Mateo H. 9/24/15
The Journey
They call me Bam Bam, or Bam for short. I am the zoo’s number one attraction, and it’s been like that for four years. “Look, it’s Bam Bam the Gibbon!” I hear those words every day of my life more than 100 times. People are always imitating me and staring at me, they don’t know our intelligence. Four other Gibbons and I are kept contained in an area and are never let out. One of the gibbons we have has been here for over thirty years and walks around using a bamboo stick as a cane. The four other gibbon apes names are Hisato (the oldest one who walks with a cane), Ju-Long (the youngest of the group, probably the most energetic-son of Hisato), Moo Moo (Probably the bravest and most athletic one-made a bow and arrow out of sticks, rocks, and leaves that only the other gibbons know about. He’s also Bam Bam’s brother), Kyung (The most creative on out of the five, he always knows how to get out of stuff and how to go into things), and me, Bam Bam (I am the leader of the group and I’m also the smallest). most gibbons are about three feet tall and weigh around eighteen pounds, but I am just two feet tall and weigh nine pounds). For about five months, every night, we plan our escape. This escape is not just for us, it’s for the entire zoo.
Our plan is expected to be completed today, tonight (October 27), at 10:00. It’s a full moon tonight and everybody knows it. That’s why we’re going for the wolves first. When I saw the people leave the zoo and snack bars closing, we all pretended to be asleep, some of the animals actually were asleep. The guard pointed his lit flashlight at the zebras, camels, elephants, and hippos first. All of them acted well. The guard then went to the wolves, then the foxes, then the coyotes. After that he went to the bears and saw that a few of them were awake but he didn’t care. While this was happening, I cut open the net above us with one of Moo Moo’s arrows. I sprinted as fast as I could and grabbed the ring of keys from his belt and he didn’t even notice. Then he went to the birds and saw all of them resting and sitting on the branches. He then went to other monkeys then finally to us. He shined the light at Hisato first, who actually was sleeping, then he shined at the rest of us and left the zoo and drove home.
The other gibbons and I climbed out of the hole I made and helped me open the gate to the wolves. Inside there were three wolves: a gray wolf, an arctic wolf, and a red wolf. The leader of the three was the gray wolf named Bolot. The other two’s names were Poseidon (the arctic wolf) and Dagger (the red wolf). After we got the wolves we split up to unlock the other’s gates. Me and Bolot went to the bears first. We saw a grizzly bear, and two black bears. The grizzly’s name was Grizz and the black bears names were Diamondback and Hercules.
Once we gathered all the other animals, we unlocked the gate to get in and out of the zoo. We headed for the Amazon Jungle 13 miles out. The birds led the way with everyone else following. After about eight miles, the smaller animals such as myself, rode on the bigger animals backs. I rode on Grizz’s back, Hisato only walked for about a mile or so before climbing on Striker’s (a horse) back.
When we finally made it we were all on a cliff with a huge forest below us. The other monkeys and I were sent by me to be a search party on the lookout for the birds. I looked at Moo Moo and we both nodded. We took about ten steps back, then sprinted full speed off the cliff and grabbed on to some branches and started swinging across many branches. The other monkeys followed, however the gorillas stayed up with the others. We swung for about two minutes before I held up my fist signaling them to stop. I looked up and saw that the cliff was nearly out of sight. We looked up and saw the birds circling around us screeching. We waved our arms back and forth so that they’d come towards us and they obeyed. Moo Moo and I led the way back to the bottom of the cliff. The eagles and hawks had to take turns flying each of us back up. While we were down there we also looked around the area. Although we could only scan less than an eighth of the forest, we did find a safe place where we could camp out at.
This place was a huge wide and deep cave that all the animals could stay in. All the animals followed Me and Bolot, who I was riding looking for a way to get down into the jungle off the cliff without jumping. We ended up finding rock-shaped stairs.
When we were all settled in to our cave, we decided to skip eating, and go straight to bed. At night, most of the animals slept snug but Moo Moo, Bolot, and I stayed up. We all got up and out of the cave because we heard some weird noises. We walked for a little bit then saw a little bed of water. We saw several animals called capybaras drinking from it, but from a distance we saw a jaguar in a tree, stalking them. Moo Moo and I climbed up a tree quietly to stay away from the Jaguar while Bolot hid behind another. The Jaguar leaped towards a capybara and grabbed it with its claws. The capybara tried to run away, but the jaguars grip was too strong, he pulled the capybara towards him, and took a big chomp out of it’s neck. That’ when we realized, the weak can’t live in this place, only the strong will survive.
The next morning everyone including Moo Moo, Bolot, and I slept well. The canines were ordered to get the food for everybody. They brought back three deer, fruit, and plants for everyone to eat. After breakfast we decided to check out more of the jungle. The birds flew high up in the air, the monkeys and I swung in the trees, the canines, bears, horses, and camels traveled on foot. We found more animals along the way and even some more monkeys. When we kept swinging and swinging, I got more suspicious about the jaguar and wondered if it had friends that lurked around in the trees, and I could tell Moo Moo was thinking the same. Out of nowhere, I saw a Jaguar in a giant tree I was swinging on! I kept swinging nervously, my heart was beating faster than you can run your tongue on the roof of your mouth. I stopped and stood on the tree branch when I heard the scream of Ju-long being slashed by the jaguar. I held up my fist, panting hard and thinking about Ju-long. I climbed down the tree, and the others followed. The animals traveling on foot stopped. The birds found the nearest tree to rest. That was it. Ju-long was dead, the prodigy to become the next leader was gone. All the animals on the ground spread out to either my left or my right side and I saw Hisato, his father walking in the middle up to me. He stepped in front of me. I could see the anger and sadness in his eyes. He grabbed his stick and back-hand whacked me across the face with it. I didn’t respond. I just stood there, letting the blood from the stick run down my face. It was this moment I realized that I needed to become a better leader, a leader who’s inspiring to others, a leader who warns his crew of any danger, a leader who looks after his crew.
We just headed back after that. On the way back I led the way again, riding on Grizz’s back. The entire time I was on the lookout 24-7. I heard rattling up in a tree behind me. I held up my fist once again signaling the others to stop. I got off of Grizz and picked up a stick I found laying against a tree. I held the stick and slowly walked to the tree. I tried to keep my cool and not panic. I was five feet away from the tree and I looked up. I saw the face of yet another jaguar showing only its face, staring right at me. I took a couple steps back and held on to the stick tight. The jaguar crouched back, I took a few more steps back. The jaguar leaped out of the tree. I swung my stick hard and it hit its face. I gave it another whack then it swiped at me with its claws, but I ducked out of the way. Suddenly Grizz stepped in front of me and stood on two legs roaring! Dagger and Bolot sprinted from left and right and dug their claws into the jaguar. The jaguar squirmed them both off. Instead of fighting back, it just ran. I had now regained the trust of Hisato.
When we made it back, it was time for dinner, most of the animals were used to being fed and getting more meals so this was new for them, a lot of them didn’t like it. The next morning, everyone woke up lazy, none of them looked ready to do anything. A few of them were actually sick, especially Hisato.
I looked at Moo Moo and he just slowly shook his head. I realized that this place was not meant for us. I decided that we should head back to the zoo and nobody opposed me.
I led the way back, this time refusing to go on anybody’s back. I kept the stick with me to help me walk uphill and incase there were any more threats. When we were halfway there, the only other animals animals we saw were birds and squirrels. We went up a trail that led to a beautiful view where we could take a break, When we got to the view I heard noises from up above. I looked closer and saw that it was an ape, not one of ours, and it looked deadly. It suddenly leaped forwards toward me! Out of pure instint I jumped backwards, onto my hands, and kicked the ape off the cliff that led into an ocean. I turned to the other animals and decided there was no time to take a break.
When we finally got back to the zoo, it was two o’clock. The park was obviously closed, and the people who worked there weren’t even there. We all just got back into our contained areas and happily slept. The next morning, all the animals were happier than ever. They were all more grateful for being there and did more exciting things for the people who came. This brought joy to me and made me realize how grateful I am. I didn’t have Ju-Long by my side, but at least his death had taught me how to appreciate my community and lead them to safety.
