9
The cows no longer run free, now they stand in metal holding pens at the mercy of their owners. Most were good, some however were far from it. The horses no longer ran free, finding companionship with the humans, they weren't too upset.
The ducks remembered a time when they had miles and miles of ponds, now they had tiny, dirty little puddles. Their feathers were heavy with oil and soot.
"So much for wildlife preservation," the hog thought as he sat among her four pitiful trees. He watched the trapper man come closer and closer, net ready for capture.
The dove listened to the women scream, "Use solar, save the planet!" Unfortunately this was the last thing he heard before he was blinded by light, crashing to the Earth. One of his white primary feathers drifted through the wind, landing beside the women's shoe.
She stepped on the feather, and now it lays mangled, a testament to how much she cares.
Now the lands are no longer free, the skies are no longer safe. The animals don't even remember what or who they used to be. The yellow bellied monsters chop and chop. They destroy and mangle.
The death of the country begins with a single strand of barbed wire.
Untitled by Karen Robles
the man attempts to stifle his yelp of pain.
“Jamie? Jamie, is that you?” A voice calls out.
Through gritted teeth, Jamie grunts in agreement. Another man, the baker, peeks around the corner brandishing one of his traditional tools.
“You scared me Jamie! Haven’t you heard of the recent murders? What are you doing, skulking about?”
Jamie scowls, stomping his foot down, catching the stray paper he was chasing, “I was trying to read the paper about that new law Congress passed. This thing could help me pay the medical bill to fix my kidney!” The baker rubs a hand across his face in exasperation.
“Look, Jamie-” a loud hissing fills the narrow alley. Frozen, the two look down to find a large snake rising from the nearby rubble.
As the two men attempt to slowly back away from the threat, Jamie whispers to the baker, “say, how did those people die again? Poison?”
The man’s boots squelch in the mud puddles littering the alley. Sugary sweet smells from the nearby bakery closing up for the night nearby, drift past him. The man’s clothes are marred with odd stains and haphazard patchwork. A large bolt of green cloth is crudely sewn to the remaining material of one pant leg.
The man hurries around a turn in the alley. Faster and faster, he races against the wind. Focused solely on what is in front of him, only to jam his foot into a brick wall. Clutching his foot, the man attempts to stifle his yelp of pain.
“Jamie? Jamie, is that you?” A voice calls out.
Through gritted teeth, Jamie grunts in agreement. Another man, the baker, peeks around the corner brandishing one of his traditional tools.
“You scared me Jamie! Haven’t you heard of the recent murders? What are you doing, skulking about?”
Jamie scowls, stomping his foot down, catching the stray paper he was chasing, “I was trying to read the paper about that new law Congress passed. This thing could help me pay the medical bill to fix my kidney!” The baker rubs a hand across his face in exasperation.
“Look, Jamie-” a loud hissing fills the narrow alley. Frozen, the two look down to find a large snake rising from the nearby rubble.
As the two men attempt to slowly back away from the threat, Jamie whispers to the baker, “say, how did those people die again? Poison?”
I Know No More by Carrot
There it was, staring at me. Red eyes glowing in the darkness, jaws slavering as it growls at me.
Helpless, I back up against the cold, rough wall of the cave. The town was overrun; there had been no other place to go. How was I to know this was their home?
Slowly, the werewolf prowls closer, staying just outside the light from the fallen flashlight.
"Please, Spencer, don't do this!" I plead. "Doug!" I call, crying.
Ignoring me, he steps into the light. The little Pomeranian lunges at me with a snarl, teeth bared, and I know no more.