The Child Zoo

Chapter 7

Today is my birthday, and I'm turning fourteen years old. I awoke just like every other day at this accursed place. Groggily I flutter my eyes open with an exasperated groan. "Ahh!" Suddenly I'm ambushed by a figure trying to crush my lungs and suffocate me. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

"I appreciate the affection.." wheeze "... but I won't live through the day if you keep trying to kill me." Taylor climbs off of me allowing the air back into my lungs. She hangs over me giving me her biggest smile, just like every year for seven years. Dragging me against my will I nearly fall to my death off of the top bunk.

Groaning I begrudgingly shuffle my feet out to the activity center filled with annoyingly oblivious ignoramuses. Open mouthed cave men stand in the virtual reality centers awed at the "cool" technology given to us by our captors. I roll my eyes at Tasha practically eye banging that douche bag from the bus.

His light skinned complexion and broccoli shaped brown hair makes him a catch to these airheads. Personally his persona and arrogance makes him a repellent to me. Passing the hormone crazed, static for brains couple I make my way to the vending machine. I decide to skip their breakfast of tofu today. No money is needed as I press the button for a nature valley bar. This vegetarian diet sucks but at least it's edible.

As I munch on my bar I glance to my side to see Taylor bouncing up and down looking at me expectantly. "Yeth" I say through a mouthful of granola. "What are you gonna do for your birthday!?" Swallow the food in my mouth a give a grim expression. "Nothing. We're trapped in a zoo, treated like animals, and demeaned as we waste years of our lives in this place. Yea happy birthday to me." I say sarcastically.

Taylor furrows her eyebrows as I've killed her mood. Munching on the last of my bar I get up to dispose of the trash. Walking to the wall across the room I chuck the trash on the mat on the floor. From above, out of a censor a laser comes out to disintegrate the waste. Yea it was cool the first couple times but being cooped up and hoarded in a morbid zoo sure kills the wow factor.

"The zoo will be opening in exactly one hour. It is time to prepare yourselves." Great. My least favorite part of the day. Lined up and escorted like animal/criminals we make our way to their shower chambers. I've learned to just stand there and let hell pour down on me, saves the shock of not knowing what to expect.

The shots keep coming everyday, no word as to what they are or what they do. But at this point it's no secret, my boobs have grown a whole two cup sizes from my previous 32A to a 34C, and my hips feel gigantic. These bastards never fail to prove just how sick they are, primping us up like morbid show ponies.

Putting my clothes back on I try to kill the guard staring at me with my eyes. In return I am met with his sick grin, I fight back the urge to rip his eyeballs out by remembering the shock executed by my collar two weeks ago. At last we are filed away, sent into the enclosure for more of this sick game. It's like a carousel, only the horses are demons and the song is slow and maniacal, and I can't get off.

"The zoo is now allowing entry." Today there are more kids than usual, I notice yellow metal bracelets clipped onto their arms sporting the words "Not Zoo Property" how wonderful. They've marked them so they're not snatched away or left behind like the other poor innocent kids that were. All because mommy and daddy have money.

A younger looking man, probably around 25 tells the kids to settle down. He looks like a teacher which means this is a field trip. Awesome. Kids run around with all kinds of trinkets in bedazzled baggies that they probably made in class just for this occasion. From what I hear they brought some items of their own in just for us.