Ocean: War of Independence Read Online Free

Now the birds flew back and forth over the schools of fish that she commanded, as if guarding them—and this made for an impressive display.
    Just when everything was arranged to Gwyneth’s satisfaction, she saw vehicles stopping up on the bridge, heard emergency sirens, and saw the blue flashing lights of police cars as the cops tried to get through. A large crowd was forming on the sidewalk on the east side of the bridge, and more people kept coming. It didn’t take long for traffic to come to a complete halt in both directions.
    In the water on the other side of the bridge, a pair of harbor pilot boats turned a cruise ship around, and on each side of the cordon additional ships and boats were turning around. All the while, more animals kept adding to the bulk of the barricade, including a large number of seals that came around from Seal Rocks on the ocean-facing, northwest shore of San Francisco.
    Within half an hour, Gwyneth was pleased to see a huge SAVE OCEAN WILDLIFE banner displayed on the sidewalk railing of the bridge, and climbers taking more banners up to the tops of the towers. She heard crowd noises, police bullhorns, music, and chanting protestors. Things were happening fast.

    The deep-black, starlit darkness of the mid-Pacific settled over the island of Loa’kai, just as Jeff reached the bottom of the mountain and turned onto a dirt road. This was not the road that led to the Pohaku house; instead, it led to an isolated spot where he could park the Jeep and sleep in it, a place that would be warmer than up on the mountainside. He was tired, and wanted his mind fresher before going to old Ealani Pohaku and confronting her. At this early evening hour, she might have visitors, and that would complicate things. Better to wait until after 4:00 a.m. when she would be asleep, and probably alone in the house.
    Jeff found a place he remembered, a small clearing down a bumpy dirt road in the jungle. There were no houses anywhere around, only thick, leafy vegetation on all sides. Switching off the lights, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Night birds called out, perhaps warning each other that he was there. He set the alarm on his watch, to awaken him at the proper time. Finally, fitfully, he drifted off to sleep in the bucket seat, leaning his head against the door.
    Once during the night, he awakened to the unsettling sounds of a wild boar as it huffed and snorted around the outside of the vehicle, probably wondering, like the birds, what an intruder was doing here. After a few minutes, the animal went on its way, and Jeff fell asleep again.
    He awoke before the alarm went off, maybe from another noise he didn’t hear now. Checking his watch, he saw that he was forty minutes ahead of the alarm, not enough time to fall back asleep. He sat up, yawned. In his pocket, he felt the reassuring lump of the .38 pistol.
    It was still dark when he turned onto the quarter-mile-long, unpaved road that led to the Pohaku house. He went partway, then stopped and switched off the headlights. Jeff drew the gun, and stepped out into the starlight.
    Even after waiting for his eyes to adjust, he could barely make out the road that had been cut through thick jungle. Keeping a hand extended to avoid running into anything, he made his way slowly, until he was surprised to see the lights of the Pohaku house still on. Creeping around the outside of the small dwelling, he saw old Ealani Pohaku sitting in the living room, dozing in a rocking chair with an open book on her lap.
    She stirred when he squeaked open the front door, and her eyes opened wide. The book fell from her lap as she rose to her feet.
    Waving the gun at her menacingly, Jeff said, “You Pohakus have always hated my family, haven’t you?” His gaze narrowed as he drew nearer to her. “What did you do, old woman? Put a Hawaiian curse on us?”
    She shook her head sadly and said, in her coarse, earthy voice, “On the contrary, young man, I have always wished the best