*not the prompt. Although sometimes I feel like a zoo animal that has gone missing…”

You were spinning

on, like a cable.

My hands were tied

to the table

The way it looks

They way it feels

The way the light

Hits the shadow

- it appeals

Scraping dark lines

off, marks.

Then there is the way

my blood congeals

The way it looks

They way it feels

The way the light

Hits the shadow

- isn’t real.

But...

I paused uncertainly. Surely the door hadn’t been open as I passed…had it? I was nearing the end of a long hallway of barred cages. This sector was known for its unusual creatures, discovered all over the galaxy.

Part of my duties were to check the cages to be sure that they were all locked up for the night. It was three am, and I was ready to go home. I turned back and stopped in front of the do...

“ESTELLE! ESTELLE, WE GOTTA PROBLEM!”

Estelle rolled her eyes. This new guy really was the most dramatic custodian the zoo had ever hired.

“Whaddya want, Jiz?” she called back.

“I said—“ he panted as he ran over to the customer service desk where Estelle worked. “I said we gotta problem.”

Estelle flipped a page in the magazine she was reading. “Is it a real problem, or er’ you just flirtin...

I tightened the rubber band around my dark colored hair, hoping that my ponytail wouldn’t slip out while I was on my shift at the zoo.

Then I heard a rustling, something moving.

“WEE WOoO WEEE WOOO..”

“Oh my…they’re at it again. Animals killing and attacking our workers, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen coworkers of mine get bitten by a crocodile.” Aaron sighed for a rather long time....

Most days at my job are uneventful, just feeding the animals and making sure they were healthy. But one morning, something went wrong.

Walking though the snake enclosure I noticed that the boa constrictor was not in his cage where he was supposed to be. With no cleanings on the schedule, this was very bad.

I immediately reported it to the office while checking to make sure the other snakes were...

A man with a well kept beard entered a dimly lit room. On the far side were monitors, showing multiple animal enclosures. A tired looking woman watched the screens with little interest. That is until she heard the electric open up. Immediately, she straightened her back and did her best to look professional. The man gently put a hand on her shoulder.

“Long night, Rosa?”

“Yeah, little Damien k...

I like to think that I have some symbiosis with the animals I keep at the zoo. I’ve been here for more years than I can count paws in the tiger’s den. There were two tigers and a lion and lioness. Management had given me increased responsibility as my expertise and ability to know what the animals wanted became invaluable and irreplaceable.

I brushed through my bushy beard as I made my last patro...

One day on my rounds as a zookeeper, the day began in a strange way. I loved my animals as pets. I kept my keys on a ring in my shirt pocket and tied on a wire.

Our animals laughed and pointed south. I strolled my natural way and watched each enclosure until I came to the far end of the zoo.

The lion usually climbed onto a rock and slept, but today he sat on a tree branch beside the rock. It’s...

My stomach dropped through my shoes onto the paved paths; it couldn’t be, the hyenas were loose! True, they were scavengers of the dead but they would kill for fresh meat! It was early enough in the morning that there are only employees inside the park, but the gates will be opening in about…half and hour!

Hurriedly, I looked around for the special call boxes that we kept around for emergencies, ...

Yaaawwwwn. Man, what a party last night. Who knew that Sophia could sing like that? A 70-year old woman singing karaoke death metal-amazing!

I’m usually alone, so it took some bravery on my part to go to the outing. I remember being so nervous leaving, I even forgot to say “goodbye” to Bast, the newest margay we had. The cat was a feisty one, indeed.

Wait, I did close her enclosure, right? Hmm...