PANDA MYSTERY

At the bottom of a well vegetated valley in China, there lived the Chin family: Mark was the abusive father, Chiewi was the depressed, alcoholic mother, and the two neglected daughters were named Xianraia and Sichui. The Chin family lived in a small earthen abode, but not quite a hovel. The walls were made of compacted brown clay and dead grass, and the roof was made of bamboo that was woven and bound by hemp. The Chins had been through many hardships and trials, but none compared to the one they were soon to confront.
The November night was cold and seemingly calm. A small locomotive was carrying animals to the local animal rehabilitation clinic when the ???calm??? milieu shifts to a situation gone awry. As the train approaches a small wooden area, the conductor begins to relax as the end of the journey is close. But to his dismay, there was a fallen tree laying across the tracks. The coldness of the air had created moisture on the old rusted tracks, so there was not enough friction for the train to stop itself in time; the only thing the conductor could do was cling to his seat and pray. The high-pitched squealing and loud thump is all one could hear for yards. The scared animals were tossed around as the train derailed; the train seemed to be inert as it cleared a large opening in the woods. Finally, the train stopped just feet away from an icy lake.
It was morning and the rescue team had arrived. The brave crew recovered the unconscious conductor, but all of the animals had fled into the surrounding woodland. The rescue team loaded the semi-comatose conductor onto a stretcher and into the ambulance, not knowing that they were being watched.
The panda is a mysterious creature. They tend to secretly observe other life forms. A small family of pandas was being transported on the train; so when the locomotive crashed, the family fled with the other confused animals. The rescue team finally left, so the family trekked; as they trekked, they became more and more hungry. Continually they traveled and searched for food, but still none was found, and by now they were famished. It was at nightfall that the family came across the aroma of something they had been missing for hours: Food.
At the break of dawn, the pandas were overwhelmed with exhaustion, so they decided to rest in a small cave. The cave was dark and muggy. Water trickled from the top of the cave and created an echoing noise throughout. The cavern was located beneath a small nuclear power plant; the plant had been known for illegal disposal of nuclear waste, and the harmful substances were often stored within drums in the cave below. The helpless pandas did not know that the damp floor that they rested upon was covered with radioactive chemicals. Once night began to approach, the pandas awoke with thoughts of food racing through their minds like dogs chasing a rabbit.
Before they set off to find the food they had previously smelled, they cleaned their fur, feeling stranger with each passing moment. As they journeyed toward their destination, their attitudes shifted to a more savage hunger; they were transforming from the chemicals. The pandas arrived at a lush, green area between a few mountains. Excitement and rage entangled within their thoughts as they smelled the food coming from a small, dimly lit cottage. By now their mutation was complete, human food could no longer satisfy them, and now they desired only one form of sustenance: Flesh.
The Chin family was preparing for bed. Mark was scolding the children for not cleaning the kitchen after dinner, and Chiewi was eluding the situation with her endless I have NO taste in pet sitestails. Soon after, the children were in their rooms when the father flung the door open, and began verbally abusing them for touching the Rice Crispies box. Among all of the bitterness, Xianraia noticed dark figures outside of her bedroom window. Curiously Xianraia approached the window, cupping her hands around her eyes so that she could see what the silhouettes were of. Peering out of the window, she perused the yard for dark figures, but seconds later she was face to face with the creatures. She screamed and dashed into the hallway, alerting everyone else of what she had seen, but was cut off in her explanation by the clatter of shattering glass. Everyone stepped with silence as their heart sank into their lower gut.
The pandas had discovered the cottage and its residents, and now only doors were between them and what they desired. Breaking more windows and roaring with rage, the mutated pandas were forcing their way into the house. The Chin???s quivered in fear when the front door was opened with a burst. The father fled into the bathroom and locked the door, leaving the mother and daughters in danger. Chiewi grabbed her daughters and stumbled into the bedroom. They frantically looked for a hiding place as the pandas were destroying the living room, and they scurried into the closet.
The noises seemed to cease, but the mother and daughters were weary, so they stayed within the closet. Almost predictably, the father cracked the bathroom door to scout the home, and when his eyes looked through the opening, he confronted one of the beasts and stared directly into its face. The panda???s eyes were dark and ominous. Its teeth were ravenous and glowed in the dark. Its fur was laden with leaves and soil, but radiated because of the chemicals. The panda quickly gripped Mark???s head and jerked him into the living room where the others awaited. The pandas ripped his limbs apart as he screamed in agony and chanted ???why do I deserve this???? Feasting on Mark???s organs, the pandas began to lose their hunger, and their desire for flesh had departed. Realizing that they had rid their deprivation of food, the pandas were no longer ravenous; in fact, they were now thirsty.
The pandas departed from the cottage and ventured to a pond in a nearby park. The mother and children had fallen asleep in the closet, and when they awoke they found they found the house a disaster, and nothing was left of the father but his picked-over bones. Chiewi bawled at the sight of her eaten spouse, but the daughters didn???t mourn; they were unattached to their father and had not developed a relationship during the abuse. After an hour of mourning and drinking, Chiewi gathered a few of her and her daughters??? belongings and left the destroyed home. Chiewi and her daughters lived with some relatives for a few weeks until they could rent an apartment. As for the pandas, they still roam the cold, winter nights, fulfilling their hunger by feasting on bums that sleep in the park.