So I was rummaging through my old Word Documents and found a short story I had written for science class a while back. Though I'd post it here for you guys to read and critique. It's about 3,000 words and the title was OBSOLESCENCE OF SEA OTTERS. Enjoy
Prologue
Jackson put his fingers to his lips to symbolize that it was time to be quiet. The sea otter seemed oblivious to the three men hunting it. Big sixty-pound male, thought Jackson. He had been hunting sea otters for a while now, selling their fur. He was surprised at how much people were willing to pay for a bunch of fur. He was getting five hundred thousand dollars a sea otter. He looked over at Howard and Eddie. I cannot believe I hired these two idiots, thought Jackson. The only good thing is they are so stupid! They’re only getting one-fifth of the profit that I’m making. They are so stupid they do not even know what one-fifth is! Jackson had killed every single sea otter there is, expect for this one right now on this little island off the coast of Washington D.C., and he had not yet been to the Alaskan coast. He was very precise about his hunting. He never left any sea otters alive, even if just one was left in the habitat, he had to kill it. He could not let five hundred thousand dollars swim all alone; he just had to put it out of its misery. Then he always checked over and over again to make sure he had gotten every sea otter, before moving on to the next location. He was one predator who never went home without catching his prey.
Jackson waved with his hand to motion for Howard to come forward. Howard aimed his gun at the unsuspecting sea otter, and shot, just as the sea otter moved away.
“After it!” Jackson shouted. Howard and Eddie raced after the sea otter, which was now running away. Shots rang through the air as Howard and Eddie shot at the sea otter very clumsily. Suddenly, Eddie let out a bloodcurdling scream. He had been shot by a stray bullet. Howard ran to Eddie’s side to aide him, and Jackson ran past them both screaming, “Leave him! The sea otter is more important!” Jackson aimed cleverly at the sea otter, and pulled the trigger of his rifle. The bullet passed right through the running sea otter’s head, as he fell to the ground lazily, in a pile of blood. “Howard!” Jackson called. Howard came walking slowly to Jackson. “Get this sea otter cleaned up,” Jackson said, “I’ll take care of Eddie.”
Fifteen minutes later the sea otter was perfectly clean and Eddie was lying deep down in the Atlantic Ocean. Another five hundred thousand dollars, thought Jackson. There’s just one more place that we have to pay a visit to, then I’m positive we’ve got all the sea otters in this very small world.
“Howard,” Jackson began, “Start the airplane, we’re going to Alaska!”
Chapter 1
An Alaskan Expedition
It was one brutally cold day thought Kori, as she flew closer to her destination in the chopper. Just twenty-four hours ago she was at home on her couch sitting and reading, it had been her work vacation, or at least it was supposed to be her vacation. She never expected the call she got yesterday. According to Dr. Gordon Cruise sea otters were disappearing in immense numbers in the past few weeks. He needed scientists with experience to help preserve them, intelligent scientists with good reputations, scientists like Kori. He had said that four other scientists would be coming along for the expedition, and one college student, coming for the experience.
At first she had no real intention of going, but her husband had insisted on it. It will be fun he had said, you will be learning more, putting your teachings into real situations, and you will be preserving an endangered species. So, Kori reluctantly decided to go. Pack heavy clothes Dr. Gordon had told her, and now she was lugging a huge case, and wearing gloves, boots, a huge coat, and three layers of sweatshirts. Early in the morning she had her husband drive her to the airport, the plane was designated for western Canada, where all the scientists and the college student would meet up, and take a few choppers to the Alaskan coast. She was in her chopper with the pilot, and the college student. Kori never cared for children, or rather anyone as ignorant as a child, and she considered this college student to be ignorant. She would rather be on the other choppers, getting to know the other scientists, than with a college student. Surprisingly he had not talked with her yet, but she could just see that he was bugging to introduce himself.
“Hello, my name is Kyle,” the college student said. “I’m sure you’ve heard that I’m the college student coming along on this expedition.”
“Yes,” Kori replied dryly, “It’s wonderful to meet you.” Kori had to use all her strength to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “My name is-”
“Dr. Kori Santasi,” Kyle finished for her. “I’ve read all your work, you’re my role model. I couldn’t believe it when they told me that Dr. Kori was coming on this expedition, if I was having any doubts about coming they were all swept away in the blink of an eye.”
“Ah,” Kori stated, “nice to meet a fan.”
“Is it true what they’ve said though?” Kyle asked. “Are there really no more sea otters left except for the ones on the Alaskan coast?”
“I would assume so,” Kori said. “However if so many are gone, there will be terrible impacts on the ecosystem, sea otters being a keystone species, and all.”
“A keystone species?” Kyle exclaimed.
“A keystone species is-”
“I know what a keystone species is,” Kyle replied a bit sharply. “I just wasn’t aware that sea otters were one. What is their significance in the ecosystem?”
“Well, I assume you know that sea otters live in kelp forests,” Kori began to explain. Kyle nodded. “Whenever sea otters disappear from kelp forests, the kelp starts to die. There is an over populous of sea urchins, which eat the kelp and algae. Fish that used the kelp for cover against larger predators start to get eaten, and there are less of them. Killer whales have begun eating sea otters in the past few years, so they might start dying because of lack of food. Eventually the food supply will run out for the many sea urchins, and they will start dying. There is less food for other species, including humans. The entire ecosystem collapses, and only the strongest predators are left.”
“Wow,” Kyle simply stated. “Then we should do everything in our power to save the sea otters.”
“And that's exactly why we've been chosen to go on this expedition.” Kori said.
Chapter 2
Kyle's Research
When Kyle had arrived at the hotel they were staying at, everyone dispersed into their separate hotel rooms. Kyle lugged his luggage up to his hotel room, which was on the top floor of the three-story hotel. He unpacked all his clothes, and set up his laptop. It was nice inside the hotel; unlike the harsh weather outside, it was quite warm. The hotel did have an Internet connection, but it was very slow because they were on the coast of Alaska. He went to Google and searched sea otters; he needed to know a little more about them. Kyle clicked on the first web site and read the whole page:
“Sea otters or Enhydra Lutris are the largest members of the weasel family, and the second smallest marine animal. Sea otters consume 25% of their body weight daily. Some of their ‘favorite’ meals are: crabs, sea urchins, clams, mussels, and shrimp. Sea otters’ thick fur keeps them warm in frigid waters. One square inch on a sea otter’s body includes over one million hairs. Sea otters grow to be about four feet in length; some are even larger. Females usually weigh 45lbs, and males usually weigh 65lbs, some northern sea otters can also weigh 100lbs. The lifespan for males tends to be ten to fifteen years; however, females tend to live for fifteen to twenty years. The mating season for sea otters is anytime throughout the year. Females usually give birth to one pup, but on occasion they can give birth to twins. To learn more about sea otters and their significance as a keystone species, click next.”
That was all I needed to know, thought Kyle. That pretty much filled in all the blanks I had after what Kori had told me. Kyle took a big gaping yawn. Even though it was late afternoon it was dark outside. Kyle was tired. He crawled slowly into his bed, and pulled the blankets up over him. A few minutes later Kyle was fast asleep.
Chapter 3
The Scientists’ Findings
Kori awoke early the next morning. She hadn’t got a chance to meet any of the other scientists who had come on this expedition, she had gone straight to her room, and dozed off. She had walked downstairs to the breakfast area, and was surprised to see most of the scientists already there, chatting and eating. Kori was not really hungry, so she just put cream cheese on an onion bagel, and sat down at a table with two other scientists. One of them was an old, balding man, with a plain, white outfit.
“Hello,” he said, “My name is Bob, and yours is?”
“Kori,” Kori replied with a smile. The other woman at the table shook hands with Kori.
“I’m Jessica,” she said. Just then Kyle walked into the room, followed by two other scientists, in deep conversation. After the three of them got breakfast and sat down, a man in a blue coat cleared his throat.
“Ahem,” he said. “As you may know I am Dr. Gordon Cruise, the one who has called you on this expedition. I’ll spare you all the pleasantries, and just cut to the chase. This is the only place left in the world where sea otters are alive. You six have been called here to capture sea otters, and take them back to an enclosed environment, for breeding. Once we have successfully bred many of them, we will slowly start to release them back into their natural habitats. If we fail sea otters may go into obsolescence. We will begin our search in a few minutes. First we will travel along the coast, and then we will go off shore on a boat. There is no need to remind you that it is imperative that we succeed. Oh, and one more thing, why don’t we all introduce each other?”
The two other scientists, whom Kori had not met, were named Josef, a young, bulky male, and Lavander, a slender female.
Ten minutes later, all seven of them were bundled up, outside, on the ocean’s shore, where the waves were lashing up. So far, no one had found anything. Kori climbed over a few rocks with caution. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a crimson stain on one of the rocks. Alarm flashed through her eyes.
“Hey everyone,” Kori called over the sound of the crashing waves. “I think I found something!” The seven of them all huddled together over the crimson stain. “I think it is sea otter blood,” Kori stated with an extreme disgust in her voice. “By the looks of it the sea otter had to have been murdered. There are no predators of the sea otter on the shore. I’m almost positive this was the cause of humans.”
Kori noticed a slight stumble in Josef’s posture, but it was extremely quick, and none of the other scientists noticed it.
“Hey!” Kyle exclaimed, wandering away from the group, mesmerized by the blood. “There’s a little cave over here. Maybe there are some sea otters in it.” The rest of the group followed Kyle into the cave. Kyle ran down the cave, ahead of everyone.
“Hey, there’s food over here,” Kyle said. As Kori and the other scientists neared they saw the Kyle was right. There were coolers of food, all stacked up on the side of the cave. From behind the seven of them, there was a clicking noise, and a man’s voice said, “Well, what have we got here?”
Chapter 4
The Betrayal
All seven of them turned around slowly. Two men were standing there, both with guns. The one who had talked was tall, and muscular. Josef started to walk towards them. The man who had spoken raised his gun, and yelled “Bam!” Lavander let out a little yelp, and both of the men, and Josef laughed.
“Jackson!” Josef said, embracing the man who frightened Lavander. “I see you’ve kept Howard.” Josef pointed to the other man, who was a little confused about what Josef was doing. “What happened to Eddie?”
“He had an… accident,” Jackson replied without even a hint of regret or sadness in his voice.
“You three are fur hunters?” Lavander exclaimed. “Is that why there are hardly any sea otters left? Josef, how could you?”
“I do like my work, Lavander,” Josef said back in a kind tone, “But five hundred thousand dollars a weasel is a little hard to pass up, and there are so many of them. He sighed. “Too bad that they’re all dead now.” Lavander gasped in astonishment.
“So you mean to tell me that you have killed all the sea otters on the whole planet?” Lavander asked.
“No,” Jackson responded. “There’s still that one, for example.” He pointed to a cute little sea otter wandering to a small pile of scurrying shrimp. A trap thought Kori, how could anyone be this cruel? The sea otter walked up to the pile of shrimp, and grabbed one. Jackson shot it right in the head. Kori looked away in disgust. Lavander screamed at the sound of gunfire.
Lavander walked up to Howard, Jackson, and Josef. “You Basta-” Lavander was cut short as Josef shot her in the chest, and she went down. Jessica leaned over and vomited.
“I’m so sorry to announce,” Jackson began, “that now you have witnessed this we need to kill you.” Josef shot a bullet in the air, clearly startling the five remaining prisoners. The three men laughed, a cruel evil sound. Then a rumbling sound filled the cave, and cut their laughter short. Everyone turned their attention to the ceiling, and it collapsed on top of Howard, Jackson, and Josef. The remaining five were safe, but the same could not be said for the sea otter population of the world.
Epilogue
A few years later…
Kyle was watching the news on his couch. A cold shudder ran through him. Even though some years had passed since he witnessed the extinction of sea otters, he still was a little shocked. Everything happened just as Kori had predicted. The ocean was no longer a safe place, predators roamed even in the shallows now. They had tried everything they could to prevent the collapse of the ocean’s ecosystem, but it was inevitable. Kelp had started to die, along with small fish, and algae. Sea urchins became over populated, and many died from lack of food, and so did some killer whales. Kyle had just gotten off from work, with Kori, they had became partners after Kyle had graduated. It was their work vacation, a time to relax, and be carefree. A knock on the door woke Kyle up from being half asleep. He opened his door to find Kori waiting patiently on his doorstep. “What’s the occasion?” Kyle asked.
“We have been called to go immediately on an expedition to preserve a dying rainforest species.” Kori stated.
“But it is vacation,” Kyle said moaning.
“Duty calls. Grab your coat, get dressed, I’m waiting.” Reluctantly Kyle retreated into his house to get ready.
Waiting on the porch, Kori snickered. Newbies, she thought, takes them a while to get the hang of things.
Prologue
Jackson put his fingers to his lips to symbolize that it was time to be quiet. The sea otter seemed oblivious to the three men hunting it. Big sixty-pound male, thought Jackson. He had been hunting sea otters for a while now, selling their fur. He was surprised at how much people were willing to pay for a bunch of fur. He was getting five hundred thousand dollars a sea otter. He looked over at Howard and Eddie. I cannot believe I hired these two idiots, thought Jackson. The only good thing is they are so stupid! They’re only getting one-fifth of the profit that I’m making. They are so stupid they do not even know what one-fifth is! Jackson had killed every single sea otter there is, expect for this one right now on this little island off the coast of Washington D.C., and he had not yet been to the Alaskan coast. He was very precise about his hunting. He never left any sea otters alive, even if just one was left in the habitat, he had to kill it. He could not let five hundred thousand dollars swim all alone; he just had to put it out of its misery. Then he always checked over and over again to make sure he had gotten every sea otter, before moving on to the next location. He was one predator who never went home without catching his prey.
Jackson waved with his hand to motion for Howard to come forward. Howard aimed his gun at the unsuspecting sea otter, and shot, just as the sea otter moved away.
“After it!” Jackson shouted. Howard and Eddie raced after the sea otter, which was now running away. Shots rang through the air as Howard and Eddie shot at the sea otter very clumsily. Suddenly, Eddie let out a bloodcurdling scream. He had been shot by a stray bullet. Howard ran to Eddie’s side to aide him, and Jackson ran past them both screaming, “Leave him! The sea otter is more important!” Jackson aimed cleverly at the sea otter, and pulled the trigger of his rifle. The bullet passed right through the running sea otter’s head, as he fell to the ground lazily, in a pile of blood. “Howard!” Jackson called. Howard came walking slowly to Jackson. “Get this sea otter cleaned up,” Jackson said, “I’ll take care of Eddie.”
Fifteen minutes later the sea otter was perfectly clean and Eddie was lying deep down in the Atlantic Ocean. Another five hundred thousand dollars, thought Jackson. There’s just one more place that we have to pay a visit to, then I’m positive we’ve got all the sea otters in this very small world.
“Howard,” Jackson began, “Start the airplane, we’re going to Alaska!”
Chapter 1
At first she had no real intention of going, but her husband had insisted on it. It will be fun he had said, you will be learning more, putting your teachings into real situations, and you will be preserving an endangered species. So, Kori reluctantly decided to go. Pack heavy clothes Dr. Gordon had told her, and now she was lugging a huge case, and wearing gloves, boots, a huge coat, and three layers of sweatshirts. Early in the morning she had her husband drive her to the airport, the plane was designated for western Canada, where all the scientists and the college student would meet up, and take a few choppers to the Alaskan coast. She was in her chopper with the pilot, and the college student. Kori never cared for children, or rather anyone as ignorant as a child, and she considered this college student to be ignorant. She would rather be on the other choppers, getting to know the other scientists, than with a college student. Surprisingly he had not talked with her yet, but she could just see that he was bugging to introduce himself.
“Hello, my name is Kyle,” the college student said. “I’m sure you’ve heard that I’m the college student coming along on this expedition.”
“Yes,” Kori replied dryly, “It’s wonderful to meet you.” Kori had to use all her strength to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “My name is-”
“Dr. Kori Santasi,” Kyle finished for her. “I’ve read all your work, you’re my role model. I couldn’t believe it when they told me that Dr. Kori was coming on this expedition, if I was having any doubts about coming they were all swept away in the blink of an eye.”
“Ah,” Kori stated, “nice to meet a fan.”
“Is it true what they’ve said though?” Kyle asked. “Are there really no more sea otters left except for the ones on the Alaskan coast?”
“I would assume so,” Kori said. “However if so many are gone, there will be terrible impacts on the ecosystem, sea otters being a keystone species, and all.”
“A keystone species?” Kyle exclaimed.
“A keystone species is-”
“I know what a keystone species is,” Kyle replied a bit sharply. “I just wasn’t aware that sea otters were one. What is their significance in the ecosystem?”
“Well, I assume you know that sea otters live in kelp forests,” Kori began to explain. Kyle nodded. “Whenever sea otters disappear from kelp forests, the kelp starts to die. There is an over populous of sea urchins, which eat the kelp and algae. Fish that used the kelp for cover against larger predators start to get eaten, and there are less of them. Killer whales have begun eating sea otters in the past few years, so they might start dying because of lack of food. Eventually the food supply will run out for the many sea urchins, and they will start dying. There is less food for other species, including humans. The entire ecosystem collapses, and only the strongest predators are left.”
“Wow,” Kyle simply stated. “Then we should do everything in our power to save the sea otters.”
“And that's exactly why we've been chosen to go on this expedition.” Kori said.
Chapter 2
Kyle's Research
When Kyle had arrived at the hotel they were staying at, everyone dispersed into their separate hotel rooms. Kyle lugged his luggage up to his hotel room, which was on the top floor of the three-story hotel. He unpacked all his clothes, and set up his laptop. It was nice inside the hotel; unlike the harsh weather outside, it was quite warm. The hotel did have an Internet connection, but it was very slow because they were on the coast of Alaska. He went to Google and searched sea otters; he needed to know a little more about them. Kyle clicked on the first web site and read the whole page:
“Sea otters or Enhydra Lutris are the largest members of the weasel family, and the second smallest marine animal. Sea otters consume 25% of their body weight daily. Some of their ‘favorite’ meals are: crabs, sea urchins, clams, mussels, and shrimp. Sea otters’ thick fur keeps them warm in frigid waters. One square inch on a sea otter’s body includes over one million hairs. Sea otters grow to be about four feet in length; some are even larger. Females usually weigh 45lbs, and males usually weigh 65lbs, some northern sea otters can also weigh 100lbs. The lifespan for males tends to be ten to fifteen years; however, females tend to live for fifteen to twenty years. The mating season for sea otters is anytime throughout the year. Females usually give birth to one pup, but on occasion they can give birth to twins. To learn more about sea otters and their significance as a keystone species, click next.”
That was all I needed to know, thought Kyle. That pretty much filled in all the blanks I had after what Kori had told me. Kyle took a big gaping yawn. Even though it was late afternoon it was dark outside. Kyle was tired. He crawled slowly into his bed, and pulled the blankets up over him. A few minutes later Kyle was fast asleep.
Chapter 3
The Scientists’ Findings
Kori awoke early the next morning. She hadn’t got a chance to meet any of the other scientists who had come on this expedition, she had gone straight to her room, and dozed off. She had walked downstairs to the breakfast area, and was surprised to see most of the scientists already there, chatting and eating. Kori was not really hungry, so she just put cream cheese on an onion bagel, and sat down at a table with two other scientists. One of them was an old, balding man, with a plain, white outfit.
“Hello,” he said, “My name is Bob, and yours is?”
“Kori,” Kori replied with a smile. The other woman at the table shook hands with Kori.
“I’m Jessica,” she said. Just then Kyle walked into the room, followed by two other scientists, in deep conversation. After the three of them got breakfast and sat down, a man in a blue coat cleared his throat.
“Ahem,” he said. “As you may know I am Dr. Gordon Cruise, the one who has called you on this expedition. I’ll spare you all the pleasantries, and just cut to the chase. This is the only place left in the world where sea otters are alive. You six have been called here to capture sea otters, and take them back to an enclosed environment, for breeding. Once we have successfully bred many of them, we will slowly start to release them back into their natural habitats. If we fail sea otters may go into obsolescence. We will begin our search in a few minutes. First we will travel along the coast, and then we will go off shore on a boat. There is no need to remind you that it is imperative that we succeed. Oh, and one more thing, why don’t we all introduce each other?”
The two other scientists, whom Kori had not met, were named Josef, a young, bulky male, and Lavander, a slender female.
Ten minutes later, all seven of them were bundled up, outside, on the ocean’s shore, where the waves were lashing up. So far, no one had found anything. Kori climbed over a few rocks with caution. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a crimson stain on one of the rocks. Alarm flashed through her eyes.
“Hey everyone,” Kori called over the sound of the crashing waves. “I think I found something!” The seven of them all huddled together over the crimson stain. “I think it is sea otter blood,” Kori stated with an extreme disgust in her voice. “By the looks of it the sea otter had to have been murdered. There are no predators of the sea otter on the shore. I’m almost positive this was the cause of humans.”
Kori noticed a slight stumble in Josef’s posture, but it was extremely quick, and none of the other scientists noticed it.
“Hey!” Kyle exclaimed, wandering away from the group, mesmerized by the blood. “There’s a little cave over here. Maybe there are some sea otters in it.” The rest of the group followed Kyle into the cave. Kyle ran down the cave, ahead of everyone.
“Hey, there’s food over here,” Kyle said. As Kori and the other scientists neared they saw the Kyle was right. There were coolers of food, all stacked up on the side of the cave. From behind the seven of them, there was a clicking noise, and a man’s voice said, “Well, what have we got here?”
Chapter 4
The Betrayal
All seven of them turned around slowly. Two men were standing there, both with guns. The one who had talked was tall, and muscular. Josef started to walk towards them. The man who had spoken raised his gun, and yelled “Bam!” Lavander let out a little yelp, and both of the men, and Josef laughed.
“Jackson!” Josef said, embracing the man who frightened Lavander. “I see you’ve kept Howard.” Josef pointed to the other man, who was a little confused about what Josef was doing. “What happened to Eddie?”
“He had an… accident,” Jackson replied without even a hint of regret or sadness in his voice.
“You three are fur hunters?” Lavander exclaimed. “Is that why there are hardly any sea otters left? Josef, how could you?”
“I do like my work, Lavander,” Josef said back in a kind tone, “But five hundred thousand dollars a weasel is a little hard to pass up, and there are so many of them. He sighed. “Too bad that they’re all dead now.” Lavander gasped in astonishment.
“So you mean to tell me that you have killed all the sea otters on the whole planet?” Lavander asked.
“No,” Jackson responded. “There’s still that one, for example.” He pointed to a cute little sea otter wandering to a small pile of scurrying shrimp. A trap thought Kori, how could anyone be this cruel? The sea otter walked up to the pile of shrimp, and grabbed one. Jackson shot it right in the head. Kori looked away in disgust. Lavander screamed at the sound of gunfire.
Lavander walked up to Howard, Jackson, and Josef. “You Basta-” Lavander was cut short as Josef shot her in the chest, and she went down. Jessica leaned over and vomited.
“I’m so sorry to announce,” Jackson began, “that now you have witnessed this we need to kill you.” Josef shot a bullet in the air, clearly startling the five remaining prisoners. The three men laughed, a cruel evil sound. Then a rumbling sound filled the cave, and cut their laughter short. Everyone turned their attention to the ceiling, and it collapsed on top of Howard, Jackson, and Josef. The remaining five were safe, but the same could not be said for the sea otter population of the world.
Epilogue
A few years later…
Kyle was watching the news on his couch. A cold shudder ran through him. Even though some years had passed since he witnessed the extinction of sea otters, he still was a little shocked. Everything happened just as Kori had predicted. The ocean was no longer a safe place, predators roamed even in the shallows now. They had tried everything they could to prevent the collapse of the ocean’s ecosystem, but it was inevitable. Kelp had started to die, along with small fish, and algae. Sea urchins became over populated, and many died from lack of food, and so did some killer whales. Kyle had just gotten off from work, with Kori, they had became partners after Kyle had graduated. It was their work vacation, a time to relax, and be carefree. A knock on the door woke Kyle up from being half asleep. He opened his door to find Kori waiting patiently on his doorstep. “What’s the occasion?” Kyle asked.
“We have been called to go immediately on an expedition to preserve a dying rainforest species.” Kori stated.
“But it is vacation,” Kyle said moaning.
“Duty calls. Grab your coat, get dressed, I’m waiting.” Reluctantly Kyle retreated into his house to get ready.
Waiting on the porch, Kori snickered. Newbies, she thought, takes them a while to get the hang of things.
