Chapter 1
The day I started my new job at the zoo, I was added to a group chat called “100 Ways to Kill a Human.”
Every member had an animal for their profile picture.
I figured it was just a quirky work chat for the staff. How cute, I thought.
Then I saw them discussing how to eat me.
SkyScreecher: [The new human has beautiful eyes. I can’t wait for the festival. I want to peck them out right now!]
KingKong: [Patience. There will be plenty of humans at the festival. More eyeballs than we can eat! Also, I call dibs on her thighs!]
TigerClaw: [No one’s fighting me for her head, right?)
Old Tusks: [I’m a vegetarian, but I can help crush her bones.]
1
My fingers trembled. I looked up at the elephant enclosure in front of me–my designated zone.
An old, withered elephant was staring at me with dark, unsettling eyes. It looked ancient and skeletal, its skin a cracked canvas of dried mud, swarmed by a cloud of
flies. It hadn’t been bathed in ages.
Our eyes met, and a strange chill ran down my spine.
What the hell was that group chat?
I looked at my phone again. The chat had gone silent.
My new coworker, a guy named Rick, nudged me. “Hey, newbie. Get to work. Just give it a quick once–over.”
He stepped into the enclosure with a look of disgust, grabbed a hose, and started spraying a nearby elephant. The elephants backed away, trying to avoid the water.
Rick cursed at them. “You damn animals! I’m tired of waiting on you. Get over here!”
The elephants didn’t move.
He threw the hose down. “Fine. Stink for all I care.”
