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Glick sat up, shielding his eyes from the blaring light that filled the room. The others still slept. Their heads buried under leaves. His stomach grumbled, protesting its emptiness. He could slip down and eat a finger or toe. Nothing big, just something. Bumpers snorted in his sleep, as if aware of Glick’s thoughts. His friend would never forgive him if he stole food. He crawled toward the edge of the bush and found a leaf that was still moist from the water the Guards had sprayed. He tipped it to his mouth, hoping it’d assuage his hunger. It didn’t.
“Hey, wake up,” he whispered. “There’s something going on in the other cage.”
Bumpers sat up. “They sure are getting excited.”
The other Brush-Men were rhythmically clacking their teeth almost in a chant.
“Can you understand what they’re saying?” he asked.
Bumpers frowned. “The glass makes it hard to hear them, but when they all talk at the same time.” He shook his head. “It’s impossible.”
“The biggest ones are moving away from the glass,” whispered Flea who had her arms wrapped around her body to ward off the cold. “Why are they doing that?”
“They’re looking up and the others are following them to the center of the cage,” he said.
There was a loud grinding noise and the cage shook.
“What are they doing to us now?” Speckles crawled closer to the others, his eyes wide with fear.
“I don’t know that they’re doing anything to us.” Bumpers pulled Flea closer. “But I think they’re going to do something to them.”
“They don’t seem scared.” Glick leaned forward, trying to see why the other Brush-Men were staring at the ceiling.
“Well, they should be.” Speckles dropped onto his butt. “Everything the Guards and Almighys do to us is bad.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
Screams and protests ripped through the air, breaking the quietness of their cage. Glick jumped, falling forward and landing on a twig. It snapped under his weight. There was nothing between him and the ground except more dead branches. His arms flailed and his face hit the twigs but his leg got tangled on something, stopping his descent but leaving him hanging upside down.
“I keep telling you to be careful.” Bumpers had a hold of his foot and yanked him upward.
“Sorry.” It was humiliating how often Bumpers had to help him.
“What’s that?” Flea was pointing at the other cage.
Something was falling from the ceiling and by its screams it was alive. Another body fell and another. Their voices echoing throughout the chamber. There was a thud as the first creature hit the ground. The larger Brush-Men scattered for a moment before pouncing on their victim. That’s when the real screaming began. Glick licked his lips. The fear of the dying was calling to him, telling him to go and to kill.
“What are...were they?” asked Flea.
“I don’t know. The Brush-Men were on them so fast I couldn’t see,” said Glick.
There was blood everywhere and flesh. Lots and lots of juicy bits of flesh. Whatever they had been didn’t matter. They were now food. The larger Brush-Men hovered around the carcasses as the smaller ones darted around stealing whatever their bony, little hands could grab before racing away.
Glick swallowed his stomach rumbling.
“So much food,” whispered Flea.
There were pieces everywhere. If they were in there, they’d be able to snatch some. The smallest of the Brush-Men—who were still more than twice their size—weren’t even noticed as they hid between the feet of the larger ones, feeding on the scraps that fell to the ground.
“I’d stay by them.” Glick pointed to the two largest Brush-Men. “They drop more than they get in their mouths.”
“They also step on whatever’s in their path,” said Speckles.
“It’d be worth the risk.” He was so hungry he didn’t care about the danger. He just wanted food.
“They’re eating each other,” said Flea.
Small Brush-Men littered the ground where the giants had passed. Some of the others were scavenging their own dead, sticking arms and legs in their mouths as they ran away.
“Food’s food.” Speckles wiped the drool off his lips.
“Do you think there’s a way inside?” whispered Flea.
“There might be.” Bumpers was staring at the ceiling. “We’ll check the perimeter and up there.”
“How are we going to get up there?” There were no bushes even close to that tall.
“Not sure.” Bumpers turned to him and smiled, “But we’ll figure something out.”
He forced a grin. There was no way. No way at all.