I entered to make sure. The cage had an environment that kind of simulating a bear’s habitat. I walked past the small stream as I looked to see if he was gone. At the end of the cage, there was a giant concrete structure poured in a shape to simulate a cave. Maybe he was resting? I peered inside, but there wasn’t anything there.
“Maybe one of the zookeepers moved him for some reason,” I said to myself. Of course, there wasn’t anything on the schedule to confirm this, but you never knew with these guys. I decided to leave the cage and find the nearest zookeeper I could find to figure out what was up. Unfortunately, it was the same guy that was always hitting on me. He was a lanky creep, and he never got the hint.
“What do you want, Stacy?” he asked.
Yes, I know that is my name. Now, could you please stop saying it?
“Do you know what’s going on with the bear cage? I can’t seem to find the bear, and I don’t think they moved him.”
“Let me check with the others, hon,” he replied.
Please don’t call me hon.
In a matter of minutes, zookeepers were standing at the cage, and everyone testified that there were no plans to move the bear. Of course, all the blame began shifting to me.
“Didn’t you feed it?” one asked. “Did you make sure to lock the cage?”
“Of course I did,” I replied. I remembered myself locking it up tightly. There was no way that I messed up.
The eyes were all still staring at me, but I just ignored them. Eventually, their fingers stopped pointing. Our boss, an older man who looked like a shaved orangutan, ordered us to search the entire vicinity of the zoo. The intercoms began announcing that the zoo would be closing early and to please head to the nearest exit.
For the next hour, I spent what energy I had left searching every nook and cranny that the zoo had to offer. It was a bear, not a poison dart frog, yet it was nowhere to be seen. This was getting bizarre. A wall surrounded the zoo, so it wasn’t as though it could have escaped. The front and back doors were heavily guarded. How could a grizzly bear just disappear like this?
“Maybe he’s a Houdini bear,” one of the guards commented, thinking how clever he was.
The zookeepers were freaking out, but relieved that no one had been harmed, whatever had happened. In fact, many of them seemed to be more concerned over the public backlash they might receive if the bear were found wandering around the streets, than they were about the fact he was gone. It was true that the potential lawsuit if someone were to be attacked by our animal was the last thing any zoo needed.
Two teams were sent out to hunt for the bear. One team started to review the security camera footage from outside the cage as well as the surrounding areas. The other began searching outside the zoo. There was a small forest behind the zoo, so if a bear somehow did escape, that’s where they would most likely be. I was sent on the second team.
As I looked at my phone, I realized that I should be home by now. I was worried plenty about “Barry” and I was also exhausted, hot and sweaty. How did he disappear like that? Could someone have bear-napped him and if so, who?
During our trip through the woods, we saw nothing that would indicate the bear had been this way. There were no tracks, no droppings, and really no sign of anything bigger than a squirrel. After exploring every acre, we returned to the zoo and we regrouped with the security team.
“What do you have to report?” the team leader of my group asked us. “We saw no signs of the bear in the woods. We’ll probably have to send the police to search further, but there are absolutely no signs of him” reported Jim, the most senior member of my group.
“Nothing off about the security footage, either,” the zoo search team leader said. “I mean we see the bear moving around a bit in the areas we monitor. We saw Stacy Paddington enter and leave the cage, and we can confirm that she did lock it. Then later the bear does move out of frame from the monitored areas, but he was acting normal.”
“Are there no cameras on the door to the cage?” Jim asked.
“Only on a few areas inside the cage. We have cameras for studying the bear, not to see if he feels like going for a walk outside. But yeah, it seems that must be what he did,” he joked. No one laughed.
This began to remind me of the picture game “Where’s Waldo” as everyone kept saying that they couldn’t find the bear. Of course in my head it was “Where’s Barry?” Finally, everyone was dismissed and allowed to go home as police arrived to take over and converse with the remaining head staff. As I returned to my car, I began pondering just who was responsible for this. Did the bear somehow escape on its own? Was there someone behind this? Why would someone want to steal a bear? As I continued to think this over, I began driving.
When I returned to my apartment, I immediately headed to the bathroom. I took off my uniform and looked at myself in the mirror. I was drenched in sweat, and my makeup wasn’t exactly on very well. I looked like a mess, and the bathtub next to me was tempting. After I wiped off my face, I poured myself a bath and then immersing myself, allowed some of the days fatigue to be soaked out of me. Finally, I got out, dried off and put on my robe before turning on the TV. Already, the media had caught wind of the disappearing act. The Zoo president – yes the zoo has a president - was being interviewed, and they were showing footage of the empty cage. Great, just what the zoo needed. More negative publicity in a year when attendance was already down.
“The Longforest Zoo is known for causing some controversy. In 2009, it was scrutinized for health violations, and in 2013, one of the lions got too close for one boy’s comfort, although thankfully he was unharmed.” the report finished.
“Great,” I said as I shut off the TV. I did have to admit that this zoo wasn’t the best, but it was the only one this town had, and it brought some life to an otherwise pretty dead town.
As I relaxed myself, I received a call from my boyfriend Josh. I answered the call and he began with the worry immediately.
“I saw the news report, are you all right?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” I replied. It started off being a call of concern, but Josh soon changed his tune.
“So when are you going to come see me?” he asked, a bit of impatience in his breath.
“You know my work schedule is really busy, and you live three hours away. Plus, it goes both ways. You don’t have a job, so why don’t you come down here?” I replied.
“I don’t have the money,” Josh replied.
I wanted to call him out on that. Josh had been bragging on Facebook about some new video game he bought. For a fraction of that, he could have seen me. It wasn’t like gas was four dollars a gallon anymore.
“Can’t we just wait until you come back here for college?” I asked.
“But I really want to see you, babe,” he said, sounding pretty pathetic.
“Then come here. I know that you can afford it. Sell one of your games.”
There was silence on the other end, and then the call ended.
Well, fuck you too, I thought to myself. His gaming was a touchy subject. He played a lot. Too much. Some would say addiction level too much. I grabbed myself a glass of wine and began sipping on it. At least tomorrow was my day off. And if they said I had to come in to search for the bear, it just wasn’t happening. Even though I was concerned for the bear, I needed a break. Besides that, it was confirmed that the bear wasn’t in the zoo or its surroundings, so what would be the point. After a bit, I received a text from Josh. “Sorry, I was in an area with poor signal and the call got dropped,” it read. I decided to ignore it for now. He was clearly hanging up because he knew I had put him in a checkmate, and pushed his buttons to boot. Instead of owning up to it like the strong man he claimed to be, he just ran away.
“Oh well,” I said, and soon fell asleep.
Chapter Two
It was nice not having to hear the screeching of an alarm when I woke up. Instead, I heard the sweet sounds of nature greeting me as I slowly surfaced back
into full consciousness. After stretching and turning on the coffeepot, I turned on the TV. It was still covering the bear escaping intermittently, and as usual, there were no updates. I saw a missed call on my phone from work, and from Josh, but I decided to leave both unanswered for the moment. Nothing was going to screw up my day off.
Being my first Saturday off in a good while, I decided to dress for the occasion. I slipped on a cute little pink skirt, put on a pink tank top to match, shaved myself in all the socially mandated correct places, put my hair down, and even put on a little makeup. Looking at myself in the mirror I was definitely going to get a few heads turning today.
I left my apartment, not sure about how I was going to go about my day. I could go to the mall, maybe hit up a bar, or go see a movie. I didn’t exactly have a ton of choices in this town. Maybe I’d splurge on my mileage and visit the city, but it was still up in the air. I didn’t like to schedule my one unscheduled day.
I got in my car and began driving off. As I was leaving the complex, a man right of front of my car. I slowed down almost to a halt, and honked my horn before he moved aside. The man was startled, almost jumping out of his jeans.
I put the window down, boiling in anger. “Watch it,” I told him.
“I’m sorry. I’m new here, so I still don’t know where you cross,” he replied.
“These apartments are a bit confusing I’ll admit but you gotta watch it stepping in front of cars buddy. If you need any help, just let me know,” I said. Despite the fact that people pissed me off, I was pretty good at letting stuff go. Plus, the guy was kind of cute. I usually am not into the lumberjack type, but his thick, dark beard below his shaggy hair was working for me. He also had brown eyes, which I was a sucker for. Granted, his jeans were ripped and his shirt was a bit dirty, but I could overlook that. Must be the next phase in the hipster evolution I figured.
“I don’t think that I need any help really,” the man replied. “But being new around here, I’d love to make some new friends. I’m-“… there was a brief moment of hesitation, and then he finished. “I’m Eric.”
“Stacy,” I replied. I was curious to know why he hesitated when giving out his name, but hey, I had brain farts all the time, so I couldn’t judge. Plus he was just about hit by a car.
“I’m actually leaving right now,” I told him. “Going to have some fun this afternoon after a rough week. I need it after so much stress.”
“What happened?” he asked.
I explained the story about the bear escaping and how no one could find it. “It’s a shame, because that bear was my pal. Hell, what he gave me was more reliable than my boyfriend.”
Eric looked at me with a bit of shock present on his face. “Oh, you have a boyfriend. I didn’t know, I mean, you don’t look like you’re in a relationship.”
I didn’t know? It could be another brain fart, but he almost acted like he knew me. I thought.
“I don’t? Well I guess that makes sense…I am kind of over it I think…Why am I telling you this anyhow? I was just running my mouth. There seemed to be something familiar about this guy that made it easy or even natural to just tell him whatever was on my mind.
“So why are you with him then? I mean, life’s too short, seems to me.”
“Yeah, I think I kind of new from the beginning that we weren’t quite right.” We met at a frat party. Strike number one, right? But he’s actually a nice guy, but he just doesn’t seem that into me. Maybe I’m not that into him. I don’t know, I was really into him at first. I mean, this has been my first real relationship. I guess that’s why I’m so caught up with it.”
“You never had a boyfriend before him? How is that possible?” he asked, seemingly sincere.
I felt my cheeks reddening. “I was the outcast in high school. I always liked animals more than people. That’s why I want to be a vet. I thought that going to the gym and taking care of animals would be amazing,” I explained. Why was I telling my life story to this man? Normally, it took me a bit to open up, but this guy had me spilling my guts, and I didn’t even know why. All I knew was that it just felt totally natural, so I decided was just not going to worry about it.
“I love animals too. I mean, I’m an outdoorsman myself. I feel closest to the world when I’m in nature, and I love to explore the land around me,” explained. “I am trying to find the best trails out here, where would you suggest?”
“There are a few out here. Miller’s Peak Valley is amazing, but it’s filled with snot-nosed brats most of the time when it’s nice outside.”
He let out a hearty laugh. “I know all too well what it’s like dealing with kids.”
“Say, you want to join me today?” I asked. “You seem kind of cool, and I wouldn’t mind someone to talk to and hang out with. Of course, if you’re busy or don’t want to go with someone you’ve just met, I understand.” What the hell was I doing? This guy could be some total psycho!
The man shook his head. “I’m free. So where do you want to go?”
“This town isn’t exactly massive. A few weeks ago, I might have said the zoo, but I’m sick of that place.”
“Yeah, let’s go somewhere else.” he replied, a look of concern passing over his face. “What was your plan?”
“I was originally going to go to the mall, or to the movies, but there really aren’t any good movies out, and the mall is packed on Saturdays.”
“Not my thing either. Why not introduce me to the nature trails around here?” he asked.
“Now you’re talking. After what happened, I need a break from people. Except for you of course, I mean, you seem all right,” I said. As I drove off in the direction of the nature trail I gave Eric a glance. Once again, I didn’t know why I felt so comfortable around this stranger. I was acting totally out of character. Normally I would never let some random guy into my car. But like I said, I just felt like he was ok. It was hard to explain.
“So, what do you do?” I asked him.
“I’m new to these parts, so I still need to get a job,” he told me. “But I used to work at a pretty big state park. Ever heard of Pine Peaks?”
I nodded. “You used to work there! That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to go there,” I replied.
“It is amazing,” he nodded, smiling, “The rivers are phenomenal and they have beautiful hiking trails. I used to love to watch the sunset from the ridges too. I worked as a tour guide for a few years before I finally left. So, I just moved here, and was actually thinking about looking into if there are any jobs at this park.”
“Probably not, sorry. It’s pretty small, so I doubt they would need a tour guide,” I told him.
“A shame,” he replied. “Anyway, I think that I’ll probably get a job at some park when I get a bit more settled.”
We arrived at the park. “Green Tops,” the sign in front of us read. Sure enough, the parking lot was packed with soccer mom vans. I had to do a few laps around the lot before finding a spot, and I only found it when someone else backed out.
We got out, ignoring all the kids roaming around. “Is there a remote part of the park? You know, any part without so many people?” Eric asked.
“I feel that. Well, I do know that if you veer off the trail, there’s a nice hilltop in the woods, where no one’s ever around. If you feel like exploring, it’s a cool spot.”
“Why not?” he replied. “As a tour guide, I’m a natural trailblazer.”
We began walking down the nature trail, avoiding the runners and children, and taking care to give the occasional senior citizen some space too. Finally, we arrived at the point where we had to turn off the well beaten path. Making sure that a nosy person wasn’t about to follow us, we began going up the hill. When we made it to the top, we began walking through the trees. Nature was singing its tune through the birdsong as well as the wind in the trees. The growth itself wasn’t too bad, and we soon found a log where we could park our butts and enjoy the surroundings.
As we sat, Eric looked
at me. “So, do you come here often?” he joked.
“Every now and then.” I laughed. “Actually, I like to take my morning jogs here, but I don’t normally go so deep into the woods. It’s nice here, though. Kind of like your own little private world.”
“I agree. So, what kinds of animals do they have here anyhow?” he asked.
“Nothing huge. Just some rabbits, squirrels, and the like. Chipmunks, mice, shrews, rabbits, possums, woodchucks, raccoons…” I continued, playing off the joking light mood we had established. Nothing too major. Deer I suppose. You’re not going to find any bears roaming around though, unless we find the one the disappeared from the zoo.”
“Isn’t the zoo like twenty miles from here?” Eric asked. “He would have to have a reason to come this far.”
“I suppose,” I replied. I liked this guy. A bit on the oddball side, but my calling him that was like a fish calling another one scaly. Of course, some fish didn’t have scales, but you know what I’m talking about. I turned on my phone, because you can get service almost anywhere these days, and there was Josh, whining at me again.
“Why haven’t you answered?” read his text.
“Because you stopped talking to me once I called out your bullshit. And don’t tell me your phone dropped the call, because you and me both know that it’s simply not true,” I texted back. Message sent. I let out a drawn out sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Eric asked.
“You know, just my boyfriend.” I began explaining the situation.
“Why not forget him? It sounds like you guys aren’t the best match” he replied, a quizzical look in those deep, dark eyes.
“I want to dump him, but like I said, things were good before, and plus, he’s my first, so I guess I have some nostalgia attached to him. Even though he doesn’t really care about all that stuff. Hell, he wasn’t even that into sex last time I saw him. And that is weird.”
“And that’s why you should dump him. Don’t think that he’s going to get any better,” Eric replied.
DECKER: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 9) Page 147