4 Stand Back!

Chapter 4 STAND BACK! "Go, guys, go!" Annie shouted to the narwhals. She raced to the shoreline. Jack ran with her. "GO! GO! GO!" he yelled as loudly as he could. The narwhals dove under the surface of the water again. The orcas took off after them. But one of the huge predators swam toward Jack and Annie. "Whoa!" said Jack, pulling Annie back from the edge of the sea. Suddenly there was a flurry of splashes and whooshing sounds. "What's happening?" said Jack. "That orca's chasing a narwhal!" cried

Annie. A small narwhal had separated from his herd. He was swimming toward a row of icebergs about thirty feet offshore. "The orca's still coming!" said Annie. The giant orca kept chasing the narwhal. "Hurry!" cried Jack. The narwhal escaped through a passage in the row of icebergs. He swam into a pool of shallow water. The orca was too big to swim through the opening. It crashed against the huge mounds of ice. Some of the ice splintered and broke off in chunks. The orca tried to swim under the icebergs. But the water was too shallow. It smashed against the barrier again. But the passage was still too narrow. Finally, the killer whale swam away. "Yay!" said Annie. Jack sighed with relief. The narwhal was alone in the pool of

water. "They're gone!" Jack called to him. "You can go now! Go!" "Hurry! Before they come back!" yelled Annie. "Find your friends!" shouted Jack. As they spoke, more ice shifted and fell. A chunk of fallen ice now completely blocked the passage that led back out to deep water. The narwhal circled inside the shallow pool. Surrounded by packed ice, he was trapped. "Oh, no, he can't get out!" said Annie. "Stand back!" someone shouted behind them. "Move away!" Jack and Annie whirled around. A boy with shoulder-length red hair stood on some rocks above them. He looked as young as Annie, but he was holding a huge spear.

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"Whoa, hi!" said Jack. "Who are you?" The boy scowled. He wore a red tunic with a rope around his waist, leather pants, and boots. His spear was made of wood and had a sharp metal blade. Maybe his parents work at a research station, thought Jack. Maybe he likes to dress in costumes and play with ancient weapons. "Move away! He is mine!" the boy said. "What do you mean, yours?" said Jack. "He's not anybody's!" said Annie. The boy strode down the slope toward the water. He raised his spear, aiming it at the narwhal. "No! Stop! What are you doing?" said Jack. He charged at the boy and tried to take his spear away. The boy lost his grip and dropped it. Jack grabbed the spear. It was so heavy, he could barely lift it. What kind of kid carries around something like this? he wondered.

"Give it back!" the boy said. He reached for his spear. But Annie jumped between him and Jack. "Stop!" she said. "Why do you want to hurt that narwhal? What's wrong with you?" "His horn is worth a fortune. Everyone knows that," said the boy. "That's a terrible reason!" said Annie. "You can't kill him for his horn!" said Jack. "Why not?" said the boy. He stared at Jack with fierce blue eyes. "Because narwhals are special!" said Annie. "They're mysteries of nature. They know secrets we'll never know. They hear things in ways we'll never hear! They talk in a language we'll never understand! Get it?" The boy looked from Jack to Annie. He took a deep breath and stepped to the water's edge. He stared at the narwhal as if seeing the creature for the first time.