Spontaneous Heroism

By Daisey Lin

A Tall Tale

It was an unusually warm winter day. I was walking to a birthday party with my friend, Kerry, when we took an accidental detour. Since the snow didnt seem that deep anymore, we decided to take a shortcut through the field. The first half was smooth sailing. A thin layer of snow covered the grass, and was hardly a lot to handle. But near the end of the field, we arrived at a deep patch of snow. Since we were too lazy to walk around it, we decided to cross it quickly in hopes that it wouldnt make out shoes too wet. What we didnt know that underneath the snow was an ocean. It wasnt until our shoes and socks, and not to mention our jeans were soaking wet that we realized what was wrong. The bottommost snow had melted and was cleverly covered up by the top layer of snow. Milla, called Kerry. I cant get out!

Were almost there! I yelled hoarsely. This is where it all fell apart. I took another step, and my foot sank into nothingness. I fell with a splash into the snow. There was no grass underneath the water. There was no grass underneath the water. I flailed my arms, but it was too late. Icy water surrounded me as I plunged through the snow. I tried to swim towards the surface, but a current was pulling me downwards. My breath wore thin and I reached out for the closest thing I could grab- a flagpole. Im not quite sure how a flagpole got down there, but what I do know is that when my hand touched the cold metal, it started to glow and the water around us lit up with blue light. My lungs filled with air and with a thud, I hit solid ground and sat up with a gasp. What just happened? I exclaimed. Kerry sat beside me, looking flabbergasted. She was also breathing. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. We were sitting on a sandy floor, completely submerged. It looked like your typical ocean floor, seaweed, coral, floating chairs. I could see buildings poking out of the sand further off. It looked like an underwater city. And there were fish. Lots of those. I shrunk down a bit. Fish were my worst fears. Where are we? I wondered aloud. Suddenly, I heard a roar and a heavy current threw me backwards. I turned around, my eyes widening with disbelief. Shooting towards us was the biggest, ugliest serpent I had ever seen. It was long and green and had spikes dotting its back and tail. Giant gray horns stuck out of its head and a long tongue lolled out of its big mouth. Run! I shrieked. We dashed away from the serpent, hoping to find some shelter somewhere. Anywhere. Suddenly, the serpent whipped out its tongue and sent me flying through the water. Milla! Kerry screamed, running after me. A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me into a cave that I had not noticed before. I looked up to see a sour-faced boy standing over me. Kerry climbed into the cave after us, her eyes wide with fear. What was that? she gasped. Annoyed, the boy began to explain. The serpents name was Swimmy and it had been terrorizing the civilians and destroying buildings. My stomach lurched, but for some reason, I had the urge to help. We thanked him and set off. The city looked like any other city, streets, buildings, signs. Only it was laced with destruction. I looked around sadly. Through the windows I could see people hiding fearfully. This is terrible Suddenly, another roar boomed through the city and Swimmy swept down into the streets. It twisted towards a crowd of seahorses in a pen, gobbling them down a few at a time. No! Kerry shrieked, running towards them. She grabbed the one remaining seahorse and tumbled away. Swimmy let out another loud roar and swam towards me. I whipped out the flagpole in front of me, hoping to defend myself. The water parted in front of me, slamming into Swimmy and sending it flying. My mouth dropped open and I stared at the flagpole. Did I just do that? Blinking, I ran towards Kerry. She held the terrified seahorse in her arm, talking to her quietly. I named it Bubbles, she told me. Are you okay, Bubbles? Bubbles flicked its curled tail and blew a trail of bubbles which floated upwards to the distant surface. Alright, I said. We seriously have to stop this Swimmy monster. Its causing so much trouble. Lets go. I motioned to her and we set off.

I wasnt long before we encountered Swimmy again. We made our way through the ocean floor, past hundreds of fish, whales, and manta rays. We had made it to a deep looking abyss when Swimmy burst out, swimming circles around us and roaring. The water churned and we were swept from the path. To my horror, Kerry fell over the edge of the abyss and was plunged into the darkness by the current. Bubbles let out a squeak and dove in after her. Swimmy flicked its long tail and I grabbed onto a strip of seaweed to stop myself from flying away. With another roar, Swimmy turned and disappeared, leaving a deadly silence. I ran to the edge of the abyss, peering down into the seemingly never ending darkness. I heard a squeak and a trail of bubbles floated out. A tiny figure came into view. It was Bubbles! Kerry swam up after her, her face white as a ghost. Kerry! I called. Are you okay? Im fine! she called back. Bubbles saved me! She hugged the seahorse gratefully. I let out a sigh of relief. That was a close one. Come on, I told her. Lets keep going. We arrived at Swimmys cave a few minutes later. It was big and dark and smelled horrible. Typical. I felt a gust of current, and Swimmys head popped out of the cave. Alright, flagpole, dont fail on me now. We rushed up to Swimmy and began to battle it ruthlessly. Even Bubbles put her best effort in. I swiped the flagpole and it glowed a deep blue. The light spread across the water and hit Swimmy square in the neck. Magic flagpoleswho knew? Swimmy roared, fending us off. It opened its big mouth and sucked in a mouthful of water. Bubbles was caught in the current and dragged into its gaping mouth. Bubbles! shrieked Kerry, dashing towards them. But it was too late. Swimmy shut its mouth and swam back into the cave. Bubbles was gone. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Kerry was in tears, but they were washed away by the water surrounding us. I cant believe it, she whispered. Bubbles is gone. Im sorry, I murmured, not knowing what else to say. I could save her. Kerry stared at me, her eyes filled with distraught. What do we do now? Theres not much we can do, I replied. Maybe we should just leave. But before we could take a step, Swimmy returned. It roared at us loudly, lunging with its mouth open. Its jaws closed over me and everything went dark. I opened my eyes to the glow of the flagpole. Feeling a nudge at my arm, I looked down to see Bubbles swimming beside me. Are weinside Swimmy? I felt the slimy interior shift as Swimmy was probably taking off again. Bubbles let out a squeak and swam further down. I followed her through Swimmys body, wondering what we would find. Bubbles pushed her snout against something solid. I reached out and wrapped my finger around cold, smooth, metal. Alever? Bubbles squeaked, pushing its snout against it again. Well, what have we got to lose? I pulled the lever and squeezed my eyes shut. Suddenly, everything was still. A moment later I was thrown sideways, hitting the inner wall. Swimmy must have crashed to the ground. I slammed the flagpole against the wall, puncturing a large hole. We swam out anxiously, surveying the disabled serpent. It seemed dead to me. Milla! Bubbles! Kerry ran towards us, a worried look on her face. Are you okay?

Fine, I told her. We should get back though. Were late for the party. Kerry nodded, looking down at Bubbles. Bye, Bubbles! she whispered. Thanks for all your help! Bubbles squeaked and nudged Kerry on her shoulder before swimming away. I thrust the flagpole into the ground and a rush of momentum sent us flying to the surface, where we continued to the party like nothing happened. I guess the moral of the story is that every serpent has a lever. Analyze that yourself.