The Zoo

The world as we know it is filled with wonders, many of these wonders are a beauty to behold and awe us - some however are akin to our darkest nightmares and remain hidden, except in the dead of night when our defense against the fears and anxieties inside ourselves is at its weakest.

It is said by some that at exactly 1 am on any given summer night, when the wind is still and not a single thing stirs that relics of the past emerge: relics which disappear by the coming of the dawn, as if erased from this world by invisible hands.

One of these forbidden places is a dark, forlorn zoo which welcomes any who stumble across it with a decaying sign - as if daring them to confront their most primal fears or flee: yet try as they may to do otherwise those who see the sign are drawn like moths to a flame and enter the zoo.

Once inside these souls wander deserted paths littered with debris and junk, the silence so deafening they can not even hear their own footsteps as they continue down that path.

Large cages adorn either side of the path, some have bars that are broken and torn but most are in near-perfect condition - staring at the cages a person soon finds them to be completely empty: the exhibits as quiet and forgotten as the rest of the strange little zoo.

After a while the path comes to an end, next to a large brick wall that towers over the area - nothing is written on this wall, nothing but a dusty brick surface greets the often lone traveler who ventures to this place.

Many turn back now to head down the path towards the exit only to find themselves standing inside one of the abandoned cages, only then does a cold night wind blow and send shivers up their spines as they feel themselves tremble with unnatural dread.

The exhibits seem to grow impossibly large around those standing inside, each unsteady step they take making the cage expand outward as if in some terrible nightmare.

It is then many break down and begin to cry out or flee, only once the victim can feel the raw animalistic fear that many of us suppress does the torment end and they find themselves standing alone in a dark stretch of road, often many miles from their original location.