Grey clouds carpeted the sky, casting a shadow on the hills that I lived on. I blundered around the fenced area I called home, along with my other brothers and sisters. Happy gobbles filled the air as I peeped into random coonverstaions.
“Have you seen those humans skipping around the place? I think they are one of Dave's offsprings.”
“I think it’s gonna rain here soon… I think Gobby drowned last time it happened.”
“Did you notice that farmer Dave is feeding us more food?”
Cocking my head at an old friend with streaky white feathers, I hopped beside them. “Dave is feeding us more food? More food?”
My friend-- Chalky was her name-- cocked her head back at me, beady eyes round and wide. “More food!”
I ruffled my feathers with delight, hopping around in circles. “Oh gobble oh gib! I love food, food, food, food.”
A dark raspy voice behind me interrupted my happy little dance, causing me to gobble in alarm and whirl around. Standing behind me was Gobbler; the oldest and largest turkey of the group. Nearby turkeys and I either cowered in obedience or skittered away in fright.
Gobbler frowned down at me with ancient beady black eyes. “Aye… loving food is dangerous this time of year.”
I glanced at my friend, Chalky, who gave me a puzzled look. I gave one back.
A strong breeze suddenly swept past us, unsettling some turkeys who gobbled and pecked each other in alarm. Chalky stepped closer to me, shivering, as we both watched Gobbler; standing strong against the wind that ruffled his oversized feathers, revealing ancient scars.
“Why can't we love food this time of year?” I asked when the silence seemed to linger a moment too long.
Gobbler blinked, looking down at Chalky and I, as if he had been slapped out of a daze. “Ah… because of thanksgiving, child.”
Chalky gasped in awe, her wide eyes pinned on the curmudgeon.. A shiver went down my spine, as I shuffled uncomfortably.
“Thanksgiving” The legendary grim reaper for all turkeys. Turkeys around us abruptly stopped gobbling and stared at the large Gobbler in either horror or awe.
“I canna believe you're talking about that!” Chalky exclaimed, hopping anxiously between her two feet.
The dark clouds overhead began to roll over, sending another strong wave of wind our way, knocking some turkeys flat on their face. Chalky stumbled into me, nearly knocking me over. Gobbler, however, stood on his own two feet like a firm tree in a storm.
“On thanksgiving,” the ancient turkey declared loudly, as a crowd formed around us. “The humans present us with more food, filling our bellies as large as they can get them.”
Many turkeys, including me, glanced down at our stature, which had grown considerably bigger over the year.
Gobbler’s voice suddenly boomed like thunder, making me snap my neck up at him. “Ah, but it is only because they are fattening us up so they can eat us!”
Lightning split the darkening sky, as many turkeys lost their minds, scurrying into a little building that farmer Dave had built for us.
Chalky gasped in horror as some turkeys gobbled to each other in hushed voices.
“Eat us?! How? Why?” Chalky drew in a shivering breath. “Oh gobble-gobble…”
I stared down at the mocking seeds on the ground I had lost my diet for.
Gobbler stomped his foot on the ground with a thump! glaring at the horrified crowd around him. “On the week of thanksgiving, the humans pick the fattest turkey in the pen and bring them round the house”--he gestured to the house where light streamed through the windows, Dave’s offsprings running around like a chicken with it’s head chopped off-- “then chop their head off with a blood-stained weapon called the axe!”
Lightning split the sky again, followed by a loud crack of thunder, yet no turkeys ran inside the house Dave had built for us--they were too busy being paralized with fear.
I felt the fear, twisting my stomach, making me want to barf up all the food that farmer Dave had tricked me into eating. To fill me up. So he could devour me.
Gobbler raised his head up with an air of power, as rain began to pour down from the sky. The lightning that flashed in the distance and the dark sky created a tense atmosphere that hinted at our impending doom.
Most turkeys would have titled their head up towards the rain, with a look of awe, but no one was doing that now. I don’t think they could if they wanted to, at this moment.
Creaaaaak…
Gobbler and the crowd turned to the house, to see farmer Dave, protected by a raincoat, making his way out of the house and to…
Chalky gave a particularly loud shriek of horror. “Oh! Oh gobbly-gobble-gib! It’s Dave! He’s coming our way to eat us up!”
The crowd erupted, terrified gobbles filling the air as turkeys bumped up against each other, flapping their wings to find safety--or anywhere away from our owner and murderer.
Caught in the fright of the pen, I flapped my wings, pushing turkeys out of the way, and trying to force my useless wings to fly. I spotted multiple other turkeys trying to do the same thing, but the deceiving food in our bellies were weighing us down.
“STOP IT!”
At first I thought it was thunder. But when the crowd settled down, turning their heads to a large turkey, I realized it was Gobbler that had shouted, his wings and his fan-like tail spread wide and threatening.
Gobbler glared down at the crowd as farmer Dave made his way across the yard, closer… and closer…
“I told you about what humans do to us!” he lowered his large, threatening wings, analyzing the ansty and horrified crowd.
Thunder cracked, booming across the hills, as I made eye contact with Chalky, who had tears streaming down her feathered cheeks--or was that just the rain?
I turned my attention back up to Gobbler, who turned to glare at farmer Dave, now only about half a hundred feet away. The ancient turkey’s eyes flashed like the lightning in the darkened sky, filled with murderous hate.
A smirk cracked across his soaked, feathered-face. “I say we return the favor.”
The crowd gobbled with agreement, faces contorting into fury.
I then felt a similar sense of anger rising up inside me like a volcano. Angry at farmer Dave, angry at myself for falling for his evil plan… I felt betrayed and wanted revenge.
The turkeys were going to have their revenge.
Comments
Post a Comment