Contest Entries

Draco Swims Again

Draco knew he was special. Living in an aquarium all of his life didn't appeal to him though. He hoped for the right owner to come along and put him into a pond to live in. That way he could grow to full size without any problems. There were no hiding places in the aquarium he was kept in either. He was exposed out in the open. He didn't like that at all.

A young boy came up to his tank and stared at him, reading out loud "Violet Goby". He wondered what else he had to learn. The next thing he knew he was swept up in a net along with the others and put into a bag. Even less space to move around in and there was no decorations at all. He didn't like this one bit. Then he watched as everything moved past like a movie scene dazzling him and wondered where was he going. Then they were put in the back of a large thing- he didn't know what it was called- and everything became bumpy. He wondered how would he survive this trip. One of his pals suffered a heart attack and he did everything he could to revive his pal. It seemed hopeless. At the last minute his pal came back to life.

Light poured into the space as the boy took him and the others and revealed a giant pool of water. The bottom had decorations on it already and it looked like the space was filled with different sizes of hiding spots. It was not shaped like a pond like he had seen in pictures but he imagined this would be more than enough. It would work as well as a pond. The edges were rounded and he saw the water went deep.

"Welcome to your new home Draco and everyone else. I hope you enjoy growing big and feeling full here. There will be plenty for you to eat. This is a pool turned into a pond just for you, and I love Dragonfish alike. Maybe, one day, you can protect this pool," the boy said and then dumped everyone out into the pond.

Draco swam around, exploring his new setting. This was more like it. He had plenty of space to move around in and there was food at his convenience. The others were exploring the area as well. All he cared about was having the right place to live and he had found it. That little boy and his father seemed very promising. After eating some food he felt his stomach churn and wondered if he was going to be sick. At six inches long, he felt confident he could beat the others. He went to his favorite place to hide only to find his pal there too, also with a stomach ache. Wondering what was going on, he went to another hiding spot. Surely he can't die now.

When he woke up, he saw his pal moving about anxiously. His pal appeared healthy again! He felt better than before too with a new vigor of energy to move around.

"Want to play tag? I can speak! I'm Roy," Roy introduced himself. Now Draco knew.

"I'm Draco. Sure, we can play tag! You're it," Draco agreed.

"No, you're it!"

Prompt: Open
Word Count: 546
Contest: "The PET NEWS CONTEST"