Breath if you dare

The problem didn’t lie in the resources we had, or lacked, but the person we left in charge of the resources. Shortly after deciding there was no longer enough time to continue the trials, we started packing up everything we had. For the most part the bags consisted of various materials that would have helped us get to the bottom of the water. Or at least what we were aware of being the bottom. The remains of the food we had brought was no longer existent, but that was never a concern when the island catered to our needs. We decided to take some of the exotic fruit with us in hopes to recreate more back in the states. We left Jenny in charge of that, she was the one in control of making the water drinkable. That was the only thing she contributed in this project, nonetheless, we needed her. As Jenny took her sweet time to pack the fruits we all continued with our tasks. Johnny, Kevin, Leo, and I returned to the water to preserve one last sample.

There was seven us. Cameron, who got us here, was the most creative. There was to be no trace when coming to this island. With that being said he had created a sail boat that self destructed as we arrived on the island. No bang, no fire, no wasted material, a reinvented form of destruction. The way he and Nate, can’t forget Nate, had built the ship, was something of a lego set. See Nate was good with directions, give him a task and he’s on it so we claimed his as the builder of things. We were able to take a part each piece of the boat and use it on the island. The panels we once walked on became the beds we slept on as the sail boats' jibs gave us cover and warmth. The ropes allowed for hanging bags of food to stop animals from getting to them, at least the ones that couldn’t climb. I could go into details about the animals of the island, but now’s not the time for that.

There was Johnny the oceanographer, Leo who knew all the physics, and Kevin, the one in charge of the tools. Then there was me, hi my names Kite. I’m the scientist you could say, the one who has plans for our findings. Well plan, I planned to collect the DNA from these coral reefs. You see, these coral reefs aren’t like the others. In the Sea of Japan there are purple and white coals reefs that hold a source that allows for underwater breathing. The oxygen pockets are so delicate you cant just cut off a piece without killing the whole thing, dying out the DNA preserved. The holes however can be injected with a needle, contracting what we need to potentially recreate this DNA. Sounds absurd I know and you may be thinking how did I find out about this? I have been researching the surrounding area for years now, something in that area has been releasing fish to the surface allowing fisherman to no longer scout, and now simply collect. No one questioned it, but I needed to know what was happening. After my first visit I swam as deep as I could. I noticed these reefs that varied in portions every mile or so. I noticed things avoided it, but there were clear openings as if it welcomed fish or something in. So I swam in. The reef was just big enough for me to slide threw, with caging arms wrapped around the top of my body. I was 5’8” and it took a while for me to swim threw. I noticed however that by first entrance all of a sudden had the same feeling I had when I first entered the water. My lungs and chest reformed a new set time for air. I had been practicing breathing during my swim, for my own sake, removing my tube whenever I could, but after that I removed my tube completely after leaving the reef. Amazed and confused I started to panic that perhaps I was hallucinating, that I had hit my head or worse passed out. I swim to the surface and didn’t even gasp for air.

As Kevin pulled me in, he didn’t even question the fact that my tube was already removed. I say thank you and grab some water to drink. As I take off my wetsuit, I notice he checks the tank. Without hesitation he takes the tank and goes next. My tank is almost empty I tell him. He waves his hand like that means nothing and puts it on. I really started to think I was dreaming, but I wasn’t. I thought I knew what I had discovered, but had I been late to the game? I join the others for food as Kevin went down under. I told the others what I had experienced and continued to write it down in the journal for Kevin to read later, that’s when I noticed his notebooks seemed to be thicker than the last time I saw them placed. What was he writing? Or adding, because it looked like he documented stacks of separate paper in the pages. Kevin had all the experience with the tools we needed to collect the DNA so I wondered what new information he was collecting.

Our second trip in the area was the one we stayed planted at. Staying on the island for about 6 days. We decided to break the trip into two visits one in obvious manner like tourists, and second time for the real the reason. This may not have been the best way to go about it, because as we were packing up I noticed a ship in the distance, and it wasn’t our back up boat. Were we being spied on? Had it been there the whole time? As the others are packing I tell Kevin about the boat, but by the time I got to him it had disappeared. “Look I know you’re upset that I dropped the tools in the water, but there’s no reason to be lying to me about random stuff.” Im not I explained, maybe it went behind the rocks.

“Or maybe it’s our back up boat.” I knew he wouldn’t listen to me so I fall silent. My gut was telling me something wasn’t adding up, and I was starting not to trust Kevin. At first I really didn’t think him loosing the tools as we were in the water was really his fault, but thinking back on the fact that no one found them at the surface, and they float… just seems suspicious to me. Was he trying to pass this on as his own discovery? I know I came up with the destination, but I wanted us all to be recognized. We all had made it back to the island with the needle from the emergency kit filled with what was realistically just water. Im glad we hadn’t cut off a piece of the coral breaking the seal of the oxygen, but I don’t think this was going to cut it.

My jaw dropped, the rest of the crew was tied up while Kevin, Leo, Johnny, and I came to the surface. They weren’t blindfolded, or even duct tapped shut so they couldn’t scream. What happened? Johnny and I say at the same time. They were frozen in fear. I see behind them that the test tubes were all smashed, nothing deadly, but perhaps dangerous when mixed. I asked Leo if there was anything deadly in the mix, and I could see him doing the math in his head. I try to untie the others, but as I lunge forward Leo pulls me back. Don’t touch them just incase. Kevin? I say in fear and depletion.

“The world isn’t ready to ruin another living playground” - Kevin