Enjoy this blast from the past with our fun Twitter friends, and have a safe and Happy Halloween!
Part 1
The anipals were enjoying a beautiful, fall evening as they prepared for their weekly Friday Feast. Chew and cuddle toys, yukka chews and spray millet hung from low tree branches and poles, the table was set, and the anipals were playing as they waited for the arrival of the French Fry Express to begin the festivities.
“Fall is a beautiful, fun season!” Chloe said.
“Agreed,” Sassy said. “There are so many great things about fall.”
“Like fresh apples!” Zack said.
“Pumpkins!” Chloe said.
“Football!” Andrea said.
“Halloween fun!” Quarkeybirdy said.
“The best besides the beautiful weather and wonderful bounty is the return of fall TV shows,” ConureChick said. “If I watch one more episode of The Real Hens of Redneck Farms, my brain will rot!”
“Agreed,” Jinx said. “The Walking Dead is salvation next to those cackling hens.”
“What’s that?” Andrea stared at orbs of light floating in from the woods surrounding the borders of Anipal Land.
“Visitors?” Zack asked.
An orb floated in front of each anipal, hovering in front of it. They stared at the orbs, their eyes glistening.
“Don’t look in the lights!” Quarkeybirdy said. “It’s a trick!”
“What trick?” Sassy asked.
“Boo!” the orbs said, causing every anipal but Chloe to jump. Chloe held her stare.
“Knock, knock,” Chloe said.
“Who’s there?”
“Boo.”
“Boo who?”
“What are you crying for?” Chloe asked.
Everybody stared, unsure of whether to laugh or run. Chloe turned toward the anipals. “They’re just ghosts.”
“Ghosts?” ConureChick asked, her feathers standing up (along with everybody elses’!).
“We saw them in the aviary at Halloween,” Chloe said. “We don’t have tormented souls like humans. We’re pure goodness,
so they can’t hurt us. See?” Chloe pecked at the orb, which squealed as it smoked out, and then reformed.
“Ouch!” the orb said.
“Sorry,” Chloe said. “What’s up?”
“We’re looking for the haunted house,” the orb said.
“You’re lost,” Chloe said. “This is Anipal Land. You need to go back through the woods and get on the main road to the humans. They’re running the Haunted House for Halloween.”
“All proceeds go to charity,” ConureChick said. “We appreciate you working with them for a good cause. I think.”
“You can’t beat getting paid to scare people,” the orbs said.
“At least we got that settled easily,” Andrea said.
“Don’t be so sure,” Quarkeybirdy said, pointing toward a dark figure emerging from the woods. “What’s that?”
The figure came into the clearing, decked out in slicked back hair and a dark cape. “I am Count Dracula. I come to suck your blood.”
Part 2
“You can’t suck our blood,” Zack said.
Dracula stared at Zack, puzzled. “Why not?”
“Because it’s illegal.”
“It’s illegal to suck your blood?”
“No,” Zack said, “you’re Dracula, right?”
“That’s right.”
“That means you’re undead.”
“That’s right.”
“It’s illegal to be undead,” Zack said. “By order of Section 6-66-666, all beings here must be alive or dead. Undead is a violation of that section, specifically code 44/10.”
“When did that law pass?” Dracula asked.
“This session,” Zack said, “and I’ll slap you with a 44/10 too, unless you turn away now.”
“I’m bigger than you, little bird. What if I choose to suck your blood anyway?”
“Then we have to rectify the situation,” Andrea said, holding the plastic needle from the toy doctor kit, which was filled with water. “If you try to hurt any of us, we’ll inject you with this serum.”
“Is that a cure?” Dracula asked. “Will it make me alive again?”
“Nothing can make you alive again,” Sassy said. “That will make you dead.”
“That would be bad.”
“Plus, you’d have to deal with these two while I inject you,” Andrea said, nodding to Penne and Coco, who narrowed their eyes and growled at Dracula.
“We’ve got your 44/10 right here,” they said, flexing their feet.
“Oh dear. I don’t want them to deal with me,” Dracula said.
Penne and Coco foot bumped.
“Very well, I will leave,” Dracula said. “But I wonder if you have enough serum for them,” he pointed to a line of zombies lurching from the woods.
Part 3
“Brains!” the zombies chanted.
“Now we’re in for it,” Zack said. “We can’t send them to the haunted house. It’s full of humans. There are no brains there!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this one,” Jinx said, pulling out an old iPod.
“Is that mommy’s old iPod?” Chloe asked.
“Probably,” Zack said. “We pillaged her old toy box and supplies after the Spring Adventure with the coyotes and hens. She’s glad we’re using her old stuff in Anipal Land.”
“I know she has it here somewhere,” Jinx said, scrolling through the playlist. “Here it is!” He pecked the iPod. The familiar sounds of Michael Jackson’s Thriller filled the air.
“Jinx, what are you doing?” Zack asked.
“They’re Halloween zombies, right?” Jinx asked.
“Yes, they were on course for the Haunted House, too,” the orbs said.
“Wait for it,” Jinx said.
“But they’re getting closer,” Quarkybirdy said.
“Wait!”
They stood, trembling as the zombies lurched forward. They froze as Jinx plugged the iPod into a set of external speakers.
“What’s happening?” Zack asked.
Suddenly, the zombies broke out in the Thriller dance.
“I can’t believe it,” ConureChick said. “How did that happen?”
“Halloween zombies must dance to Thriller,” Jinx said.
“Wow, they can really bust a move,” Zack said. “I didn’t know zombies could dance.”
“What about other zombies?” Chloe asked.
“They don’t dance. It takes a head shot with a real gun, and you can’t miss or you’ll be one of them too,” Jinx said. “But these are old-school zombies, so the Thriller trick works on them.”
“That’s a catchy tune,” Zack bobbed his head. Soon everybody, from anipals to Dracula to the orbs, were dancing to the music. Jinx found more tunes on the old iPod and added Monster Mash, Werewolves of London, This is Halloween, and A Nightmare on My Street to the playlist. They were head bobbing to Rob Zombie’s Dragula when a horn honked, and they realized it was full dark and time for the feast.
“French Fry Friday!” Jeff Musk shouted.
“Yay! Now the feast begins!” Zack said.
All of the oggie-boogies froze in place, staring at the truck.
Part 4
“What is it?” Sassy asked.
“French fries!” Dracula shouted.
“Oh no! French fries! The smell! The horrible smell of fried food!” the orbs said.
“No!” the zombies said. “We won’t be part of your freak show carnival!”
“We have to leave before they enslave us for eternity in a carnival!” Dracula said.
“It’s not like that!” Jinx said. “Every Friday is French Fry Friday. It’s a party.”
“For you it is,” the zombies said. “For us, we’re the freak show entertainment.”
“We’re having fun!” ConureChick said. “We wouldn’t hurt you. This is Anipal Land! It’s a safe, fun place for all of us!”
“I think they have trauma from carnivals in the past,” Chloe said. “It’s alright. Here,” she said, holding out a piece of paper in her beak. “I looked online. Here are directions to the Haunted Mansion. Have a safe trip, guys.”
“Thank you, pretty birds. You have been most gracious,” the zombies said.
“Thanks for the directions,” the orbs said, floating behind the zombies back to the woods.
“Thank you for not making me dead,” Dracula said. He jumped as Penne and Coco growled at him again, and swiftly followed the orbs and zombies to the woods.
“What was that?” Jeff Musk asked.
“Just more shenanigans in Anipal Land,” Zack said. “Who’s ready for French Fry Friday party?”
Everybody cheered and dove into the buffet, celebrating the successful resolution of another silly adventure in Anipal Land.