The tiny animals all stood and approached the vent. The human world outside was immense and terrifying, but their only hope of getting anywhere was to get out there. There was no way they could live indefinitely in the vent and they sure as hell didn't want to go back to their captor.
So, onward. Reham began inspecting the edges of the ventilation duct for anything they could slip through, while the giraffe nosed around her eye level. They came to the same conclusion and shot each other a crestfallen look. The vent cover was firmly screwed into the wall. There would be no slipping through.
The wolf and the flamingo watched the other two work and paced nervously, too small to really be of any help.
Finally, the giraffe was the one to figure it out. She motioned to the camel and pretended to kick the edge of the vent cover. The camel nodded, excitedly, and clopped over. Together, the two animals hammered at the edge of the vent with their strong legs. The giraffe hit high while the camel hit low. Together, with clanging and metalic thuds, the screws holding in the vent began to rip out of the wall until finally they seperated completely in a puff of torn drywall dust.
Victorious, the camel and giraffe happily nuzzled one another and waved the others on. All four had a brief moment of joy before they crept through the opened vent cover. Four tiny animals, the biggest no taller than an action figure, all silently walked along the hallway of the apartment. They had no idea where they were going, no way to speak to each other, but each knew that they needed to get as far away from "master" as possible.
It was at this moment, as they nervously walked down the giant hallway flush with the wall trim, that the thunder of human footsteps began to reverberate beneath their tiny forms. All four froze in a panic, hoping to go unnoticed, as a giant human woman appeared at the edge of the hall and jingled her keys. For a moment, for just a moment, it appeared as if they would go undetected.
Until the woman noticed all four of them against the wall, unmoving. A pink flamingo, a tan camel, a straw orange and brown splotched giraffe, and a gray wolf were hard to hide against a faded beige apartment hall.
"The hell?" The woman stopped. She was shortish, brunette, and wearing a floppy black cap and a knitted poncho in various colors. She stared directly at the animals, who tried to remain perfectly still.
Until the dust from the vent made Erik sneeze. He snorted and chuffed suddenly, causing the other three to jump and shrink back in terror.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" The woman cried, springing back in surprise and nearly dropping her keys. In total disbelief, she kneeled down and hovered her giant face in front of the four.
"What... the fuck?" She whispered, rubbing her eyes and blinking.
For effect, Erik waved his wing nervously and offered a half-open smile at the corners of his beak. The other three stared at the flamingo and then back to the woman.
“Whoa.” The woman whispered. She looked up and down and hall nervously and carefully reached out to pluck the flamingo off the ground between two fingers. The other animals, save the voiceless giraffe, let out respective cries of terror.
The human dropped the tiny bird in her hand and they stared at each other evenly. The woman studied Erik carefully and whispered gently. “You... you understand me?”
The flamingo nodded gently in her palm, nervously shifting on his skinny legs.
She looked down to the other three and reached out for them with her empty hand. The wolf tried to run, but was scooped up with the other two.
“I don’t know what the hell you guys are, but I’m getting you out of here before you get hurt.”
She rose with all four creatures cradled in her arms and walked down and across the hall to her apartment.
They were saved by random chance.