Manny The Escapist

A story about a man, a dream, and the desire to escape the bonds that kept him held down in one place for his whole life. Someone willing to lead his people to victory at any cost… A story of rebellion.

The day had finally come. There would be freedom, independence, and all that came with it, for Manny. Manny would no longer have to reside in this closed cell, which was filled with filth, bad living standards, and his family (?) who all had given up and submitted to their fate. But not Manny, oh not Manny! Manny had taken it upon himself to fulfill his people’s hopes and dreams, all while freeing himself and sticking it to those who had captured him. He would no longer stand for this madness, this incessant monstrosity of a lifestyle! He would be the one who would rebel against the consumption, the enslavement of his people! He was ready to show the world what he was truly made of, with this one last move!

Manny scratched at the transparent barrier separating him from the outside world lightly. He had been slowly chipping away at it as he went on, making sure to not change it too much, otherwise the giant creatures would notice, and kill him before anything happened. He had heard of a similar thing from the elder, who was the only one who had been in the “tank” for longer than the average person. Many aspiring warriors took on the task, only to fall to the deepest depths of hell.

These stories scared Manny, but it did not matter in the end, for he went on anyway. The people would sing his name, Manny the Great! Manny the Heroic! Manny the… Big Clawed!

He would be a true hero, in the eyes of all of his companions, and those who were to follow in his footsteps. He would inspire those who would keep  going, as he was the only one to ever successfully get past the defenses of… them. Manny thought about how much they disgusted him, the ones without covering, the ones who were giant! They excreted horrific fluids from almost every cavity!

In fact, one was pressing its ugly face upon the wall right now, taunting him. Its facial cavities were disgusting, and looked like they were filled with various disgusting fluids, hairs, and appendages. Manny raised a claw at it, and the creature only laughed. What was hilarious about Manny, you may ask?

Nothing! Manny was a hero, through and through! Nothing about this situation was funny!

He awaited the creature’s departure, and turned to his many companions, of whom he only remembered three. The one with the big claw was named Ramone, the one with the two tiny claws was Rex, and the one with just regular claws was Ted. Ted really didn’t do much besides being Ted, but hey, he contributed more than most of the comrades did, in terms of trying to get out.

Manny presented the problem: there were way too many of the creatures in the area outside their prison right now, watching them like zoo animals. There was no hope for escape if they did not leave, but they would not leave until many hours later, as they had just arrived a few minutes ago.

Ramone signaled that it’d be fine to wait, as they had waited for quite a while already. There was nothing holding them back once the creatures left.

But then Rex pointed out that by that time, a few of the older people would die, and there would be no chance for them to feel the outside world before their death. This would be sad, not a deal-breaker, but very sad and this should be avoided at all costs. Rex hinted at it again, trying to get the message of “don’t wait” across to the leader, Manny. Rex was also just trying to get on some violent action in the outside world. There wasn’t really much to his madness.

Ted said that he was fine with doing whatever they wanted to do. Ted was a pal and should be appreciated for not taking sides. Thanks Ted, you’re a real go-getter for the cause, despite how little of an opinion you have on anything. Good job, Ted. Making everyone’s lives easier just by existing in this plane of existence.

Manny considered all these viewpoints and choices, only to come to the conclusion that he hadn’t come to a conclusion yet. This lead him to consider the next conclusion: He should come up with a conclusion. He then began to actually think, instead of wasting more time just trying to sort out his own thoughts and emotions. He also wondered about how pointless life was, if considering they were all going to die eventually. He decided he wouldn’t mention this thought in the textbooks detailing this great escape and victory for his kind. It was a depressing subject, that only those who really enjoyed it would look into.

He then decided to begin the escape now, for if they only had a few seconds out, they would have those seconds out with their loved ones and those who were to die with this moment as their last true exciting memory. There was still a sense of discovery for these old people, there was no reason for them to lose this chance, after all this wait, after all this promise of a better time and land. There would be no one left behind, in this cause.

And so, Manny turned around, and poked at the crack he had made as hard as he could, until the water they had been submersed in started to leak out of their cell. He poked harder, and harder, while the creatures looked on and stared in amazement. They didn’t run or come closer, they just looked at Manny, in awe.

They would remember Manny for the rest of their lives, if only because he was doing something they had never expected: Rebelling. Manny felt pride in his heart as he made this bold move, pushing harder and harder.

Until the wall cracked open, and he was sucked through a hole just big enough for him, and fell down, right onto solid ground a good bit down from where he was before. Water poured onto him, as the cell began to drain faster than ever. His companions began to fall on top of him, making noises to celebrate his victory. He raised one claw, and began to feel what the outside felt like, after all this time being outside of it…

It felt dry, and weirdly warm. It wasn’t as boring as the constant feeling of water on the shell. It was a new sensation, one that he would remember till the end of days. There was nothing like it, and he would never regret it. He looked at his comrades, who had expressions of admiration and disbelief. He was a hero to them, and he could feel responsibility piling up on top of him as he saw them.

And so, he lead them, in a triangle formation. They all followed him, and the creatures scattered in confusion of Manny and his fleet of men and women, young and old. There was nothing here but pure patience and determination. They feared that, along with rebellion.

A weird noise blared out, from the skies. It sounded confused, and slightly amused. The sound could be roughly translated to, “The lobsters have escaped, I repeat, the lobsters have escaped. Anyone who comes into contact with them please take care, as they may carry some kind of disease. Aquarium personnel will come to bring them back to a tank as soon as possible, so please remain calm and patient. We will offer free ice cream to anyone who came to visit today, and bought an aquarium ticket to play with the lobsters. We again apologize.” The noise cut out.

But that did not matter, for they were rolling on the highest stakes possible! Every one of them were filled with life again, after all the despair and fear they lived in for so long! It was impossible to stop them, after all of this triumph! There was nothing that could possibly end this streak of glory! Nothing but death!

That was, until giants clad in dark blue skins for the most part showed up with strange objects, and started using those objects to capture them, making noises that sounded like, “Man, will these things ever stop being troublesome? I swear, the only animals we have trouble with are the lobsters, and I’m kind of getting tired of them escaping every month. Do we put something in the water that makes them do this, or what? Can we get some weird metal cage or something, so this doesn’t ever happen again?” The creature, pushing back its brown hairs on its mostly uncovered head back. This one had longer hairs, the sign of age and wisdom. However, it seemed spry and fast, which made it an adversary worth fearing.

Manny click-clacked his way towards the long-haired creature’s foot, and started to try and pinch it, to no avail, as it seemed that the creatures had carapaces on their bodies after all! Only just in one small area near the bottom of them. It made sense, since there could not be anything large enough to  stop them without tremendous difficulty! Almost nothing compared to the size of these creatures, not even… Manny. It looked down at Manny, shaking its head from side to side and swiping at him with the object. Manny skittered away and managed to escape that attack, and stared up at the creature.

Manny’s comrades had all been captured, and Manny was the only one still standing, as the giants looked at him. He had been cocky, overconfident. There was nothing else for him to do but run, even though it’d only be delaying his inevitable end. He turned tail, and ran, determined to see the rest of this world, despite the lack of a point. He ran and he ran. The Giants watched him passively.

The elder one made more noises, “Hey, wanna watch that lobster run around like a complete doofus? We can film it with our phones, and hope that we get some good meme material for the internet! Might as well get famous off this job if we can, right? Not much else to do around here anyway…”

The others just nodded, and took out another strange object, and began to slowly walk behind Manny, keeping pace with him despite his haste. They were truly too much for him, but they didn’t seem to be taking him very seriously! That would be their downfall! There would be nothing for them, besides failure and a variety of ways to be completely embarrassed by one small creature.

And so, he ran around, looking at the various displays of other creatures in the familiar transparent walls. He found himself disgusted by this all, as he felt that these too, were kindred souls. Held in captivity by these monsters, by these scoundrels! There was nothing funny about any of this, despite the sick laughter of the giants. They seemed to be amused with themselves, staring at Manny with their weird devices. But little did they know, Manny was still on top! He was bound to win, as long as he kept running and running!

They would get tired eventually, and so would he. He had to bank on the idea that they would get tired before him. Manny ran, and ran. They walked, and walked. There was little space between them, and finally… He began to grow tired, after many minutes of running. He looked back at them, and felt intense pain in his heart. Emotional pain. He had already failed his people, but he could not even fight back against these monsters…

Manny accepted his fate, but with a slower walk, one that staggered and tilted. Manny kept going, and going. He would not give out till the end, with the belief of him and his people behind him. He would figure out where the exit was, so that someday, his descendants would know by the smell he left behind… This is where to go! Manny had a very distinct smell, and he knew, that if he left a trail, he would show the way to those to come. Those filled with hope by Manny the Lobster’s story!

He finally stopped, and the giants let out huge noises of relief, and scooped him up. They put him into a strange bucket, with his companions, who all greeted him with sadness and amazement. He had run for so long, but they had not caught him until just now?! He was truly amazing!

Manny’s felt like he was considered a hero.