On Scarlet Wings

by Evan Baughfman

Three boys climbed into a zoo enclosure, stoning colourful birds with baseball-sized rocks, killing a sixteen-year-old flamingo in their attack.

The children, facing criminal charges, were ultimately exonerated due to their ages. Each boy: younger than ten.

On his sixteenth birthday, the eldest delinquent was found dead in a park, eyes gouged, corpse bruised and disembowelled.

When the next oldest turned sixteen, he was discovered, broken, at the bottom of a canyon.

The last boy also perished at sixteen. Drowned in his pool, fingers bitten free.

In the sky above each crime scene: a flamboyant flock, circling on scarlet wings.

 

Author’s note: This story is inspired by a real-life 2017 attack on flamingos at a Czech Republic zoo

Evan Baughfman

Evan Baughfman is a middle school teacher and author. Much of his writing success has been as a playwright. A number of his scripts can be found at online resources, Drama Notebook and New Play Exchange. Evan also writes horror fiction and screenplays. More information is available at amazon.com/author/evanbaughfman