Swimming near the docks always made her feel dirty, like she was moving through toilet water. Used toilet water. If the smell and the trash drifting past her were any indication, she wasn't that far off.
BOOM.
Vibrations shook the water and sent a jolt through the girl's lateral line system. She turned, treading water with dark webbed hands as she looked for the source of what had to be an explosion. The only suspicious thing she could see was a freighter trailing… moor lines? And moving as fast as it could towards the sea.
Curiosity compelled her to check it out. Her mother's advice urged her to be careful and stay hidden. Curiosity beat caution and with a flick of her powerful tail, she pursued the ship. The moon became brighter as she rose through the water column. She shuddered at the delightful taste of salt as the river met the ocean.
Another explosion and the front the big ship glowing orange. Helicopters fled the back of the ship, their noise filtered slowly through the grimy water. She thought about leaving the distressed watercraft alone briefly and then she sped up.
SPLOOOSH! SPLOOOSH! SPLOOOSH! SPLOOOSH! SPLOOOSH!
Five creatures suddenly dove into the water and the girl hurriedly put out the light in her lure and covered the glowing device on her chest with a webbed hand. By the moonlight, she could tell that four of them had shelled backs and wore long tassels of cloth on their heads. The other was smaller than the rest, with a long thin tail and a long muzzle. They swam expertly, well… as expertly as creatures with legs could, and they quickly headed for the shore. The creatures easily climbed wooden beams out of the water. Looking around the girl felt a bit concerned that no one else appeared to be escaping, and a ship that big shouldn't have a crew small enough that everyone could fit on three normal sized helicopters.
It should not have been as much of a surprise as it was when the freighter really exploded. Obvious in hindsight, but it was anyway. The shockwave tore through the harbor and knocked the girl unconscious. The air left her lungs and she slowly sank.
…
The girl woke to metal fragments bumping her slimy brown and black scaled hide. Her lure glowed and pink eyes searched her surroundings. Around her sank chunks, sheets, and tubes of steel, hunks of (possibly) wood bobbed dark as jet on the moonlit surface. Movement nearby caught her attention.
A large figure struggled to get out from under some large slabs of metal. After getting closer, she blinked. It wasn't every night that one got to see a dinosaur… scuba diver? Astronaut? Well, whatever its occupation is, its airline was cut and she knew for certain that dinosaurs don't have gills. The creature was trying to free its lower half with one arm while the other hand held closed around the tube connected to its air tank to slow the leakage.
She took a moment to mull it over before ultimately deciding to help. The girl swum down in front of the dinosaur, well out of arm's reach (just in case), and waggled her glowing lure to get its attention. Once it noticed her she motioned the best she could that she was going to help it. It nodded in understanding. She tugged at the metal as it pushed but the slabs didn't budge enough. She huffed, let go, and took another look at the situation. She found that there was enough of a gap by the creature's side that she could crawl in.
So she did.
Her lure lay flat against her skull as she wiggled alongside the saurian. Feeling like she was at a good spot, she rolled over so that her dorsal fin faced the river bottom. The girl pressed her lower half into the sludge and litter to give herself room to bend forward until her chest touched her tail. Sharp black talons scratched the metal as she pushed up with her arms and shoulders and back. Her powerful tail pushed downwards until it met something solid to work against. The dinosaur felt what she was doing and joined in. Together they pushed.
And pushed!
And PUSHED!
A deep groan and the slabs lifted. As soon as it could, the dinosaur squeezed out from under the wreckage and the girl followed as quickly as she could. The reptile made a beeline for the surface without regard for the possibility of catching the bends. Likely enough at the depths they'd been in, likely enough that the girl made her ascent more cautiously. When she neared the surface, she caught the unconscious saurian as it started to sink. She shook her head, filled her lungs with air so that she'd float, and kept its head above the water as she swam for the shore.
Fucking bends and fucking heavy ass dinosaur.