Joshua’s Bet
Storyline suggested by Mammoth233
(Please do not read if you are offended by politically incorrect humour)
For Joshua, it had seemed no big deal when he had agreed to the bet, however, it was a different matter now that the bet was lost, and he had to face the forfeit. In principle the challenge had seemed a funny thing to do, especially after the reassuringly numbing effect of three pints of Abbot Ale, the cold sober reality wasn’t quite so amusing.
His mates, Kyle and Bradley, continued to find the plan hilarious, but the difference was they had won the bet, and didn’t have to face the forfeit, hence the mildly malicious grins which were seemingly etched onto their Frat-dude faces.
Josh, was also a frat dude, and therefore his ego would not allow him to pull out of the deal, no matter how much he now wanted to. When it had been proposed, the idea of streaking round the zoo and waking up all the animals, was funny, especially as his laddish bravado had let him assume that it would be Kyle or Brad, and not he who would be standing stark naked outside the city zoo at 10 PM on a chilly Wednesday evening.
“Get on with it!” hissed Bradley Bush, “you’re not scared are you?”
“Nah! I’m cool” lied Josh “I’m just working out the best way to get in!”
“Climb over the gate!” suggested Kyle Drake helpfully, “You can stand on mine and Brads shoulders”
There was no option, Josh’s bravado had led him take the bet and that same masculine trait would not now let him back out. Determined not to let his reluctance show, he clambered from his, sometime buddies shoulders, onto the top of the gate, and then down the other side.
Given that there was so little to cling on to on the inside of the gate, he had to jump from a height of almost six feet, wincing at the impact of the hard ground on the soles of his tender bare feet. He should have worn trainers, the bet didn’t specify bare feet, but it was too late now.
Determining to get the ordeal over with, he gave a casual gesture to his friends, and then ran off down the path towards the animal enclosures, trying not to limp.
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Once he reached the enclosures, he paused for a moment , remembering what he had agreed to do. Waking up the animals had seemed such a funny prank back in the bar, but it didn’t seem so funny now. As he looked at the big cats prowling in their cages, he wondered how high they could jump when agitated. High enough to get over the wire? He guessed he would soon find out.
“Better get it over with!” he thought. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air and let out a loud, almost animal like below, which echoed round the park, instantly followed by agitated Squawking, chattering and snarling as the park’s animal inhabitants were instantly awoken.
Unfortunately for Josh, not only the animals had been disturbed. Silas Rattenburger the Deputy Park Warden had been working late and had also startled by the bellow and subsequent commotion. He immediately assumed an animal must be loose and causing havoc, so, grabbing the senior Warden’s tranquillizing gun, he hurried out of the office.
Silas was, in fact not authorized to use the tranquillizing gun, as he had been hired under the zoo’s policy of extending employment to members of the differently abled community, on account of his chronic short sightedness, and he still retained his job as DOGE had not yet turned its attention to privately owned zoos.
However, in the absence of a trained marksman, he was convinced it was his duty to recapture the absconding beast and prevent it from harming itself or the public.
Gazing into the hazy darkness, illuminated by a few security lights, he detected a movement and made out a largish shape, darting swiftly between the enclosures. It was moving on two legs, so it must be a primate, however, it appeared lighter than most apes, could it possibly be an albino ape? He recalled that Barcelona Zoo had once proudly owned a white gorilla called Snowflake, perhaps another such rarity had been acquired.
Whatever, the explanation, the priority now was to capture it alive, and return it to its enclosure. He raised the tranquillizer gun, took as best aim as his limited eyesight allowed him, and fired.
Josh felt a sudden shooting pain in his left buttocks, as something hit him hard, the impact sending him staggering forward. At first stunned and in pain, he was suddenly overcome by a feeling of dizziness followed by a numbness, moving from his backside, up through his body. Something very bad had happened, and he needed to get out of the zoo as soon as he could. He staggered forward, with some vague and clouded intention or finding the gate, in the hope that his friends were still there.
“My he’s a tough one!” muttered Silas, “That first dart should have put him right out!” He reloaded his gun, and fired a second dart.
The second dart hit Josh in the right buttock, knocking him forward.
Two darts had the desired effect, and Josh fell into an unconscious heap, in a highly exposed and undignified position, his double-darted bare bottom pointing up towards the moon, at which the agitated animals were still squawking and howling.
The conscientious Silas soon arrived on the scene. He picked up the sleeping youth, who he still believed to be a rare species of ape, and threw him over his shoulder. He then started off towards the primate enclosures. On route, he met the junior warden, Hector Longbotham, who, due to the Zoo’s hiring policy, was no less myopic than Silas
“Is that you Silas?” he said, “What’s that over your shoulder?”
“I think it’s one of the gorillas, escaped from its cage” replied Silas “I am going to put it in with the other gorillas, so it will be safe until the morning!”
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The next morning when Hector arrive, he found Silas standing outside the Western Mountain Gorilla enclosure “How’s is the white ape?” he asked.
“He seems fine, he’s awake, and playing with the other gorillas, they have been play wrestling, and feeding him bananas. Now they appear to be grooming him, it looks a bit rough, but that is natural for the species.”
“It is nice that they are getting on so well” smiled Hector, “Their antics will entertain the visitors, when we open the gates!”
“Yes, they certainly will!”