They heard the keys jangle as she rushed into the bedroom. She looked tired and preoccupied; she wanted to rest but still had much to do. She dropped her backpack on the floor as if she had forgotten her laptop. She’s home alone, she realizes when she notices the empty, undone bed.
“God damn it! He didn’t do the bed again!”
She sighs as she heads toward the bed, and throws her body on the bed. She stares at the ceiling for a good five minutes. The house is quiet. She closed her eyes but quickly opened them when she heard a noise. She rolls over on her stomach. 

A Strange Noise

“Well, hello, Bonnie. You look thicker than ever. So juicy I could eat you for New Year’s.”
Bonnie stares cautiously as she watches her on the bed.
“What are you saying, you blob of fat? Come say it to my face!”
She wants to pick Bonnie up, but this means that she has to get out of the comfortable bed.
“Do you want some lunch, Bonnie? But you are lunch.”
She chuckles as she stares at their cage. 
“Where is the rest of your gang?”
Bonnie continued to stare at her deep into her eyes, almost to the point of reading her soul (which would have been a good thing because that way, Bonnie would know that she just joking about eating her.
“Mom will be there soon to clean all your poop, and then you will get some dinner. Mommy needs to rest for a few more minutes.”

A War In Sight

She rolled back on her back and closed her eyes again. She put an alarm for ten minutes before she dozed off.
“Alright, listen up, peeps. You heard the woman earlier. You all know what they are planning. Especially now with the holidays coming up. It explains why they have been overfeeding us.”
“They have been giving us too much food because we yell every time we hear a bag opened up.”
“Shut up, Mom, that’s not the point.”
“Mom is right, tough. Plus, they don’t force us to eat. You are the one who is constantly snacking, Bonnie.”
“Shut the fuck up, Chewy! I was born first, so you will listen to what I say. All of you will listen. That is if you want to survive this. We still have seven days, and we must devise a plan.”
“Honey, what is your daughter babbling about? Is she on something?”
“Excuse me, Hazel, but I will not allow you to talk ill about my daughter.”
“Yes, thank you, mom. And Hazel, do I need to remind you that you aren’t my dad? You’re just my stepdad, and you have no right.”
“You ungrateful bitch, after all that he’s done for you. For us!For this family!”
“That is enough! I no longer want to hear you all fight. And Bonnie, please stop it with this nonsense right now!”
“Mom, I’m telling you I’ve been observing them both for a while now, and they have some ill intentions with us. Do you know that we are considered a delicacy in some countries?”
“Bonnie, I always knew you weren’t that intelligent, but today, you have proved to be a complete nincompoop. As a brother, I must tell you what an idiot you are. Besides, they don’t even eat Guinea pigs in Aruba.”
“It’s okay. You all can laugh now, but I will have the last laugh.”
“You better behave, Bonnie, or they will only bring us leftovers at night. Remember the last time you wheeked too hard, and you scarred her?”
“Mom, please.”

Sleep, interrupted

“BING, BING, BING!”
“What was that mom?”
“I don’t know Chewy, but it sounds familiar. Don’t be scared. Mom is here.”
“Honey, I think that is just her alarm. You know, to wake her up.”
“Nobody asked you, fake dad!”
“Bonnie, control yourself!”
“Mom, I’m telling you they are up to something. We must act now or else!”
She was forced to get up because of her responsibilities. She just started picking up the clothes on the floor when she heard the door open.
“Run for your lives!”
“Bonnie, enough with this nonsense. Stop being so dramatic.”
He approached their cage and picked up Honey.
“Mmmmm! Oh no. He took mom.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying. Those people are going to eat us alive or hurt us. We must do something.”
“Kids, he always picks up Honey. You will see your mother back in just a minute.”
“I told you to stay out of this. You aren’t our dad.”
“Bonnie, be nice.”
He kneeled and carefully placed Honey back in the cage.

Act or Be Eaten

“Mom! You’re back!”
“Yes, I’m back, but… there is something I must tell you all.”
“What, Mom? What happened?
“Well, I think your sister may be right.”
“About what? About them hurting us?”
“What makes you think that mom? Why do you believe me now?”
“Well, when he held me, he whispered something strange in my ears. He said he can’t wait to eat me on New Year’s Eve.”
“Why would he say that, Mom? Do you think maybe he was…”
“Shut up, Chewy. You don’t know shit. I was right, and you should all start listening to me if you want to see 2025.”
“Bonnie, I know you don’t like to listen to me… but I think this is a huge misunderstanding. You’re making a mistake. I’ve been longer than you, and humans sometimes have this huge sense of humor.”
“Fine, then don’t listen. I will do what it takes to protect myself, my mom, and maybe Chewy. We will see.”
“What are you going to do, Bonnie?”
“You mean, what are we going to do, Mom? This will be a team effort; you will be the main key to making this work.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Well, you’re his favorite. He picks you up at least five times a day. You will help make this plan a success.”
“She’s right, Ma. He really likes you.”
“Whatever you are planning to do, leave me out of it. I have a comfortable life here and won’t risk losing it. Your mother and I didn’t have the same upbringing as you. We were never safe. It was always about surviving, and these people that you fear so much they changed that for me, for us. This is the last time that I will be rationalizing with you.”
“Oh, fuck off, Hazel. Go hide in your house. I don’t want to see your face. Ever!.”
“Bonnie, please, we are a team. If we are going to do this, we need to work together. We must communicate and treat each other with respect.”
“But mom, he…”
“No buts. We are a team. We are one! Now tell us the plan.”

One Plan, One Team

“You know that they always feed us after they have cleaned our space? Mom, tonight you will linger near him when he is cleaning. You will stare him right in his eye.”
“Yes, Mom. Stare at him like puppies do.”
“Then he will try to pick you up. You won’t let him. You will hide right under the blanket… my blanket. He will try to get you again when he thinks he got you. I will be there to attack him. I will bite him with my sharp teeth, and he will suffer. He, or should I say they, will never hurt us again.” 
“But do you think that that will be enough to scare him off? And what am I to do in the meantime?”
“Yeah, and what should I do? I want to do something, too. Mom, please tell her.”
“Listen, Chewy. Your part will be simple. You will simply be on watch duty to keep an eye on if my plan is marching accordingly. And try to keep Hazel out of our hair, too.
“Oh, come on, that’s not fair. You want to be the hero in all of this. Only you.”
“Stop it, both of you! We must prepare now. Can’t you see it’s getting dark outside? The sun is setting.”
A flowerbed explodes from the house next door. Children were awed as the colors enlightened the sky.”
“What was that mom?”
“I don’t know, Chewy, but it sure is loud.”
“We must take care of them tonight!”
“It’s just fireworks. They go through them every year. Honey, you know this. Tell your kids. It’s their first New Year.”
“It doesn’t matter, Mom. I don’t care about anything that Hazel has to say. Are you ready, Mom? It’s going to happen any minute now.”
“I am, but I’m afraid. What if our plan doesn’t work? Or if we forgot something? What if something goes horribly wrong?”
“No time to think it over. Someone is coming. Remember what I told you, Mom. You can do this.”

No Turning Back

She approached their cage and stared for a minute. 
“I’m going to clean their house today. You go start on their dinner.”
He closed the door behind him and headed towards the kitchen. 
“Alright, babies. Momma is going to get you all cleaned up. This place was starting to smell funky.”
Honey looks at her profoundly. Her heart was racing, and she was starting to panic. 
“This wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan. I-i-it was supposed to be him.”
“Honey, what’s the matter, baby? You want Mommy to hold you? I must clean first.”
Honey keeps looking. She doesn’t blink. She tries not to move or breathe. 
“Oh, alright, come here.”
In what seems to be a physical response, Honey rushes under the blanket of her daughter Bonnie. 
“You did good, Mom; now stay behind me.”
Chewy stood in the corner without a clue of what to do. He, too, got scared when he realized the plan started on the wrong foot.

Honey, where are you?

“Where did you go, Honey? Come to mommy.”
She searched under the blanket for Honey, and for a moment, she thought she had caught her.
“Oh, it’s you, Bonnie. Where did Honey go?”
“I don’t know, stupid bitch, but take this!”
Bonnie started to bite her finger as hard as she could. She thought she was doing maximum damage until she noticed her laughing.
“Bonnie, what is the matter with you? You’re tickling me.”
Bonnie was starting to get very upset.
“Oh yeah, you laughing at me bitch. I will show you!”
Bonnie jumped on her face, poking her left eyeball in the process.
“Auw, shit! Oh my gosh!”
She dropped Bonnie on the floor and could hear her squicking. She touched her eyeball to see if it was bleeding. Her head started to spin.
“This is it! Come help me. Step on the house and make a jump for it.”
Sadly, Honey wasn’t physically able to jump. Chewy made it after a few attempts.
“Grab the cord over there, Chewy, hurry.”
Chewy ran across the room to get it.
“I can’t; I’m not strong enough to get it.”
Before Bonnie could respond, they heard an intense sound. Chewy turned to see what it was.

One Body. Two Bodies.

“You did it. You got rid of that woman, Bonnie.”
‘Well, I didn’t do anything. She just fell on the floor.”
“Oh yeah? Well, is there blood coming out of her skull?”
“Blood? What? Ew.”
“You did it, sis.”
They heard the door handle before they could process what had just happened. 
“He’s coming! Hide Chewy!”

As he enters the room to see the lifeless body of his wife on the floor, he tries to make sense of it all. He’s in complete shock and can’t even manage to call his wife’s name. He lets the bowl filled with vegetables fall on the floor as he approaches the body, but doesn’t realize how much blood there is on the floor. He slipped and fell on the weights he bought his wife for Christmas. His neck snaps immediately. He, too, is on the floor now.

An Honest Mistake (for one anxious Guinea Pig)

“Oh my, did you just see that Chewy? Did you see what I did? Mom, we are going to be alright. They’re are gone now.”
“Yes, Mom. Come out now. And the best part is that dinner is already served.”
Chewy crawls on his chest to cross over to enjoy some lettuce.
“I’m coming out now; leave some dinner for Mama.”
“You three are pathetic.”
“What? Aren’t you happy, Dad? Bonnie’s plan worked. We are all safe now. You must not worry anymore.”
“Oh really? Her plan worked?”
“Yes, can’t you see? And look how happy mom is.”
“You fools! Who is going to feed us now?”
“Oh shit”
“Shit”
“FUCK!”