...
Kinski's eyes adjusted to the darkness as he was led all the way to the bottom of the hold and found himself in a place that held the non-evolved animals like javelinas and goats. Instead of seeing those kinds of animals, he saw animals that he had never even knew existed and were very strange looking.
One was very big and covered in fur but looked like a pig with horse legs. The other one in the next stall had white feathers and a huge beak. It eyed Kinski and squacked loudly. The others in the stables roared or made strange noises as Hugo and Kinski walked past them.
The place reeked of sea water, mud, and rotten food. Sea water sloshed in the boat, possibly from cracks in the ship or open windows. The murky water was up to Kinski's shins and was icy cold. The rows of wooden stables were rotting away, and the heavy iron locks that hung from the doors kept the things inside; but even with just a couple pushes, the creatures could escape.
"Meet yer new family, freak," said Hugo in German as he shoved Kinski into one of the huge empty stables and locked the door behind the boy. Kinski was soaked to the bone when he made contact with the water. He shivered as he climbed up on a box that sat in the corner of the stable and was above the water. A couple of holes were seen above Kinski's head, and brought in streams of sunlight, illuminating the hunchback rabbit.
Kinski sat down on top of it and hugged his legs. He turned his head and watched as Hugo walked away from the stables and back up the rotten wooden steps. Kinski lowered his head into his knees and began to cry.
Suddenly, Kinski heard a voice near him. "Don't cry, young one. It's ok," said the voice, which was female. Kinski slowly lifted his head and turned to where the voice came from. Kinski could make out dark figures in the darkest parts of the stable. He trembled as one of the figures moved and Kinski could make out what it was.
It was a girl. She appeared just before the light, as if she was afraid of touching it. She had short black hair that was neatly combed, and had strange dark colored eyes that were small and almond shaped. She was a yellow and light pink spotted colored lizard in a tattered dirty white dress.
She smiled at Kinski. "Wie ist Ihr Name?" she asked. Kinski didnt say anything. The girl narrowed her eyes a bit in confusion. "I could've sworn Hugo was speaking German to him," she said. "It was German, you twit. He's just really scared right now!" said another female voice, similar to the lizard girl.
Kinski felt his heart stop when another head appeared, attached to the lizard girl's. The girl looked very similar to the first lizard girl, except her black hair was pulled into a ponytail. They came out into the shafts of sunlight that poured into the stable and revealed themselves. Kinski's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened in horror. They were conjoined Siamese twins.
The lizard girl with the ponytail frowned a bit at Kinski. "Now look. He's terrified," she said in a firm tone and turned her head away from her sister angrily. The other one stared at Kinski with a look of sympathy. "Aw, I'm sorry-" "Dont be sorry! Why are you always sorry?! He's just like us too!" the other one shouted.
"Hey, Rin! don't yell at Quin. She's your sister. You two should get along," said another voice. Kinski watched as another dark figure from the shadows emerged. Kinski gasped and began to breathe heavily as the dark figure rose up, and up and up till it almost touched the rotting ceiling in the hold.
The figure came out next to The Siamese twins. He was a really tall African wild dog with dish-like round ears and a tattered wet, grey shirt with holes in a couple areas. His pants were sewn pieces of fabric and were held up by a length of rope. His fur was patches of reds, browns, blacks and whites. He loomed over Kinski, who began to shake at the sight of him and rolled up into a ball.
The rude female lizard head, named Rin, rolled her eyes at the tall, African wild dog. "Oh please, Azi. You dont even know what it's like to even have a sibling! and you are lucky to never had one! I wish I had your luck!" Quin's eyes began to fill up with tears.
"Now you are just saying that, Rin!" she cried and wiped her eyes with the back of her left hand. Azi went down on his knees and placed a hand on Quin's shoulder and tried to comfort her. Rin just sighed angrily and turned her head away from the two.
Kinski stared at the freaks in fear. They were very strange; more strange- looking than himself. Quin noticed him shaking and tried to come up to him, but Kinski moved away. He jumped off the box he was sitting on and splashed through the water to the other side of the stable where it was dark.
"Wait! Hold on little guy! I just want to talk," she said in Kinski's language. Kinski stopped and stayed in the shadows. He kept his eyes on them. He pulled out his jacks and fumbled with them nervously. Azi, the giant wild dog, looked down at Quin, who was starting to have more tears run down her pale cheeks.
"I'll try talking to him," he told her in another language Kinski didnt understand. Quin looked up to the African wild dog and nodded her head. Rin kept glaring at the cracked, dirty wall on the other side. Azi stayed on his knees, making him half his original height, and gradually made his way to the little hunchback. His knees were wet and caked with mud when he stopped in front of Kinski's cowering body.
Azi smiled a small smile, not showing any teeth. "Hallo, mein Name ist Azikiwe, but you can call me Azi," said Azi. Kinski stared up at the African wild dog named Azi. Azi continued. "What is your name?" he asked. Kinski looked down at himself and sighed. "Kinski," he said. Azi smiled.
"You dont need to be afraid, Kinski. We are all nice here, and we all consider each other as family," said the African wild dog. Kinski looked over at the two headed lizard before looking back at Azi and nodding his head silently. Quin smiled a small smile and tried walking up to Kinski, but Rin fought against her. Kinski stared at the creatures.
Quin stopped and introduced herself from where she and her conjoined sister stood. "I'm Quin, and this is my sister, Rin," she said. Kinski continued to stare. Rin looked away angrily, and Quin stared back at the hunchback.
"Where do you come from?" she asked. Kinski thought of the orphanage and turned his head away. Kinski huddled close to the rotting, damp wall in the shadows. He didnt want to talk to them. He just wanted to be left alone. He pulled out his jacks from his pocket and began to fumble with them in his little hands. Azi turned back to Quin.
"Let's leave him alone for now," he said. Quin's eyes filled up with tears but she nodded her head and she and her sister walked away. Azikiwe got up and followed after the siamese twins, leaving Kinski alone with his game in the darkness...
