Trip To The Zoo

This was a story commission for one of the top tier patrons - hope you all enjoy!

While some of his friends were dubious, Archie was actually rather excited for the senior class of Riverdale High to take their annual trip to the local animal zoo. He was incredibly fond of animals and the opportunity to see the monkeys swinging between wooden beams wasn’t one he was ever eager to pass up. Besides, with the endless whirlpool of drama that seemed to surround him and his friends, Archie thought that the trip to the zoo would be quite the nice distraction for them. He just hoped that Jughead, Betty and Veronica would be able to put the drama aside for a day and revel in the fun of the day.

Unfortunately that wasn’t quite the case and the journey to the zoo had been torturous at best with drama seemingly happening everywhere he turned. Archie was more than ready to escape from it all and thankfully it didn’t take much to give his friends the slip and take off alone once they had reached the zoo. He knew where he’d be heading first too as watching the monkeys swing around without a care in the world would be a perfect distraction from his newly renewed anxieties about all of the troubles going on in his small town and even smaller friendship circle.

He had barely been stood at the viewing platform by the monkey enclosure for a few moments when he was approached by one of the animal handlers - a middle-aged man with a thick brown beard that showcased flecks of grey and a kind, smiling face. “Wonderful, aren’t they?” the man asked, his voice a deep rumble that practically travelled throughout the teen’s body. There was something immediately calming about being in the other’s presence and Archie hardly questioned it. He’d always been too trusting for his own good, after all.

“They’ve always been my favorites,” Archie confessed with a bashful grin, “They just always seem to be having fun, even when they’re fighting.” It was that he craved most, fun. It had been all too lacking lately and he was in desperate need of it.

The older man smiled politely at him and even clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re too young to have that much on your mind, kid,” he said sagely, the words rippling straight through to Archie’s soul. He felt like this man truly understood him, even though he knew that was crazy to say. They had only just met after all! “Seems to be a generational thing. You kids could do with some monkeying around, if you’ll excuse the pun.” He gave out a hearty laugh at that and Archie quickly joined in, finding himself in complete agreement.

“You seem like a good kid,” the man announced after a moment of quiet between the two, “How’d you feel about getting a closer look?” Archie could hardly believe what he was hearing. He contemplated the offer for only a moment before eagerly nodding, once again leaning into his unfounded trust in the older man. He felt far more relaxed in his presence than he had around Jughead, Betty or Veronica in weeks and if a polite conversation with the man would get him a better look at the monkey enclosure then he was all for it!

After a quick agreement, Archie followed the older man through a side door and down a flight of stairs. “This is where we access the enclosure to feed the little tykes,” he explained, waving a hand towards the feeding area to the side that some of the monkeys were currently feasting at. The red-headed jock let out a small chuckle as he observed them, glad to have found a most suitable distraction from everything else going on. 

“Thanks for bringing me down here, sir,” he said politely, stepping closer to the chain-link fence that separated the room they were in from the enclosure itself. If he was to just open that door and step through, he’d be right there with them. Still, that had to be some sort of health and safety hazard. There was no way they’d let a park guest like him into one of the displays!

The two men stood in silence and Archie found himself feeling rather content watching the animals swing around. Strangely he even began to feel a sense of longing and wishing that he felt quite so free as they were. Feeling an itch on his forearm, he scratched at it and noticed the thickness and spread of his hair where he couldn’t quite remember it being before. He was surprised but quickly forgot about it when one of the monkeys approached the door and began to gibber and chatter.

Crouching down to get a better look, Archie found himself feeling far more comfortable on all fours and let out a small laugh as the monkey appeared to lean in curiously to inspect him. “I think he likes you,” the man suggested from behind him. I think so too, Archie agreed in his mind, although he strangely found it difficult to formulate words.

Becoming convinced that the monkey was attempting to communicate with him, Archie padded closer and lifted his tail into the air. Wait, tail? Alarm shot through the high schooler as he realized that his body was transforming with every passing moment. His hung loose around his smaller body and within moments he had left his clothes behind altogether, exposing his hairy body. He cried out in panic but his words were unintelligible nonsense - the sounds of a monkey.

“You … in?” the man said, his voice loud and garbled in such a manner that Archie only understood every other word. He was acutely aware that something was happening to his mind, something making him think less like a human and more like an animal, but he couldn’t stop himself.

As the door was opened, Archie bound forward straight into the enclosure, bowling over the other monkey in the process. He was panicking at first but once he made his way up into the trees he felt a sense of calm overcome him. Even as he saw a number of familiar faces at the viewing platform - a moody teenager in a beanie, a pretty blond and gorgeous brunette - the last drops of Archie’s humanity faded away, leaving him happy and unaware in his new state as just another spider monkey on display at the local zoo!