Attack of the Tortoises

Oh! It was awful! There we were, at the zoo... and and and.. they were everywhere! With their huge claws and their beady eyes. Tortoises were swarming all over the place; attacking people left and right! It was utter carnage!

I tried to run away, but there were so many people with the same idea. It was a mad rush for the only exit to the zoo. But everywhere the little green monsters were overtaking helpless victims and slaughtering them! You've never seen anything like it. I will try to describe one of the scenes that's still vivid in my mind.

This man -- he was in his mid-thirties I'd guess -- was trying to out-run one of the tortoises. He was dressed in casual slacks and a button-down dress shirt. You know, the sort of thing you'd expect from a casual businessman. Well, he was trying to outrun one of the hard-shelled beasts and he tripped over a rock that was in the path. He fell to one knee, and was just about to get up to sprint off again when the tortoise leaped up from behind him and landed squarely in the small of the man's back. You could tell the breath was knocked right out of him. I mean, this wasn't the largest turtle in the pack, but he still must have weighed at least 30 lbs. The turtle hurtled itself at the man to knock him flat to the ground, and then it proceeded to tear at the man's flesh! Oh!!! It was horrible! You've never seen anything like it.

There must have been thousands of tortoises there. The hundred or so poor soul that were trapped at the zoo didn't stand a chance against the horde of ancient creatures. They're normally so docile, so peaceful. But something must have roused their anger for them to revolt like that. I hear they killed every human in the zoo -- even the keepers who so lovingly took care of them for so many years.

Right now there is a small army of police and guardsmen in riot gear trying to secure the zoo. But I hear their casualties are pretty high. I can image this war will only get worse once the turtles manage to unleash the rest of poor caged creatures. I shudder to think of what will happen to our militia when that happens.

Right now I am just thankful I am alive. The only way I managed to escape was to climb a tree near the outer fences of the zoo. As I climbed the tree, I could hear the screams of the people who were too slow to scamper up my blessed tree. Many of the perished right there at my feet -- slain by the monstrous reptile aggressors. I couldn't do anything to save them! Then, just when I thought I was safe, the tortoises began gnawing at the base of the tree! They were trying to cut it down with their strong jaws! I felt like I was going to die in that horrible zoo at the hands of these creatures. So I climbed as fast and as high as I could. Once I felt the tree begin to sway (they had almost finished chewing through the small sapling), I leaped over to the fence -- just barely clearing it. I was safe! But I could swear that the turtles on the other side were watching me...knowing they would get me some time in the future. Oh! The look in their cold, dead eyes was terrible! It was like looking into the very pits of Hell. The eyes! I'll never forget the eyes....