Much, Much Earlier

  ---

  “Hack! hork! Haughhh!”

  “Difficulty breathing. Coughing and gagging. Wheezing earlier. This is probably feline asthma!” I noted, petting the small gray fluffball on my chest with some concern. Calmly evaluating the situation, I turned to my assistant with a serious look - I’d put every ounce of my training to fix this little situation, with his help! “Aaron, do we have some feline inhalers? I need-”

  My statement was cut off with a violent “Hoooork!” and a wet splash of liquid and fuzz across my chest, staining my old shirt with a fast-acting sliminess.

  “...Or, or it could be hairballs.” I admit with a sigh, pulling the wad of hair off the front of my shirt and throwing it into the nearby trash can.

  “Simple has hairballs every year, I keep telling you.” Aaron called from the small kitchen in our shared apartment. His curly blonde hair and giant frame of 6’4 complimented his taciturn demeanor, as my roommate looked through the ‘window’ between the living room and the kitchen with a fully deadpan expression. His features were far more rugged than mine despite being a year younger - a feature of his I was unabashedly jealous of. “You don’t need to do a veterinary analysis. You okay over there?”

  “Yeah”, I said with a frown, tugging on my shirt. “It’s just a little cat bile and fur. I need to shower and change before work anyways. First day starts pretty soon.”

  “Finally made it, eh, Noah?” Aaron asked, looking over through the window. “workplace of your dreams and all that?”

  “Yep.” I replied with a grin as broad as my ears. “We’ll have to watch Prehistoric Pundit later. put it on the DVR.” I noted, picking up Simple next to her equally fluffy gray cat sister Clean, and heading to the shower as they began to bat at each other. Though the squeaks and meows of cat-based mortal kombat were making me want to turn around and watch the fluffy lions play, I had to get ready.

  ---

  My name is Noah Ardennes. Pretty average guy. Brown, well-combed hair, face that might be a little more… childish, than I might’ve asked for, slim without a lot of muscle. My childhood was also pretty standard. Only child, regularish parents, though both of them are pretty old for a 20-something’s parents at like 70. I only managed okay grades in school, with the exception of biology - I really liked biology. I absolutely adore nature - animals, plants, fungi, everything! - both those that are alive and those that have since gone extinct. I’ve adored dinosaurs and birds in general, but every animal is a cool animal in my opinion! My dream since I was a kid has been to work in a zoo.

  Well, today, that dream was about to come true! I’d been hired here recently for my keen eye and nerves under pressure, as a new position had just made itself known! I adjusted my bowtie, and made my way to the familiar gate of the Kingdom of the Animals Zoo with a spring in my step, humming a happy tune. I had a job to do here, and by god, I was going to leave people in awe of my skills at animal handling!

  My first challenge: a hairy beast, built much like a walrus, with a smell that can’t be described in polite words.

  “Here’s your hot dog, sir. Seven fifty seven!” I spoke in a cheerful tone, hoping not to spook him.

  “That’s ridiculous! If I’d known they were so expensive I’d have never ordered it!”

  “th-the price is… right there on the side of the food truck, sir.”

  “Oh, so you think you’re freakin’ funny?” he growled, spittle smacking the front of my nice white shirt.

  I did not have the skills for this particular animal.

  “Hey, I’m sorry sir, you seem stressed. Is there anything I can do for your zoo… experience?” A silky, feminine voice cut through, and the big guy in front of me turned with already drifting rage as Jill appeared like an angel to take me out of this situation.

  “You need to keep these new hires on a frickin’ leash. But it’s no problem, miss, I’ll pay up. It’s just been a little bit of a morning, you know?.” Walrus-man babbled, giving a nervous chuckle that briefly dispelled his double chin as he stood up straighter in front of Jill.

  I couldn’t blame him. Growing up around Jill since Childhood meant that I didn’t really see it, but I’d seen a lot of men fall apart in her hands. I knew better than to be distracted by the routine as I took the man’s money, and watched her politely see him off, all while making him feel like the most important person in the zoo with a smile and a wink - after informing him of a few places he could spend his money for the good and well being of the animals here, if he wanted to impress her.

  The resting bitch-face that came back the moment he left was a lot more familiar to me as she stepped up to the counter.

  “Ugh, what an asshole!...I’ll take the cheese dog, Noah. Sorry that had to be your first customer.” Jill said with a sigh, leaning on the counter of the food truck.

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  I gave a smile as the goth that hung out behind the pretty glam showed herself, and got to making her dog. “I mean, it certainly sets expectations…” I argued, “And no matter how angry he gets, he’s helping me pay my bills, right?”

  Jill just gave a shrug. “You are way too sweet for the customer service business.”

  “Well, I’m just happy I’m finally in the zoo.” I said with a big smile, squeezing my hands into fists as I happily suppressed the experience already.

  “I suppose it is a step forward. With a couple problems.” Jill replied, wincing. “...As soon as you have the money and time to finish your bachelor’s, you know we’ll get you working as a proper zookeeper. I’ll vouch for you, and you know the boss loves you, too. You just gotta be patient, okay?” Jill asked, flashing me an apologetic smile not many got from her.

  “Yeah. Soon as I do, I’ll get to it.” I said with a weak smile. How I was going to get that when Aaron and I collectively could barely make rent, I wasn’t really sure. I didn’t come from a well-off family and sort of talked everyone out of giving me a scholarship, but… you know, maybe something would happen, right?

  My smile had faded as I thought this through, and Jill was looking at me with a lot of concern, so I took a deep breath and forced the biggest grin I could muster. “...Something's gonna come up! I just know it!”

  “...Yeah. Noah, If I hear about anything…”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I cut her off with the biggest grin I had. “Here's your dog! You have work to get back to, right?”

  I handed her the reconstituted beef vessel with a flourish that seemed to satisfy her, and she took her lunch with a sigh, an exhausted look coming over her face as her baby blues slowly turned away from me.

  “What I’d give to have your level of positivity, Noah.” She said with a smile.

  “It’s a gift!” I replied with a chuckle, before another customer came and Jill allowed the line to come in.

  The next animal was a lanky thing, slow like a sloth, and it desired ever more ketchup on it’s meal, no matter how full the bun seemed…

  ---

  Sometime later

  After finishing our shift, my poor shirt covered with sweat and a bit of aggressively discharged mustard, I only had a bit of time to actually enjoy the zoo before closing time, so I spent a bit of time watching the monkeys before getting ready to leave.

  The Kingdom of the Animals zoo - what a mouthful of a name - was not the biggest in the world, but it’s dirt paths and rustic decor were killer on the feet, and built to be a scenic route rather than an efficient one, so I wasn’t that surprised when, by the time I’d grabbed my jacket and walked back into the small city of Princea, I was already staring up at stars in the night sky. Cars were sort of a luxury here, so walking was a pretty normal way of handling transportation for me - the buses never really ran with my schedule, and the people on them tended to terrify me nowadays.

  So instead, I whistled a happy tune, read my signed copy of Running with Raptors, and started walking down the sidewalk. My father had always given me trouble for reading while I was walking, but I was damn good at it, and had never gotten hit before - I often tended to keep my eyes tucked above my head, looking for vehicles as I crossed the familiar lines of the crosswalk -

  And my goodness that semi was going fast!

  I leaped, barely holding onto my book, but sadly losing my place as I dodged the steel and rubber titan that screamed right past me. A sudden gaggle of honks and beeps started around me, and I realized as I looked up to the orange hand on the stop sign that I, uh, had accidentally forgot to check the pedestrian signal!

  My face turned beet red as I looked around. I was puffing and wheezing too hard to really reply to anyone, but Judging by the loud beeping and screams of what sounded like every angry truck driver gathered together in the city, people were pretty focused on getting me out of the road. My knees hurt like hell as I tore myself off the pavement. My work outfit was torn, there was blood and mud all over my hands, and I got up with a whine of pain. Most importantly, I’d kept my grip strong on Running with Raptors, so the book was perfectly okay! Okay, little bit of dirt on the cover, but more or less fine! Getting back up to my feet, a nervous laugh escaped my lips, a mixture of stress and genuine happiness that I survived what felt like a near brush with death, a laugh that grew higher and higher as I made it to the curb…

  then the BOOM hit! On a clear night. in the middle of traffic with taller structures. far from an open field. next to power lines.

  “Wh-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y!” was the last word I spoke in this life, unconsciousness claiming me before the sky could answer my questions.