Travis shivered through his clenched teeth as he pulled his beanie down further over his ears. It was unseasonably cold being only the third day of fall. A snow storm was coming, it was clear as day. Travis paid no attention to the world around him as he jams his hands into his pockets, continuing his walk toward his little house on the outskirts of his neighborhood. His boots clomped against the ground as he walked. One foot in front of the other. The icy winds bite his cheeks and he tucks his chin further into his jacket.
He curses to himself for opting not to wear a thicker coat. It was only a 10 minute walk to the gas station for beer and snacks. He’d be there and back. Should have accounted for the wind chill. Should have worn a second shirt under his jacket. Should have-
Travis is knocked out of his thoughts after nearly tripping over something just below his boot.
He quickly gains his footing and looks down at what nearly caused him to topple over. It looked like some kind of dirty matted brown wig or the discarded swab side of an old mop. Travis looks around at the old road leading to his home. Seems like a strange place to leave trash.
Morbid curiosity draws him to investigate the matted mass further. Travis carefully leans closer, slowly leaning down to get a closer look. The mass was slowly moving up and down, as if it was… Breathing?
“What the hell is this?”
“pw…ease… Nu…”
Travis nearly jumps back in surprise at the tiny voice beckoning to him from the soggy mass.
“Hello…?”
He says softly too it, quickly looking around to make sure no one could see him talking to this trash.
“Bad… Num…ies… Wo…stes… Tummeh… Hewties…”
Travis could hear it’s labored breath as it struggled to choke out what few words it could manage. He turns his attention to what looks like a small pet food tin with a bright yellow label on it. FLUFF STOPPER FEED “sketti” FLAVORED
He was familiar with the ploy. It was a trap made specifically for stray or “alley” fluffies. A mediocre paste shaped in a way that resembled spaghetti just enough to fool the stray creatures. The intense smell baits fluffies into consuming it, or bringing it to their mates. Once consumed, it mixes with the internal acids in a fluffies stomach and turns into something resembling a rubber cement. It clogs the digestive organs from the inside, making the fluffy incapable of digesting or purging of the substance via vomiting or pooping. This leads to death by septic shock, internal bleeding, or suffocation in some cases.
Someone must have set this little trap up to catch some strays living nearby.
“pw…eeze… nu huwt… Spesh…fwien’…”
Travis is once again torn from his thoughts by the sound of the wheezing fluffy still laying in front of him. For the first time since finding it, He sees the tiny creature move. He watches as it raises it’s head, following it’s line of sight over to a nearby naked tree surrounded by dead bushes and tumble-weeds.
“Nu hewp… soon…Babb…”
The tiny creature hiccups and coughs violently before going still. Looks like the trap had worked. Another fluffy family left to starve. One more dead fluffy, mess free and ready for garbage pick-up the next morning.
Travis sighs and stands back up, turning his attention to what he assumed to be the location of this fluffy’s nest. He quietly approaches the tree, the cold air falling silent around him. He carefully looks around the bushes, finding a small ramp of dirt leading down under one of them leading to the tree.
He tucks his hands into his sleeves before pushing away the dead tumble weeds and push branches to reveal…
A small dirty den hastily dug beneath the roots of the tree. A small pile of leaves and debris sits in the center of the den. On top of the pile rests a dirty white fluffy pony, it’s hooves sticking out to it’s bloated sides making it incapable of movement on it’s own.
Travis sighs to himself before taking a quiet step away from the den. Looks like this soon-to-be mother’s mate went out to search for food. He looks over at the street, and the dead fluffy laying on the sidewalk. It couldn’t be more than 12 feet from it’s nest and it died eating tainted fluffy food. Pity. Only pity.
Travis quickly runs the last few minutes to his house, not stopping until he was through his front door. He quickly chugs a beer and collects a large spare towel from his bathroom closet before chugging another beer and chugging a beer. He empties his backpack of it’s random contents before chugging a beer, stuffing the towel in, and heading right back out his front door.
The beer buzz keeps his body warm as Travis once again approaches the tree, being greeted this time by the soft whimpers of a newly widowed mother.
“huuhuu nu’ smeww pwetty… Wai’ bad poopies nu’ stay in poopie pwace…”
A rancid smell graces Travis’s nose, causing his eyes to sting and water as he stepped closer and closer to the fluffy nest.
“Tummeh haf’ huwties… Whewe’ am speshew’ fwien… Nu wuv Woxy nu’ mow? Am bad soon-mummah…?”
Travis is staring directly into the opening of the den now, subtlety being sent right out the metaphorical window. He’s already got the towel ready in his hands, a goal burning in his eyes as he lunges. The mare doesn’t even have time to react or make a sound before it’s forcibly wrapped in the towel and shoved into the backpack. Travis simply grins as he runs home as fast as his drunken legs can carry him.
