The Kraken

Post apocalyptic world where remaining humans grow up fearing the water. After an experiment traced back to Japan trying to genetically engineer a super food created a super race of giant octopus, the human race was thrown into a war. The octopuses live very long lives, maybe immortal, and continue to grow throughout their lives, sometimes reaching gigantic sizes. In addition the octopus reproduce at an extremely rapid rate, have an extremely toxic bite, can change color, and are very intelligent. Due to these traits, humanity one day finds themselves the victims of a globally organized surprise attack. Giant Krakens take out battleships and air craft carriers around the world. All contacts with submarines are lost. Eventually humanity is pushed back, away from the oceans and any other large bodies of water (the octopus can survive in salt and freshwater for some reason). Story takes place during the first generation growing up not knowing a life without war. Main character is an adolescent girl, Doris. Doris is rebellious and loves the ocean. Doris is also completely deaf and communicates through sign language and lip reading. One day while exploring in the "forbidden zone" she finds a large orb in a tide pool. She secretly takes this orb home and keeps it in a water storage tank (storage tanks, used to store rain water and not connected to any other bodies of water are very common). She realizes it is an egg, the offspring of her mortal enemy, the Kraken. Doris chooses to keep the egg alive. Eventually the egg hatches a baby Kraken, about the size of a cat. Doris feeds the Kraken and takes care of it, it grows very quickly, reaching nearly her same size within a few months. While taking care of the child, Doris teaches it sign language, and the two spend hours every day talking. This is the first time communication has been established between humans and Kraken. Eventually the Kraken child, named Cabrean, is discovered by the community Doris lives in. While there is a community meeting over what to do with it, Doris escapes with Cabrean. They spend a great deal of time hiding in between two worlds, tidal areas, afraid of humans and of the Kraken. One day a gang of vagabond humans attacks Doris and Cabrean is forced to kill (by strangling and his venom) them, saving Doris's life. Cabrean matures very quickly and though only a year old he functions as a near adult. His growth slows down but still continues. Story could continue for some time in this capacity. Eventually Cabrean would be kidnapped by the other Kraken. Doris will be forced to break into a top secret facility building futuristic underwater suits made for humans in an attempt to fight the Kraken. She steals a suit and travels to the underwater world of the Kraken. She finds that, counter to what her fears are and what she has been taught, the underwater world is not "teeming with Kraken" but is very sterile. The Kraken, due to their phenomenal population growth rates, have ravaged the sea, leaving very little left. The majority of the Kraken live in deep ocean trenches, far from their feared enemy, the humans.