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Baby Shark!

short stories

By Amethyst ChampagnePublished 3 years ago 5 min read
1
Baby Shark!
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Swimming along, I mind my business as I follow my siblings and mother, searching for food. We always have to move, or else we would be unable to breathe.

Right now, the water is free of anything to eat. The smaller fish probably heard us coming. We scare the others away. I don't blame them; they taste delicious!

I quickly see others of our kind, hunting just like we are. We keep our distance from each other, though. No reason to put myself in unnecessary danger.

Sharks tend to not like each other unless it was mating season, lots of food around, or a mother caring for her young. Other than that, we keep our distance.

My stomach growls. Where is our food? It has to be around here somewhere. We aren't that close to the shore.

I feel some water moment, lifting my head. Right by the surface are some strange creatures. They have strange appendages and are sitting on thick pieces of plastic.

Humans.

They dwell on the land, constantly creating new objects to go in the sky or the ocean.

It is somewhere I can never go. What a shame. I'm constantly looking for a new adventure. And they have created lots of cool things I want to see.

I begin swimming towards the humans. What are they like? Are they nice? Will they be afraid of me? Or will they try to hurt me?

I say low enough so they won't sense my presence, not that they would be in any danger from me. I'm still quite small and can only bite small fish.

"What are you doing?" One of my brothers swims over.

"Aren't you curious?" I gestured to the humans moving their legs and feet in the water. "Land creatures are different than us."

"Curiosity of land creatures has gotten members of our kind killed."

I shudder, thinking about the stories Mother has told us. "They attacked the humans. I just wanna observe them."

"Mother will get mad at us."

"Then stay with our siblings." I continue to swim around the humans, who are now doing something called surfing if I remember correctly.

I watch as they ride the waves on those plastic hunks. It's amazing how they are able to maintain balance as the water tries to knock them down.

"I can't leave you by yourself," My brother keeps a close distance, "I am bigger than you and can protect you."

"I will be fine." I make sure not to swim too close as one human is knock off the board and falls into the water.

They quickly swim away, causing all kinds of noise. Humans are loud, for sure, and not just their bodies. Their boats create all kinds of disrupted sounds. Whales complain about it all the time.

"Alright, let's go."

But as I go to leave, a net envelops me. I thrash around, using my teeth to try to escape as I'm pulled closer to the surface.

My brother tries to follow, but the net moves too fast for him to keep up, and he bellows for me.

Mother notices and swims towards me.

Suddenly, I'm out of the water, and I can't breathe, the air suffocating me. I continue to move around in the net as human hands pull me free, lifting me.

Then I'm back in the water, but not my water, oxygen flooding my body as I hear them speak jibberish. They jab at the water, and I freeze for a moment. Mother!

They start the boat, and I'm taken away from home.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I'm in some sort of fish tank by myself. No humans are around, and I swim around, calling for my family.

Why didn't I listen? I was told my whole life not to get too close to the humans, and now I'm in a tank all alone.

My stomach grumbles. I still haven't eaten anything. And I don't spot any humans around to feed me.

I keep swimming, boredom, loneliness, and hunger filling my thoughts. I wish I was with my family.

However, something flashes in the corner of my eye, and I watch a human approach the tank with what looks like fish. My stomach growls again, the tank lid being removed.

The human drops the fish chunks in the water, and I let my instincts take over. I don't notice them leave until after the food is gone, my hunger satisfied.

I don't have to wait long before more humans walk in with strange devices. I swim away from them, but they grab me anyway, something piercing my dorsal fin.

It beeps, flashing red, and I try shaking it off, but it is attached to my body.

Then they lift me out of the tank, and I choke for a few moments until I'm placed back into the water. But I am in a different tank, and it's moving.

Am I going back home? I hope so, swimming around. I want nothing more than to see my family again.

I hear boats running and am soon placed onto one. Yes! I am going home! My mother and siblings are probably waiting for me. I will be in so much trouble.

Finally, the humans release me back to where I belong, the water much sweeter here. Their boat leaves, and I swim around, looking for both food and my family.

I find some small fish, gulping them up quickly. But I don't see my family anywhere. And I search for a while, eating a couple more fish.

My heart sinks. They left me behind, and now I'm all alone.

Horror
1

About the Creator

Amethyst Champagne

I create anything from fiction to personal stories, poetry, and more. I'm also on Substack, Ko-fi, and Gumroad!

My Twitter(X) handle is @AmethystC99.

Visit my website if you need help editing your fantastic story!

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