Madeline - or Maddy, as her co-workers call her - loves working with other marine biologists because they are shooting for the same cause as she is. One thing she doesn't like are people. All they do is pollute the oceans and world with their filthy trash. Soon, if people continue this habit, they will have to live with the constant reminder of their carelessness. Maddy has seen this happen with her own two eyes.

Maddy gets the call late a night. It is brief, but emotional. The caller states what has happened and how, but she doesn't care. "Jewel is here again?" She asks, tears forming in her eyes. "Yes, we gathered all the harmed animals in the area, but Jewel was the worst out of all of them." Maddy searches for other possibilities. "How do you know it was her for sure?" Se tries. The caller laughs. "You should know, Madeline, you were the one who put the tracker on her." Maddy scowls. "But maybe - " But she is interrupted by the caller. "Maddy," the voice says softly. "It's her."

The next day, Maddy is the first to see Jewel, other than the people who brought her in. Jewel has a plastic bag tight around her neck. Jewel knows that if she doesn't give Jewel medical help soon, her lungs will stop working. So Maddy takes charge. "You! Get something sharp to cut the bag off of her neck." That worker gets to it. "And you! Get some disinfectants." That worker hurries to find just that. Maddy goes over to Jewel and tries to comfort her. Someone must have hooked up a heart monitor because she hears a steady beeping noise coming from her right. 

Everyone has gathered their supplies and started working on Jewel, while Maddy stands there spraying water so Jewel stays hydrated. Everything is going well, the back is almost off and Jewel seems comfortable. Her eyes look alive.

Maddy gasps in horror as the plastic bag finally comes off. Blood starts dripping down around Jewel's neck and the beeping from the heart monitor starts to speed up. She quickly grabs a towel but it is too late, the blood is pouring out of Jewel's neck. There's nothing to do but say a silent prayer and hold a towel to her neck. 

Maddy closes her eyes as the monitor goes silent. When she opens them she sees people inspecting the plastic bag and telling her that there were large shards of glass in the bag and they got lodged in her throat. When the bag got taken off, the glass got pulled out and it released the blood.

A tear falls down Maddy's cheek as people come by to grab Jewel's body. She quickly wipes away that tear and inhales deeply. "Where are the other turtles?" Someone directs her to them and Maddy thanks them. She doesn't want to dwell on Jewel right now, when the other turtles could have the same future as Jewel.

Moral of the story: Think about what you should do with plastic and other hazardous objects before you throw them into the ocean. Think about if this one action could affect someone or something - or even end their life.

P.S. Sorry this story was kinda dark.