Retaliation

Chapter 16 Day Out

"Three general admission tickets are going to be $120.06 please." 

Jasmine handed the cashier our debit card. We were currently in Chicago, Illinois at the Shedd Aquarium. After five years of half of all living creatures gone, we were finally going out and having fun, as a real family should. 

It took a lot of convincing for Jasmine to agree on a vacation as she is still extremely paranoid about being found out, but we ultimately came to an agreement. Spend a day in Chicago which is about a three-hour drive from Grand Rapid. It helped that Jasmine was still really into aquatic life so I promised her the first thing we would do is go to the aquarium. 

We all walked through the doors and were met with corridors filled with huge aquatic displays. There were many different sections which included the Amazon, coral reefs, a petting area, and much more. Even though Jasmine looked a bit on edge, you can still see a glimmer of awe in her eyes. It was adorable. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. 

"What's wrong?" Jasmine blushed, catching me staring at her. 

"Nothing. Where did you want to start?" 

"Well...Ryan already ran into the Amazon-" 

"Guys! Look at these big ass fish!" Ryan shouted. 

"Language! There are children here, Ryan." 

"Sorry." 

We walked over to where Ryan was pointing and saw a small school of massive fish. Their heads were a rusty gold color that faded into a dark green, almost black color. Near the tail, the green scales were replaced with randomly placed bright red and orange ones. All of them were easily seven to eight feet long. "Holy shit, those are big ass fish," I whispered. 

"Language," Jasmine mumbled just under her breath. She must've been the only one who heard it as Ryan would've been up my ass about it too. She had already moved on to the poison dart frogs. 

"I whispered it. Hey, how do you even pronounce this fish's name?" 

"Arapaima...Did you know they have modified swim bladders that act like a lung? Meaning they can extract oxygen from the air?"

"They can breathe outside the water? Don't they become kind of a bummer when they are out of the water, a dead bummer?" 

"For about a day, but they still need water. They tend to stay near the surface of the water as they can only stay submerged for about 20 minutes at a time."

"Weird... hey, what are these ones?" I pointed to a school of smaller fish with red bellies and large jaws filled with pointy teeth.

"Piranhas." 

"The fish that swarm and eat you?" 

"That's a myth. They are omnivores and some species are actually completely vegetarian. Those large schools you see in media are actually a defense technique to keep their babies safe in the middle while the adults surround and protect them."

"So they won't eat me down to my skeleton?" 

"No. Well... maybe if there is a food shortage. But that applies to pretty much every animal." 

"Reassuring."

"Sorry... am I annoying you? I can stop talking." 

"No. Not at all. I'm enjoying this. Keep going." 

We had moved on from the Amazon and entered an exhibit filled with colorful and vibrant fish from all around the world. My eyes instantly landed on a rainbow-colored crustacean hiding in a little cave in its cube aquarium. I've made it a habit to ask Jasmine for information instead of looking at the display card.