It took a second to see it. The man drifting with utter stillness at the top of the viewing window. His arms up around his head. The laces of dark gray running sneakers floating around his ankles.

For a moment, Cooper was fixated on those sneakers. How strange it was to see shoes underwater. Then Park ran past him—through the cave and up the steps—and Cooper snapped to action.

“Call an ambulance!” Cooper shouted at Ryan, running after Park. As he’d suspected, the steps led the other side of the pool, and at the top, Cooper was momentarily blinded by being back in the sunlight, the frantic barks ringing in his ears. After a second that felt like forever, he spotted the staff entrance at the back of the enclosure standing open and hurried in and across the slick, smooth rocks just in time to see Park dive into the water.

“Oliver!” he shouted, and bit his tongue. Park had to go in. If that man was still alive...was drowning...they couldn’t wait. But Cooper didn’t know the first thing about sea lions. Did they bite? Could they kill?

Cooper shuffled along the rocks, trying to find sight of Park, but couldn’t. It felt like a lot of time had passed, but he wasn’t sure if that was true. He wasn’t sure how much time Park would need to find the man and pull him to the surface either.

The water seemed very blue. Because of the way the pool walls were painted, or in reflection of the sky, probably, though Cooper vaguely remembered it actually had something to do with the way light bends, how reds and oranges and yellows get lost in deep water. How lots of things do.

A dark shape shot past too fast to be anything but an animal. Another, larger shape followed it, while rising closer and closer to the surface. A huge sea lion poked its head out of the water and snorted so loudly Cooper jumped, feet slipping beneath him. The creature disappeared briefly, then shot up again, heaving itself up onto the ground beside Cooper. Another smaller one quickly followed. Farther down the rocks, another three did the same. They were leaving the water, more scared of what was in there than being up here with him.

Cooper was vaguely conscious of the crowd gathering across the exhibit, pointing at him and talking. A couple of people cheered rowdily, thinking they were about to see something amazing.