Sea Salt (2Doc)

CHAPTER 4: Serenade

"Come on!" Stuart called from behind the large rock.
"I'm coming, geez!" Alex swam upwards and breached the water's surface. Stuart scootched to the left to make space for their friend. The other siren eyed a sea otter; floating on its back, attempting to crack open a clam by hitting it on a rock balanced on its furry stomach.
"You can do it, little guy-!" The blue-haired siren whispered loudly from behind the rock.
Alex rolled their eyes.

"Is this all you wanted to show me, Stu?"
"Shh, it's breaking it open-!" They hushed their friend, black eyes wide with anticipation. After a few moments, the furry creature managed to crack open the clam and tore its exterior open, feeding on the soft innards. Stuart did a little celebratory swim-dance, golden tail flicking to-and-fro in the water. A huge toothy smile plastered on their face.

After feasting on the clam, the little sea otter submerged under the water in search for more to feed upon.
"Well now that that's over, let's go meet up with Josh and Terry," Alex said, swimming downwards.
"But, wasn't that otter jus' adorable? Did y'see its whiskers?" Stuart followed after the emerald tail of their friend.
"Yeah yeah," The other replied.
"Aleeex!" Stuart swam faster so they were beside the other siren.
Alex chuckled. "You sure love all the animals in the ocean, Stu."
"'course, I do!" Stuart exclaimed.
"Except sharks?"
"Except sharks."
They both laughed.

"They're sorta cool, though," Stuart commented, shortly after.
"Only when they're not chasing after ya!" The other retorted with a snicker.

"Alex! Stu!"

Both sirens redirected their attention to the other siren speeding towards their direction. It was Terry.
"Hey, Terry! What's 'appening?" Stuart called out to their friend, holding up their arm in greeting.
"We've gotta get back on land. Hurry!" Terry yelled, finally in front of the two.
"What?"
"Weren't you listening yesterday? A whole bunch o' sea lions are coming in our territory today!"

A look of dread and realisation dawned upon both sirens.
Alex gave a worried look to the blue-haired siren who blinked back.
"And you know what that means..." Terry said, grimly.

"Orcas." Alex and Stuart answered in unison.

They both knew that when the sea lions came, the orcas were not far behind - ready to prey upon unsuspecting sea lions. As well as sirens.

"What about Josh?" Stuart asked, concerned.
"They're already at home, Stu. We're the ones that will be in danger if we don't get on land!"
In mutual agreement, all three sirens began swimming off towards land, where they were to reside in the sea caves until the orcas were done feeding.

Whoosh.

A sea lion darted past them. Terror was painted across all their faces.

The orcas were coming.

The three sirens swam faster now. Panic churning sickly in the pit of their stomachs. Their shimmering tails moving quicker, propelling them closer and closer to the caves.
Soon, a couple more sea lions whizzed past them. Some swimming alongside them, not aware of the impending doom that approached them.
Then, the sound they were praying not to hear tainted their ears. The distant, chilling, and high-pitched song of the orcas resounded through the water. The sirens knew that they had to swim faster if they had any desire to live.

Alex could see the caves in the distance. Terry and Stuart could see them too. They were close. But, not close enough.
Suddenly, they smelt something. It smelt metallic and familiar. They turned their heads and were met with a horrific sight.

A cloud of red. Large black and white goliaths less than half a mile behind. Some were violently shredding apart unlucky sea lions, staining the blue ocean darker with blood. They weren't nicknamed 'killer whales' for nothing.