Free Them

Chapter Five

"It'sssss- Sorry- Ssssorry- Sorry-" Damn, the cursed hissing. No. No, no, no, I am Not Like Other Snakes. I must stop this. If he hears me hissing, he'll think I'm just a basic snake and he won't want to conspire with me and I'll have no confidants and I won't escape the zoo and I'll die here and I won't achieve my Abraham Lincoln dreams.

        Javier couldn't supress a smirk. Oh god that hissing is so cute! He really is the snakiest, aww.

        "It'sss- A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU." Noodlebuckets finally managed to stop hissing and finish the sentence.

        "Nice to meet you too. So... Abraham Lincoln, eh?" Javier remembered his sister's advice to talk Noodlebuckets's talk.

        "Yes, my inspiration. Tell me, what are your views on zoos? Particularly this one? Do you have any thoughts on escape?"

        "Oh yeah, zoos are bad. And this one is pretty bad as well. And uh, escape is a good idea."

        "Yes, thank you. I've heard you're a big supporter, so I believe we could work together to form a solution to this problem."

        "Definitely. Yeah." Javier had no idea what kind of solution they could form. He didn't even really grasp that there was a problem. He wracked his mind for something else to say.

        Noodlebuckets glanced around, a bit awkwardly. "Well. Hopefully some other animals will arrive soon."

        "Yeah. My sister, you know, the pigeon, she probably got a lot of people."

        "Yes, she told me she recruited them. I'd think that many zoo animals would feel compelled to join me.

        "Freedom!" Javier had finally thought of something. "We need that."

        "Of course. Why, that's my entire motivation. These humans keep us here, oppressed, and we are voiceless. It's time someone finally made a statement against it. And that someone, I've decided, should be me. Now, make no mistake, I don't believe I am the only one with the power to stand. Quite the contrary, I would gladly rally around any other leader who emerged. But I have yet to find one. So I pledge myself to this cause you, see?  I will lead as diligently as possible. But I cannot lead without followers."

        Javier hadn't exactly been paying rapt attention, at least not to Noodlebuckets's words, when a hippopotamus lumbered into the central vending area.

        Noodlebuckets slithered excitedly towards the newcomer. "Welcome to the meeting!"

        "Good evening. I am Maria Eduarda. And I'm damn tired of this craphole of a living arrangement."

        Noodlebuckets smiled. Being damn tired was another great reason for escape. "What would you like to do?"

        "I'd like to get the hell out of here. Maybe to like, a tropical island or something. Somewhere to chill. Without any ugly humans trying to watch literally every move I make like I'm entertainment. It's messed-up."

        "It truly is. And I believe it infringes upon the rights given to us as sentient beings."

        "Nah, it's just freaking weird." Maria Eduarda didn't care for a lot of talk. She kind of just wanted to get out of here. Like, wasn't that the point?

        "That as well," Noodlebuckets conceded. 

        "Come on, Hazel. Look, we're like, the first ones here." Charlotte the chimpanzee walked in, with her friend Hazel trailing a little behind.

        "Welcome to the meeting!" Noodlebuckets called to them. 

        "So, you hate the establishment too or are you just sick of the creepy hairless freaks staring at us all day?" Maria Eduarda glanced at Javier, who had been silent since she'd arrived.

        "Um, I just kinda..." Have a crush on the leader and am going along with his plan to get close to him. "Got tired of the zoo. It's... annoying."

        "Duh."

Just then, a bigger crowd of animals began wandering in from all sides. There was a jaguar, a Grevy's zebra, a howler monkey, a pink fairy armadilllo, a tree frog, and one huge spider.

Noodlebuckets's eyes gleamed. This was it. At least ten animals were here. He had a proper audience. He slithered his way on top of a picnic table on a patch of grass in the center of the vendors's buildings and waited for a hush to come over the group. Don't hiss. Don't hiss. Do. Not. Hiss. He cleared his throat.

        "My fellow animals," Noodlebuckets began. Animals. Not animalsss. The worst was over. Now, he had some darn good speech-giving to do.