Animal

Two young men, just 18 and 20, got lost in the dead of winter. And not just anywhere, but in the wilderness of Siberia. Barely two days before, they had travelled west with their families on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Friends since they were little, the two teenagers had recently discovered their love for each other. On the train, they were surprised by the younger boy’s father, kissing. He brought them, trembling with anger, to the other members of the two families who were sitting in a large compartment of the train. It was like a show trial! The two fathers and heads of the two families took turns delivering a tirade about morality, sin, perversion, deviant behaviour, shame, and so on. ...

Brian’s phone rings. “Brian I have a really unusual request.” “I bet it’s not, nothing you want is unusual.” “I’m willing to bet to haven’t heard of this one before.” “Surprise me.” “Ok here goes, I need a girl who is willing to go into an alligator skin.” “That’s not what I was expecting, how is that unusual?” “It is because the girl would need to stay in the alligator skin for a couple of months.” ...

Mr. Dobs’ Balloon Animals Field Trip 1: Miss. Shepard Miss. Shepard was stuck, stuck with her 8 students. Every year she would take her class up to the nature exhibit at the top of the mountain. The field trip and following report made up for the classes’ lack of a final. Usually the trip was over in a few hours but this year they had a minor earth quake which caused a rock slide. It blocked the road down the mountain to her dismay. ...

(story continues from The Field Trip 1: Miss. Shepard) Mr. Dobs’ Balloon Animals Field Trip 2: Tina “We’re stuck up here!?!” Tina yelled. “That’s bullshit!” that was Rob. He always backed her up. She liked that about him. They had plans for tonight damn it! Miss. Shepard kept talking but who cared? It wasn’t like her words could move the fucking landslide. Rob had reserved a nice Italian place that wasn’t to far from her apartment. She had already laid out the good sheets too and all her pillows. The rest of the class was following the old guy to some building or something. ...

(story continues from The Field Trip 2: Tina) Mr. Dobs’ Balloon Animals Field Trip 3: Kelly, Tom & Kyle “‘Today sucks’” Kelly thought. “Stupid mudslide then this creepy Mr. Dobs was making balloon animals”. “What would you like young lady?” he was talking to her now. She really didn’t want one, something told her not to take one but she ignored it, after all it’s just a balloon. “How about a cow?” She really didn’t like animals much but he might not be able to make one. “And it has to have utters!” Dobs paused for a second *shrugged then held up his hand. ...