The Mutiny

Meanie loved to munch carrots that had their bright green hats on. He started from the tapered bottom and slowly grinding his way up. Then he put the green part on his head like a hat and walked about in his cage until the lights went out at night.

It was a routine… Until one day when it wasn’t.

Meanie didn’t get his usual carrot. He got a pink one with a floppy, leafy hat on it.

Betty, the bat… watched everything from his cage, upside down… with her head slightly tilted to the right.

“I was wondering why my carrot is.. is…” muttered Meanie to himself.

“..pink! that’s the word you are looking for” grumbled Betty and tilted her head to the left.

“ah yes! Someone painted my carrot peenk”

“It’s a raddishh stupid”

Betty, a young brown bat, is always fed a white liquid and dead beetles on another bowl. But this time, it was different too. It was a red liquid, and instead of beetles, they were dead spiders.

“Well! Well! Looks like you’re not alone”

There were other neighbors in the room. All of them in their separate cages, or “oncloosures” as the humans called them.

Whenever the humans walked in, one of their friends disappeared.

“I think this red one.. hmm …has in it, what humans call Tomat—” trailed Betty’s voice when a white glove grabbed her off the cage.  

Meanie’s little heart pumped watching all this.

Tim, a red-haired squirrel, four brown chickens, a crow with a broken beak, 12 rats, and a monkey named Monty were the other animals in the room.

“Hey! Hey Tim!” squeaked Meanie.

Tim, the red-haired squirrel was at the farthest corner and could watch more than the others. “Where’er they taking Betty? You see?”

Poor Tim hadn’t been able to talk ever since the humans picked him from the cage. Tim looked at Meanie and placed one finger on his lips.

Meanie, fed up with what he’s seeing… wanted to disappear.

“Well, maybe it’s my turn next! Or maybe it’s you Monty!”

“Shuut Up!” warned Monty.  

“guys.. guys.. listen!” begged Meanie for some attention.

The chickens were bawk bawking, the rats were gossiping, the monkey mimicking Meanie with weird noises and even Tim had picked up a spoon and started drumming in his cage.

“I said stop!” screamed Meanie and banged his metal cage.

“I have an idea. And if you all listened, we can be free”

It was late that night and just before lights off, the white hand went for Meanie’s cage. It was his turn. Meanie hid in a corner and Tim alerted all the others by throwing his spoon out of the cage.

Dang! The first part of the plan.

“What? Heck was that?” turned the human, in his white gown from top to toe.

Suddenly the monkey howled and fell flat. Then the chickens started banging their heads against the cage and then the rats let out a loud shriek and tumbled with their tongues sticking out. Except for one which kept one eye open to see what was happening.

It seemed the plan was working. The human in the white cloak was startled and ran towards a red button above the door. He pushed it as hard as he could and screamed into it.

“The animals are dying, must be an outbreak! Alert level 4” and then he disappeared.

Now was the chance for Meanie… his cage was open…

Meanie ran for his life while the others lifted their poor heads and called him for help.

“Thank you, ye’ fools” laughed Meanie and ran for the air vent.

The air vent crisscrossed across the building and landing him on the roof. For the first time in his life, Meanie breathed his first fresh air of freedom. And to his surprise, his air of freedom was icy cold and was choking him. All he could see around him was all white ice and snow.  

His face dropped and the smile on his face perished.

Meanie didn’t want to die, so he walked quietly back into his cage… and after what seems like many minutes, he looked up… “I’m sorry friends, I… I… what?”

All the cages were empty.

Instead, there was one large container with a bright red marking on it.

“WARNING: BIOHAZARD. CULLED ANIMALS. DISPOSE ASAP”