Grand Foreman watched the latest episode of Ring Slayers, which was playing on the laptop of the student in front of him. "History of Sculptures", was without a doubt one of the dullest classes Grant had ever taken at Trioli University. The class only met once a week but for three agonizing hours. Luckily Professor Tilit allowed a five minute stretch break at the two hour mark.

Occasionally, when the professor changed the slide, Grant would jot down some notes. However the girl in the long dress who sat next to him on his right, seemed to write down every little thing that poured out of the professor's mouth. It was truly a wonder that she managed to keep up with the rapid lecturing.

"Notice the details found on naturalistic Greek sculptures," Professor Tilit continued enthusiastically. "A style that the Romans would adopt but later abandon in the later years of the empire for unknown reasons."

"Ah yeah it's detailed alright," said a striped shirted boy sitting two seats to his left. "Right down to the pubic hair."

A few students sitting around him snickered.

“Excuse me!” said Professor Tilit sternly to the students. “Rude language will not be tolerated!”

“What a douche,” said Monty Chung, Grant’s roommate who sat to his immediate left. “I hate guys like that.”

After History of Sculptures ended at 8pm, Grant went to Brew Hut, one of three on campus cafes, and the only one that opened past 5pm. Monty went back to their room, telling Grant that he was tired and wanted to go to bed.

At Brew Hut there was only one other student, who sat by the door watching a movie on his laptop. Grant walked up to the counter and ordered a croissant. He took his snack over to a corner table and chewed slowly in silence. The small cafe was dimly lit and intimate.

Five minutes after he had arrived, a Indian girl entered the cafe. She wore a light brown collared shirt and blue miniskirt. To Grant’s surprise her eyes locked right onto him and she walked over to sit across from him. People always told him that he looked approachable. Grant’s relatives always commented on how strong he was even if he didn’t look it. His greatest concern was looking presentable at all times which is why he kept his dark brown hair short and clean. At this time however Grant doubted that the girl took a seat in front of a stranger only because he looked that friendly.

“Shreya Singh,” said the girl, extending her right out, which Grant lazily shook. “I’m an anthropology major.”

“Oh,” said Grant. He was sure did not know the girl. “Uh, I’m Grant.”

“Yes a lot of students know about you Grant,” said Shreya, brushing back her long black hair. “I have great respect and admiration for your work. You may not know it but you're like a school legend now.”

“Is that right?” said Grant, wiping his mouth and feeling flattered. “Well thank you for your kind words.”

Shreya grinned and reached into her satchel. “Look I want you to look at something for me. As an anthropology student I consider this one of the finds of the century.”

“Well ok but I’m really not an expert in that field,” said Grant, feeling confused. “I’ll be happy to take a look though I suppose.”

Shreya produced a colored printout of a photo. The quality of the shot was somewhat poor but still clear enough to make out what appeared to be a smaller bowhead whale in the jaws of a large sperm whale.

“Is this a rare subspecies of whale?” Grant asked cautiously.

Shreya nodded, the excitement clear in every inch of her face. “This predatory whale matches the description of a Livyatan whale. A creature that has long been extinct. You know on the web there has been rumors of something specular, almost unbelievable happening along the Aleutian Island Chain stretching out of Alaska. Rumors of a new addition to the collection of islands. It just appeared out of nowhere.”

Grant raised an eyebrow. “You uh, time travelling whales and islands. Is that what you are suggesting?”

Shreya sighed. “Look I know it's the evening, you are tired and know you got to listen to this nonsense from some girl you just met. Most people think it’s a hoax but my friend was the one who took this photo. You're like the expert in chasing after unusual findings. I just thought you might be able to help. Me and a few other anthropology students want to go.”

Grant remembered that the anthropology department was historically not very strong at Trioli University, that is until the discovery of bones belonging to a North American Smilodon, buried under a hill on campus. Shreya’s enthusiasm for all things related to the study of the Neogene epoch was understandable. It was the age of mammals or more specifically the ancestors of modern day mammals. Most children referred to the period as the Ice Age, with the smilodon and wooly mammoth being the most commonly known animals from this period.

“I don’t exactly own a plane,” said Grant. “And this is all very sudden. I’m going to need a lot more to go on than one photograph taken from a distance. This looks like it was snipped out of a shot then enlarged.”

“Yes I understand,” said Shreya. She sounded so disappointed that Grant immediately felt a swell of guilt.

“Look uh I’ll look into it and get back to you alright?”

That seemed to perk Shreya up and she smiled brightly. “Thank you Grant. Time is of the essence. My colleagues would really like to be the first scientific team to investigate this island. Make a name for ourselves and the university and all that.”

Shreya took out a sticky pad and quickly wrote something down. “Here is my number.”

Grant pocketed the sticky note and nodded. “You’ll hear from me soon.”

“Thank you,” said Shreya, standing up, and brushing down her mini skirt. “It really is an honor to meet you. I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother.”

“Oh not at all,” said Grant, smiling. “I just came out of a three hour lecture on the history of sculptures. Sharing a table with you is certainly a more pleasant way to end the night.”

Shreya brushed her hair back and broke eye contact for a moment. A shy look crossed her face. “Well good night then Grant. I look forward to your reply.”

Grant cleaned up his areas as Shreya walked out of the cafe. Moments later he left the little shop as well and walked back to his dorm building. He made a little detour to pass by the smilodon dig site. To Grant the anthropology students always looked like big kids playing in dirt. The skeleton found was not in good shape, mostly just pieces and fragments but it was the talk of the town when it was initially discovered.

Once Grant was back in the comfort of his dorm he told Monty what had happened. As usual his chubby Korean American roommate was playing video games and eating some kind of Korean snack his parents had sent him. Monty liked being chubby because he believed that not having to be worrying about outward appearances kept your ego in check. He claimed that chubby people had a better sense of humor and were more approachable than slim handsome people. Grant found that there was some truth to that idea.

“Now this is a trend I can get behind,” said Monty. “You're like the leading outdoorsman at this school. This teleporting island stuff sounds kind of wack though.”

Grant sat down at his desk and powered on his desktop computer. As he brought out his internet browser, a trending news article caught his eye. Apparently several small fishing vessels near the Aleutian Islands were attacked by a killer whale. Grant clicked on one news website that even provided footage, courtesy of a fisherman that was recording from his vessel. In the footage Grant saw an oddly built sperm whale. It was smaller yet its jaws looked stronger and shorter. It did not have the signature snout like the head of a typical sperm whale. Grant quickly looked up the Livyatan whale that Shreya had mentioned and he felt a surge run through his body. The drawings of the Livyatan matched closely with the footage. The government of Alaska encouraged small vessels to avoid the area where the attacks took place for the time being.

The next morning Grant made a call to his Uncle Lain.

“Grant?” came Lain’s voice. “What’s the occasion?”

“Uncle you are the CEO of one of the biggest private military companies in the world,” said Grant.

“I am aware of that, yes. Was that all?”

Grant smiled. “Would you guys happen to have any ships?”