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Chapter 4

Author: Empty Space
I didn’t understand what it was saying, so I opened the group chat again to check.

Kingsley the Monkey: [Oh-ho! Oh-ho…]

The Egrets’ Shared Account: [What’s that silly monkey going on about? He almost made us fall when we passed by!]

Kingsley the Monkey: [I’m sorry. I got too excited. I’m saying the human gave the elephant enclosure water!]

George the Gorilla: [I heard it too. It sounds so familiar. That human really is… a good human.]

Animals kept popping into the chat, arguing and commenting. I even saw a panda send a GIF with its paws together, like it was thanking someone. For some reason, my chest felt warm, and a small smile tugged at my lips.

Then, the tiger showed up again.

Thor the Tiger: [How naive! Food and water are ours by right. Those humans dangle a little treat and expect us to forget everything? If she dares show herself, I’ll rip her apart!]

The chat went quiet for a long moment.

After a while, Kingsley the Monkey asked, [What if she gives you your favorite—a big drumstick?]

Thor the Tiger: [Hmph! I wouldn’t eat it. I’d rather starve, bash my head on the cage, and die than take a bite of her food!]

With that, I set off for the supermarket again. This time, I focused on meat, packing top-quality cuts of chicken, duck, goose, pork, beef, and lamb into bag after bag. Lucky for me, I had a little money saved. Otherwise, this kind of spending would’ve been brutal.

By the time I got back to the zoo, it was already afternoon. The animals had had their lunches, but nearly none of them were full, especially the big carnivores like the tiger.

I carried two huge bags of meat over to the tiger enclosure, which was basically a massive iron cage with a grimy metal shed. Because the shed was so cold, the tiger usually lounged in the outer pen to soak up whatever sun there was.

As expected, the tiger lay in the outer pen, head down, chewing at a pile of scabby offal that flies swarmed around. It kept gagging between bites. Its thin chest rose and fell, rib outlines visible beneath the fur. It was so skinny. Even though it was tall, there was almost no fat or muscle, making it look fragile.

This was “Thor the Tiger”? He’d be the one to get taken down by a single hit.

The group chat pinged again.

Africana the Lion: [Thor the Tiger, why are you gagging? I was sleeping next door. Can you keep it down?]

Leo the Leopard: [I heard it too. Thor, don’t eat it. You might as well eat excrement at this point.]

Callum the Coyote: [You don’t get it. Thor needs to force the cage open. If he doesn’t eat, he won’t have the strength.]

A chorus of sighs filled the chat.

Thor the Tiger ignored them and kept eating with his head down. However, after a while, the smell must have gotten to him because he rose to drink.

The moment he stood, he noticed me. I was carrying the two bags of meat and staring at him when our eyes met. He narrowed his lids, nostrils flaring. Then, he fixed his gaze on the bags in my hands.

I pulled out a steak and tossed it inside the enclosure. They were fresh and still streaked with blood. The bone and flesh were fused together like it had just been carved off an animal.

Thor the Tiger froze. He let out a low growl and stalked around the steak twice. After that, his mouth was full of saliva. His thin body trembled, and his eyes reddened.

A hungry beast was finally going to have a proper piece of meat. However, he didn’t lunge. He held himself back.
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  • Preparing the Zoo for Christmas   Chapter 16

    I didn’t have enough seniority to become the actual director yet, but honestly, it didn’t matter much. The animals seemed just as excited as I was.[Miss Fruit’s the new warden. Wow!][Does this mean we won’t go hungry anymore? Miss Fruit, you’re our hero!][Will Miss Fruit bathe us? Her hands are so soft.]I smiled to myself and drove the tram on my rounds, checking the whole zoo.“Hey, egrets, do not poop in the swan pond!” I called into the open air. “Polar bear, stop staring at the penguins next door. Don’t even think about it. Kingsley the Monkey, don’t shake your butt at me. It’s not my thing, and no, that thing we talked about? Not happening.” My voice echoed across the grounds while Pedro the Parrot perched on my shoulder, relaying my commands into the group chat.Passing the tiger enclosure, I would sometimes feel a pang when I looked at the empty space. I would wonder how Thor the Tiger was doing out in the wild.The chat pinged, signaling a new member had joined the

  • Preparing the Zoo for Christmas   Chapter 15

    However, I couldn’t see anything.My lips trembled and I shouted, “Tell Thor the Tiger not to resist! Humans will only sedate him with a tranquilizer!”The animals looked at me blankly. They didn’t understand a word. I thumped Tucker the Elephant’s ear and tried again. “Can you understand? Tell the tiger not to fight!”Tucker the Elephant didn’t truly understand my words, but he seemed to get the idea as he told the group chat.[I know what Miss Fruit wants. She thinks Thor shouldn’t fight, and maybe there’ll still be a chance.]Other animals chimed in. [Yeah, Thor the Tiger, don’t fight!] [Thor the Tiger, be good. Don’t make trouble!] They all urged Thor the Tiger to stand down.The tiger must have seen it, because everyone was talking to him. Yet, there was no response.Then, from the east ridge, a roar split the air loud enough to make the whole forest tremble. It was Thor the Tiger’s battle cry. He was reclaiming his dignity and preparing to fight for himself. I br

  • Preparing the Zoo for Christmas   Chapter 14

    Tucker the Elephant: [Po, can you take Miss Fruit back to the elephant enclosure?]Po the Panda: [I’m on it!]The panda, Po, stopped chewing bamboo. She lifted her tiny paw and gestured toward Zane, who stood frozen in shock.Before he could react, Po the Panda smacked him hard across the face. He hit the ground, dazed and dizzy, as she grabbed the laptop from his hands and shoved it into my arms. Zane was left sprawled on the floor, unable to even get up.Then, Po the Panda crouched down and arched her back, motioning for me to climb on.I was dumbstruck. Me? Ride a panda? That sounded insane. However, I didn’t have a choice as the pain in my legs was unbearable. Hence, I climbed on.As soon as I was seated, Po the Panda twisted her neck and started running toward the elephant enclosure. However, after a few steps, she suddenly stopped and looked back.I followed her gaze and saw that a dark shadow had appeared in the bamboo grove. It moved slowly down the path, heavy breathing

  • Preparing the Zoo for Christmas   Chapter 13

    As he was watching me, he roared, as if he was speaking.A trembling Pedro the Parrot circled above and translated, “Miss Fruit… Thor the Tiger says you’re annoying. You don’t understand anything, but you want to be a savior. You’re too green.”“I’m not trying to be a savior. I’m trying to save you. Don’t kill anyone. If you do, you’ll be killed too!” I shouted, eyes shut.Pedro the Parrot translated for me, but because my speech was long, he posted the whole thing in the group chat.Thor the Tiger kept roaring, so Pedro the Parrot continued to translate, “Thor the Tiger is laughing. He says he wants to kill. That way, more people will pay attention to the zoo, and the zoo will finally improve.”I froze for a moment and opened my eyes to Thor the Tiger looking at me. So that was the plan—to use blood to attract attention.Of course. If a tiger in a zoo killed a person, how could it not cause a scandal? The whole country would notice. The zoo would be exposed, and every dirty secr

  • Preparing the Zoo for Christmas   Chapter 12

    I was gasping for breath. Just as I took two more steps, a deafening boom erupted behind me. Iron bars went flying, dust billowed through the air, and the crowd broke into terrified screams. A tiger’s roar split the sky, and almost instantly, from every corner of the zoo came an answering chorus of fury.The animals were roaring back. Crocodiles burst out of their pools, snapping at the panicked visitors onshore. Giraffes kicked up clouds of dust, slamming their hooves against the fences. Hippos opened their massive jaws, biting wildly and dragging a zookeeper straight into the water.Even the elephant enclosure erupted. Their trumpets boomed across the park, mixing with the shrill cries of monkeys and the thunderous chest-beating of chimpanzees. The entire zoo shook, as if the earth itself was shaking.“What is happening?”“Run! Run, now!”“My kid– My kid fell into the chimpanzees’ enclosure! Somebody help!”Chaos broke out everywhere. No one cared about the tiger anymore.Th

  • Preparing the Zoo for Christmas   Chapter 11

    Zane was threatening me. I had been too naive, thinking I could save Sunnyside Zoo all by myself. Now the evidence was gone, and my cover was blown. There was no way I could bring him down anymore. What should I do?Just then, the group chat buzzed again. It was Thor the Tiger. He was alive!Thor the Tiger: [The humans found out my enclosure is breaking. They’ll come and fix it tomorrow, so we'll strike tomorrow morning.]That one message sent the entire group into chaos.Kingsley the Monkey: [Are you serious? If we riot, we’ll just get beaten back. You’ll be the first one they shoot once you break out.]Ellie the Elephant: [Miss Fruit hasn’t come back yet. I’m scared… Maybe we shouldn’t do this?]North the Polar Bear: [What if Miss Fruit’s already been killed? We have to avenge her!]Severus the Python: [Hiss… Sounds like the show’s about to start.]The chat was a mess of opinions. Everyone was talking over each other until someone asked what Tucker the Elephant thought. Tha

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