The Little Salmonid

Page 1

The Little Salmonid

by me

Based on "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen

Out in a restricted ocean zone, where the irradiated water is tinted green and no one dares to sail, there lives a race of chaotic fish creatures called Salmonids. They are so dangerous, that unauthorized contact with said creature is expressly forbidden by law. These ruthless Salmonids participate in Salmon Runs every seventy years, but what do they do in the meantime?

This tale is about a unique little Salmonid named Samantha. Samantha lived in the ocean with her Cohock father, her Maws mother, whom she called Mawmaw, and her five remaining older sisters: Silver, who was the oldest, Pinky, who was the second oldest, Coco, the third, Saki, the fourth, and Henna, the fifth. The sisters were thieves who would frequently leave their ocean zone to steal things from ships and bring them back home. They would always tell Samantha and their parents about the surface, and what it was like up there.

This time, the sisters brought back a broken Blaster, a hook, and an old boot. When they returned home, Samantha swam up to them eagerly.

"So, what'd you guys see this time?" Samantha asked, unable to contain herself.

"It was awesome," answered Coco. "We went near the Manta Maria and saw a massive jellyfish."

"It was *this* big, and it was blue, too," added Henna. It was tryin' to catch a fish, but I bit the hook clean off!"

"I snagged this weird gun thing from one of them squid kids," said Saki. "It's got pretty flame thingies."

Saki held the blaster up high for everyone to see, and they all stared at it in awe; especially Samantha. "I wish I could live on the surface," she thought.

"I found a boot," Pinky sang. "I found a boot!" She inserted her tail fin into the boot and pretended to stomp around, which made everyone giggle.

While the sisters were fooling around, Mawmaw and their father came back from hunting for food. The parents managed to catch some herring for dinner, but they didn't bother to cook them. Instead, they spread them all out on a table outside and the family feasted on them in a crazed and somewhat primitive frenzy; except for Saki, who preferred to dine on zooplankton.

After dinner, Samantha's father gave her the task to take a Griller out for a test drive near the Spawning Grounds. Once she got in the Griller, the grill started getting hotter and hotter, and dark green ink began pouring out of it like a pot of water boiling over. Samantha's skin started to smoke and burn. The Griller needed some tinkering, since the laser didn't work.

"Papa!" Samantha cried. "It burns!"

"Well, yer gonna have to put up with a big deal to protect them Golden Eggs," her father replied.

Samantha hopped out of the Griller and straight into the water to cool off. "But what if I don't wanna protect some stupid Golden Eggs?!" she protested. "What if I don't wanna fight those squid things and put up with all this crap?!"

"Samantha! I'm surprised at you! This 'ere Griller has been passed on from generation to generation! Yer great grandpappy would be shakin' his head if he were still alive! Those slimy squids are stealin' the very thing that's in our nature! We can't let 'em do that! Now, I don't wanna hear anymore of this whinin', ya hear? You should be thinkin' about protectin' them Golden Eggs, no ifs, ands, or buts about it!"

"Fine..." Samantha replied meekly.

Salmonids would do anything to protect their precious Golden Eggs, even if it meant hurting themselves, or even dying. Samantha, however, didn't really care about Golden Eggs or protecting them, which her family found concerning. She was too obsessed with the land to care about any of those things. When the test drive was over, she swam back under the sea.

"I hate the Griller," she groaned, holding her burning tail. "Who cares about some silly gold eggs, anyway?"

Night had fallen, and all of the Salmonids were safe at home fast asleep; That is, everyone except for Samantha. She was still in pain from testing out the Griller, and couldn't keep her mind off the world above the ocean. After a bit of thinking, she hatched a plan to sneak out and visit the land for herself.

Samantha crept out of the house and concealed herself with some fishing nets. She swam for almost an hour until the water was no longer green and murky. Once she rose to the surface, the first thing she saw was the gorgeous night sky full of shooting stars. Colorful fireworks were being set off which frightened the little Salmonid at first, so she ducked back into the water. Once she realized that they couldn't hurt her, she rose up to the surface again, and gazed in awe at the beautiful colors with a massive smile on her face. Some fireworks went off in the shape of a squid, and others resembled a jellyfish.

"It's all so pretty..." beamed Samantha. "I ain't ever seen anything like this before..."

After a minute or two, she noticed a cruise ship sailing by and spotted an Inkling boy with orange hair on the deck. He was celebrating his 18th birthday, which was why the fireworks were being set off into the sky. All of his friends and family were there with him to celebrate his special day with sparklers and confetti. Samantha swam closer to the ship, while still keeping her distance.

"So, how's it feel to be EIGHTEEN?!" asked one of the Inkling's friends.

"It's freakin' crazy," he said, hyperactive from eating sweets. "I'm practically an adult now! I'm no longer a boy... I'm a MAN! I can vote! And once I move out, my parents can't tell me what to do anymore!"

Samantha had only just laid eyes on the boy, but she was instantly captivated by him and didn't know why. It was as if he had unknowingly cast a spell on her that made her unable to resist him.

The Inkling looked out to sea and noticed Samantha covered in fishnets and seaweed. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but in the blink of an eye she was gone.

"Did I just see a Salmonid?" he gasped.

"I think all the sugar you ate has got you seein' stuff,'' his friend retorted. "There aren't any Salmonids here!"

"Yeah, you're probably right..."

Suddenly, a violent storm broke. Everyone on the ship scurried inside, but the Inkling boy wasn't going to let a little rain ruin his special day. The wind howled and gradually became stronger. The Inkling boy tried to hold his ground, but a lounge chair that was thrown by the wind hit him in the head and he fell unconscious. The wind grew so strong that Inkling went flying off the ship. Before he could fall into the ocean, Samantha caught him by his waist, making sure not to let him drown. She tied him to her back using the fishnet, and frantically swam for her life, dodging debris left and right and being tossed around by the waves. After an arduous hour of swimming aimlessly with a squid on her back, the little Salmonid finally found land somewhere on a beach in Inkopolis near the Manta Maria. She untied the net and laid him out on the sand, hoping he was still alive.

"Pleeease don't be dead," she cried. "I'll do anything to see your big ol' eyes open again!" Samantha caressed the Inkling's sleeping face and gave him a slimy salmon kiss on his forehead.

"I'll do anything to be with you, squid boy... please stay with me!"

She stayed with him, and stared at him for hours, longing for him to regain consciousness.