He doesn’t even have to chase them. He simply floats and plucks fish after fish from the flow that streams around him and under him, never-ending. He tears into their glinting bodies and is surprised to find their flesh is a strange orange colour, but he doesn’t care; they may look wrong, but they taste delicious. The flavour is delicate and meaty all at once. He bites into fish after fish and shakes them so hard their broken bodies fling into the air. After a while he is so full he stops swallowing, and simply tears into them for the fun of it. He tosses them into the air and swats at them with his flippers and he dives and swims through them, laughing at how they don’t even stream out of his way but let him brush his face up against their slick bodies.

After a while, he grows drowsy. He rolls onto his back and lets the swarming fish buoy him as he dozes.

He wakes when he hears a boat approach. He opens one eye and watches the humans who are lurking on its deck. They honk and bark at one another, making all sorts of strange sounds like:

Ohwelltheregoesafewthousanddollarsworthofsalmon.

And:

Itwaseasierbackinthedaywhenwecouldjustshootthemandbedonewithit.

And:

Toomanyeyesareonthesalmonfarmingindustrythesedays.

And:

Tootrue.

And:

Helooksbloodyhappywithhimselfdoesnthe.

And:

Ohwellheresfornothing.

One of the humans raises a long thin object in both his hands and points it at the little male seal. He feels something sharp hit his belly and his head lolls back and he plunges into a deep sleep while the fish bustle and whirr beneath him.

His eyes flutter open. His head rolls. His throat feels swollen and sore.

A human runs her hand over his body and murmurs, cooing. He thinks she’s trying to tell him to relax and that everything will be okay.

He widens his eyes and snorts to tell her he’s not sure if he believes her.

HewokewhenItaggedhim, she barks softly to another human, who the little male seal can hear rustling behind him. Thetranq-mustbewearingoff.

Illgivehimanotherjab, the other human rumbles.

He feels a prick in his side and his eyes roll and close.

His eyes flutter open. He is trapped in a roaring box. The floor vibrates beneath him and the walls shudder. He does not like it. His head throbs. He closes his eyes and sleeps.

His eyes flutter open. Sunlight burns in from where one wall of the box used to be. The dark shadow of a human moves across the light.

WelcometotheBassStraitmate, the human honks loudly, and pokes at him with a stick.

He tries to growl and roar at the human, but his voice is stifled by his parched throat.

Slowly, his eyes become accustomed to the glare and he sees blue tousled with gold: the ocean, pitching with breeze under sunlight. He shuffles towards it and stumbles down a ramp. Then he is in the cool and soothing water.