[What?! Tiger King, don’t bite Berry!]
[Tiger bro, you’re my dad, I’m begging you!]
The chat exploded.
But the Tiger King was silent, just staring at me.
My lips trembled. I slowly turned and started to run, but with a roar, the Tiger King was on me in a flash, pouncing and knocking me to the ground.
This is it, I thought. I’m done for.
[Oh my god! The Tiger King has pounced on Berry! One bite and she’s dead!] the parrot shrieked in the chat.
All the animals panicked, begging him to stop.
But the Tiger King ignored them all.
LittleNose, the young elephant, pleaded with the Elephant King: [Daddy, say something! The Tiger King only listens to you!]
[Yeah, Elephant King, say something!]
The animals clung to this last hope.
But the Elephant King was silent.
LittleNose grew desperate: [Dad, if you don’t save Berry today, we’re done!]
The Elephant King finally spoke: [What, is your old man not filial enough for you? I told you, the tiger has his own ideas. He knows the difference between right and wrong!]
I wasn’t paying attention to the chat. I was staring in terror at the Tiger King’s face. His paws pinned me to the ground, his massive head was right in front of mine, and his hot breath fanned across my face. He was observing me. Then he started to roar, as if he were speaking.
The trembling parrot circled above. “Berry… the Tiger King says… you’re annoying. You think you’re a savior but you don’t know anything. Go home and drink milk for a few more years.”
“I’m not trying to be a savior! I’m just trying to save you! Don’t kill anyone! If you do, you’ll be killed too!” I squeezed my eyes shut and yelled.
The parrot translated for me, but since it was so long, he just posted it in the chat.
The Tiger King roared again.
The parrot translated: “The Tiger King is laughing. He says… he’s going to kill someone. That way, more people will pay attention to the zoo, and things will finally change.”
I froze, opening my eyes to look at him. He was looking back at me.
So that was his plan. He was going to use bloodshed to get attention.
He was right. If a tiger killed someone at a zoo, how could it not attract attention? The whole country would be in an uproar. The zoo would be exposed, and all its dirty secrets would be brought to light. Mr. Green, Rick–they wouldn’t be able to escape. And the animals… would they still go hungry?
“ROAR!”
The Tiger King let out another massive roar, then turned and ran off. I didn’t know where he was going.
The parrot translated: “The Tiger King says, get lost, you fool.”
