When I woke up, my head was throbbing, and/or
I was Kate, a zookeeper at the zoo.
The thought of the zoo made my hear
I had been unconscious for three days.
was
dizzy. For a moment, I couldn’t remember who I was. After a struggle, my memories came flooding back.
pound. I quickly checked the date. It was the day before the Christmas.
Topened the group chat. There were sec
SkyScreecher: [Humans are so cruel!
Messages,
of
most them about me.
at hose–wielding human knocked out Berry!]
TheWhiteEgrets (Shared Account): [The Tiger King almost broke the bars! He stopped at the last second, though. Otherwise, he would have blown his cover.]
CozyCapybara: [Friends, there’s water in the elephant enclosure! I heard it! Did you hear it?]
MonkeyKing: [Where’s Berry? Have I lost my love forever?]
1
Sweet Trunk: [The Tiger King hasn’t said anything. Is he hurt?]
I skimmed the messages. Most of it was useless chatter. The one I was most worried about, the Tiger King, hadn’t posted anything.
Was he really hurt? Or had Rick secretly dealt with him?
My heart raced. I had to get back to the zoo immediately.
Just then, the door opened. Mr. Green, the director, walked in with a fruit basket.
“Kate, you’re swake! You scared me half to death! My good for nothing nephew is a dead man!” he said, full of remorse and concern.
I shook my head. “I’m fine. I can be discharged and go back to work
“Back to work? You’re in such a hurry?” Mr. Green’s eyes glinted with a strange, mocking light. How many times have you been in my office?”
“Once,” I answered truthfully. “To suggest you treat the animals better for the festival”
Mr. Green chuckled and shook his head. “No, no, no. You’ve been in my office five times. Four of those were before you were even hired”
My face fell. I frowned at him.
He laughed. “Kate, there are cameras everywhere. It was easy to find out”
He stood up and sighed, looking out the window. “You’re a kind person. You studied animal science in college, right? Your family lives nearby, your parents passed away early… You must have been a regular at this zoo, maybe even watched it grow to what it is today.”
“With your talent, you could have had a great career in the capital. But you chose to come here and be a zookeeper. What a waste.”
“I’m guessing you want to take me down and save the animals, right?” he said, turning to look at me, his eyes full of amusement. “Am I right, Miss Kate?“16
I nodded.
Yes.
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Such a naive little girl. I suspected you from the moment you suggested improving the animals‘ living conditions.”
“But you did give me an idea. I should be able to get through this festival without any trouble. After all, the animals are well–fed and housed now. Who’s going to
complain?”
“What are you trying to say?” I asked, my anxiety rising. I didn’t have time for this.
Mr. Green patted my shoulder. “What I’m trying to say is, don’t meddle in things that don’t concern you. Otherwise, next time, it won’t be just a blow to the head.”
He then turned and walked out, leaving me there, my whole body tense. So, Rick had been allowed to attack me. Mr. Green was threatening me.
I really had been naive, thinking I could save the zoo on my own. Now, I had no evidence, and my cover was blown. There was no way I could take him down.
What was I going to do?
Suddenly, a new message popped up in the chat.
It was the Tiger King. He was still alive.
[The humans have discovered that my cage is about to break. They’re coming to repair it tomorrow. So, tomorrow morning, we make our move!]
His words sent shockwaves through the group.
MonkeyKing: [Are we really doing this? If we riot, we’ll just get beaten with sticks. But Tiger King, if you get out, you’ll definitely be killed.]
SweetTrunk: [Berry isn’t back yet. I’m so worried. Maybe we shouldn’t riot?]
PolarBearKodi: [Berry might already be dead! We have to avenge her!]
TheBigPython: [Hiss hiss, let the show begin.]
The animals all had different opinions. Finally, they all turned to the Elephant King for his thoughts.
The old elephant spoke slowly: [The tiger will not back down. Even if we don’t riot, he will break out on his own.]
He meant that the Tiger King’s escape was inevitable, and whether the other animals helped or not wouldn’t change that.
In the end, they all agreed.
They were going to do it.
I was frantic. I tried to post a message in the chat, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t an animal. I could only watch.
And then, the pain in my head intensified. I cried out for a nurse and then, everything went black again.
12
