As the Millennium Osprey came in closer and closer to the island, a seal flew up in the air, and that was the signal of the start of the seal massacre.
RIP in pieces.
Killer whales had a distinctive hunting style, as they were incredibly social and great with teamwork, but with such abundant prey on the edge of the island, they didn't even need to communicate or work together to take down their target. They could kill baby and fully-grown whales with patience and finesse, so a mere seal was nothing compared to their prowess.
The boat slowed to a halt, and Nastasya rushed out with the drone in one hand and the controller in the other.
"Be careful, it's slippery," I said and aimed the camera at the hunt.
"Hopefully we'll actually be able to see something with this. I'll be pissed otherwise," Nastasya said, and barely a moment later, the drone zipped past me.
"Go, little buddy. You got this. Get us some nice footage," I mumbled to the drone as I snapped a picture and hoped it'd turn out. I looked at the screen. It just looked like a lot of fog.
More pictures couldn't hurt, though, so I kept taking them.
Robbie came out from inside the cabin, and he stood beside Nastasya with the controller in her hands.
"So that's what the drone sees?" he asked and pointed to the mini screen on the controller.
"Yep. You're catching on faster than I thought you would," Nastasya replied.
"Then why is it all white and a little bit of blue?" Robbie asked.
"Because that's the ocean and the fog."
"Where even is the drone?" Robbie asked, and both Nastasya and I looked up and scanned the air around us. I didn't see anything besides the brutal end of several seals.
"I—am not entirely sure," Nastasya said.
"How long is the battery life?" Robbie asked.
"About twenty minutes or so."
"That seems a bit ridiculous for ten thousand dollars."
"The picture quality is great, though."
"Really? Because all I'm seeing is white and blue still."
"You are such an asshole," Nastasya spat.
Oddly enough, it felt like my parents were fighting. My strange boat parents.
"Spin it around in circles so we can find it," I said. "Humans are pretty good at detecting motion since we're predators."
Nastasya moved the controls in a circle, but none of us saw anything.
"Excellent. Fantastic," Nastasya mumbled. "Just focus on taking pictures for your whale thing. That's what we're out here for."
The truth was that killer whales weren't actually monitored through my program, but I snapped a few more pictures to keep Nastasya happy and to document the rare finding in the Gulf of Maine. If the drone fell through, then I still wanted some evidence and a way to remember.
Another seal flew up into the air, and from where we were stationed a few hundred feet away, it seemed that some blood diffused into the water.
"Those poor seals," I mumbled and gazed into the water.
I watched them twice a day, almost every day with Logan, and even though they weren't my project, I still wanted them to succeed in life, which was a major reason why the alpha seal bothered me so much. It was difficult to succeed in life while dead.
YOU ARE READING
Fluke
ChickLit"For a place called Paradise City, this island sucks. I don't think a single day has gone by that I haven't thought about stabbing the shit out of myself," he said. "Especially since I'm forced to live with you every second of every day." "Sh. I'm t...
