Cold-Blooded Waters

By Theodore F. Lee

On the frigid coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, two families find themselves in the cold water of turbulent times. One, a human family, is immersed in a sea of misdirected emotions and the other, a killer whale family, is faced with the consequence of human interference. Both families are split apart on the rocks of life and heading straight for a collision course.

Young Charlie Newhook and his clan were struggling fishermen, who lived under a continual cloud of brooding storms brought on by blinded emotions. The immaturity of a son to understand his family’s situation and the inability by the father to express his feelings, introduces a perfect storm of discontent.

Cultis, the renegade killer whale, is the product of humanity’s quest for greed. Taken from the freedom of the sea, he becomes an uncontrollable force of terror, hell-bent on destroying everything in its path.

 

Blinded by the thirst for revenge, blood is freely spilled on the path of reconciliation, in hopes of shedding the weight of antiquated ways. In a sea of uncertainty, the Newhook clan and the pod of killer whales finally collide, to find unexpected redemption upon the cold-blooded waters of Newfoundland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jul 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638291718

Theodore F. Lee

Theodore F. Lee brings to the writing world a wonderful vision, influenced by countless occupations. His writing material has been chiselled from a colourful palette of life experiences, that took this author from the hard labor of fishing rooms to the hallowed halls of university classrooms. Merging from those many experiences, he reconstructs a literary picture that excites the imagination with the turn of each page and the conclusion from every chapter. Even though Theodore has achieved multiple university degrees that include a master’s in education, he believes that the true path for a fulfilled life comes from the space between pages of life.

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About the Author

Theodore F. Lee brings to the writing world a wonderful vision, influenced by countless occupations. His writing material has been chiselled from a colourful palette of life experiences, that took this author from the hard labour of fishing rooms to the hallowed halls of university classrooms. Merging from those many experiences, he reconstructs a literary picture that excites the imagination with the turn of each page and the conclusion from every chapter. Even though Theodore has achieved multiple university degrees, that include a masters in education, he believes that the true path for a fulfilled life comes from the space between pages of life.

Copyright Information ©

Theodore F. Lee 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Lee, Theodore F.

Cold-Blooded Waters

ISBN 9781638291701 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781638291718 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022911615

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

20230527

Chapter 1

The Stand at the Stage

It was before morning light at the stage, when Levi, Charlie, and Martin Newhook began preparation for a long day of hook and line on the fishing grounds just outside of Steady Harbour. In Newfoundland fishing communities, the stage was a typical place where the fishing preparations were made in the early morning and the product was processed for market at the end of the day. It was Levi’s home away from home with his two sons after the winter ice retreated and the spring advanced into the fishing season. Levi’s three ramshackle stages were located on the rocky shore and stood precariously propped upon wooded posts that were hammered down between the rocks. Those three stages appeared to defy gravity, swaying to the wind and the waves, while they defiantly stood for generations with the Newhook family. Against the sea that rose and fell under its rough-cut planks and against the wind that blew freely from all points of the Newfoundland compass, those shaky stages provided protection from the elements for the Newhook fishermen, as they went about the preparation for their morning of hook and line. The main stage had been tested time and again only to prove it was steadfast and true, but on that dark dingy morning, while the outside elements were held at bay by their faithful shelter, small cracks within the family core were about to widen beyond repair.

Levi Newhook and his sons were fourth-generation fishermen, who were born upon the rocky shores of Newfoundland in a small fishing community called Steady Harbour. It was a hard life for the Newhook family, where most of the time uncertainty of income was a normal part of life. This was a given reality for fishing families, who gave life and limb in the chase for the elusive cod that came and went at the whim of nature. Like their forefathers, the Newhook’s were fully accustomed to the rise and fall of this economic reality and accepted the good and bad times, that came with carving out a living from the sea. However, from time to time, small cracks surfaced in their hardened family core, as outside opportunities became available. These cracks were often mended over, by the sober reality of limitations that came with the challenge of resources and education. Normally, those challenges would deter any family member with a desire to leave the fishery, galvanizing them back into the family and sealing the crack of family dissension. It appeared, the cycle of chipping at the family core would continue to carry on without damage, until one son hammered too hard and split their family completely apart.

Levi’s hands were hard like the rocks that protected their small harbour, and his skin was tough as leather from the sea that surrounded their proud island. The heaving and dragging of fishing gear had taken a toll on hands that refused to surrender, and the relentless pounding sea spray had blasted a face that stayed steadfast on course. Levi was hard on the outside and appeared to be just as emotionally hard on the inside in front of his two sons, Martin and Charlie. His wife Lilly, on the other hand, saw his true emotions and knew of his internal affection for family. Lilly saw through his barrier of hardness and into his soft-hearted desire to ensure the best for his boys. Of course, Martin and Charlie didn’t see that side of their father while they were young men, which left them reluctantly marching to the beat of his surly demands without understanding the man, and his motive. What they didn’t see, was the pressure that came with the diminishing cod stocks on the Islands once lucrative fishing grounds. What they didn’t understand, was how poor they had become and how desperate their father was to keep food on the table and heat in the home. The lack of seeing the precarious position of the fishery and the absence of understanding their dismal economic situation, left them at odds with their father while they headed for turbulent times at home.

Martin was the youngest son and appeared to be a golden child in the eyes of his adoring father. When he was a young child, Levi would proudly have little Martin march back and forth the kitchen floor, saluting at family and visitors. Levi was proud as a peacock while showing him off and showering him with affection, during the early years of Martin’s childhood. Over time, the intensity of Levi’s affection diminished as Martin grew older, but there always seemed to be a stronger connection between Father and Son. In return, Martin would bend over backward to be the best fisherman’s son a man could be, even if that required pushing his brother in harm’s way to achieve it. It seemed, he was always reaching for the gleam in his father’s eye that had shined brightly when he was the golden child. Unfortunately for Martin, that light had gone with the days of his early childhood. As a young man, it was time to fish and cut bait, while falling in line within their fishing enterprise. In their uncertain circumstance of desolate fishing grounds and depleted pockets, Levi had no time for childishness that required attention of any kind. Levi needed a serious effort by grown men, who could leave their childish ways and take up their share of family responsibilities like a man.

Charlie always had a rebel streak and wasn’t afraid to express himself, no matter who he had to tackle and what the ramifications would cost. On many occasions, this would place him on the opposite side of the family kitchen table, where seeing eye to eye was rarely served up, and going nose-to-nose seemed to be the order of the day. Always questioning the smallest detail as a child, he could never leave well-enough alone until he pushed the envelope to the point of no return. To put it bluntly, Charlie was a born shit disturber whether he liked it or not. Of course, Charlie’s shenanigans would place him directly at odds with the golden child, which introduced many occasions where mayhem would ensue. On one shit-disturbing occasion, Charlie placed doggy-doo in poor little Martin’s shoe and sat back, while the marching-wonder saluted to a captivated audience that held their breath. Charlie’s stubborness and unwillingness to fall in line within the family order, also included the family fishing enterprise. He continually proclaimed his disgust for the fishery, to anyone who would lend an ear to his negative spouting. Of course, this did not go unnoticed by Levi, who silently watched with a heavy heart while Charlie sounded off about his beloved fishery. Their opposite views didn’t help the frosty relationship between them, and as time went by, Charlie felt he would always get the short end of the stick when it came to their duties around the house and in the fishing premises.

Times were harder than normal for the Newhook family that winter, with more hard tack than salt fish in their staple of fish and brews. The long cold winter with a high cost of heating fuel had also drained the Newhook meager resources, leaving them desperate for the futile possibility of bigger catches. To ensure the money could be spread the maximum, everything from food to fuel had to be measured and remeasured. Even the bait was cut razor-thin and hung on the hook by the skin of the teeth, in hope that enough was provided to entice the scarce species.

The cod fishery demise may have been obvious to those outside the fishery to see, but for those fishermen who were too close to the action, they could not see. For fishing generations like them, fishing catches varied with the cycle of nature and the whim of circumstance. They were accustomed to the feast or famine scenario and believed the abundance of cod would return with the future tides. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, the migratory cod cycle had been broken through overfishing by domestic and foreign trawlers. Outside on the grand banks, far away from the eyes of the inshore fishermen, the pillaging and plundering of the sensitive cod species carried on. Day after day those big trawlers raked the fragile fishing ecosystem dry, while year after year they systematically expanded fishing on sensitive spawning grounds that embraced the precious breeding fish. Open season was declared on the large female breeders, breaking the cycle of the reproductive process and breaking the back of the Newfoundland cod fishery. Nothing was off-limits as they plundered and plowed their way through the biomass of cod, while under the sanction of the blinded government officials. After years of continuous overfishing, the results left the small inshore fishing enterprises scratching the bottom of the sea and coming up with empty nets.

The Newhooks were one of many fishing families in Newfoundland, where lean times had forced them to tighten up their belts to the point, it was increasing the strain around the family circle. Everything was down to the bare bones, with no tolerance for any foolish acts that resulted in wasting food, fuel, or fishing supplies. Bait was on high priority for the early spring fishery and due to the scarcity of squid that previous fall, the Newhooks found themselves without their own frozen bait supply. That spring the bait had to be purchased from the local fishing supplier, which wasn’t cheap and placed an extra burden upon an already concerning situation. They barely could afford food, so this extra burden forced them to stretch the squid as far as it could be taken. Like the Newhook generations before them, they had to bait their hungry hooks every spring morning come hell or high water. On that particular morning, while preparing the bait