CHAPTER ONE
Zac couldnât help it. He was trying to look interested in what the tour guide at the West Sea Aquarium was saying but could he help it if his eyes kept closing all by themselves?
âZac Power!â hissed his teacher, Mrs Tran. âI suggest you pay attention.Thereâll be a test after the excursion, you know.â
Zacâs eyes snapped open.
âCoral might not look excitingâ¦â the tour guide was saying.
Heâs right there , thought Zac, checking his watch yet again. How could it still only be 9.03am?
â...but did you know coral takes over a million years to form?â
A million years!
Surely he wouldnât be stuck at the aquarium that long!
Zac stared out the window. The aquarium was on the edge of the West Sea. Zac saw perfect surfing waves breaking. If only he was out there instead of being stuck in here...
âIâll pass around some coral,â said the tour guide. âCan you feel how rough it is?â
Zac stood with his arms crossed. Heâd had more fun sorting his sock drawer!
âLetâs move on to our next exhibit, kids,â the tour guide went on. âThe shark tank!â
Zac woke right up. Sharks! Maybe thereâll be giant white pointers with huge, bloody teeth!
âOnto the moving walkway,â called the tour guide.
The moving walkway was a flat escalator snaking all around the aquarium. The whole class stepped on and moved slowly towards the shark tank.
âItâs feeding time,â said the tour guide, sounding excited.
Zac craned his neck to see. Inside the tank were two divers with hunks of meat in their hands. Four sharks were swimming straight for them.The sharks were massive!
âDonât worry, everybody,â said the tour guide. âThe sharks really want that meat. It only looks like theyâre attacking the divers!â
The sharks circled around the divers. The water churned.
âWait â they really are attacking the divers!â shrieked the tour guide.
A shark had one of the divers by the leg.
âShark attack!â Mrs Tran yelled.
Suddenly, everyone in the aquarium was screaming. People were running right and left. The tour guide hid under a chair.
In all the confusion, Zac felt a tap on his shoulder.
âZac Power?â a voice said.
Zac turned around. Beside him stood a giant turtle. Or, to be exact, a woman dressed in a turtle costume.
âCome and look at the baby turtle exhibit,â said the giant turtle woman.
Baby turtles? What was this woman talking about? There was a shark attack on!
Zac wanted to help.
Or, at the very least, watch.
âAh, no thanks. Iâll stay here,â Zac said firmly.
âNo, come with me. Now!â
Suddenly, the walkway started moving under Zacâs feet. But this time it wasnât going slowly. It was speeding Zac and the giant turtle woman towards the baby turtle exhibit. Next door, Zac could still hear screaming.
âItâs not a real shark attack,â explained the giant turtle. âGIB hired stunt divers to create a diversion while we sent you on your next mission.â
GIB, or Government Investigation Bureau, was the spying agency Zac worked for. The woman pushed up the bright green sleeves of her turtle costume. Zac saw a miniature walkie-talkie strapped to her wrist. She tapped it once and then spoke into it.
âAttention all GIB ground staff. This is Big Turtle. Do you read me?â
The walkie-talkie crackled.
âLoud and clear, Big Turtle,â came the reply. âThe amphibious submersible is good to go.â
The water in the turtle exhibit started bubbling. Then, the coolest thing Zac had ever seen rose up from behind a clump of seaweed. The top was glass. There were wings on the side and rockets on the back. Underneath were two fat tyres.
âWhat is it?â said Zac, who couldnât help being impressed.
âAn amphibious submersible. It goes under water
Learning to Kill: Stories