Logan and Dylan sat watching the latest footage Logan developed from the day before. As he ran the film through the editor, Logan marked the spots where his splices would go in order for him to tell a cohesive story. He was beginning to organize the documentary.

"It's way different than the Gulf," Dylan said. "I can see a lot further underwater in the Gulf. I can't see as far here."

"I've seen things I've never seen before on this trip. You go diving all the time, Dylan, I go a few times a year. By the time this trips ends, I'll have doubled the amount of diving I've done. I have seen things closer up than I've seen them before. It gives me an appreciation for what Bill and your father do. I want to tell their story in a way that makes people understand what they are fighting for."

"Maybe what they are fighting against," Dylan said after a few minutes of thought.

"I listen to them talk," Logan said. "They are concise and direct in what they are saying. I don't understand why people aren't more concerned about being exposed to toxic waste."

"They're conditioned to accept their helplessness. Fresh air to breath, clean water to drink, not what they're thinking about," Dylan said. "Besides, they're busy watching the A-Team."

Logan looked at Dylan for a long time as the ten minute reel ran. He heard his words and he was trying to have some perspective on where they came from. His curiosity finally got the best of him.

"Have you ever seen the A-Team?"

"No, it isn't serious. We have a TV but we don't watch it," Dylan said. "I live in a house where people take care of business. You've met my father. He's been doing what he's doing since he was seventeen."

"I heard that," Logan said. "I had trouble finding my own butt at seventeen."

A minute more passed.

"I didn't know I had a butt at fourteen," Logan revealed.

"My other father is more intense than Clay," Dylan said. "You'd never know it by looking at him. Ivan is casual about it."

"Casual intensity? Interesting concept," Logan said.

Logan was listening to the words and trying to put them together with the young man beside him.

"I'm afraid I'll say something stupid," Logan said.

"About me having two fathers?"

Logan watched Dylan. He was waiting for a reply. Logan wasn't certain how he wanted to answer that. He could say no, when the answer was yes, but somehow Dylan might see through it. His answer to that question was complicated. He wanted to be careful.

The reel ran out and Logan removed it from the editor and stowed it back in the compartment where the watched film was in the order it had been taken. The developed film they hadn't watched was in a similar cabinet beside the first.

"I have gay friends, Dylan. I have gay students. I know society isn't this neat collection of folks that are all a like."

"That really what I asked," Dylan said, knowing how lightly to tread any time the subject of him having two Dads came up.

"No, not really," Logan said. "It's the answer I have. Do I know a gay guy with two fathers. No, and if your father is gay, I don't see it. I mean I'm not questioning it. He's pretty damn ordinary. That's not the word. Your father is extraordinary but he's not unlike most professional men his age I come in contact with. I know you are his son and that's not hard to believe. Your other father is hard for me to see. Not because there's anything wrong with it but because if someone else I know has two fathers, they haven't spoken about it. That's normal. Not revealing the kind of details that could cause trouble is normal. We live in a society that makes our differences a source of contention."

"Everyone at the cove knows my fathers are together. They know they're lovers," Dylan said. "Only two men have mentioned that in front of me. The senator and Bill have said things that allude to my two dads. My best friend works for my other dad. He thinks Ivan is the neatest white man he knows. He's never mentioned that I have two fathers. It simply is the way it is," Dylan said.

"Let me get this straight. You not only have two fathers but your best friend is black?"

"Yeah. If truth be known, Tag's my only real friend. Which isn't really true. Aunt Lucy is more like a friend than an Aunt."

"Aunt Lucy that's a legislator who is soon to be a congresswoman?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, that Aunty Lucy."

Logan laughed.

Dylan didn't talk about his life. Everyone he knew, knew him. No one asked questions about Clay and Ivan. No one asked about Mama or Pop for that matter. Aunt Lucy taught school where he went to elementary school. They knew Dylan through Lucy. No one had to ask him anything. He was an Olson. Everyone knew who the Olsons were. They'd lived in the Conservancy house and they all worked for Harry.

"You see, you go right to it, Dylan. It's like that with your photography. You're conscious of where you are all the time."

"You should see My Life At The Cove," Dylan said. "They laughed at it. That was a wake up call."

Logan heard about Dylan's movie from Bill. He looked at the boy next to him and tried to consider what his movie might look like.

"What?" Dylan asked, being made uncomfortable.

"I know I'm young. I've been lucky. My parents spoiled me and I acted like a spoiled brat," Logan said. "I did wake up and I decided I wanted to do something important for the world where I live."

"I'm not young. I'm not a kid. I come from a serious family and I'm serious about what dad does," Dylan said. "I didn't like being laughed at."

"They probably weren't laughing at you, Dylan," Logan said.

"They were laughing at my film. Isn't that laughing at me?"

"No. Not really. Maybe they were laughing at what was on the film," Logan said.

"That's laughing at me. I made the film. I edited it myself. It was pretty serious while I was doing it," Dylan said.

"You edited it yourself? Who showed you how to edit film?" Logan asked.

"Bill gave me books. He sold my father, Ivan, the underwater camera. He had books he used when he was doing his own photography. He gave them to me. One was on how to edit your film."

"I'd like to see it. We'd need to figure a way to get it copied and then send it to me sometime. I don't see myself traveling to Florida in the next year. I'm scheduled up," Logan said.

"Why go through all that trouble? I can just go to my cabin and get it" Dylan said.

"You have it with you?"

"Bill said you might want to see it," Dylan said.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Logan asked.

"You didn't ask," Dylan said.

"Do you like want to go get it, so I can see it?"

"Sure," Dylan said, going to get his film.

Logan set the film up so that the entire thing would run on the editor. The screen was big enough for both of them to see it clearly.

A few times Logan chuckled. It was in places where the people at Harry's had laughed. Dylan cringed each time another butt bent over in front of him. Why he thought that was OK to film, he didn't know.

Once the film finished running they both sat looking at the blank screen. Logan was processing what he'd seen. It was rough and not hard to see it was someone's first attempt at film making.

"I can see your edits," Logan revealed.

"I know. They're sloppy. I did the best I could," Dylan said.

"I can teach you to edit so the edits aren't visible. It's a matter of doing it over and over again. A good editor is someone who has done it a lot. The butts are funny. If you're going to make serious movies, cut down on the big butts you photograph," Logan said.

"I'll cut them out completely," Dylan said. "I didn't ask anyone to bend over for the camera."

"What gave you the idea for this movie? Why'd you film what you filmed?" Logan asked.

"It's my life at the cove. That's where I live. Those are the people who live near where I live. The campground, not so much, the people come and go, but they're a lot a like."

"How'd you decide on what you filmed? What were you thinking while you were filming it?"

"I wasn't thinking anything. I filmed my life. I filmed the people in it. I filmed the places. I saw it in my head and I filmed what I saw," Dylan said, knowing it wasn't precisely what he wanted to say.

"You're telling me you saw it before you shot it?" Logan asked.

"Yeah. It's what I see during an average day."

"Filmmakers use storyboards. They don't design the shots in their head like you did. They put a facsimile of what they are shooting in the order they intend to shoot it. It's the plan for the movie. You don't follow it exactly. It gives you an idea of where you're going."

"Really," Dylan said.

"You already have an idea of what you are filming. This is a film of your life. In the water you're filming your father. That would be a routine that you'd know ahead of time. You shoot a general scene and then you film unusual things that come and go from the scene. The storyboard is in your head, which is fine. I wish I could do it in my head. I need to see it before I'm ready to shoot it. Not so much when the stage is set for me and I go there with my camera at the ready."

"Should I do it the way you do it?" Dylan asked.

"I can teach you a hundred things about making a film, Dylan. In the end, you'll find what works for you. You keep your storyboard in your head. If that works for you, do it that way."

Mostly Logan showed Dylan how he did what he did. By watching Logan when it came to editing, Dylan could see where he'd made mistakes. Logan marked the film where the splices would go. He cut out what he didn't want and inserted the clip he did want. Dylan saw the care he took doing it. After completing several splices, they watched the edited film.

"I know where the splices are. I can't see them while I watch."

"Takes years of doing it over and over. You become better the more you do it. Practice, practice, practice," Logan told him. "Editing can make or break a film."

Logan hadn't done any serious editing yet. He'd been spending his time getting the shots he knew he'd need. He kept the newest footage together to go through as the filming was mostly done and it was time to start assembling the movie.

"When do you have time to teach?" Dylan asked.

"My schedule doesn't allow a lot of time for teaching but there are several universities with film schools and if I show up, offer my services, they can set up a class pretty fast. Two, three, maybe four kids will want to sign up for it because they've seen something I did and know my name. Experience, doing things over and over again, is how you become a better photographer."

It was Dylan's turn to look at Logan as he pondered the images that came to mind. He couldn't do what Logan described. He didn't have the patience to try to explain to someone what he was doing. Maybe that was because he didn't know how to do what he did. When Dylan made up his mind to do something, he spent little time planning to do things. Once the idea came to him, he set about getting it done.

His calculation being, he'd learn from the experience.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

After the initial distraction created by Clay's observations concerning the location of the summer's research, things got organized around Bill's purpose for being there.

They'd spent the first week and then the second following the schedule Bill made. He was the man in charge and he was there for a singular purpose. He wanted to back up his research from last year. He would compare the results and see if there was a difference.

Clay was at Bill's elbow most of the time, but from time to time he stood in the breach between the two sections of reef, looking for some clue to what may have happened there. If Bill noticed he didn't say anything and the subject of the space behind the reef didn't come up again, even if it was never far from Clay's mind.

During the third week, Clay decided to get a look at what was behind the reef. He wanted to go all the way to the trench. He'd be cautious. If there were unusual currents, he'd turn back if they were serious enough. He wanted a closer look at what was back there.

Bill was taking samples on the front of the reef. He'd found two new species in a cranny late the day before. He was now preoccupied with looking to see if there were more. The tiny space where he found that cranny was too small for both of them.

Clay floated clear of the spot while Bill worked. He noticed Logan was filming his departure as he was moving along the face of the reef toward the breach. Having pictures of what he found would work. Logan could only film the same spot on the reef for so long without becoming bored, and he probably wanted to see what was behind the reef too.

Clay reached the breach and looked to see if Logan stayed behind him. He did. He didn't close the distance between them. He moved when Clay moved. He stopped when Clay stopped.

Clay was in no hurry. The murky quality of the water on the bottom kept him from getting a clear view of what was there. Clay moved a few more feet and stopped to move his flippers to see if that would reveal anything. It didn't.

It was darker behind the reef and there was less life flowing around him. Less light might mean he wasn't seeing everything in the water with him. For the first few dozen feet there was nothing there. The floor was completely flat with no outstanding features.

Logan had been waiting for a chance to film behind the reef. He had no clue what might be back there but he wanted to film it. It was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. He was filming the missing piece. Logan knew right away, the water wasn't as clear. There was enough light not to need his light bar but the detail of the scene would suffer. Extra light would run off anything lurking there.

That thought did nothing to comfort Logan. It was kind of eerie back there as they slowly moved deeper into the empty space.

After moving forward for four or five minutes, Clay stopped moving and began paying attention to the bottom. Clay got his face mask close to the soil. Using his hands, he did an examination, allowing the soft bottom to filter through his fingers. It was black.

Logan filmed but he didn't see anything. They couldn't see that far and Clay began moving cautiously forward again. The trench was back there somewhere but Clay sensed no danger. Logan was too busy filming to sense anything. He moved when Clay moved. He stopped when Clay stopped. He kept the camera rolling.

Clay tested the floor behind the reef and it was softer. It felt muddy when most of the bottom was firm. He took a closer look and he took samples before moving forward again.

Clay stopped to look at his watch and to check his air gauge. He wasn't sure how much further the trench would be and he'd waited too long to take this excursion. Since Bill hadn't noticed his foray in back of the reef. He'd finished what he started in the morning.

He had twelve minutes of air left. They needed to get ready to surface. He'd get back to Bill's side before the professor realized he was alone.

When he turned back, he signaled Logan to look at his watch and his air tank gauge and Logan immediately understood. As Logan's eye left the viewfinder, he saw a shadow some distance away. As Clay passed him to go back to the front of the reef, Logan followed without looking back.

They were a couple of hundred feet from the breach when Clay heard a familiar sound. Bill had come through the breach and was blowing bubbles to get a reading on the assistant he couldn't see. Clay immediately blew bubbles and Bill's reply told him that he'd find him waiting in the breach.

Clay had been caught throwing spitballs in class and he smiled.

Can't put much over on the professor, he thought to himself.

Bill discovered nothing new in the cranny that got his attention the day before. Once he noticed that Clay and Logan had disappeared, it didn't take a college professor to know where to start the search. The breach had stayed in the back of Bill's mind since Clay asked about it the first time.

Logan heard and understood the communication. The deed was done and Bill wasn't going to be able to put the kibosh on Clay's curiosity at this point.

The school master called and Clay and Logan were quickly back into the fold. There was no way to judge Bill's mood. That was one advantage to being in SCUBA gear in eighty feet of water and in a few more minutes they were swimming toward the platform beside the Horizon. Even then Bill hadn't expressed his opinion on what the rest of his research team had been up to.

Even after climbing up to the deck, nothing was said by anyone.

"What did you find," Dylan asked his father.

"Find? Nothing unusual. What do you mean?" Clay asked.

"You're usually chatting away about this and that. You're all so silent," Dylan said.

"I saw something back there, Clay," Logan said.

"You saw what?" Clay asked.

"A shadow. A shape not consistent with what we'd found before we turned back. I only got a quick glimpse."

"Why didn't you say something?" Clay asked, immediately realizing his mistake. "I didn't see anything."

"It was on an angle over your left shoulder when I was getting ready to turn back and follow you," Logan said.

"Animate or inanimate?" Bill asked.

Logan thought.

"It was a shape. That's all. It stood out as I was turning away."

"You aren't making this up to get us to go back there, are you?" Bill asked Logan.

"I'm not in the habit of making things up, Bill. I saw something."

"We'll take a look in the morning, first thing," Bill said. "We should do it right away. We'll be leaving in few days."

Dylan took the specimen bag from Bill and he carried it to the biology laboratory. He'd tucked Logan's camera under his arm, and he took that to the film lab. Going back to the deck, he took his father's gear to stow in the equipment locker.

Dylan went to the galley to listen to Bill and his father talk and to watch them drink coffee. Logan was sitting with them, which he did if he went on the afternoon dive. Dylan sat beside Logan with his root beer. He sat facing his father.

"I looked around and you were gone," Bill said.

"You were involved with your new find," Clay explained. "We're running out of time. I want to get a look behind the reef."

"Did you see those plants? I've never seen that variety before. I want to look around in that spot some more." Bill said.

"I smell something cooking," Dylan said.

"I did see something," Logan said. "Something is back there."

"We'll take a look in the morning," Clay said.

Bill said nothing.

If there was to be an objection, this is when it would surface.

"I saw no motion. It was there, off in the distance," Logan said;

"Those cameraman's eyes at work again," Clay said with admiration. "I got caught up with wanting to see the bottom. That's when I realized how long we'd been down and I checked my watch."

"Can I go in the morning when we see what it is?" Dylan asked.

"You're scheduled to dive with us. Don't see why not," Clay said.

Greek came out of the kitchen with a pan of steaming hot pecan clusters. The smell was amazing and the research team just happened to have their appetites with them.

"I don't think they grew the pecans on Guam but they looked nice. I just need someone to sample them," Greek said with a smile.

There was more coffee and too many clusters to ignore.

"Dinner in three hours. Don't ruin your appetite," Greek said, laughing as he walked away from the steaming delectable.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

A little after nine the next morning, with three days left on site, Bill guided the research team into the breach between the two halves of reef. Clay and Logan kept going, once Bill stopped to take a closer look at the back of the reef where he'd been working for two summers. He was looking for the same species he saw on the front of the reef, and he found them, but smaller. Things were smaller on that side of the reef.

Logan had all the footage he needed of the space directly in front of the breach. He led the way and Clay followed as they retraced yesterday afternoon's path. Logan stopped at the spot where they'd turned around the day before. Looking toward the left, he pointed at the shadow that appeared to be about five foot high.

Clay didn't move for several minutes. Logan was already closing in on the site. He had the viewfinder up to his eye as he moved slowly up to the pile of rubble. Clay stopped when Logan stopped.

Clay's hand went to Logan's shoulder. They stood together not noticing the second cameraman was right behind him. Dylan wasn't going to miss a thing. He didn't know what they were looking at, but he kept the camera rolling. He'd learned to get the shot without doing a lot of thinking about it.

Clay moved to the left. Logan moved to his right. They ended up on the far side of the pile of rubble looking back toward the reef. They saw Dylan but Bill hadn't followed. They all looked to see if they could identify what it was they were looking at.

What had it once been? How did it get here?

As Clay and Logan stood together, the filmmaker forgot to film for the next few minutes as he considered the ruins. The idea of it being on the floor of the Pacific Ocean was staggering.

How long had it been there?

Bill got no further than the back of the reef. He turned around to face it and was so moving over the back face of the reef. He was sure he saw a new species of fish and the plants seemed smaller here. He noticed it was darker and wondered if light was a factor.

Clay wanted to move toward the trench, but he wanted to stay and examine the ruins they'd found. He reached for several pieces of stone that appeared to be part of whatever was once here. They could be analyzed, maybe carbon dated, and perhaps linked to some Pacific culture that once lived here before it was underwater.

Clay put the stones into his specimen pouch. He wasn't sure if they could tell him anything about what was once here. He was a scientist and they were there to study what was there. This went well beyond anything he expected to find on the bottom of the Pacific, but here it was.

Clay put the stones away for safe keeping and stood as Logan kept the camera on him before using an extreme closeup of the ruins. He shot the floor around the ruins and the water above it, which revealed a little light coming from above.

Clay had never been unsettled by something he found on the bottom of a body of water until now. He needed to do something, but what he didn't know. These ruins demanded more, but there was no more Clay could think of doing.

He hadn't forgotten about the trench or his desire to go there but right now he was considering the Scorpion. They could wander back here for the rest of their time on this site, and not find a damn thing. The Scorpion gave them a range SCUBA gear didn't.

He needed to keep his head clear in the face of the knowledge that someone built something here and it had probably been here for a long, long time. They needed film of it from all directions. They needed the Scorpion if they wanted to get a complete picture. This spot needed to be documented before they left it for good.

Clay knew he'd never come back here and he needed to do everything he intended to do before he left. This was bigger than one research trip into the Pacific.

He turned from the ruins and he began to move to the back of the reef. There was an absence of fish, which had him looking up to let the light from the surface highlight what was in the water above him.

He did not particularly care for what he was seeing. There were three sharks cruising above them. They appeared to be close to the surface, but it was hard to tell how far over his head they were.

Clay was made uneasy by seeing sharks so close to where they were doing business. He immediately located Dylan who stood beside Logan who shot film of the ruins from every conceivable angle.

Logan knew what he'd seen the day before was as important as anything he'd ever seen.

Clay blew bubbles and signaled he was going back. There was no way to tell them they'd be coming back, but they would.

He looked above him in the water. The sharks were gone. It was often the case. When you realized a shark was in the water with you, they often disappeared before you got a second look.

Sharks were always in the water with them. There were few close up encounters that gave divers an appreciation for how massive some sharks grew to be. He'd rarely seen a shark close enough for him to see how powerfully built this predator was.

They were there one minute and nowhere to be seen the next.


Send Rick an email at quillswritersrealm@yahoo.com

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