She swam laps in her tank, the isolation and boredom was getting to her. She would come when they blew the whistle as that meant they would give her food. But after countless nights, or at least periods of being left in the dark, she was at her wit's end. The humans wouldn't go near her, they never tried to communicate with her. They just kept her there and watched her.

She kept waiting for something to happen but nothing ever seemed to change. The only stimulation she had was swimming and eating. At one point a few humans came in and splashed around, scooping water into little containers. Then they simply left.

She explored her cell in its entirety, it was so incredibly empty. Several strange holes were in the wall covered in metal which seemed to create currents. She occupied herself stacking rocks for a little while. They would be useful for throwing at humans if need be. The tank was all so lifeless, the bitter sterile water making everything feel wrong.

As she circled her cage she heard the door open. Several humans emerged, two of them carrying long sticks with loops at the end. She did not like the look of this at all. She swam to the bottom, staying far away as she watched.

The humans dipped the sticks into the water, they were long enough to reach the bottom but required two humans to handle. The sticks came towards her, trying to loop her up. She swam away in annoyance.

But the humans did not give up, they walked along the upper platform and tried again. She swam away again, easily dodging the humans' attempts to catch her. Despite the nuisance, it was at least something to do.

Other humans arrived and stretched a net over the surface before letting it sink towards her. She had dealt with fishing nets before, but now any amusement vanished. She was forced to swim towards the humans with the poles to avoid being caught. She was fast but they managed to hook the loop around her arm. She flailed and twisted, a powerful kick feeding her.

She spun around and grabbed the poll, giving it a powerful yank. The stick came free followed by a human splashing into the water. Humans yelled and hurried to pull the human out of the water. It was quite amusing. Despite being her captors they were clumsy funny things. If they had made different choices then they could have gotten along.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Her hatred for these humans grew by the day, fear channelling into anger. Despair funnelled into resentment as time ticked by.

The man who fed her she very much did not like. He yelled at her when she came for food and even hit her with a long stick when she hopped onto the platform he was on. She had retreated into the water as he yelled and swung the stick further at her. No, she did not like him at all. Her attempts to communicate were utterly foiled by a cruel human. Why they insisted on throwing the dead fish to her she did not know, they could simply give her the bucket.

They were not the only ones who could be cruel. The next feeding she behaved, but the one after that she used the opportunity.

Before the human could blow the whistle she was already pulling him in. Her hand wrapped around his torso and pulled him down. Humans panicked and yelled as they ran around above the water. The one in her grasp wriggled and fought but she was strong, built for the water and twice his size.

She released him at the bottom of the pool, sending him tumbling head over heels through the water as she circled around. He swam desperately for the surface, legs kicking ineffectively, but she effortlessly dragged him back down again by the foot. It was so easy and there was a thrill in making this human as helpless as she was.

She wrapped a hand around his neck and shoulder, forcing him to look at her. He looked terrified. She could drown him, or tear him to pieces with her teeth, or slam into him so hard he broke apart. She decided against it, certainly not out of kindness. She did not know what punishment the humans would come up with and she was scared to find out. Simply killing him would not send a message. She was as intelligent as them, she wanted them to know she could have killed him but decided not to.

Chaos reigned above as humans rushed around. Some tossed a net. Others reached down with poles to try and poke her. She just glared at the man struggling in her grasp. His eyes were bugging out as he struggled not to breathe. His legs kicked frantically at her as he clawed at her grip. The overwhelming terror of being utterly helpless.

As his grip began to go slack she kicked towards the surface and hurled the man out of the water and onto the rocky beach. She dove back down to the safety of the depths.

She wanted the humans to know she could be far less well-behaved. Maybe the fact she had spared him would make them reconsider her treatment. She wanted out, she could not simply live passively in this cage. She would find a way out of here or die trying.

She was beginning to suspect that Mother had been wrong. None of the humans here had been nice. There were a lot of humans, maybe the kind ones did not know what these humans did. Maybe there were no kind humans at all. Her mother’s words rang hollow in this empty cage.

That had been a warning, if things didn't change she would drown the next one. And if need be the one after that and the one after that. Either she would run out of humans to drown, they would free her or they would kill her. Either way, she would not remain a prisoner.