Lachlan's P.O.V.
I flicked my tail gently, swimming in a circle around the small pool I was trapped in. I was bored, nothing unusual compared to any other day, and there were people surrounding my tank, oohing and aahing at me like I was some sort of animal, although I suppose they thought I was.
The pool was barely bigger than three of my body lengths and I had lived there for as long as I could remember, probably since I was 3 or 4 years old and stolen from the sea. It was same, day in, day out, and nothing ever changed.
My tail, one a bright and beautiful emerald green, was faded and dull and there were light scars criss-crossing the scale from when the people on land had beaten me. There had been times that I had refused to swim because I was so physically and emotional exhausted that I just sunk to the bottom of the tank and I had been beaten severely afterwards.
I just kept swimming in a circle, not even bothering to look at the silly little kids pounding their fists against the glass, despite the sign that said don't tap on the glass. The tank walls were a bare blue so all I could do was dream about being back in the sea.
I jumped and scrambled to the back of the tank when I heard a loud thump on the glass and just hovering in the water, blinking slowly at my audience. As much as I looked like them, pale skin, blue eyes and blonde hair with the same limbs, I had some obvious differences. One was the tail, but the others were a set of gills on either side of my neck and another was a fin on my back, blue in colour, which was why they stared at me.
It wasn't obvious to me what had made the thump but then I saw a young man who looked about the same in human years as me holding up a piece of paper with writing on it to the glass. Gingerly I swum closer to glass, wary of anyone who would bash the glass. The paper read as followed.
Hello. I don't know your name but I know you shouldn't be here. I am from a sea life rescue organization who focuses on rescuing sea creatures who are being mistreated and I am here to get you out. I need you to hold on for a little while longer and you will be free.
I made eye contact with the young man on the other side of the glass and kneeled down on my tail so I was eye level with him as the floor was lower than the bottom of the tank and he smiled. He pressed one hand up to the glass and I did the same on the other side, a message of solidarity.
"Thank you." I mouthed.
Slowly I swam away and watched as he left, hope restored somewhere in the back of my mind. I really wanted to believe it but I didn't know if I wanted to.
I swam around for about half an hour and then flinched as a shadow came over me, but as I looked up I saw it was a beach ball. I was shocked. They had never given me anything to play with, thinking that me swimming around, bored out of my mind, was better for them to make money.
Gently I eased myself to the surface of the pool and poked the ball with my finger, at first unsure of if it was safe. It was bright red, yellow, blue and white and bigger than my head.
Looking around I was surprised to see people on the stands around me, clapping and cheering. There were also people, in the uniform of the caretakers, but I didn't recognise them.
One of them waved me over with a friendly smile on their face and although I did as they asked I kept my distance, unsure if they would hurt me. As I looked closer I realised it was the guy who had been holding up the sign to me just a little while earlier.
"Hey buddy, we're opening your tank so you can go into the bigger one. Animal welfare is taking over until everything in this facility can be released or moved into a humane facility." I blinked. So he wasn't kidding.
