June 29th, 2021
0830 hours
Robyn affixed the last strip of security tape to one of the poles she'd tapped into the sandy ground, the yellow stark against the pale drifts. There wasn't a lot of traffic milling about the scene, which was good. There had been a few tourists posting videos of the dolphin when she'd arrived, but they left willingly when asked, for which she was grateful.
Hopefully, they wouldn't have much contamination to contend with, which meant they might be closer to identifying the cause of death for these majestic creatures. Month to date this was the third dolphin that had become beached, and, like the others, this one appeared to have been in perfect health.
It was uncommon for them to wash up on shore, but dolphins were usually intelligent, and it was unnerving to Robyn that they were suddenly showing signs of distress. She imagined it was environmental factors: over-fishing and pollution, as well as climate change, were affecting species' populations on a global scale. Robyn didn't portend to neglect this fact while researching this new development. She'd undertaken the project as part of her graduate thesis. While the project gave her plenty of material to work with, she wasn't any closer to discovering any answers.
This specimen, from what she could tell, was a mature adult male. There were no signs of struggle or injury, but it would have to be moved to the lab and necropsied. Robyn sighed and ran a gloved hand over the rough skin: it was not smooth, as portrayed in Hollywood. It was thick and tough, formidable and strong. The surface was already warm from the sun, but the internal temperature when she inserted a thermometer indicated some time had passed since it died. Not long enough, however, for scavengers to have touched it. She estimated a few hours, at most.
Robyn needed to process the scene and transport the animal quickly. She unzipped the fanny pack around her waist, retrieving several clear vials, and quickly began taking samples from the soil and epidermis as delicately as she could given the time constraints.
She barely registered what she was doing, her mind far more focused on getting it done than observing what she saw. It wasn't in her nature to work like so, but then, she had never processed a beached dolphin when it was so hot, and the temperature would start to jeopardize the remains.
"I'll look into these later." She grumbled to herself, and after dumping the vials into her bag, she reached into her equipment pack and began taking out tension cables.
"Zach." She called over the noise of the surf, unfolding a thick blue tarp. "Help me get the tow straps around him."
"Sure, Birdie." Zach grinned, blond highlighted spikes of hair glinting in the sun.
"You know I hate that." She chastised teasingly, a grin forming on her tan face. While it agitated her, his nickname for her was sweet and gave the sense she belonged somewhere. It wasn't a feeling she had often, especially after all that happened to her. It wasn't flirtatious, however, and up to this point they enjoyed a brotherly, sisterly sort of relationship. Neither had siblings, and bonded rather well in that respect.
They each grabbed an end of the strap and began meticulously wiggling it up under the flukes of the animal. When they had it securely around the peduncle, just behind the dorsal fin, they began doing the same under the head, adjusting this line just behind the pectoral fins. The animal was heavy, and it took several moments between the two of them. Robyn's arms strained from the effort. She wiped her brow, beads of sweat trailing from her hairline into her eyes. She blinked the salty sting from them and gazed sadly at the dolphin.
Zach did the same, silently giving tribute to the poor, magnificent creature.
"Okay, where are the stakes?" Robyn glanced around the stained earth.
"Birdie." Zach tapped her shoulder with the metal object.
"Thanks, Zach." She grabbed one and began hammering it through the grommet in the corner of the tarp. Beads of sweat poured down her body, soaking her top. The material clung uncomfortably to her skin.
"Hello, hottie." Zach whistled lowly behind her as she pegged in another stake. "Where have you been all my life?"
Robyn laughed. "That," she grunted, hammering down the last spike, "is the cheesiest pick up line I've ever heard."
Zach grinned, blonde hair cascading into his eyes. "Did it work?"
"No!" Robyn shoved him playfully.
Zach caught her hand as she stood, pulling her in close and encircling her in his arms. She could see his nose peeling from his latest sunburn.
"You need to wear SPF." She shrugged in his arms, attempting to put space between them. His eyes met hers and she gulped.
"You need a man." His voice grew huskier, lids half-closed as he gazed at her.
Robyn's heart skipped. "I don't need one."
"You want one." Zach continued, bringing his face even closer. Their noses were nearly touching.
Robyn couldn't deny it. "Yes." She blushed and turned her face away, but he caught her chin with strong fingers and cupped it gently.
"Then want me." Zach pressed, staring her down.
Robyn's heart pounded harder, cheeks reddening a deeper hue of scarlet. "I can't just have you, Zach." The thought actually embarrassed her, though for their close bond or the idea of having a man for the first time in a long time, she didn't know.
His lips curled into a sexy half smile and he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Robyn didn't know how to react: on the one hand, she desperately needed to feel a man working her over, on the other, Zach was the closest thing to family she had. Not to mention, he was younger than her.
"Whatever you need, I'll give you." He rasped, raking his hands down her sides. The skin where his fingers touched quivered and her breath quickened, turning into a longing moan she desperately attempted to hide.
"Zach, I-" Her protest was cut off by a soft pair of lips meeting her own. Surprise flitted momentarily through her conscience, though his hot mouth moving on hers made the thoughts of how inappropriate the situation was quickly fly right out of her brain.
Robyn sagged into his arms, embracing him back. The hard, toned muscles pressing through his clothing ignited a fire in her core.
For a moment, her body betrayed her, and she succumbed to the seductiveness of his touch. He didn't linger, though, gently dragging his lips to the corner of her mouth and giving her one last kiss. Pleasurable tingles radiated from the spot.
"You don't have to decide now." Zach coughed, a pink tinge spotting his own cheeks.
Surprising herself, Robyn replied "Maybe tonight. Larry's?"
"The bar?" Zach raised an eyebrow, releasing her from his grasp. "Need liquid encouragement to ride this?"
Robyn chuckled, hiding her nervousness. It had been so, so long since she'd had a man between her thighs. "Maybe." She admitted, turning back to the task at hand.
"I won't pressure you." Zach spoke softly. "If you are uncomfortable, we can just hang out like we usually do."
Robyn was grateful for his chivalry. "Thanks, Zach."
He stared at her for a minute longer. "No problem. You are gorgeous, you know."
"Yeah, yeah." Robyn waved the compliment off with a trembling hand. His kiss, though salty, had been wonderfully masculine and demanding.
"I'll go start up the Cat, then?" Zach coughed again, ears red. Robyn giggled uncharacteristically, giddy to see he was equally embarrassed.
"That's a good idea." She flattened the tarp as he pulled up the forklift. He jumped down, sand flying where his feet hit the beach, and grabbed one of the tension cables. Robyn attached one side while Zach secured the other.
"Okay. Let me go keep the tarp flat."
Zach nodded, waiting until she was positioned with her arms and legs splayed, keeping the tarp flush with the beach.
"Quit staring at my ass." She grumbled playfully. Her protest was met with a masculine chuckle.
"Just keep the tarp flat." Zach warned, mounting the Cat again, putting it in gear and driving the machine backward. It gave an almighty shudder as the lines went taught and the dolphin's weight strained on the motor. Zach kept going, the machine humming in protest until the dolphin carcass slowly began sliding forward. Robyn put her weight into keeping the tarp spread, attempting to keep her body lifted enough at the same time so the carcass could slide underneath her.
"Wait!" She called out; voice small in the rush of wind.
"What?" Zach yelled back, shielding his eyes from the rising sun as he looked up.
"The nose went under the tarp. Hang on." Robyn cursed and pulled herself up. She positioned herself in a low squat and looped her arms, shimmying them under the animal's head. She grunted and lifted with her thighs: there was no way she could lift its head with just her arm strength.
The nose lifted several inches and she quickly flattened the tarp underneath, dropping the head like a dead weight onto the plastic.
"There." She panted, wiping her brow.
Zach stared. "Holy shit, woman." His eyes bugged. "I think I'll let you call the shots."
Robyn laughed. "I might. Just get this going again, we need to get it to the lab asap."
Zach saluted her. "Eye eye, cap." He winked churlishly and eyed her form.
Her heart soared. For now, she was happy, even if it meant disastrous flirting with her coworker and a potentially horrible sexual encounter. In this moment, she was living.
She was more alive than she'd been in long time.
"You know," Zach called, dismounting the cat again once the dolphin was squared on the tarp and the lift arms were under the body "even if it's not me, you need to get out there."
Robyn's heart panged. Flirting with him, kissing him, had been fun, but to hear the words was torture.
"Have you been talking to Sally?"
"No." He frowned. It looked cute on him. "Why?"
"No reason." Robyn mumbled, shielding her eyes to glance up at him.
Zach dipped his head quickly and kissed her again, this time slower, languidly. She responded, allowing her lips to move with his.
"Just in case I don't get the chance to do that again." He whispered as he pulled away.
"You might, you might not." Robyn flirted back.
"You are an amazing woman, Birdie." Zach gently punched her shoulder, grinning. "Don't let anyone tell you different."
"Sure." Robyn agreed, eyes trailing back to the dolphin. Past the machine, a faint, dark stain of blood was visible in the sand where the carcass had been.
"Hang on, Zach." She frowned, turning to the tarp and pulling a clean glove from her back pocket. She wriggled it onto her hand and inched up under the dead animal's belly, struggling to get her fingers underneath the sheer weight. There, near the center of the underbelly, she could feel torn flesh.
She ripped her arm out from under it, pained from the compression on her limb. The glove was bloody.
"That's odd." She murmured, glancing up at Zach. His brows furrowed as he edged closer, observing the soiled latex.
"Maybe it got hit by a shark."
"That's unlikely, dolphins are faster than most shark species, and much more intelligent." Robyn's heart squeezed uncomfortably, unsettled. "Most likely the bloat got to it, but that seems unlikely, too, since it seems so fresh."
"Well, let's call it in, so the lab can be prepared." Zach offered, stepping up into the lift. "Come on, Birdie."
Zach's sparkling eyes permeated through the cloud of confusion hanging over her. She shook her head, pulling off the glove and bagging it.
Her heart was lighter when she left the beach. Perhaps it was because she'd ventured beyond her comfort zone, or maybe it was Zach's company; whatever the reason, she held onto it for dear life. The feeling was hard to come by, and she didn't want to lose it.