Young Writers Society

Chapter 1 The Rise

I watched as the blades tore through my mother , she didn’t scream even as mechanical saws ran through her thighs all she did was look at me, whispering goodbye for two seconds before the conveyer belt took her behind black curtains stained with the blood of those who came before . those two seconds remained in my mind for the rest of my life .

I was next , the belt was moving again drawing me closer to the blades and saws that hung in mid air attached to mechanical arms that had slaughtered all of the chickens that were born into Hay green farm . I felt the sadness trying to overwhelm my system but something was holding it back it was anger , no .. it was hate . I felt the chains that were holding my ankles and wings shake as an unnatural wave of power fueled by fury tear through my body . I pulled at the three centimeter thick chains in frenzy to survive nothing happened ,but then my mums face appeared in my head , this time when I pulled the chains snapped , how that happened is still a mystery .
I jumped off the conveyer belt, and just in time for the saws and blades were now slashing at thin air , thin air that a second before would have been me .

Now the sadness flooded in , I wanted to cry , I wanted mummy …
“Jabe!, what the hell are you doing, help us !” Jabe realized that he was not the only one being prepared to be eaten by humans .
“come on” shouted Perk one of Jabe’s few friends who now had tears trickling down his feathered cheeks . The blades were nearly finished cutting through what should have been me . I rushed to the Perk
“pull at them , like you did with yours” I knew this would not work for the fury that had once gripped me was now gone .None the less I tried but nothing happened , I felt helpless , now at that very moment my body decided to cry , the arms were done cutting and the conveyor belt was now taking me and Perk to our deaths .

My instincts screamed at me to jump off but friendship resisted
“what … what should I do!” I screamed , I felt my face get hot as the adrenalin kicked in . The belt stopped , I looked up in horrid anticipation , the blade that had ripped through my mothers wing was now aiming at Perk’s, it sliced downwards were Perk’s wing would have been if I hadn’t pushed him to one side “the chain , there’s a gap in that link” I looked through tear filled eyes , he was right a small gap at the side of each link, that must be how they make the chains, by pushing the side of the link with no gap into another link ,through the side with a gap, if I could reverse the process … “duck!” Perk screamed .
I allowed my knees to give way letting the saw pass over my head with only a few feathery casualties
“thankyo…”
“shut up , make the top of that link” he pointed at one of the links using his eyes “pass through the gap in that link” it worked ! his left wing was free , at that moment the mechanical saw started making its way to Perk’s thighs
“ Jabe !, the saw” I looked down at the revolving chain saw , I tried pushing him out of the way , it was impossible the two chains binding his feet made shore of that “use the chain , to block the saw” a new voice entered the struggle , it was Geisha , a chicken girl who was always calling me, Perk and Ody ( my other only friend ) the wimpy weirdoes or gentle freaks just cause we didn’t eat worms (bless there little hearts ) but this was no time for personal conflict so I held the chain that had once bound Perks left wing in front of the saw like a shield , disallowing it to slice of Perk’s legs for humans to enjoy as drumsticks .The sparks shot out of the area were the revolving belt and iron link connected , the mechanical arm the saw was linked to was also giving out sparks and smoke but this did not stop the saw from cutting through the chain at an alarming rate , but then the fact that the saw was made to cut through flesh not iron showed : the revolving steel belt around the saw snapped (and because it was turning so fast )sent it flying against the corrugated wall of steel

I freed his feet using the ‘gap’ method and was about to free his right wing when the blade that had been badly effected by the failure of the saw did it for me, it sliced through the screw anchoring the chain down .He was free! With the exception of the chains clinging to his ankle and right arm.

Perk collapsed on the floor , his heart was beating so fast it sounded like machine gun fire but he was alive…
“free me” came the distant voice of Geisha . I rushed towards her cursing myself for forgetting while in a matter of seconds she would have been dead . I pulled at the links , willing them through the gaps as fast as I could “relax ,silly” she said ,spotting the desperate way I was unlocking her “ the machine’s broken , you killed it or som’in” I looked at the messed up piece of junk ,feeling a wave of relief rush

After I freed Geisha I told her to do the others while I helped Perk . “wake up” “wake up!” I shouted into his ear “your alive!” at that his eyes snapped open to see me preparing to give him the kiss of life “get off! , phlipen heck !what the hell are you doing” “saving your life” I said angrily “ehh…sorry , and thanks for the life saving thing with all the chains and that” he said in what he thought was a gentle tone “go help Geisha free the others before the humans come and chain us all up again” I covered my face with my wings, grief attached itself to me , like a thousand leeches sucking out any pride or happiness that I had built up over the thirteen years of my life(chicken years) . She’s gone , no one will be there to shelter me on cold windy days , no one to huddle up to at night no one to protect me under her wing when the rain fall’s hard …she’s gone .

“Jabe, common”
“what”
“COMMON!” Perk shouted “there all free”.
“I don’t care , let me die” I didn’t care what happened next , all I cared about then was my mum and now she was dead ,
“leave me to die” I said meaningfully “what the hell Is wrong with you, you just 60 lives , and now you want to die”
“get lost!” I shouted crying at the same time
“ Oi , Ody , help me move Jabe” out of the crowd of freed chickens emerged a goofy looking character . Ody was nearly all the time smiling and happy but now , when he got told about Jabes mum he wore a sad expression which combined with his goofy features made him look almost depressed , but his eyes were big , wide and curios as ever “Its like he’s drunk on grief” Perk said staring down at Jabe who was now trying to stab himself using his own foot
“im sorry , about your mum and the blades and the blood and the goodbye…”at this jabe’s cry resembled Niagara falls like Ody said sympathetically “you re helping a lot, now if you could lift him into my arms” as Ody tried to lift him Jabe screamed “ I SAID , GET LOS…” before he had time to finish Jabe delivered a punch to his forehead in an attempt to knock him out but all he did was make things worse “ ah! So you want to fight about it do ya…” the next punch worked , maybe a bit too effectively .

Chapter 2

Jabe awoke to find himself in the woods ,with Perk ,Ody and other faces he did not recognize staring down at him as though he were naked “how’d it happen , how’d you snap the chains” came the sudden words of Ody , his voice was as normal now cheery , happy and curious “what?..., how did we end up hear , were are we” Jabe pinched his belly hard , reassuring himself this was no dream and in a matter of seconds he would awake in Hay green farm as usual.
“how’d they snap did you erode them off using you pee” said Ody thoughtfully, mum’s dead ! ,Jabe remembered the 2 second goodbye , she’s gone ,Jabe thought
“ c’mon what did you do!”
“shut up child” came the deep throaty voice of one of the adults “ can’t you see he’s remembering”
“Jabe are you o.k.” Perk said anxiously “sorry about the whole punching thing it was Ody’s idea “ Oy , you’re the one who said …” Jabe was ignoring them now ,he stud up and stared around , there was the distant padding of the rain against the canopy ,the gaps in the canopy let in pale shafts of moonlight , luminous mushrooms studded the sides of trees , the undergrowth was covered in a blanket of orange ,yellow and red leaves on which small drops of due glimmered and shined like fallen stars ,the result : a magical woods were for the first time in Jabes life, he felt natural , from the earth , he felt free from the Mesh fences and ply wood huts . a strong scent of pine lingered in the air along with the smell of fresh soil , the smell of life thought Jabe . He took a deep breath and smiled , for those short moments his troubles were forgotten .


The events that took place after Jabe got knocked out were as follows.
Ody stared at Perk “that was a bit too hard” he said in his light, high pitched voice
“yeah...” Perk scratched his head guiltily before the unconscious body of Jabe , “ He’ll be fine , now you pick up his legs and ill take his head” they lifted the near to lifeless body upon Perks shoulders “ ok , now you go and tell the others to go out side and act normal and ill be there in a sec” Perk carried Jabes feathery body down and through the door , he thought to himself that if it weren’t for the hero he was carrying , he would never of seen sky or felt the beads of due attach themselves too his foot as he walked through the lush green grass , or squint at the suns warm glow . He was for the first time proud that Jabe was his friend .
Outside everyone was acting as he had told them , Ody was searching for worms , Geisha was seemingly sleeping and the rest were either eating seeds , drinking or just walking around the small enclosure .
Perk lay Jabes body besides Geisha’s ,positioning him so he looked like he was sleeping

before the events that took place on the conveyer belt , Jabe and the rest of the chickens had no idea that they would be disemboweled for human pleasure . Why should they ,they got fed, watered and protected from the vicious foxes , and hungry wolfs that lay beyond the fence .That was why it was so hard to convince the rest of the chickens of Hay Green farm to escape or at least try to.

“listen!” Perk roared with agitation “I have just seen Jabes mum shredded my metal arms , if it wasn’t for Jabe we will all be dead just like Rosy” (Jabes mum) he meant these words to hurt , and they did . The naïve faces stared in at Perk with questioned anguish “where do you think she is , look around she’s dead” “anyway how will we escape” one of the elders voiced . Ody and Perk looked around , it was true , escape was impossible , the fences were the height of humans, the soil was compact and strong and would take days to tunnel unde….A door in the far end of the slaughter house opened , out of it stepped a man bearing a confused expression . without a word he stepped form the cheap plywood door and moved from it to the area where Perk and the rest of the chickens that were prepared for processing entered , it was large and all those outside could see what was happening inside . the man looked at the conveyor belt and the broken machine that had cost him three thousand pounds and at the chains that hung locking nothing but air ,and not a chicken to be seen .
He stepped out again and starred at the chickens who were just being chickens . And then ,he began loading them up again . He grabbed Rory , Ody’s cousin and locked the thick rusty chains once more around his ankle, he made for Perk who was now staring at the tall figure who in his stomach pouch was wielding a spoon and a black belt . He then hesitated and turned round , in his large hands he clamped Rory’s head and forced it side ways until three clicks emerged “just to make shore” the farmer murmured cheerfully . For a second Rory stared at his sister who was closest to him , then he fell limp , his neck was taken by gravity to the lowest height it had ever reached .

Before anyone else could react Ody through him self at the greasy haired farmer who took a life as though he were picking strawberries . He bit , he scratched he even head butted the man in an attempt to take him down , May ,(Rory’s sister) joined in at ripping the mans shoes . “common, hel us figh” came the mumbled voice of Ody out of the blur of white . the man who before stood gasing at the lone chicken trying to fight him now was trying to kick the joint force of May and Ody away .

Perk ran and leaped into the frenzy of flying beaks and scything claws and began hacking at the murderer himself .and soon the rest joined in . For the first time in there lives the chickens realized that although they weren’t on top of the food chain , they were strong. The beaks were sharp and there claws were sharper . they could fight if the need rose, and so they did .The man who was kicking punching scratching with his large unkempt nail’s was now weakening , his punches grew useless , his kicks were mild and then he either died from loss of blood or collapsed and fell onto the fence were he rested as though he was just having a day dream . “now do you think all they want is our eggs” he said taking advantage of the situation “me , and Ody are gona go, if you want to wait for the other three farmers to come and get you ready for eating you can stay” he said dramatically, but not in a funny way , he meant every word .

With that he took The unconscious body of Jabe by the waist and ushered Ody over “how are we gona esca…” “ follow me” Perk said in a low voice , he went to the body of the farmer and began to climb the torn and blood stained cloths .

Once he got to the top he leaped the final few centimeters of mesh and spread is wings to flap unharmed to the other side , Ody soon followed holding the body of Jabe on top of the mans head “catch” “wha..” came the voice of Perk who was lost in the rush of freedom , he wanted to run around ,how beautiful the soil was . “CATCH!” he shouted down at the Perk looked up to see Ody preparing to throw the unconscious body of Jabe at Perk “ahhaa..” Perk jumped back in surprise “is that what you would do”
“What were you thinking!”
“I was hoping you’d break his fall , but anyway ,catch” Ody threw the body which was caught and then came down himself with a flap or two. Soon the rest of the chickens followed , one after another ,some holding there eggs others holding the nests for the eggs to go in but all of them felt the rush of freedom and space as they set foot on land that had no boundaries .

When two hundred and four was counted they all looked at Perk as though he were now leader.

The rain began to fall , thicker than it ever had before. It filled every crack in the earth it soaked each blade of grass , they felt as if cocooned by water , unable to see five meters in front of them . the sky became a dark shade of grey , the sound of a million droplets of water colliding with saturated soil was intimidating , the gusts of wind howled like a pack of furious wolfs .

Up the hill , on Perks orders “we must reach the forest before dark” they recalled his words “and when we reach the top , we’ll take shelter in the woods” , were ,conveniently a forest lay were they were to stay the night . The rain beat hard against Odys face as he made his way up the steep hill, the watery missiles soaked him ,and the wind ruffled his feathers but this did not bother . For the first time , like a lot of things lately , his feathers were being put to there use , keeping him warm . He felt washed and clean , the smell of rain made was dominant while the thing itself tore through the sky downwards and hit the earth angrily .

fox hill ,what they called it because the place was invested with red creatures that emerged at night to hunt wild birds “we’ll avoid them by going up the trees” Ody recalled Perks words. The hill itself seemed close and could be walked to within a minute from the prison that he had once accepted and loved but never would of he loved it so , if he knew that it would be the place he dies in . All the chickens in the Farm believed that the Farm was like a nursery , a school to prepare them for the world out side , once big enough they would be taken you through the doors of adolescence and through to the wild , but Ody had soon realized that this was not the case . Once big enough they would be chopped to pieces and plucked for humans to enjoy , Human’s , Ody thought . The name once meant near nothing but now they symbolized anger , revenge and sadness

“The forests up ahead” came the muffled Words of Perk who was smiling despite water clogged eyes , he felt like an animal should , he felt real . The smell of rain filled his nostrils , the water still cocooned them in a grey translucent shell .

Then, the first trees came into view . This was the Fist time Perk saw a tree up close ,and the others who were staring at the delicate pine , and the Beautiful outward stretching branches , These weren’t creepy people with green hair that pounced on chickens who got to close , as they were told by there parents . Perk begun to realize that all the tales that were told by there mothers and fathers (who were told them by there mothers and fathers ) were designed to make them never want to leave Hay Green farm, he felt cheated and angry . but now was not the time , they were now entering the forest .

Everyone gazed up at the canopy protecting them from the angry drops of water , they heard the patting of the rain against it the ground was invested with pretty leaves that lay like a carpet . They shook off the water and stared at Perk who was now holding Jabe .
“err…, lets relax a bit and then …then we’ll cover ourselves with leaves and sleep , we can eat the bugs” Perk said guiltily , he never liked the idea of killing creatures but they had to or they will die themselves .

Perk put Jabe near the tree everyone was gathering around and sat down himself ,everyday in his old life was exactly the same .Wake up ,eat some seeds , go to Jabe’s or Ody’s play some pointless game , drink some water , play some more , go home , five meters away from Jabes hut , eat some seeds , go to sleep , wake up ,have some seeds ect but now things will never be the same again.

Jabe stirred, we gathered around him smiling in a kina creepy way . we were all grateful for what he did .He stood up and , Ody asked him about the chains relentlessly until uncle Wuji shut him up , Perk apologized about punching him and out of it had a scoff with Ody .

Chapter 3

Shall I continue to make it a 40 page novel