The Adventures of Vermillion the Flamingo at the Zoo!

The morning was absurdly hot. The popsicles that were left on the ground began to melt. All its sticky properties slithered onto the hot, blistering ground. It wasn’t even bright yet, it was still dark, but this was no normal day. This was bound to be one of the hottest heatwaves since the Diurnal inferno of 1819. 

The sky was dark. Small, petit dots scattered across the Prussian blue sky. A bright light among the animals of a zoo is observed from afar. That bright light seemed to take the shape of a bird. A bird staring at the night sky. Staring at the stars. Staring at the small unit of rock and sediments falling from a dim sky. The bird stared throughout the night. Stared until the sun came up. Stared until the first diurnal animal arose from his slumber.

Now, it was a hot and sunny morning in the Applegate Zoo. This day was the day that the admission was cut down, and there was a swarm of humans standing by the entrance, shaking and trembling in excitement. The moms had their money in their purses. The dads were wearing their Hawaiian shirts, getting ready for their cameras. Then the kids were wailing and grabbing their parents by their clothing. The gate opener was looking at his watch; with a crust in his eyes, you can imply that he’s tired. He does this every day, and he does have to wake up very early.

The key was in the lock, and the stampede of children ensued. Poor Key Guy. The cheer of children abrupted the sleep of the friendly animal critters of Applegate Zoo. The flamingos, sleeping with one leg up, slowly opened their bloodshot eyes. They put their suspended leg back into the water and walk around the habitat for a while. Determined that he has the strength and perseverance to fly, he raises both wings-- both clipped wings, and jumps off the water, only to jump as high to the small tree branch. He fell flat; face down. While all of this was happening, children and their families were running up to see these flamingos, especially the one who was not able to fly. While all the others had pink and salmon coated feathers, this particular flamingo had a coat of vermillion. His beak wasn’t ivory black; it was sort of a yellow ochre.

There was a fun name that the kids and teens would call him: Vermillion. They just found the word as fun to say, but not a lot knew the color. Anyway, this flamingo was recovering from its failed attempt of freedom. He chose to clean the mud off him by bathing in the small pool near a corner of the habitat. As he jumped into the pool, he felt a stinging sensation all over; sort of like bees stung his upper half, and a bunch of eels stung his bottom half. He swam out of the water and chose to sleep on the cool and viridian grass. At that time, his feathers were pinkish and not red. He was able to enjoy a small, 25-minute nap in the long grass, but as soon as his glow came back, steam and smoke aroused from the long plants, and Vermillion fled the scene and climbed up the gray rocks. Onlookers observed this, and they blamed an adult who had smoked a cigar. Many assumed that the small ambers made contact with the flammable grass, and the security guard ordered him to take it out. There was a time that there was no one near the flamingo habitat. This time was when the flamingos started to act more anthropomorphic. 

“Are they gone?” Vermillion said, calling out to his fellow flamingo folk. He climbed off the rock and ran down to the alpha flamingo.

“Seems like it,” Alpha said. “Let’s call all the other birds. We have to tell them the good news!”

“You guys finally found a way to break free?”

“Yes, we have! But I cannot tell you our plan unless we have all the flamingos gathered around. Vermillion, we are getting out! I am so excited.”

And so, Vermillion and Alpha ran to each corner of the habitat, gathering each flamingo and each flock, calling them to the center, shouting to come to the center. The time was then twelve midday. Everyone was at their lunch break, and all the flamingos made it to the center.

“Are all animals here?” Vermillion asked.

“Yes!” Alpha said. “Say your plans.”

“Well, we only have about an hour to save the animals of the zoo and get outta here before the humans come back from their break. I thought we would start in the bright afternoon so that no one would notice my bright feathers. Okay! Start a ‘human chain.’”

And so, all flamingos went against the wall and climbed on their heads. One by one. Vermillion was able to use the flamingo chain as a ladder, in which he and Alpha were the first to climb up to the top. Alpha, with his long legs, grabbed Vermillion by his legs to grab the flamingo chain out of the habitat.

“What now?” Alpha said.

“Don’t just stand there dumbfounded! Fly to all habitats and free the animals!” Vermillion shouted and ran to the first habitat to free the mandrills. All other flamingos went in different directions. Many to elephants. Brave ones to the sea otters, and cowards out of the zoo in general.

Within the mandrill habitat. Vermillion, shaking and twitching, reluctantly opened the habitat, where a myriad of starving mandrills swang out. They screeched and yelled, banged, and crashed. One particular mandrill chased after Vermillion across the stony pavement of the main part of the zoo.

This monkey opened his large mouth; this large mouth was riddled with saliva. Vermillion wasn’t having it that day, so he chose to take a hard left to the aquarium. There were a base level and an underground level for the aquarium, and Vermillion went to the underground aquarium. It was dark and quiet. The thing stopping Vermillion from escaping the bloodthirsty mandrill was Vermillion’s bright aura covering him.

There was a dead-end near the shark tanks. Vermillion thought he was done for, and with that sadness, he let out a mighty cry. This cry caused his mouth to glow, and then a torpedo of a blazing inferno engulfed the monkey into mere ashes.

“Woah,” Vermillion whispered. “Did I really do that?” Vermillion stood up, looked at the remains, and climbed up the shark tank to open the tank for the sharks to come out.

“This won’t do.” Vermillion thought to himself. “For a shark to still make it out, there needs to be water.” 

Vermillion had to come back to the aquarium later, but in the meantime, Alpha was taking care of the giraffes. The tall, tall giraffes. The unrestful giraffes that moved quickly with immense strength. This proved to be a hassle to Alpha, as he wasn’t agile.

Other flamingos opened cages and set other animals free. Those free animals then freed more caged animals. This took over an hour, as the zoo was quite large. The results of the rescue made chimpanzees jump on the ground and scream in pure delight. The elephants raised their trunks and the lions roared. Most animals ran out of the Applegate gates. The only animals that remained were the animals of the aquarium.

“Alpha,” Vermillion shouted. “We need to go back to the aquarium and save the sea animals.

“There must be tanks to carry them in. We could also carry them.”

“Uh, do you think so. While we’re on the topic of carrying, I--”

“Hold your questions to the end, Vermillion. The humans will arrive in ten minutes!”

Both birds walked down the long stairs to the aquarium where the labyrinth of glass tanks was placed. 

“Okay Vermillion,” Alpha said. “First we have sharks.” Alpha climbed up the tank. Took a gigantic leap into the water-- as fast as an otter. As soon as he landed at the base, he saw the bloodthirsty great white shark gaze upon that sack of raw meat. “ Come on in!”

Vermillion climbed up the tank, took a leap into the water. The next reaction was anything but pleasant. He was screaming in immense agony. His vermillion feathers lost its glow, and he later became unresponsive.

To protect himself, Alpha fought the shark. “This is fun ain’t it? Vermillion?” He didn’t say anything. “Vermillion? You okay?” Alpha turned his head and was astonished by what he was seeing. “Vermillion!” Alpha swam to Vermillion and carried the lifeless body out of the tank. The shark was following them out of the tank. Like a hungry seal yearning for fish, the shark leaped out of the tank. As a sign of fear, Alpha took the nearest heavy object, a fire extinguisher, and slammed the glass case with it. As a result, the aquarium became flooded and leveled to the ankles of both Vermillion and Alpha.

There they were, an unconscious Vermillion. Alpha tried slapping his face, hoping that it would twitch or move or grunt. “Maybe he isn’t an advanced swimmer,” he thought. There was complete silence. Alpha didn’t know if he died or if he is in a coma. He knew the water was still leveling, so Alpha carried Vermillion on his back, and ran up the long staircase.

“Okay, the zoo opens in three minutes. People are coming back at this moment. What am I going to do!?” Alpha was freaking out. He was hyperventilating and freaking out. He never felt this way about a situation. He felt trapped inside. Inside the aquarium, the rising water helped to break the glass barriers; ergo, most animals were free.

A jellyfish emerged out of the water. “If I may elucidate,” Jellyfish said. “There is a small pipe by the area you guys were in before the big flood. Use that ax to cut open the floor, and all of us, even the big sharks, could escape!”

“Thank you so much!” Alpha wiped the tears off his face and saw an ax. He ran back to the aquarium to retrieve it, and afterward, he took one swing and struck the wooden floor. He did this about ten times, and the whole floor broke. Almost all animals fell through the floor and landed in a larger tank that was able to lead all of them out of the aquarium since it was built out of a trap to kidnap other sea animals by using a net.

The humans were coming back, and it was sundown. Alpha was by Vermillion’s side. However, he noticed a faint glow emerging again. 

“Vermillion?” Alpha whispered. “Are you awake?”

Vermillion twitched, moved, and grunted. He moved his eyes. When his opacity was fully 100%, Alpha gave a huge hug and helped Vermillion to stand up. Alpha wanted to ask him what just happened to him, but the two had to leave the zoo before the humans enter and see the mess.

Alpha grabbed Vermillion by his legs and flew the two out. Meanwhile, humans had their jaws on the floor when they saw the mess that occurred. Many children cried, and many parents were waiting for a refund.

“Alpha,” Vermillion said while in the sky. “I am happy that we saved all animals, but now I feel bad that the children weren’t able to have their own fun. Let me down. I have an idea to entertain them.”

Alpha said nothing but gave a small nod. Alpha lowered Vermillion by the aquarium. What Vermillion did next put Alpha in complete awe. 

“Caw!” Vermillion shouted. He called all the disappointed children yonder. He did it a second time, “Caw!” Each call grew louder and stronger. Vermillion flew to the nearest elevated pedestal and began his act. His first act included him blowing an orange ray of fire into the dusk sky. His first blow morphed into a bright ring. His second and third morphed into two smaller rings. His final blow became the shape of a rod-- a thin rod. This blast of fire went through all three rings and flew to the night sky. The rod then came back down to Vermillion and swallowed the fire rod. The audience cheered in awe and surprise. Alpha stood by a wall. His jaw hit the floor and his eyes were bug-eyed.

Bowing to the performance, Vermillion started his second act.

“Have you guys ever heard of a talking animal? Let alone, a talking phoenix?”

Silence among the mass.

“Yes. I am a talking phoenix. And I am a phoenix! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so take pictures of me while you can.”

“Vermillion? Phoenix?” Alpha thought. “That’s why he couldn’t swim.”

“I also have to come clean about the missing animals. I was the one who freed them.”

Children screamed out in sadness. Broken with what they just heard come out of Vermillion’s mouth. Many cried, and many parents stood there confused.

“They were so lonely, and they felt trapped. They don’t deserve to be trapped in a small cage for a lifetime. You want entertainment from animals? Watch a documentary.”

Noise quieted. Vermillion was breathing fast because of the tension that had occurred. “I have been inside this zoo, and I have seen all. You guys poke on aquarium glass, throw peanuts at elephants, harass tigers. We are treated like objects, and when we are gone, you don’t give a care. That hurts us. Whoa, it’s dark.”

The sky was dark. Small, petit dots scattered across the prussian blue sky. A bright light among the people of a zoo is observed from afar.

“I have to go, but I assure you. Things will get better, but progress comes with you.”

Vermillion and Alpha both fly together out of the zoo and to the unknown.

“Vermillion, that was brave. Everything you just said was something that I wouldn’t have done. Although you aren’t a flamingo. You deserve to be called the Alpha.

“No. You’re just as important as I am. You keep your precious title. You worked so hard. Besides. I have a mission to get through too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I need to find my own family. I now know I am a phoenix, but I was told I am the only one. That can’t be true.”

“Well just remember that what you did was heroic. We will never forget the struggles you had to overcome, and we will see to it that every animal knows who you are.”

“Thanks so much. You taught me a lot. Thanks for being my brother for a few weeks!”

And so, both birds parted ways. Slowly drifted away from each other to two different sides. Alpha took the right route to the ocean, where he and his flamingo brethren could see each other again and celebrate the story of life. Vermillion took the left side, where he crossed the Alps and flew above the Bavarian villages. He saw another bright light within the apex of a mountain. Many who lived in the small villages pictured this spark as that of a god. Vermillion was adamant that it was that of a relative. He flew to the mountain. In the hot summer’s night.

                                                        The End