The wind created waves which flowed through the fields of grass only to disappear off the edge of the acre. Series of small animal ran within the crops while the birds rode the waves above. The wind picked up as a car sped by on the gravel road. The car left a coat of dust over the fields, houses, and cars of the country side.

The animals all rested in the shade as the sun rose to the middle of the sky. The sun shined over the land to reveal all of life's details. Then life seized as to hide from sight.

A car sped beside the field and lost control. The car's wheels led off the road and into a fenced pasture. The animals, startled awake, sprinted franticly. Once the car passed, the animals ran though the opening towards the outside world. The chickens fluttered about as the sheep, horses, and cows ran past them, separating the flock. A dog picked itself up and smiled at the escaping animals. The dog tore it's collar as it chased the animals through the roads and fields.

Herds of animals ran along and across the highway as cars ran into fields and houses. Most animals ran loose, but the pets were still dependent. The dogs were running in place at the end of their leashes and the cats were either hiding or crying at the door for their owner. The pets saw themselves at the top of the food chain in their home, now they were in the real world where they might not be so lucky.

The animals kept coming in all directions, startled by all of the things left out to become one with the environment. Some animals were too excited to stop, but others grew hungry. Crowds of animals scavenged around the dishes that the humans had left out for their animals. It was a free-for-all.

The sun continued to drift westward until all the animals had to find food. All of the animals froze to lift their ears to hear the disappearance affecting the city in the distance. The animals, desperate for food, headed towards the city. The animals ran franticly in the crowds. Some played and some marched but they were all headed in the same direction.

The city was much worse. The animals stormed the streets, unable to handle being loose. They ate pet food while they shooed away cats and let the dogs go berserk at the end of their chains. The animals broke into convenience stores while they pushed at each other at the entrance. The highways began to fill up with animals as they stormed into cars for food.

Crowds of animal marched down the street wondering what to do. They looked at the animals investigating homes, the ones who ate the plastic wrappers in the convenience stores, they even considered eating the small cats and dogs hiding and trapped.

The animals feasted on our leftovers not even considering the fact that we had left. They raided super markets and furniture store, whatever was there, but came up with the same results, sickening food, though the animals ate to their hearts content. They crowded those stores and once they had, they moved around with enough friction to start a fire. Some fires were started. Not from friction, but from the contact of flammables. Every time one would start the animals would run only for themselves not to help anyone else as some burned to ashes. They could not stop the fires. They left those areas alone and hoped it would die out, yet mother Earth was not so merciful.

It was a windy day. Sometimes the wind would blow the fire out and other times the city was not so lucky. One liquor store went up in flames from the combination of lighters and alcohol consuming the floor. The fire crackled above as the animals ran in terror. The fire continued to spread across the roof of the strip mall right as a gust of wind blew fire onto a billboard. The fire weakened the structure enough to topple it over onto a fast food restaurant. Soon enough the whole west side of the city was ablaze. The animals began to back off from the west border and they headed back to the countryside, where they might have a chance.

Soon enough the sun had set into the west, yet the city was still very alive. The fire still grew, lighting up the starving town, attracting them towards it to dash their hopes as they sprinted away. The animals continued to raid the store through the night, each waiting for their turn to scavenge. The animals, already having had their turn, searched for a place to rest. Some laid in the beds of the forgotten pets and some in the warm cars of the vacationers. Most laid in the grass or had passed out in the stores after their meals. They were all tired and they were all strangers. They fell asleep knowing tomorrow would bring new discoveries, they could only hope they would help.

* * *


The sun slowly rose from the distance to reveal nothing. The new day brought nothing but the events of yesterday. The light shined upon the insides of the store where the animals laid, sick from packaging. The fire had died down and now all that was left of the store were the animals burned in them. The sun rose above the town at about eight, o clock and the lucky animals opened their eyes.

The days weren't fun anymore now that the humans had left. There was no play if you wanted to live. Some animals continued to eat inside the stores but most walked the roads.

The ones that walked the road continued to scavenge for food. They walked over the bodies of animals to get food that would only make them one with bodies. They spent the day gathering candy bars and packaged meat from the stores for their nests. As the conscious population depleted the animals got more access to food.

The gathering would seize every once in a while as wild packs of animals ran past and through the city. The packs were full of life, frolicking as they ran together. When they passed they would stop, though most of the time they were startled by the city and kept running. Occasionally, they would become part of the city, slowing the gathering process and becoming part of the problem.

Their day was consistent and productive until the storm hit.

The sun was setting, marking the time at about six-thirty. The animals sped up to gather their food for the night. The traffic in the streets was busy and rough as the animals barged into one another, sending their food across the street only to by snatched by others. The dog who had dropped it's food ran at the recipients to scare them away. Just as they were about to confront each other, traffic froze.

The animals starred at the not so distant storm like it was a car about to hit them. Thunder roared like car horns as the lightning lit up their view like headlights. The storm moved towards them as they continued to stare, as if they were waiting for confirmation. The thunder roared again to answer them, and they ran in all directions into their nests under or inside the man made works.

The storm finally caught up with the city and released it's wrath. The gargantuan storm seemed to hover over the city as it slowly made it's way across. Lightning pierced the sky as the animals cowered in their nests. The rain poured down, trying to evict the animals from their homes. The animals could only hope they would see tomorrow.

The lightning struck buildings, reducing them to rubble. The lightning struck chapels, antennas and radio towers, destroying the tall buildings to make it's way towards the shorter ones. Most of the time the lightning destroyed, some buildings had better structures. The tops of buildings were set aflame only to be dowsed by the rain. It was repetitive process: Fire, flood, fire, flood. The lightning continued to strike as the water rose, two feet above ground it did. In the middle of the night the sky cleared as the storm passed. The fires left with it, leaving the city calm to the eyes of others. Only the tenants saw the true horror.

* * *


The sun gently woke the carefree animals of the country side to their wet paradise. They were free and had plenty of crops to eat, not to mention left over grass, feed, and hay. They played all day and ate whenever they wanted. They walked across the street and saw the standing water from the city and still didn't realize, this wouldn't last forever.

The city was out of luck. Most of the buildings were reduced to rubble, crushing numerous animals and their food supply. The surviving structures were filled with water, flooding out the nesting. The surviving walked the streets like they had the past couple of days. They scavenged for food and brought it back to their nests, no matter what the conditions. In this case it was water and the animals, already tired and hungry, had to make new nest above the water.

Their sole purpose now was to survive. It was only for themselves, there was no family and no one to trust. The humans had designed civilization for themselves, not for the animals to scrounge off it. This was life now. It wasn't strange it was staying alive and hoping to develop. Maybe for the future of their species, if there was one. It wasn't unusual because the usual was no more.

It was just normal.