Liabilities

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Back in the Amazon, Whiskers woke up all tied up in a bamboo cage. He panicked and struggled to get out, but the rope was too tight. "Whiskers, you're awake!" a voice shouted. He looked left and it was Lola Boa. She smiled and waved with her tail. "But it probably won't be a good morning for us." another voice spoke. Whiskers looked right and Ed the otter, who also waved. 

"What's going on, guys," Whiskers asked. Before Ed and Lola could say anything. Tall foxes approached them. 

"I guess we're about to find out." 

The cage doors opened, and black paws grabbed three prisoners by the necks. Whiskers, Lola, and Ed were taken to the beach, where the giant sandcastle was almost finished, and they were not expecting this...the missing animals of the Amazon were here. All the pumas, tappers, parrots, snakes, hummingbirds, lizards, and the rest were here. Not only that, but they were also working on the construction of the sandcastle, digging and bracing the walls together with sand. 

Among them were the toucan sisters, Meryl and Cheryl digging sand among the castle walls. Whiskers, Ed, and Lola ran up to the sisters screaming their names. Meryl and Cheryl turned around and looked at them. Whiskers, Ed, and Lola wrapped themselves around the sisters. "Girls, you're okay!" Lola screamed. 

"Of course, we are girl!" Cheryl replied. "Turns out, these foxes are using us as slaves, they're jealous they were always getting targeted while the other animals were spared." 

"Are they going to kill us?" Whiskers asked.

"They would've done it already," Meryl replied.

Suddenly Sage and Ruby came out of nowhere and grabbed the rabbit, otter, and snake. "All right," Sage replied. "Conversation's over. Get back to work." While Ruby put chain balls on Ed and Lola, Sage, holding Whiskers by the ears, stripped him of his jumpsuit. 

"Just a precaution, so you don't get any funny ideas."

Then he took him to his tent and dropped him on the ground. Sage took a seat in front of Whiskers still laying on the ground. "Look, before you ask anything, sorry about the little ambush last night." He spoke. "But I thought it would be best to break it to you slowly."

Whiskers gave him a confused look. 

"First of all, your plan is excellent! There was just one problem...you and your friends."

"I don't understand," Whiskers said.

"You and your friends kinda remind me of the other animals that were spared by poachers while my brothers, sisters, and I were attacked, and the others just watched. Until I figured it out. Foxes are predators and we-"

Before Sage could finish, Whiskers interrupted. "What? The apex kind?!"

Sage took some duct tape and stuck it on Whiskers's mouth. 

"You know what? I'm just going to cut to the chase. The people who worked at the animal sanctuary we lived at, saw us as liabilities, that's why poachers were coming? How long until you see us as liabilities?"

Whiskers was mumbling through the tape, trying to speak. Sage tore it off. "Ouch! That hurt." Whiskers said. "You are reminding me of that guy who selling to a zoo in Paraguay for thirty-nine cents! You're free now!"

"Not yet we aren't." a voice said. It was Gasper. "The construction workers will be coming back soon. Once all of this over, I will the king of the jungle once and for all! With the exception of the monkeys and foxes Whiskers, you and everyone else will live under my rule. Oppose it and y'all be dead, not imprisoned. Now get back to work."

"What are you talking about?" Whiskers asked as he was being dragged back to camp by apes. "After all we did for you."

Little did everyone else know that Ruby was listening from the other side of the tent. She began to feel guilty for what she put Whiskers and his friends through. But the damage was already done. The Amazon animals being labelled as 'liabilities,' were going to be slaves for the rest of their lives. 


  

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