Midnight Zoo

Ch. Midnight Zoo 4 Midnight Zoo 4

away from the tiger cage as she could get.

I took the bucket and walked in. The moment I was inside, the cage door slammed shut behind me.

The other players stared at me as if I were already dead.

“A bleeding heart,” Marcus sneered. “In a survival game, that’s a death sentence.”

“Exactly. The rules explicitly said not to get close. She broke a rule, She’s done for.”

And Agnes, the very woman I’d just saved? She was already leaning against Marcus, smoothing her hair. “Well, if she hadn’t gone in, it would’ve

been me. Better her than me, right? Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll be sure to remember you on Memorial Day.”

I couldn’t hear a word of their mockery. Sometimes, being hard of hearing is a superpower.

I focused on the colossal tiger inside the cage. The moment I entered, it had risen to its feet. It padded toward me, each step a silent threat, its

movements fluid and predatory. I could smell the rot on its breath, see the bits of flesh stuck between its teeth.

The tiger eyed me playfully. As it drew close, it opened its maw, ready to swallow my head whole.

But in that split second, as its massive head lunged forward, I reached out and scratched it under the chin.

The tiger froze, its furious pupils contracting in shock. But a second later, physiology won out over instinct. Its eyes narrowed in pure, blissful plea- sure, and it tilted its head up, giving me a better angle.

The onlookers stared, their jaws on the floor.

I pulled out the manual Elias had given me and, while casually scratching the tiger’s head with one hand, began to read aloud.

16:46

Chapter 1

“The tiger is a picky eater and demands extra portions with every meal. However, it has a particular fondness for the taste of its keeper. Offer one keeper, and the tiger will rest peacefully in its cage after 6 PM, refraining from its nightly hunt.”

I recited the words from the manual in a loud, clear voice. The faces of the other players twisted in horror. Marcus’s eyes narrowed into dangerous

slits.

“So that’s how it works,” he muttered. “If the tiger ‘eats‘ a keeper, it won’t hunt the rest of us tonight. She has the key item. The manual contains

the weakness of every animal in this zoo. We have to get it, or…”

“She can die,” someone else whispered, “but we have to get that manual!”

“Agreed. One death in an instance is nothing.”

The way they were looking at me now was with a burning, predatory hunger. But my hearing was shot, so I had no idea what they were plotting. I just assumed my masterful zookeeping skills had finally won them over.

I tucked the manual away and gave the tiger a final, hearty scratch behind the ears. A clump of fur came away in my hand.

“This coat is a mess,” I declared. “Too dull. You’re low on protein and vitamins. We’re adding 20 pounds of beef and 5 pounds of carrots to your daily diet, starting now.”

Without waiting for a response, I wedged the bucket firmly into the tiger’s mouth. The motion was as practiced and natural as a grandmother feed- ing her grandson. “There’s a good boy. You eat this for now. I’ll go get your supplements.”

The tiger wanted to protest, its roar of “Wait, I’m supposed to eat you!” muffled by the large metal bucket stuck in its mouth. But, being temporarily deaf, I was already on my way out.

When I strolled out of the cage with the empty bucket, the other players looked at me differently. They surrounded me, their eyes glued to my backpack. I had no idea why.

Marcus was about to speak when a voice boomed from the zoo’s loudspeakers.

[The tiger has been fed. System has detected the assigned keeper, Agnes, shirking her duties. Penalty: Access to the staff dorms is denied. Player has been marked with a Red Name and will be targeted by animals.]