Category: Chicken Run
Genre: Romance/Violence/Drama
Characters: Ginger, Bunty, Babs, Mac, Fowler ©Aardman ™
Eric, Lucy ©Me
Rating: M
Summary: Ginger's life had its golden moments in the hell she lived in, however one day something happened that would change her personality and views of life forever.
Disclaimer: This story was originally written and uploaded in 2010 by me. However after coming back and seeing some very kind reviews I felt like I needed to edit this story and possibly add more chapters! The story is something I came up with years ago so I'll see if I can still remember some of it. I delete the original story with all the reviews since the description contained my IRL name, and I prefer to remain anonymous. :)
[EDIT] Changed the name of the young rooster since a friend of mine really didn't like the idea that his name was going to be used for a rooster who is going to do something terrible.
Dawn approached, a new life was being born in the smallish hut in Tweedy's farm. Squeaks from a chick inside an eggshell were heard. A worried mother stood next to the nest, where her first child would be hatched in only a few minutes. More pushing, a tiny beak cracks the shell, and out comes an exhausted tiny little baby chick, wet and breathing heavily from its success to come out. Taking its first breaths the little chick chirped and rolled around in the nest, confused and terrified were it was. The hen, who now was a proud mother, picked the little chick instinctively up in her peach colored arms in a warm blanket. Though, the blanket was dirty from all the dust and it was very old, it kept the new born baby warm. More hens approached the hut by the sounds from the chick's cries. The mother slowly rocked the baby as she watched it; she saw a face that looked so beautiful it was a slight shock for the mother that this little creature could look so gorgeous even if it only was two minutes old. The mother heard footsteps behind her, she smiled. Four hens approached her carefully, not wanting her instincts to take over and scare them off to protect the new life.
One hen who was brave enough spoke up to the leader hen.
"Lucy, are you ok, is the baby ok?"
Lucy turned around and smiled fondly. "Yes, I'm ok, and so is this little angel of mine. Take a look." She softly pulled away a piece of the blanket so they could see the little baby's face. The four hens thought their hearts would melt at the sight of this face, still wet, but visible to see a beautiful face of a miniature hen. The hens gasped softly and smiled, totally adoring this little creature.
"She's beautiful! What shall you call her?"
There was a long pause of motherly love in Lucy's face. Then she saw the little girl open her eyes for the first time. Big emerald green eyes gazed tiredly up at her. After a long pause of inspecting this little girl, she chose the name, directly from her heart. "Ginger, her name will be Ginger.
And so the years passed by, and Ginger grew older and ended up being a young, slim beautiful juvenile red hen. She was a proud little hen, walked with head up high and chest puffing out. She was the future leader of the flock and soon was ready to have chicks of her own. The young roosters on the farm did not ignore her beauty and tried everything to get her attention. Ginger ignored those charming looks from the roosters who pruned themselves and flashed their tail feathers to her. One time one of the roosters were brave enough to ask her out for a cup of tea at the sunset. Ginger was flattered but wasn't that interested. She dreamed of that one day she would fall in love with a dashing rooster with both looks and personality.
One morning when the air was rather warm for spring, Ginger had woken up early, even earlier than her stepfather Fowler when he is supposed to crow, earlier than the sunrise itself. She rose up from her bed quickly and darted out from the hut to see her friends stand by the doorway. Ginger smiled to them and whispered a greeting, then waved to them to follow her. Her company; Bunty, Babs and Mac, were her closest friends she had on this farm. Luckily, Ginger was still unknown about the fact that this farm was one of the cruellest places on earth.
Bunty was a robust hen with purple feathers and was more boy than girl, but two years older than Ginger. Babs was a beige, pretty fat hen for her age, still very kind and sweet minded. Mac was thin and pale with glasses and buckteeth, a little scientist look and took her Scottish background and accent with pride. Ginger was one of few who understood her strange accent.
"C'mon, let's do this thing," Ginger whispered, glancing in to a hut.
Did you bring the buckets?" she asked Mac. She nodded with a happy grin as a reply. Ginger grinned back. "Bunty, open the door slowly. Babs, you take one bucket with you, and you too Mac," She whispered and signed to them to hurry. Bunty glared at her. "What about you then? Are you just gonna stand here and watch us being caught if things go wrong?" Bunty asked, scowling a bit. Ginger shook her head with a sly grin and patted the bucket. "Na-ah, I have a special mission for this bucket of mine. I'm right behind you."
The four hens walked into the hut of sleeping young roosters, they have planned this little trick since yesterday and it was revenge for the unfair game of hide and seek. Ginger held up her hand and counted down to three with her fingers. As she counted, they held up the buckets and on the count of three.
"Good morning everyone!" Bunty shouted as she tossed the water over a sleeping rooster who now was woken up from his slumber. Then everything happened at once, Babs and Mac threw the buckets of water over the sleeping boys, squeals and shouts of insults from the shocked wet roosters, Ginger laughing so hard she almost forgot it was her turn to throw her own bucket. But instead of water, she had it filled with frogs and now was hauling it over a sleeping young rooster named Eric, he woke up and screamed in terror.
Ginger laughed at his expression, his beige feathers were covered with green frogs. Eric looked up at Ginger with disgust and shouted various insults at her before trying to shake off all the frogs. The four friends ran out from the hut before any of them was caught, hollering with laughter as the sun rose up. Ginger caught her breath. "Did you see their faces!? This was so worth it!" Her friends nodded as they too breathed heavily.
Moments like these were gold for Ginger in her rough life. The Farmers were awfully mean to them. Luckily, she hasn't seen the pure cruelty that was surrounding them yet, she had only heard of it and it made her shiver every time she thought of it. Hopefully, she thought that she wouldn't be the next one to be "taken away".
The four friends could finally breathe again. Babs shot a worried look at Ginger's direction. "What if those mean guys will do something to us?" she asked with her squeaky voice. Ginger whipped off some snot from the tip of her beak with a snort.
"I don't think so, they wouldn't dare."
"But, what if they do something! What if-"
"Oh, c'mon, knock it off!" Bunty groaned at her. "Those feather-brains won't do anything to us!" she paused and looked proud, glancing down at Ginger, being a head taller her. "As long as I'm here of course..." she continued. Bunty have always been jealous of Ginger's high rank and fate as a leader in the future, but still kept her cool and acknowledged her lower rank. Bunty didn't want to cause trouble between her and Ginger, she was her friend, after all.
Ginger coughed and stood up straight. "I think we'd better get going," she said and yawned. The other nodded in agreement. Babs still with a worrying look on her face. Suddenly they all froze, hearing steps coming closer to them.
"There they are!" shouted a male voice around the corner of a hut. Ginger, Babs, Bunty and Mac screamed and ran off in different directions, all chased by a rooster. Ginger hopped over food tray, searching for a place to hide. She heard footsteps approaching her, and she suddenly fell to the ground, pinned down.
"Gotcha!" the attacker said and sniggered. He was bending over her and wore a mischievous grin, Ginger didn't like the way he watched and held her, she frowned and hissed. "Eric, get off me!" she demanded harshly, trying to bite him on the beak.
Eric just sniggered and said with a calm yet teasing voice,
"Why's that? You had the guts to wake me up with a very unpleasant surprise this morning and you expect me to take that with ease? You filthy girl."
Ginger pulled a face where she was laying.
"I said let go!"
Eric sighed, raising a brow. "You are so cute when you're angry, doll-face ." Ginger halted her movements. He just called me doll-face, she thought angrily. She did not like being called that, not one bit. But still, a blush actually was spreading over her cheeks, making her face turn more red than it already was. Eric continued his grinning look, "Hmm, what ever shall I do with you?" he puckered his lips slightly.
Ginger looked disgusted, realizing he was leaning in for a kiss.
"Are you nuts?! Stop being such a creep!"
Eric laughed harmoniously. "Oh, you're just saying that, darling. I know you want to. C'mon, don't be shy." His brown eyes showed a playful look and Ginger knew what was going on. She smiled back, Eric got the hint and climbed off her. Eric and Ginger have been friends since a very young age, they could joke about everything and do what friends do, so this scenario while it may have been too intimate for her taste, she trusted him enough to know he was joking.
Ginger slapped him playfully on his shoulder. "For a second I thought you were really gonna kiss me," she said and laughed a little.
Eric chuckled. "Not now at least, I have a terrible breath this morning! Kiss on the cheek maybe?" he pointed a finger on his cheek. Ginger nudged him. "No, but I can let Bunty kiss you?" she rose up a hand to start whistle.
"No!" he burst out, his eyes widened in slight terror and pulled her down, both laughing at each other.
They fell silent at the sound of the bell across the farm. Eric and Ginger exchanged looks, both knew what that meant. "Roll-call," they said. The beige rooster rose up straight and gave the red hen a shy smile. "See you later, doll-face." she waved vaguely at him as a reply and started to run to her Mom's hut.
She pulled the rope to open the door, and inside stood her mother and stared at her daughter surprised. "Ginger? What have you've been doing out so early?" Ginger shrugged. "Don't know. I maybe felt like doing it," she said in a cold toned voice and walked past her mother. Lucy felt the scent of male coming from Ginger, she frowned suspiciously at her. "You smell male. Have you been with a rooster lately?" she asked and placed her hands on the hips.
Ginger frowned to her mother. "What? You think I had something naughty with him just because of being outside this morning?"
"I didn't say that, did I?" Lucy asked calmly.
"No, but it sounded like it! And for your information so, yes I have been with a rooster this morning,"
Lucy's eyes widened.
"But we are friends! And by the way, I can have it if I want it or not!"
Lucy noticed a hen passing through their house, and she closed the door. "Listen to me, Ginger. You are young, far too young to loose the most valuable thing you have!" Ginger's cheeks burned of fury. "I'm not a baby, Mum! Can't I do something without you being over my shoulder all the time?"
Lucy sighed. "I'm asking you; what were you doing outside this morning?"
Ginger climbed up onto her bed and folded her arms with a frown, remaining silent.
"Ginger!" Lucy demanded.
"I was just outside with my friends, and then I met Eric and we were just talking. Please leave me alone now!" she turned over in her bed as a signal to Lucy to not come any closer.
"That Eric is not faithful. I've known him since he barely could walk without falling down from his nest."
"So did I!" Ginger shouted. "What are you trying to do? Choose my friends?! If Eric is so 'dangerous', maybe Bunty, Babs and Mac are too? Are you just going to lock me out every night just because I wanna spend time with my friends? Just because YOU think Eric and the other roosters can't control themselves!"
Lucy had no answer. She was stunned at her daughter's but were too mad to keep arguing knowing it wouldn't lead to anywhere. I have a feeling this wont end well if she keeps being such a rebel, her mother thought as she glanced up at Ginger's bed.
Lucy walked to the door ready to go for roll-call, but before she went out she took one last peek at Ginger, "I will be back soon, don't go anywhere, missy"
Ginger groaned to herself, angry to hear her mother's voice and mumbled "Yeah, yeah, just go already."
Her mother sighed and walked out to line up with the other hens for the daily roll call.
