New Zoo (Original Series by Wallace111)

New-Zoo-Gorilla

It was Jacob's first day at his new job at the New Zoo that had just opened up in his town.

He was not very thrilled. However, he figured it was better than the grocery store. He was finishing up his tour with one of the managers of the New Zoo. Her name was Rebecca and she had been working at the zoo since it opened. She was very attractive with long black hair reaching down to her waist and deep brown eyes.

"She...she does look rather beautiful," thought Jacob, wondering whether she'd be interested in possibly going out for a coffee or something. Despite his thoughts, he retained his focus on Rebecca, recalling why he was here today.

Jacob had been hired as a security consultant for the New Zoo. They wanted him to set up security cameras around the zoo and inside the animal enclosures to ensure that they would be safe when the Zoo was ready to open. Jacob accepted the role easily, it was definitely a step up from his previous experience working as freelance security for the grocery store. He always seemed to be struggling to make ends meet. The job market was drying up and living by himself, keeping the lights on was proving to be difficult.

"And I can't depend on Ian's charity forever," thought Jacob, trying to focus his mind. However, he was unable to push the nagging thought away. He looked back at Rebecca, thankful she either hadn't noticed his daydreaming or had decided not to comment on it.

Jacob attempted to listen to what she was saying but found himself drifting in and out as she talked. He kept looking around at all the different enclosures and objects scattered throughout the Main Hallway.

A particular stand out was a poster advertising a Petting Zoo expansion that would be opening soon. Jacob also observed that most of the enclosures were empty but decided not to comment. He spotted the one lonely cheetah inside an enclosure which stared nonchalantly at him momentarily but he quickly focused his attention back on Rebecca.

"That's everything you need to know for today," said Rebecca. She then led him back towards the Employee Lounge. This was basically where all the employees would come to relax and take a break during the day. Inside, there was a cabinet. It had keys leading to separate and various animal enclosures ranging from Gorillas, Jaguars and many other exotic animals.

It was an impressive set up considering the Zoo seemed so small and unremarkable.

"Still...I wonder where the other staff are?" thought Jacob, confused for a brief moment. He dismissed the idea, shaking his head. "Perhaps they're still considering applicants" reasoned Jacob, straightening his name tag that was firmly clasped on his uniform.

"Besides...it'll be less distracting for me to do my work" concluded Jacob, smiling softly. He was ready to get started.

"Do you have any questions or are you ready to work?" Rebecca asked, giving Jacob a look over. Jacob could tell that the woman thought very little of him.

"Well...there goes my dating aspirations," thought Jacob, feeling awkward. However, he knew there were no other jobs available right now. Hence, he kept quiet.

"I'm ready to get started," said Jacob, confidence echoing in his voice. Deep down he was determined to get ready as he didn't know when he'd get another opportunity like this. The payout from this job would help him afford the rent on his apartment for the next few months. He felt newfound confidence swell up in him as he looked back towards Rebecca, putting on a professional smile.

"Any particular enclosure you fancy looking at first?" asked Rebecca, a neutral expression on her face.

"The Gorillas if possible, I've always been fond of them" replied Jacob, his smile becoming more genuine as he mentioned them.

Rebecca put on a wicked smile as she walked over to a small closet. Pulling out a key from her belt she opened it up and stepped inside. She grabbed a camera from the closet before glancing at a rolled-up blueprint within the locker. Rebecca's smile widened momentarily, fully aware of what was about to happen.

It was time for her dream to begin!

"Your first job will be to monitor the enclosure. We are getting a new gorilla later today to attract new customers. His name is Coconut. I need you to have complete knowledge of the enclosure" started Rebecca, taking a moment to make sure Jacob was paying attention.

She noticed him nodding as she smiled once more."When you're done, prepare to set up the cameras. The door is near, follow me" said Rebecca, tenderly smiling.

She headed back into the Main Hallway, escorting Jacob towards the Gorilla Enclosure. The key to the enclosure was held firmly in Rebecca's hand as she continued to walk, Jacob not too far behind.

They approached the Gorilla Enclosure, not too far from the entrance. Jacob took a glance, not wanting to lose Rebecca. Within moments, Rebecca had escorted him towards the back door into the enclosure. She opened the door, encouraging Jacob inside.

Jacob complied, walking inside the enclosure. At that moment, Rebecca called out to him, "Make sure you cover every inch of the enclosure."

Jacob nodded in understanding just as the door closed behind him. Unknown to Jacob, the door had been locked by Rebecca. He looked around at the enclosure, trying to find the best places for the cameras to ensure maximum coverage.

Unaware that the enclosure would soon be his new home.

The first thing Jacob noticed was that the two side walls were grey cement covered in moss. He figured this would help to emulate the atmosphere of a jungle. The cage bars allowed people to see into the enclosure but kept the animals contained within. There were two vents on the sidewalls that would let fresh air into the enclosure. This alleviated the stiffness of the air within the Main Hallway which Jacob could see from within the enclosure. It was very green with grass and leaves on the floor. Vines hung down to add decoration and there were other plants and bushes. It also had a glass ceiling to allow in natural light from above.

"This will be a nice enclosure when Coconut arrives later today," thought Jacob, beginning to feel odd, warm. His mind seemed elsewhere as it was becoming harder to keep focused. He continued to look around, trying to keep focused on the task at hand.

The most notable thing in the enclosure was the massive tree in the middle of it which appeared to be real, not plastic like Jacob had seen in other Zoos. That caused him to remember the Old Zoo that had shut down recently.

"I still don't know why it shut down...it was rather serviceable," thought Jacob. It was then Jacob realised he hadn't taken his eyes off the large tree. It seemed odd...mesmerising. On one branch there was a tire swing. However, the most noticeable thing hanging from it were many ripe bananas. For some reason to Jacob, they appeared good, inviting.

"Wow look at those..." thought Jacob, the bananas seeming particularly appetising, impossible to resist. He was tempted to try one, the thought soon occupying his entire mind.

As the thought entered Jacob's mind, his mind suddenly drifted away from his task at hand as his thoughts became more primitive as he imagined not himself but a silverback gorilla within the enclosure, beating his chest, declaring dominance and leading a troop while being by his mate as they courted each other leading to...

That thought snapped Jacob straight out of his daydream as his eyes widened. "How did that occur?" wondered Jacob. He then noticed that he had stood completely still during his daydream.

He looked around, hoping that Rebecca hadn't been watching him. He then decided to return to the task he had been hired to do. The thought that the equipment hadn't been brought in with him to set up hadn't occurred to Jacob yet.

Trying to focus his mind, Jacob peered out into the Main Hallway. It was empty which was not surprising since the Zoo hadn't officially opened. He had a look outside and could see that the view for people to see the gorilla from was fairly modest. He barely managed to make out the enclosure opposite, noticing a nearby sign identifying it was intended for Zebras.

Jacob shook his head, trying to clear his mind to no success. A small glance at the bananas hanging from the tree in the middle of the enclosure broke whatever resistance he had left; he couldn't resist and took one from the tree and proceeded to peel it.

He bit into the banana, humming with pleasure at the taste. A sensation began to spread over his body that, unknown to Jacob, was about to transform him irreparably and permanently.

It turns out, Coconut would be arriving at the New Zoo earlier than expected.

Jacob continued to consume the banana, oblivious to the changes that were affecting him. His nose began to change, moving upwards as if it was being dragged up his face. This left two large nostrils on Jacob's face, suitable for the gorilla he was becoming. He could feel his head changing as the top became more crest shaped to anchor his building jaw muscles. This began to have the effect of pushing his hat upwards, his brown hair beginning to thin out. He scratched his head, unknowingly causing more tingling to occur as the changes spread elsewhere. Dark fur began to form around his head, replacing his former hair as he continued to eat the banana, the taste proving too overwhelming to ignore.

His hands were tingling, now beginning to change after contact with his head. Dark hair began to sprout from his arms, growing under his shirt. His hands started to darken from a pale white to a dark grey. As his hands grew darker they grew bigger and thicker as his palms stretched out, separating his thumbs from the rest of his fingers. Jacob's eyes widened for a moment, realizing that his hands looked very much like gorilla hands.

"My..my hands?...what's happening to me?" thought Jacob, struggling to focus as a strange feeling began to develop all over. He found it difficult to focus as he glanced back at the banana once more. It looked delicious to a shifting mind as he took another bite from it, savouring it as he unknowingly caused further changes to begin.

As Jacob consumed the banana, he felt his head morph and deform as his face became darker and leathery. His eyes sunk into his face as his forehead drooped downward. His lips grew in size as his mouth expanded outwards while his chin receded into his head. He felt his teeth grow longer and pointier inside his large mouth becoming better adapted for eating fruits and vegetation rather than meat. He closed his brown eyes, savouring the taste of the banana as he felt vibrations going throughout his body.

Rebecca observed the changes happening to Jacob from a distance, smiling to herself. "The gorilla will be arriving at the zoo very soon," said Rebecca quietly, waiting with anticipation.

Suddenly, Jacob started to feel itchy. He scratched his side to subside the itch, not realising what had already happened to his head. The itching quickly spread to both his sides, untamed by his scratching. He dropped the banana peel onto the floor, having finished it. He then scratched himself excessively with both hands, feeling further sensations crossing all over his body.

He was thankful no one was around to see him act like a lunatic.

"This uniform is so uncomfortable," thought Jacob, continuing to scratch himself. He looked over himself as the itching was becoming increasingly unbearable. He had no idea what was happening but was transfixed as he watched more things change. His arms were growing bigger as more muscles formed. Unknown to Jacob, they also began to grow dark fur like his head.

It was then Jacob felt slightly faint. His chest felt very tight as it began to push against his shirt. It was becoming harder to breathe as pressure began to build up. His shirt got tighter and tighter as Jacob found himself gasping for breath. His body was beginning to bulk up, becoming more in line with his arms.

Fortunately, the pressure suddenly ceased as his shirt and undershirt tore to shreds by his bulking body. His muscle increased considerably, becoming truly animalistic within the enclosure. It puffed out as Jacob took a deep breath, trying to compensate for when he was being suffocated only moments before.

"Wait...is that?" thought Jacob, recognising his changed limbs for a moment. But that was impossible, people didn't just randomly turn into gorillas. At that realization, Jacob couldn't help but feel slightly bitter towards his predicament.

"I...I just wanted to not have to depend on someone" thought Jacob, his mind clear for a moment as the irony of what was happening was not lost on him. As an animal, he would be completely dependent on the staff. He tried to retain his focus, looking around as he tried to consider a way to escape.

However, as Jacob stood bare-chested in the enclosure, a strange impulse began to emerge in his mind. And as dumbfounded as he was, staring at his hands left his mind weakened for instinct to take over, he puffed out his chest, beating his hands on it as a show of dominance!

"Ook!, Ook!", Jacob yelled, slapping his chest with both hands. They then proceeded to ruffle his hair, as if on autopilot.

"Wh.. What the hell am I doing?" said Jacob, trying to keep control as he felt new instincts begin to force their way into his mind. He blinked, rubbing his head in defiance. However, he was unable to focus on what was happening to his mind. The standing position Jacob was in began to feel very unnatural. He felt something begin to change in his back, causing his position to feel stiff, rigid.

Before Jacob could react, his back popped and shifted as his spine bent and reformed. He fell forward, landing on his knuckles as his back audibly cracked. He attempted to get up to no success, barely managing to stand for a few moments before falling back onto his knuckles. His chest started growing larger and larger like he suddenly gained a lot of weight at once. Jacob felt extensively top-heavy as he breathed in and out, the changes taking a lot out of the man.

"No...ook...stop" mumbled Jacob weakly, his voice deepening as he realised his vocals were changing. However, the pain in his feet warranted much more of his attention. He bent down enough to see them. The pain was growing worse as he tried to reach back towards his shoes. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach that far back and, even if he could, his now oversized hands would have been too clumsy to do it efficiently.

This left Jacob no choice but to watch as his shoes creaked and groaned, struggling to hold the changing feet within. He cringed as the pressure was becoming too much to the point he was grateful when the shoes could take no more. His shoes ripped apart, practically exploding alongside his socks as his feet continued to expand.

Each toe grew longer as Jacob felt his big toe dislocate. The rest of his toes moved further away from his big toe before changing to match his hands, and, as if they were following a simian blueprint, his skin darkened. Soon his feet had turned into hands that he flexed experimentally.

"Ook...weird...ook, ook" mumbled Jacob, his voice having further deepened as his transformation progressed. Soon, he feared that he would be incapable of human speech entirely.

It was then Jacob noticed the door he had entered the enclosure through.

"OOK, Yes, OOK, OOK, Escape!" hooted Jacob, ignoring the mostly gorilla vocalizations that had escaped his mouth. He stumbled about, his pants clinging to his legs as he tried to run.

That was before he felt a sudden pain in his legs which stopped him dead in his tracks. He fell back down to all fours, his knuckles landing within the enclosure as he felt the tingling spreading across his legs.

He felt his legs begin to change, causing muscles to swell and grow. However, as his legs grew thicker with more muscle they also grew shorter. Dark fur spread over his legs, covering his lower body like it had his upper body. This, alongside his swelling muscles to match his upper body, caused Jacob's pants to begin to tear.

"Ook...ook...no...ook...ook..ook" mumbled Jacob, trying to move, trying to escape. As he did so, his pants tore away. His new muscular legs made traversing on all fours much easier as Jacob realised something.

If not for his large dark fur, he was now completely naked. He felt slightly shy for a moment, concerned if someone was watching him. Jacob felt immensely embarrassed as he looked outside, realizing his future.

"People...ook...staring...ook....ook" though Jacob. He realised that when the Zoo opened, people would be staring, observing him. He thought back to his regrets.

Deep down, he wished he had less of them.

However, it turned out the changes were not quite finished yet. Jacob felt a sudden pain in his manhood as he looked down, trying to work out what was happening.

Jacob quickly noticed that his genitals were beginning to wriggle and lose mass. They shrunk, growing smaller and smaller as Jacob quickly learned that while gorillas were the strongest massive apes, they also had comparably minute genitalia.

This caused something to snap within Jacob. He felt an absolute rage as his developing animal instincts took control. He puffed out his chest once more, beating it in defiance, trying to show he was dominant!

"OOK, OOK, OOK!" shouted Jacob, a true gorilla sound escaping his lips. It was at that point Jacob realised what had happened. However, Jacob couldn't mourn his loss as before he could react, he felt his mind being attacked by a new flurry of animal instinct.


His instincts were now being forced into overdrive as his gorilla nose smelled something wonderful. Jacob turned back to the banana tree in the middle of the enclosure and began to walk towards it.

"OOK!" screamed Jacob, attempting to resist. However, the call of his instincts was too great. He grabbed another banana, starting to eat it as more vibrations flowed throughout his body.

As he ate, his mind began to wander as he thought about his future. His thoughts became increasingly dominated not by thoughts of babysitting or eventually marrying the ideal girl but by mating with a female gorilla, leading his troop and being the king of his enclosure.

"Yes...me...ook...king...need...ook...queen" mumbled Jacob focused on his treat. He desired a mate, someone to share his space with. This thought caused the hair on his back to change colour, becoming lighter than the rest of his body. His transition into a Silverback caused new dominant thoughts to enter his head, causing him to utter.

"What.. Ook...Doing?" said Jacob, scratching his forehead mindlessly. He was trying to focus his mind, trying to recall what had happened to him.

Something had been wrong but...what was wrong again?

"Why...Ook...Upset?" continued Jacob, his gorilla instincts simplifying his thoughts. Soon, he would have no comprehension of ever being human. It was already beginning to feel like a dream.

"Ook Ook.." mumbled Jacob, unaware that he was no longer capable of human speech.

Just then, Jacob thought back to his earlier daydream, but rather than confusion like he felt before, he felt pride that caused him to bang his chest with his hands, declaring his dominance over his enclosure.

As Jacob did this, his mind was beginning to feel vibrations which opened the floodgates for his new instincts to settle. He examined his territory, disappointed that there were no other gorillas to interact with.

How could he claim his mate or lead his troop if he was alone?

As he kept looking around the en-, His home again... His nostrils flared as he took in the familiar scents. Memory of being a human... of having ever been a human began to fade as his eyes darkened, losing that sign of human intellect behind them. His changes cemented themself, the gorilla now in complete control.

The Zoo now had its first Gorilla. His name was Coconut, a fine male, well on his way to being a mighty Silverback.

Rebecca returned, watching the new gorilla interact with the enclosure around him and admired her handiwork.

"Perfect," said Rebecca, her smile unwavering. She took a minor sideways glance as she noticed the security equipment that Jacob had supplied. "Now that'll be great once we set it up. It'll keep the Zoo secure...and satisfy my needs" thought Rebecca, her smile unnaturally widening. She felt like she was on cloud nine as she continued to admire her new gorilla.

"Absolutely exquisite," said Rebecca, in awe at Coconut's majesticness. Her smile remained wide, confident the rest of the enclosures of the New Zoo would be filled in short order. She walked to one side, unveiling a sign under Coconut's enclosure.

'Coconut' The Gorilla, given by a mystery donor.

As Rebecca looked back at the former man, now a gorilla, currently swinging on his tire and munching bananas, she couldn't resist the urge to take a picture. She got out her camera and aimed it at Coconut who starred in intrigue as the camera flashed, immortalising the moment.

"Good Work Rebecca" she complimented herself, watching as the photo slid out from the camera. She grabbed the photo, smiling as she complimented her photography.

"Now, this one's for the album," said Rebecca, smiling as she admired the photograph. She promptly placed it in her pocket, eager to get it into her scrapbook later on.

"Now, I just need to consider getting a mate for you, Coconut," said Rebecca. The gorilla paid her no mind. After all, these bananas weren't going to eat themselves. He chowed down on the bananas within the tree, oblivious to the accelerated rate they were regrowing.

Rebecca checked her watch, noticing the time as she got out her phone.

It was time to inform her LandLord of her success.

Coconut eyed Rebecca with boredom, still chewing through a banana. He watched Rebecca on the phone, unable to comprehend the strange device anymore.

On the other hand, Rebecca could hear the dial tone for a moment before someone finally picked up.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end.

"Hello, LandLord?" said Rebecca, Joy evident in her voice as she declared "It worked! The enclosure worked as intended. The other pass holders will fill up the collection nicely as we prepare to open!"

"Ok....congratulations but don't get overeager yet, you still have to get the other additions" started the LandLord, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "Are you sure your 'friends' can be trusted to do so?" asked the LandLord as Rebecca considered their words.

"Yes, my friends can be trusted, your investment will not be a waste," said Rebecca as she felt uneasy at her declaration.

"You better hope so. You understand the significance of this chance I'm giving you...right? " asked the LandLord.

"Yes...I do" said Rebecca, her voice slightly uncertain.

"Good, now do not disappoint me," replied the LandLord. With that, they hung up, leaving Rebecca alone.

Rebecca felt very unsure of herself as she hoped this project wouldn't disappoint her LandLord. This was her dream coming true and she was determined to keep it alive. This realisation replaced her fear with determination as she looked back to Coconut.

"No, this is my dream...and I will keep it alive!" said Rebecca, determined. She smiled as she walked away, eager for the next applicant to arrive.

After all, the development of the New Zoo was well underway; there were many more enclosures to be filled. More animals to be acquired.

And each one would get Rebecca one step closer to her dream.