Taking opportunities and even form one is born with for granted while human nature, is still a fallacy.
One's form contributes to who one is in more ways then we tend to think.
Jezebell was discovering this as light made way for dark and speech made way for brays.
She didn't know why this had happened to her or the others; she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Terror gripped Jezebell when she considered the limits this donkey form would place on her. She thought of escape and discovering a cure to keep calm.
The urge to buck and bray was strong. Donkey instincts seemed determined to subvert her human will, knowledge and intelligence. Jezebell did her best to think of something to keep those instincts and emotions in control.
She was fighting a losing battle.
The park, much like Jezebell's mind, was a scene of chaos.
Panicked donkeys brayed, ran and bucked. Their fear produced an odd smell, that only served to further unnerve her.
They'd lost their humanity, something Jezebell doubted any of them ever thought possible.
Being human was a something Jezebell had taken for granted without realizing it.
At times she would have seen animal behavior and thought herself above it. Eating hay, defecating where she stood, braying, bucking, wearing nothing, having fur, smelling bad and living in a barn were supposed to be below her.
Only because she'd been lucky enough to be born human.
Jezebell started wondering just where one's animal instincts ended and where person nature began.
The behaviour of a human was part of who Jezebell was.
Or so she thought.
As a donkey, the behaviour, needs and life that Jezebell never expected to be part of her existence were now very much a part of who she was.
No, Jezebell thought, that isn't who I am; it can't be!
The form the island had granted her said otherwise.
Denial turned to despair that tried to expel thoughts of escape. Even if she did escape, the despair rationalized, what good would it be to come home as a donkey? She'd still have to live as a one.
Jezebell shook her head. No, she couldn't give in. There had to be a way to save herself and the others.
The despair retorted. Others must have come before her. She'd never heard of any donkeys that used to be human regaining their humanity. She was no different then the others! To think otherwise was arrogant!
Jezebell wanted to disagree but she wasn't sure how to respond.
The sounds of smashing glass windows had Jezebell looking to see a male donkey smashing a large window with his powerful hind hooves. Jezebell wondered if he did it out of anger, fear or the idea that he could get away with it as a donkey.
His braying and the fact that he smashed another window to the left of the first one showed Jezebell that he probably knew what he was doing.
When Jezebell closed in on him, she saw that he had the scraps of a black shirt around his back. As he jumped through the hole he created by destroying the window, what was left of his shirt fell to the ground.
Jezebell walked over to the shirt and saw that it had the same logo as the shirt the boy that was harassing Ally was wearing. Jezebell looked inside the building to see the former boy smashing displays in what appeared to be a candy store.
She brayed at him to stop. Giving into these feelings would be letting them win. Smashing things wouldn't help him! A part of her wanted to leave him to his fate. Decency however, knew that he'd made a mistake. Perhaps he could learn from it and become a better person.
The despair flared up again. Why learn from it? They'd be stuck as donkeys forever! Learning a human lesson wouldn't help a donkey!
Jezebell stamped her front left hoof. She was not about to give in!
Catching wind of a familiar scent, Jezebell knew it was Ally. To identify someone by scent should have only applied if they wore strong cologne or perfume of a specific scent. Now however, it seemed all too natural, as though Jezebell had being doing it from the moment she was born.
She ran toward the scent only to see Ally braying as another donkey approached her. This donkey was another male.
No, Jezebell thought, he couldn't -- he wouldn't.
He did.
Jezebell assumed the male donkey was some poor soul that the instincts had overwhelmed to the point where he didn't realize what he was doing. She had to believe that he wasn't acting on free will. In her mind, no man would ever be amoral enough to take advantage of another under such circumstances.
That however meant that at that moment, he was a donkey. Jezebell would need to deal with him the way someone would deal with a donkey and not a human.
Jezebell ran at and rammed the male before he had a chance to do much to Ally.
He brayed at Jezebell, his tail flicking back and forth.
Jezebell wished she could speak so she could rationalize with him. Even if his mind wouldn't comprehend it, Jezebell still wished she could try.
She realized that donkeys don't rationalize, they use body language to say no. If that doesn't work, they fight unwanted advances off. It was an alien way of thinking for Jezebell. One that threatened to send her into a panic.
She had no choice.
Without realizing what she was doing, Jezebell positioned herself between Ally and the male all while Jezebell grunted and stamped her hooves against the pavement. The male donkey tried to advance on what Jezebell assumed he saw as an oddly behaving female. Unfortunately, Jezebell's behaviour only showed the male donkey that she was strong and would make an excellent mother.
Ally meanwhile was braying and bucking all the while.
The male advanced on Jezebell who closed her eyes willing what she hoped was a nightmare to end. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be a female donkey fighting off a crazed male. She was better then this. This was something animals that were born as animals dealt with. They had to have different feelings and didn't see it as Jezebell saw it. Jezebell feared that the instinct would soon have her seeing it as they saw it.
Jezebell didn't want to be a donkey. She just wanted to be human again and to go home. There had to be a way out of this for all of them!
She looked at Ally as the male donkey seemed to back off, even if only for a moment. Jezebell did her best to motion her head in a way that said to run. Ally seemed to get the message and followed as Jezebell took off running.
The male donkey followed them for a few seconds before Jezebell looked back with horror to see a pair of men grabbing the male donkey. Jezebell didn't want to think about where they were taking him.
Wind against fur was an odd sensation, as was running with four legs ending in hooves. Jezebell was impressed with the speed she and Ally reached. For a few moments of bliss, Jezebell imagined they were a team of race horses running in a track rather then for their freedom.
Then, Jezebell found herself wondering why they were running. They were donkeys now; donkeys didn't have jobs, go to school, sleep on beds or live in houses. Their human lives had those things but their forms would keep them from those lives.
Even if they escaped, a donkey's life would be their life.
Jezebell prayed in her mind for an escape, something to hold onto. Some fragment of hope that would make escape mean something.
Other men were rounding up other donkeys. Jezebell wanted to cry for them. They were all people just as Jezebell and Ally were. They deserved better then this.
There had to be justice. Bad guys were supposed to face it eventually. Even then Jezebell realized, it could too late for her and the others.
Jezebell started to realize how fragile life could be. She'd gambled and lost big time. She was sorry; she wanted to learn from this and to be a better person.
She expected to wake up at that moment, the one where she had her epiphany.
The nightmare didn't end.
Jezebell and Ally reached a cliff with rough waters below. They knew it was now or never. If anything was going to save them, it had to happen now.