Collin slunk into the water from his hyacinth and Flailed awkwardly at first. It took a little bit to get used to swimming, but the pulse of the fish helped guide his actions, so between that and his flat legs that were perfect for swimming, he was gliding through the water at impressive speeds .It took a little bit of getting used to, but it felt natural to swim after a while.


    He set his sights for the shore, but kept moving and didn’t pick the closest spot. Instead he set his sights on the perfect spot for hunting dragonflies. He prioritized the life pulse to use it as a radar to hone in on any dragonfly hotspots while he explored and found that the range had expanded to a fifty foot radius.


    Now that Collin could breathe underwater and wasn’t panicked, he was able to appreciate the scenery. It was a completely different world down here. Past the murk, was a variety of life the surface could never have kept up with. It was amazing. Plankton floated aimlessly, taking in the sunlight. Plants ranging from his size to much larger than fish swayed in the slow-moving current.


    A spooked crawfish swam backward away from Collin. Now that looked worthy enough to eat. Those claws could come in real handy and their exoskeleton was the toughest looking he’d seen so far. There were shrimp and tadpoles, but neither caught his interest much. The further he swam, the more he realized that the surface of the water was more of an addition to the life down below. Underwater was where the real action was. Creatures of all sizes preyed on one another in beautiful displays of power and speed. The more he explored, the more he realized that a dragonfly was not his only goal. There were so many displays of things Collin knew he could use. It was like a buffet table of evolutionary choices.


    Despite being tempted in other directions, Collin stayed on course for the dragonfly. After being able to swim and seeing how his world expanded his horizons, Collin wanted to fly even more than ever.


    As he swam Collin stayed wary of any hungry fish, but so far, they all kept their distance. As far as he was concerned, he was content to keep it that way. While he liked to breathe underwater, he didn’t want to become any more like a fish than he already had. Far too limiting. Far too fleshy and vulnerable.


    Fish were more of feeders instead of predators. Collin knew that he was a predator and as such, what better way to make himself a greater predator than by eating other successful predators?


    While exploring, there was a predator that stood out more than any other. It was an alligator and it was incredible. The behemoth was larger than anything else down here by leaps and bounds, yet was able to move with terrifying speed. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Collin followed one for some time by latching onto its scaly back just above the tail. It was a nice place to observe. Anything that it came across was either a meal or insignificant. Nothing in these waters could threaten this titanic beast and he instantly fell in love.He tried to nibble off pieces of its hide to become more like it, but It was too tough for his pitiful pincers.


    Hungry


    By now Collin’s hunger was beginning to take priority over his conscious choices. Regretfully, he had to abandon the alligator and find his next prey.


    The gator had towed him a long way, but the scenery still looked the same. When he listened to the pulses, he found the vibrations of insects were more numerous near the shore. He headed to where a much larger population hummed and was not disappointed. In a near stagnant pool of water, cut off by a fallen tree, was a massive spawning ground for mosquitoes. He could sense dragonflies feeding like crazy all around here. This was it. His chance to finally get one.


    Collin waited and noticed that most of them liked to snatch a mosquito just as it was leaving the water’s surface. There were so many, it was only a matter of time before one touched down where he was, so he lurked under the water and waited patiently for his kill like he saw the Alligator do.


    He waited there long enough for the sun to peak overhead.


    Hungry


    His hunger pulse urged him to move, but he had watched the greatest predator and knew his hunger was wrong. Patience was a deadly tool and he would master it.


    A young blue and green dragonfly was flying low over the water, obviously not old enough to have the experience of knowing what a mistake it was making. It teasingly did laps near Collin and he was tempted to break his position to go after it, but he steeled himself and remained still.


    Hungry


    Just as he was about to give up and give in to his hunger, A massive dragonfly hovered over the surface of the water. It must have had a wingspan of seven inches.


    It was glorious and it was all his.


    Collin timed his strike for when its tail was just above him and struck. It had a lightning-fast reaction and dodged to the side. Collin lashed out and instead of clamping down on the tail of the dragonfly, he found purchase on a wing near the body. He ripped his head back and forth and they both dropped into the water together. The dragonfly was lashing out and snapping toward him, but even if it still had both wings it wouldn’t have had the advantage in the water.


    Steering clear of its pincers Collin made his way to its back and latched on. He dug into the base of its skull with his pincers and it stopped thrashing around after several bites. Collin ate with fury and made certain to leave nothing behind.


    Collin had actually done it.


    The dragonfly was finally his and soon he was going to be able to fly. He swam to the edge of the shore where a patch of reeds grew and without wasting time, he withdrew into his chrysalis.