Once upon a time, there was a city in a country that's pretty well populated. Within the city, there was a zoo. The International Zoo of City, it as named. Yes. The zoo attracted many, many people, and even common city animals, to wow at their selection of exotic animals. They would visit everyday, feeding the monkeys, petting the goats, and most of all... Ignoring the kiwi birds. Well.There were only two, really. Out of the eighteen that were shipped there for a special program, only two were left. It was sad, really. But no one cared. The kiwis had their little pen filled with seed and hay, at the back of the Bird House. It reeked of parrot poop, so, the zoo managers thought it was a nice place to put the kiwis. Everyday, the kiwis would hop back and forth between the torn mesh pen, occasionally dancing or shaking their tail feathers to attract their fans. Well, assuming they had at least one. "I'm tired of this!" said a kiwi one day, to another kiwi. "I am, too. There's no point in being here. I mean, come on, they don't even give us the respect we deserve. I want to make something of this horrible life before I end up pushing up daises!" "I agree." "Mary, please, tell me. How long have we been here?" "I say, I've been here since...well....I don't know," said she. "Well, I remember you as a chick. Barely hatched from the duff, eh? Maybe three years old you are." They both stared at each other. "So, I'm three." she pondered for a moment. "I'll be chaffed if I ever make it out of here before I'm thirty." "You know," the other kiwi said with a grin, "We could escape and roam the world as we see fit!" "Yeah, but Maury, I've never been 'outside' before. We could get killed!" "But it's better than us kicking the bucket in here." "Well, no. Still, I don't want to go. We could get killed! I mean, anything could happen!" "Yeah, but that anything could be better than this," Maury replied, "Didn't you say you're tired of these conditions? Come on! Tonight could be our chance." "Well." "Come on!" "Okay. Okay," submitted Mary, "You win. But hey, if we end up dead, I'm going --" "You're not going to do anything!" Maury winked at Mary. Later that night, when the zoo was shut down, the kiwis began to tear even bigger holes into the wire with their beaks. Soon, they had a large enough space to hop out. Once out, they tried to make their way to through the bird house. Many of the other nocturnal ruffs gawked at them. Some laughing, others giving cold stares. "Maury. Are you sure you want to do this?" "What?" he said back, not looking at her, "Are you backing down? Make up your mind!" "Alright, alright, I'll be quiet." And so, they continued to walk along the dim path, until they reached a towering glass door. They looked around for a sort of switch to open it. Soon enough, it creepily opened without help. They decided to walk on in. Inside, there was a tree. And oddly, it was very bright inside. They looked around them, only seeing a giant tree, and some bedding below them. They heard the door shut loudly, strange noises ensued. "Did you hear that...?" Saotome looked upwards. "No. I didn't hear a damn thing. Let's keep moving now." Mary blocked Maury's path. "Listen!" They stood still, only to hear a moderately loud screech. Mary began to walk the opposite direction. "Where are you going?" Maury turned towards the rushing kiwi. "Stop changing your mind! Come on!" Mary ignored, and kept going. Maury shrugged and kept walking. "Damn wanker," he said to himself, "Well, her loss." As he kept going, a shriek echoed through the area. Maury looked behind him, but kept forth. He walked proudly until he reached the giant tree. Right then, his world came crashing down. Large, brown patches of feathers covered the tree, screeching and staring with piercingly evil eyes. And with one fell swoop, they all fell upon the kiwi bird. Maury screamed as the giant monsters tore at his flesh and snapped his bones. Then he felt his spine snap in two. He cried in pain. Well, at least until they snapped his neck. And so, within due time, the masses of feathers returned to their spots, now silent and still. They stared at the pile of bones and feathers. Then, they began to laugh... The next day, people were gathered around the kiwi cage. Some people were confused as to what happened to the kiwis. Some thought they died of natural causes. Really, they'll never know. And maybe they don't need to know. (Note: I hoped you liked it. :P I had to delete my other story. I couldn't work with it. So, instead, I started a new series. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (Completed 1-25-04, 6:32 PM Central.)