through the riot?” She motioned with her head to the waters behind her. “Do that again but keep all the monsters away while I help Hawra into the boat.”

Agu just stared at her.

“Go!” she shouted. “Don’t think! No time! Agu, go!”

To her relief, he blinked, twitched and then threw himself in the water. Something big was coming at them from her left and Agu swam right for it. He dropped beneath the water’s surface. Adaora saw the huge grey shark-like creature collide with Agu. A moment later, the creature was flying out of the water, hurled a hundred feet in the air. Adaora could see its great toothy jaws gape. Then splash !

Agu’s head popped out of the water. He looked around until he spotted them. He waved and Adaora waved back. Then he dove back down.

“Come, come, come,” Adaora said quickly, hoisting Hawra up until she, too, was standing on water.

“This is blasphemy,” Hawra whispered. But she giggled.

“I don’t know what it is,” Adaora said.

“Take my hand!” the President said. Chucks stood beside him, ready to help.

Another large creature, this one like a ropy, pink-purple squid, wildly flung itself out of the water. And from the front of the boat, Bamidele was shooting at something. “That one, chale ! Shoot that one!” she heard Anthony yelling.

Just as Hawra got one leg onto the boat, a tentacle flew out of the water, past Adaora and slapped around Hawra’s other leg.

“Argh! Get it off!” she screamed. “It hurts! It—”

The President grabbed at the tentacle and then fell backwards, smoke rising from his hands. He must have received a horrible electric shock from the monster. Adaora felt the current trying to lock up her muscles, but her force field must have dampened the impact. She stumbled back, still on the water’s surface, as the tentacle dragged Hawra under.

Agu saw Hawra dragged toward the deep. The tentacle belonged to a great octopus. It glowed a smooth purple and was the size of two horses. He could feel the electrical current the creature put out. It tickled him, even underwater.

And it seemed the entire ocean had decided to come after them. Large fish, armored fish, spiked fish, monstrous sharks, a giant swordfish; he even thought he saw something that looked like a whale. All were bearing down on the boat, on him.

Why? What had they done? He knew the answer. He, Adaora, Anthony – everyone else – they were human. They didn’t belong here in the deep. So they would die here and it would be right. Best to leave these waters to the ocean animals, and the aliens.

A large shark was coming at him from his right, and the huge swordfish and a school of smaller fish were coming at him from his left. He couldn’t fight them all off. He was losing air. He needed to swim to the surface. But he didn’t want them to see him torn to bits. Better to stay down here. He would keep them safe for as long as he could.

Suddenly, Anthony torpedoed into the water. He looked right at Agu. As he swam he motioned frantically to the boat. For a moment, Agu didn’t understand, then he did. He propelled himself up, to the boat. Just before bringing his head above water, he looked back. In the morning sunshine, just below the surface of the water, Anthony was in clear view. He floated there. Then he thrust his arms and legs out.

Agu felt a hand grab him and he was hoisted up by the President and his soldiers. They all fell onto the deck and jammed their fists to their ears as a huge wave shoved them further out to sea.

MOOOOOOOOOM!

The boat rocked and swayed this way and that but thankfully, somehow, it did not capsize. Everyone felt the itchy buzz in their heads as their eardrums popped. Adaora felt as if she were covered with ants. Then there was nothing but the sound of lapping water against the side of the boat. After several moments, they got to their feet. The surface of the water was littered with the bodies of hundreds of tiny dead fish. Larger fish roiled in the water further away, all swimming away from Anthony. Away from the boat.

“Did he explode?” one of the guards asked, his gun still in his hand.

No one answered.

A head surfaced from the water at Adaora’s water-walking feet and then Hawra was flailing and coughing. Adaora dropped to her knees, pressing them down. Soft and warm, the water held her as she snatched Hawra’s shoulder then arm.

“Relax,” Adaora shouted. “Stop!”

“Oh Praise Allah! Praise the Most High!” Hawra gasped as Adaora pulled her up to also stand on the water.

“Wife!” the President shouted, leaning over the side and yanking Hawra onto the boat. “Oh, my wife, my wife, my wife.” They sat on the floor, cradling each other.

The air smelled sweet, with a hint of blood. Something slapped at the side of the boat, feet away.

“Someone, pull… me up.”

”Anthony!” Adaora said. Without a thought, she ran over to him, her feet supported by the water like those of a water skipping insect. She and Agu helped him crawl back onto the boat. Agu gave him the only towel onboard and Anthony wrapped it around himself. Once on the boat, Adaora ran over and hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek.

“You are amazing ,” she said.