Seal of Approval

XIII - Goodbye Terrarium

I wake up with my head still nestled into Dr. Lambrick's lap. I pick my head up and lean over to her face. She's face up on the sand, so to wake her up I gently nudge her with my nose and begin sniffing her. She giggles a little bit, scratches her cheek, and opens her eyes. She looks at me and giggles, scratching the top of my head. "Y'know... all this time I've been getting you excited for your move, but in all honesty, I don't want you to... I want you to stay here; I'll miss you, so much." She confessed to me as she started to tear up. I lift my head up off the sand and rest it on her stomach, pressing the weight of my head into her belly. "Your big move is today, girl... Aren't you excited?" She says while crying. I give a little whine. "C'mon girl, pick your head up. I know you're excited. Soon enough you'll forget about silly old me and you'll worry about other things," she said, "you'll board the boat in about an hour, so take some time to say goodbye to your terrarium."
I look around at the thick glass, shallow beach and deep water, I look at the hatch door. I won't miss much of this lab, the only thing that I will miss is Dr. Lambrick. "Are you ready for your final lesson, girl? This one's easy, your diet. You will eat whatever fish you see swimming. Remember to save some for your pups, and of course, savor it, think of it as sushi if it grosses you out. Oh! That reminds me, you haven't eaten in a couple days. You must be starving." She says, and now that she mentions it, I could go for something to eat. "Your typical sandwich and steak won't fit in with your digestive system, so this will be your first fish! If you have to, close your eyes. Bring it in, gentlemen." Two men walk in with a fish about two feet in length, they drop it right in front of me and leave the room. I bend over and take a sizable chunk out of it. It isn't bad, and definitely something I can get used to. "Okay, that concludes your training. The boat will be ready for you in about 20 minutes." She says with a shiny glaze over her eyes. I lay my head in her lap for the remainder of the time as she strokes my head.
20 minutes later, four men enter the terrarium and surround me. "We're ready for her," one of them says.
"Okay, of course," Dr. Lambrick says as she stands up, "c'mon girl, let's go home now." I follow her side closely as the four men guide her through the lab. I get to see the rest of the lab for the first time. We enter a large room full of caged people and animals and some of them in between. There was a sizable operating table in the middle of the room. All of the caged creatures stared at me as I bounded towards the rear exit. I took note of some of the animals. One was a man on his fours with stripes along his back, another was a bear with a human face, another a big fat panda. All of them were human at one point. The door opens and I bound outside following Dr. Lambrick. Outside is the lake that I swam out to yesterday, and inside it, a large ferry. A ramp is extended out and touching the beach, Dr. Lambrick walks up and gestures me to follow. I bound my way up the ramp, hearing it creak and bang against my weight. I make it onto the boat and the ramp folds back up, leaving the four men on the shore. It's just me and Dr. Lambrick on the back of the boat. "It's gonna be a couple hours ride, so try to get some sleep, okay girl?" I quietly bark and tilt my head, for what may be one last time. She lays down on her back and I scooch over and lay right next to her. She puts her arm along my side and pats my flipper. I look at her, tilt my head, and then put it back down to fall asleep. We disembark from the beach as our "road trip" begins. I can feel the first few swells as I drift off to sleep.