“You don’t sound so sure,” she said with a wave of her finger. “I suppose that makes sense, considering you don’t know what the button does.” She cocked her head. “Right? That’s kind of irresponsible, you know? Being the head zookeeper, and not knowing what some big, red button does in your own zoo? I thought you were a responsible establishment, right? But you have buttons within reach of children and you don’t know what they do? Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. This is the kind of thing that will get this place shut down.”
“This isn’t within reach of children,” I said defiantly. “Children don’t come here unattended and climb over the safety barriers.”
“I suppose,” Shabby shrugged. “But, I’m still curious.” She pulled the keys from her pocket with a jingle. “I guess I’ll just see if any of these fit, and then we’ll find out.” She crouched to squint at the lock, before she looked up at me curiously. “Do you mind if I figure out what it’s for?”
“Sure,” I said, still trying to bluff while hoping she grew bored of tormenting me. I was in such a pickle that I didn’t know what to do. Obviously, if she put the correct key in there, it was going to open the gate to the lions sleeping area and allow them into the same compartment I was currently trapped in. My back was already dripping with sweat, but I didn’t want to let on that would happen because I knew what a lunatic Shabby could be. Maybe it would be even worse for me if she actually knew what the button was for.
Shabby reached back, and stroked her finger across the keyhole, I guess so she could figure out which one fit. She filed through each of the keys on the ring, then my heart skipped a beat as she singled out the correct one. She glanced up at me a final time, then leaned in to fit it into the slot.
Immediately, my entire body seized up in horror. I reached out towards her, my fingers gripping the air as a very real panic overcame me. “Wait,” I said frantically. “Don’t put that key in there.”
She raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk appearing on her grungy face. “Why? What’s going to happen?”
“It’ll open the gate,” I said, while turning and looking to the side in fear. The gate was sturdy, and well-maintained, but it was the only thing separating me from the pride of lions that were currently snoozing the night away. They always went in there overnight, giving the usual keeper the chance to clean up the feeding area during the night shift. If Shabby opened the gate…well…the only food inside the feeding area was going to be me.
“So, it was a lie then,” she said while staring at me with no expression. “You knew what this button did all along.”
“I did,” I said sheepishly. “I just didn’t want you to know.”
“Well, that’s poor behaviour, isn’t it?” she said with an authoritative air. “How can I trust anything you say after you’ve lied so openly to my face about this? I’m going to assume that everything you’ve said so far is a lie, including that these animals are well cared for.”
“They are,” I said tiredly. “I wasn’t lying about that. You’ve seen their condition during your many visits. They’re well-fed and healthy.”
Shabby dipped her head, then narrowed her eyes at me. “Lie,” she said. “I’m going to assume you’re lying, because you’re totally untrustworthy.” She then ran her finger over the button again, before she sniggered. “Weren’t you just begging me to open the gate though?” She cocked her head, seeming to revel in the fact that I was completely helpless and at her mercy. “So, I’d just be doing what you wanted, wouldn’t I?”
“Not that gate,” I said, and I gripped the bars of the actual gate separating us. After giving it another frustrated shake, I pleadingly begged, “Please, just let me out of here.” I was riddled with genuine fear, as I knew how crazy these lunatics could be. They were the kind of imbeciles that glued themselves to the sidewalk or chained themselves up to moving vehicles. I was already baffled by how much time and energy she and her ilk had wasted over the past months, just so they could make our lives a bit more difficult. What had they actually achieved? Nothing at all, other than forcing a few of my employees to quit. The zoo was still running, and the owners hadn’t made any noises about closing in the near future. As far as I could tell, the local police were fed up of her shenanigans too. Part of me honestly believed that she was just crazy enough to actually open that gate and stand by as I was devoured by the merciless carnivores she’d released. As a result, I was overcome with fear to the point my heart was pounding in my chest. My skin prickled while there was a buzzing in my ears as panic consumed me. “Let me out,” I said, and then I looked down the pathway towards the front gate. “Hank,” I screamed loudly. “Help me! Come, please, help me!”
Shabby continued to smirk as she watched me desperately pull and tug at the bars. “Looks like someone is finally getting it,” she said with a nod. “It’s not nice being locked up against your will, is it? It’s not nice having people stare at you from outside, having the power to set you free but choosing to delight in your captivity instead.” She curled her lips, opening her mouth as if fascinated and pointing at me. “Gawping and pointing at you. Rejoicing in your predicament.”
“I’m not an animal,” I said through gritted teeth, becoming increasingly frustrated by her ridiculous ramblings. “I’m a human being, for Christ’s sake.”
“And there’s the problem,” Shabby said with a roll of her eyes. “There’s the problem with humanity. We think we’re more important than everyone else. We think we’re all high and mighty and above the rest of God’s creatures.” She looked over towards the lions sleeping area. It was walled off to reduce light and give them privacy, so there wasn’t a lot to be seen other than the gated tunnel to my side. “Since you’re such an incredible keeper, and you treat these animals with compassion and care for them so well, I guess they’ll recognise that? If I let them out, they’ll just come and give their beloved handler some cuddles, right? You said yourself that they’re happy to be here. That they’re comfortable and content. Let’s put that to the test or see if you were lying again.”
“Of course they won’t cuddle me,” I said. “They’re apex predators. They’re carnivores. They’ll rip me to shreds.” I then gripped the bars, trying to speak some sense into her. “This is serious, Shabby. This isn’t some game. They’ll see me as prey.”
“Too bad they’re not vegan, huh?” she said with obvious sarcasm in her voice. “Sounds like you’re not so keen on meat eaters anymore?”
“You know that’s not the same thing.” The longer the stupid exchange was going on, the more anxious I was becoming. I kept my grip on the bars as I tried to shake them. “Can we stop with this already? It’s not funny.” I pressed the button on my walkie-talkie. “Hank, are you awake? Can you come to the lion enclosure please?” There was an obvious shake in my voice. “Hank, please. Wake up. Please.”
“He’s not coming,” Shabby said with an amused shake of her head. “The only friends you have in here are myself, and”—she flicked her head towards the sleeping area—”your meat-eating buddies over there.”
“Just let me out already,” I whined. I looked around the empty vastness of the zoo, and then I yelled out, “Help!” Shabby balked, glancing around herself, before she pursed her lips and watched in amusement as I tugged and yanked at the bars of the cage. “Help, someone come help me,” I screeched at the top of my lungs. Over and over again I called out, and Shabby just watched me, looking nothing more than slightly annoyed at the high-pitched tone of my pleas. “Please,” I squealed, and I gave the bars a final, pointless tug.
“Are you done?” she asked, as my voice became hoarse. “Because all of these theatrics aren’t getting you anywhere. All you’re going to do is wake the lions up, idiot. The only way I’ll consider letting you out is if you get on your knees and beg. If you’d done that when I first asked, maybe you’d already be out by now. It’s your own damn fault for being so stubborn.”
I stopped trying to shake the bars and instead gripped them tightly. Despite wanting to get out of the cage more than anything, Shabby and I had so much history together that I genuinely felt sick at the thought of kneeling and begging her. I glanced down at her yucky, old sandals, and especially the way the leather was stained with dirt and sweat from so much wear. Her pedicure seemed fresh, but her toes themselves were similarly dusty from having walked around the muddy paths of the zoo all day. Her dungarees were also covered in stains, as if she hadn’t washed them in a while, and the thought of kneeling before such a filthy squatter like Shabby just didn’t sit right. She was feckless, and nothing but a nuisance within a productive society, and I wasn’t about to validate the effectiveness of the stupid game she was playing. She had no right to have a grudge against me, as it was her behaviour that had resulted in a police presence, not mine.
“No?” she asked, while placing her feet side by side, just beyond reach outside of the cage. “Don’t fancy humbling yourself a little for freedom? Not willing to spin a ball on your nose or jump through a hoop?”
I flicked my eyes up. “I’ve never made any of these animals do that. We’re not a circus.”
“Sure,” Shabby said. “I seem to recall watching your handlers have the bears sit before throwing them a fish earlier today.” She nodded towards the floor. “Come on, girl. Sit. Maybe I can throw you a fish.”
My skin began to prickle all over as sheer fury overwhelmed me. It was so damn annoying to be goaded by a professional irritant like Shabby, especially since I knew she had chosen this lifestyle. She wasn’t living in a squat because she had no money; she had chosen to do because her bland, easy life was so unfulfilling that she needed some cause to latch onto in order to give herself a purpose. Being a vegan and an activist was merely some kind of rebellious act to push away from the pampered middle class to which she actually belonged. There was no way I was going to indulge her immature shenanigans, the same way I hadn’t whenever she turned up at the zoo and caused a ruckus. “I’m not playing this game,” I said while biting my lip.
Leave a Reply