I actually liked Albany. Sure, this town was far from Georgia’s finest. Far from having any recognizable achievements other than a high crime rate and even higher poverty. But hey, it beat Stanwyck. At least, there was shit to do here, you know. And Alicia and I were never bored.We moved into our apartment back in January. A nice modest place on Lake Chehaw. Affordable considering Alicia’s job at the hospital’s HR department and my gig working for the hospital’s after-school program A.K.A. the extended daycare for all the doctors and nurses’ kids. Given the low rent and us being in our late-20s, I’d even call the apartment ‘luxurious’. Certainly perfect for the time being.Then there was the local zoo. Chehaw Park’s glorious zoo was only a mile away. Using the season passes Alicia bought, her and I could journey through Albany’s array of animals anytime we wanted.There were the usual fun and games. The bears, the reptile house, the funnel cake fries. Even a full-fledged petting zoo. But what captivated us most about Chehaw was how this wasn’t so much a zoo as a conservation. There were no Joe Exotic hijinks here. These animals had room to roam. Acres upon acres for the critters to feel right at home.The zoo’s motto was We’re Here For The Animals and they lived up to it in every way possible. Certainly from what Alicia and I saw.We loved it there. Those trips turned from weekly to nearly daily. Alicia even applied to be a volunteer several times only to be met by radio silence. The same happened when I’d ask about bringing a few of the kids from the after-school program for a field trip. But still that didn’t stop us nor end our committed membership. The Chehaw cult had claimed us long ago.You couldn’t really blame us. Albany, Georgia didn’t have that much going on. We had it all here: the black bears bathing in their metal tubs, the paranoid meerkats always on the prowl, the stoic stork soaking up its solitary existence… and last but not least, Chehaw’s infamous gator pit, a small lake chock-full of over forty alligators. Sure, some were teenagers but most of those bad boys were over ten feet long… and given how most of the water was covered in green algae, we couldn’t tell for sure. They could’ve been even bigger.So yeah, we knew the zoo up and down. Every exhibit, every creature. So imagine our surprise when we saw where Chehaw was introducing a new attraction that Saturday: gator feeding. For only three dollars a person, Alicia and I could be a part of Chehaw history!Everything was set. We got up around eleven A.M., Alicia did her thing after my patented twenty minute shave and shower. Needless to say, she still had us running late... Sure she showered and had her morning cup of coffee, but those essentials weren’t easy for Alicia. Particularly when it came to make-up, hair, and wardrobe... And yes, this was all for a gator feeding.After I was strong-armed into complimenting her brown eyes and smooth brown skin, Alicia had me judge a few of the outfits. I went with the first one: casual jeans and a blouse.We got to Chehaw surprisingly early. 12:50 to be exact. The two of us stepped up to the ticket booth, our water bottles filled with alcohol.Already the heat was rough. The sweat sinking through my tee and long brown hair… My sunglasses no match for the bright sun. Neither Alicia nor I had prepared for the unusual October humidity.The parking lot wasn’t too full. No one was ahead of us in line… but Chehaw had constant turnover, and man, this fucking ticket guy was clueless. We sputtered for a minute with ‘Bryan’. Nice enough guy, nice enough looking guy with his big eyes and blonde bushy beard. Your typical college stoner attempting to man the front desk for Albany’s only zoo.“Yeah, it starts pretty soon, so how do we get tickets?” I asked.“Uh, hold on!” Bryan said at a lethargic panic. “Just, uh, one minute.” He grabbed a walkie talkie.A hand reached out and snagged mine. I looked over at Alicia’s beaming smile. Those flawless pearls. I couldn’t help but crack up... but still hoping we wouldn’t miss anything.“You thought I was the reason we’d be late,” she quipped.“Yeah, yeah,” I replied. She let go and slid her hand around my skinny waist. “Just hope they’re not too crowded.”Amidst our amusement, Bryan stuttered on the staticky walkie-talkie. His sweat and trembles intensifying.“Will, this is gonna be fun,” Alicia told me. “We’ll make it.”Apparently, she sensed my frustration. Per usual. Before I could respond, Bryan faced us.“Hey, they’ll take care of y’all down at the, uh, Beastro!” he said.The Beastro. Located at the center of the zoo, the small stand offered us our pick of sausage dogs and sodas. And now those final few feeding tickets.But in the meantime, we got to rush past several exhibits. The bears and wolves in particular. For once, they were right at the fence, eager for attention. Roaring and crying out even… But just our luck, this was the one time Alicia and I were in a hurry.Finally, we reached the Beastro a few minutes before one and got our tix. Standard ticket stubs complete with large numbers. Alicia number 21, me number 22. So far, so good.We made our way back through the park. Took that quick right turn on to Chehaw’s bridge. There the crowd sprawled before us. Not that it was too much: twenty people comprised of brawny couples born and bred in south Georgia, the occasional single mom, and the occasional older hippie. Considering our relative youth and how we didn’t have any whining kids, Alicia and I stood out but not in the awkward way.Together, we walked past excited children and one overexcited father to get closer to the end of this makeshift pier. Regardless of my concerns, this wooden dock was sturdy enough even if I remained unconvinced on how stable those railings were.All in all, we had enough room for the twenty-plus patrons. Leading past many trees and all through the marshland, the dock provided everyone a panoramic view of the gator pit.Immediately, we could hear the gators’ guttural cries. Their howls all through Chehaw. A call of the hunger…Holding Alicia’s hand, I led us past the eager feeders. Straight to the roofed edge where the Chehaw employees were. A couple of high school volunteers and a guy in his late-20s who looked to be in complete command. Wearing a blue Chehaw tee shirt and khaki shorts, Nathan’s voice boomed over the alligators’ chorus. I’d actually seen the guy a few times, usually near the reptile house. His boisterous aura and tall stature made him a natural for the zoo’s cheesier attractions. And there he was taking charge of the teens under his watch, his glorious Southern accent matched by the beard and glowing eyes.As we got closer, the sunshine further boiled us. The beams oh so bright… but still, we could see the fearsome gators lining up along the dock. All through the lake… They formed a creepy cluster to say the least. Chehaw’s pit known for its green water and the gators damn sure took advantage of the camouflage. Still I could still see them lurking… this close to feeding time, they didn’t bother hiding like they did on our idyll weekday trips.There were over twenty gators ranging from huge to slender but all of them big enough to devour me whole. Their heads huge, their mouths even larger. The carnal stares never blinking. Each one of the creatures like statues until blood hit the water...“So how does this work exactly?” Alicia asked me.“Not sure,” I chuckled.We stopped a few feet away from Nathan and his crew. Up close, I could see the buckets of what I figured was meat at their feet. A Ziploc bag of dirt in Nathan’s grasp certainly didn’t look like normal gator food. But hey, maybe they were on a diet.Our tickets got us a couple of cups of this healthy shit: the dirt and murky meat Chehaw’s college volunteers handed us. Weirdly enough, they even made us keep the tix.At first, the feeding was fun. Those alligators at least half-ass responded to the half-ass food. They swam around and took their snaps, showing off their arsenal of sharp teeth. Of course, the creatures were huge and ferocious like we expected… They kept the crowd entranced for sure.But I never heard much from Nathan and the gang. I guess I expected more of a goofy demonstration from Chehaw’s finest rather than a feeding free-for-all... That is, until Nathan finally made his move.“Alright, folks, my name’s Nathan!” shouted the employee. He took a few steps forward, closer to Alicia and I. “And as you can see.” He held up a cup. The paltry protein. “What we gave y’all ain’t much.”“Damn right!” shouted the bearded redneck to my right.“Well, we’re gonna fix that,” Nathan said. He looked over at his young assistants. “Ain’t that right, now?”“Mm-hmm,” said a pretty coed holding a large clear bucket.“Okay, so,” Nathan started. He took the container from her. “We’re now gonna feed our gators, the right way!”“What do you mean?” the redneck asked, his voice gone from confident to confused.By now, I noticed most of the kids cowering beside their parents. Most of the children no older than eight. One boy in particular stood out, especially the way he had his arms enwrapped around his mama’s leg. A beleaguered single mom at that.“Y’all know what I mean,” Nathan teased. There in the October heat, he scanned the scene. Looking at each and every one of us... By now, the gators were back to being submerged underwater. Back in hiding… “They need meat!”“Meat?” I heard a mom ask. “But we just fed them...”“Oh no,” Nathan went on. In a confident stroll, he walked past all of us, right up to the front of the dock. Our only exit. “They need real food now.”The high schoolers then stopped beside him. Henchmen for this employee of the month.“What they crave most is human meat,” said Nathan’s Georgia drawl. His eyes inspected the crowd, that hungry gaze devouring us. “And today it’s gonna be one of y’all!”Instantly, I felt my heart sink. Felt the wave of chills… felt Alicia wrap her arm tightly around me.The redneck father of two took an angry step toward Nathan. “What the Hell are y’all talking about!”Nathan just stared on at him. No fear, no concern on that calm face. “You heard me.”“What’d you say-”A cool click interrupted everyone! Then several clicks followed...I looked over to see those ‘volunteers’ were no longer holding food but firearms! Each of the college helpers wielded pistols pointed right at us, holding us hostage here at this gruesome gator pit!“What the Hell!” the single mom cried.“Nobody move!” one of the volunteers yelled.“What the fuck…” I muttered. I still felt Alicia hanging on tight. For dear life.“Now listen!” Nathan announced with pride. He pointed between all twenty-two of us. “One of y’all’s gonna be the big winner!”“The winner!” I heard the mom shout in dismay.“Yep!” Nathan held up the container.There in the tense heat, I now saw what was inside. The many small slips of paper.“What the Hell!” I heard Alicia say. “What is this!?”“We’re gonna feed the gators now!” Nathan proclaimed in his holy roller tone. “We’re here for the animals, remember!”The redneck glowered at him. “What the Hell does that mean!”Ignoring him, Nathan held the bucket toward the coed. “Draw it!”And draw she did. The girl stuck her hand inside and grabbed a slip.Now I felt Alicia’s grip slicing through my flesh. The dread dominating both of us.“Will, what the Hell...” I heard her say.I wanted to reassure her but couldn’t. Not exactly easy amidst this creepy confusion…The coed brought the paper right up to her eager eyes. Ready to read its number for this raffle from Hell.“What the Hell are y’all doing!” the redneck shouted.And Nathan stayed calm the entire time. Stayed indifferent… all while the gators got closer. Their eyes watching us in that greenass water.“What’s it say?” Nathan asked the girl.“Eighteen!” she yelled.Shivering, I looked on at Chehaw’s horrific helpers. Their smiles so wide. All of them like little excited elves ready to identify their gator pit sacrifice.I heard the child cry out! The unsettling sound of a helpless kid.Alicia and I turned to see the single mom and her terrified son. The ticket in his hand. Neither of us had to guess what number it was...The mom held her son close, both of them weeping. “No!” she screamed.“You heard her!” Nathan challenged the mom. In a sudden motion, he held his hand out toward the boy. His grin so wicked. “It’s feeding time, son!”“You sick son-of-a-bitch!” the redneck said.A warning shot into the sun silenced him! Hell, it silenced everybody… everyone except Alicia.“No! Take me!” she said. Alicia threw her empty cup down and stormed up to Nathan! All as the guns and gators watched her every move... “I’ll do it!”Nathan confronted her. His eyes aglow, his smile oh so bigger.“Alicia!” I cried.Ignoring me, Alicia hurled her ticket at Nathan. “Don’t kill him!” The ticket fluttered to Nathan’s feet. “Take me instead!”Battling those tears, the mom lowered her head. Refusing to let go of her son...I pulled Alicia toward me, refusing to let go. “Babe-”She struggled to break away. “No! He’s a kid, Goddammit!”One of Nathan’s teenage goons got closer. Put that pistol closer to our faces. “Ain’t none of you replacing them!” he warned.“Definitely not them,” the coed quipped.“Mommy!” the kid’s shrill cry erupted. Pure horror to our ears.The mother held him even closer. “No!” She glowered at Nathan. “Just take me then! Not my child!”Nathan faced her. No hint of emotion on that eerie expression. On that blank soulless canvas.“You hear me!” the mom yelled.“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Nathan said. He leaned in closer, his skeletal hand reaching toward the boy. “But we have this raffle for a reason now.”Horrified, the mom gripped tighter to her kid. “No!” she screamed. “You’re not taking him!”I scanned the scene. Scanned the other scared patrons. The ‘lucky’ losers of this lecherous lottery. But now we were all forced into silence by Chehaw’s cavalry. The armed teens holding us on land, the alligators guarding the lake.Shit, I thought to myself. There’s no way to escape...Nathan reached closer for the boy. The sacrifice. “We’re here for the animals, little boy,” he teased. “Just remember that...”“No please!” the mom yelled.But none of us could do shit… nothing except watch.Nathan snatched the boy by the shoulders. Leaned in closer for dramatic effect. “It’s your lucky day, little boy!”The mom struggled to pull her weeping son away. “No!”But Nathan didn’t let go. He had the kid hooked. Had him eye to eye, man to man.I now saw the biggest gator zoom up closer toward the pier. He was ready to eat. Ready for carnage.“You won!” Nathan congratulated the child. He then lifted the boy higher! The mom hanging on but with absolutely no chance of pulling him back.Nathan put the child inches away from his face and let out a triumphant cackle! “It’s just a joke, boy!” His laughter echoed through the trees. The boy still shedding tears. “Now you can tell everyone about your Chehaw experience!”The gators’ grunts grew louder! That big motherfucker led the charge. Led them all to camp out right below us.“Let him go!” the mom shouted.“Tell everyone about my sacrifice!” Before anyone could react, Nathan thrust the kid into the mother’s arms. He turned and scurried up to the edge of the dock. Confronted his crowd! Nathan’s showmanship still shining through. The smile still well on display. “We’re here for the animals!” said his manic mantra.“What the Hell are you doing!” the redneck shouted.Nathan turned and jumped right in! Straight to his death.His beloved alligators were waiting for him. The messy massacre only took a few minutes… A feast of flesh for the Chehaw Zoo’s most notorious residents. But never once did Nathan scream. Never once did any of the volunteers flinch, much less attempt to help a man who didn’t want to be helped.Several of the creatures chomped down upon Nathan, fastening their tight clamps deep into his skin.The water went from green to red. The change vivid. The blood running thick. Organs, stray pulpy pieces, and the remnants of Nathan’s uniform decorated Lake Chehaw… And yet, Nathan never cried. Never screamed. Never once was in pain as he became those gators’ next meal.Uneasy, Alicia broke away from me and stopped straight at the edge. A front row seat for the carnage.“Alicia!” I cried.I stopped next to her. Together, we saw Nathan’s gift to the gators. The severed limbs and crimson candy that’d be the real meat for this meal.Of course, the king gator got a large chunk of Nathan’s head. The prized possession after all...Both of us consumed by terror, I wrapped an arm around Alicia. About the only damn thing I could do considering the gruesome sight before us. The weeping mother and little boy all we could hear in this quiet tension.“Alright!” the coed’s glowing voice gleamed through the gator pit.Alicia and I whirled around to see her standing tall in the center of the dock. The other workers right behind her, the firearms still in their hands.In the October heat, the coed clapped with joy. “You know how we’re here for the animals.” Her deranged grin then got bigger. “So now who’s ready to watch me do the bear feeding!”“What the fuck…” Alicia said.Not missing a beat, the coed looked right at me. “We’ve got so many more animals to feed!”The male worker behind her leaned in closer. The kid no older than sixteen. “Y’all wanna watch me with the Boa constrictor?”14 via /r/rhonnie14FanPage https://ift.tt/3kpfdc5
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