My name is Ambria. I’m eleven years old and I live in a city called Coventry Bay in British Columbia. It’s an amazing place to live as it is so beautiful and peaceful. It’s a big city with a small city feel. Everyone is so polite and so friendly. At least they used to be until HE arrived. After that, things would never be the same again.

Coventry Bay was known for its thriving fishing industry as well as being a popular tourist destination. I loved living by the ocean. There was nothing more refreshing than the sea air on a warm Summer day. That was until a number of dirty factories started to pop up around town. Nobody knew what they were making or why they were here. The smokestacks turned the blue sky grey and the water was covered in some type of slimy film.

Within weeks my scenic city was starting to look like a burnt out wasteland. The air was filthy and the ocean and other waterways were being polluted. The communal spirit that once made this such a great place to live was starting to change as well. And not for the better. The people of Coventry Bay seemed different. All of the wonderful qualities that made them such good neighbours were being replaced by us one real ugliness. People became rude, short-tempered and oblivious to rational thoughts or ideas.

The man behind the factories was named Yerac Elemud. He was an odd fellow who always wore an outrageous orange outfit and spoke with an elegant British accent. He seemed nice enough at first as he would engage in small talk with the locals about sports or pop culture. But soon some of us were able to see through his friendly facade. He had nefarious plans in store for our town. We tried to warn the Mayor about the bizarre businessman, but he had a million reasons not to care.

As time went on more and more citizens of Coventry Bay were becoming infected by some strange disease. They were becoming irrational and argumentative. It was as if they had been possessed by some strange force. This illness was turning them into Yovnocs, bizarre orange alien beings. Once the virus got a hold them they would devolve into angry, arrogant, ignorant, selfish creatures. It was really scary. This wasn’t the city I grew up and this was definitely not how the people behaved. 

The Yovnocs began rampaging through the streets of Coventry Bay. Many of them began encircling important buildings throughout town like the hospital and police station. Their loud shrill cries echoed throughout the streets. Not even the police were able to stop the siege of delirious aliens. The other citizens were left with two options: seek shelter or flee the downtown core altogether. Some unlucky souls who tried to escape were bitten by the Yovnocs and turned into babbling beasts themselves.

I hopped on my bike and pedaled as fast as I could out of town. If I could make it to the forest there would tons of places to hide. A couple of the aliens were hot on my trail so I decided to jump off my bike and hide behind some bushes. I hid there trembling as the creatures grew closer. I thought I heard some voices so I peeked through the bushes. It was a freaky group of what looked to be green-skinned beings in Samurai attire. They were able to scare off the aliens. Whew! I was safe now……or was I? Who were these ‘people?’ and were they even human?

“Greetings!” one of the beings smiled. “Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Archimedes. To my right we have Democritus, Diophantus, and Euclid. Together we are…..wait for it….The Teenage Samurai Salamander Squad!”

“Uh, nice to meet you” I mumbled.

“I’m sure you have a million questions” Euclid interrupted. “None of this really makes any sense to us either. One day we were a group of salamanders and then boom! We’re a group of teenage warriors!”

“With all of the toxicity in the air and water coming from those filthy factories, it somehow changed us from amphibians to humanoids” Diophantus began. “We transformed into super-smart, super-cool, walking, talking, kung fu fighting salamanders. We were taken in and trained by our Shogun, Galileo. He named us after famous historical philosophers, scientists and mathematicians. We were all a little freaked out at first but now it seems as though we have found our purpose. And that is to defeat Yerac Elemud before he takes over the world.”

“Ahhhhhh!!! A giant rat!” I shrieked.

“Oh no, don’t panic. That’s our Shogun, Galileo. He used to be a chipmunk before he morphed into our wise leader” Democritus explained.

“Don’t be afraid child. That’s what the bad guys want. Yerac and his minions came to Earth with plans to destroy mankind. A large Space Caravan was sent to find a planet they could divide and conquer. He chose Earth as his first target. He decided to start with this small Canadian town because if he could turn a group of decent, kind citizens against one another then he could do it anywhere he pleased.”

“I am all about peace and compassion. But sometimes you need to fight for what you believe in. I’ve trained these salamanders to use their minds before their fists. Now Salamanders, here is your mission: You will march into the downtown core where you will only draw your swords when provoked. The aliens will turn to ooze when they are defeated and the citizens of Coventry Bay will resume their human form. Finally you must capture Elemud and banish him to the Doom-El galaxy.  Ambria you will stay here with…..”

“Yoink!” Democritus said as he snatched Galileo’s car keys.

“No! Not my car! You’re supposed to ride in on horseback like true Samurais!” Galileo lamented.

But it was too late as the salamanders and Ambria squeezed into the tiny vehicle and took off. Needless to say it was not a smooth ride.

The car was swerving all over the road and would jerk back and forth as Democritus would put his foot on the gas and ten immediately hit the brakes.

“Pull over dude, I’m car sick and I think Diophantus is about to blow chunks” Euclid called out.

“Alright, we’ll let the girl drive” Democritus conceded.

“But I’m only eleven! Oh well, here goes nothing!”

When we arrived downtown, the city was in turmoil. The police were overwhelmed by the massive numbers of Yovnocs. Several fires had broken out throughout the city as the people of Coventry Bay ran for shelter.

“Alright Ambria, it’s time for you to become an honorary Squad member. You’ve handled a katana before right?” Archimedes asked.

“Oh sure, what eleven year old girl hasn’t?I I sarcastically responded. I struggled with all of my might to lift the heavy sword to no avail. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an orange intruder quietly creeping up behind me