I pulled out my Taser. The others followed suit. Technically, I was the point man for our unit, so I took the lead. Gabriel held a flashlight behind me, I kept one hand free while holding the Taser in the other.
The creature made a grunting, growling noise. John yelped. The crackle of electricity made me turn around. Tawny fur writhed in pain, making even stranger noises. I jerked the Taser out of John’s hands. The animal was still stunned and made small grunting bleats. I yanked the Taser prongs out of it.
“You can have this back when you can learn to use it properly,” I scolded my coworker. The camel was pissed, but unable to stand yet. I searched through the pockets of my coat and pulled out a whistle. I handed it to John and tucked his Taser into that pocket. “If you get into trouble, blow the whistle.”
“Why do you carry a whistle?” Xavier asked.
“Some self-defense class I took taught me to carry a whistle. I’ve never used it,” I added the last quickly.
“What if I’m being attacked?” John gaped at the whistle.
“Hope we get there before you get eaten,” I started moving again. The incident had brought attention to us. The animals were all making noises, moving around in their enclosures. Some I could see, some I could hear, some I could just tell where there, in the dark. Camels weren’t my favorite animals, I thought they were nasty, but they didn’t deserve to be Tasered just because they were roughly the same color as a lion and a US Marshal was jumpy in the semi-dark.
A low, chuffing noise caught my attention. I stopped, tilting my head to hear it better. My ears had trouble finding the sound, but it reverberated through my body. Few animals made sounds like those, most were auditory, without the bass needed to create pressure waves of sound that could be felt inside. As far as I knew, it was exclusive to big cats. Some memory told me that the noise was coming from a tiger. However, where there was one cat, there were probably more.
“I’ve heard that before,” Gabriel whispered. “As a kid, my dad took us to India, we were staying in this small hut beside a game preserve and for a couple of nights in a row, I heard that noise. The locals told us it was mating season.”
“I believe it’s a tiger,” I told him.
“I’d like to know why you went to India,” Xavier said.
“We’ll discuss it later,” Gabriel said.
I started towards the sound. Gabriel’s light found the enclosure. It wasn’t a vibrant orange, but a dark, dingy orange with long black stripes to break up the color. The fur looked soft. Large yellow eyes with flecks of gold in them stared back at us. I’d seen tigers at the zoo, but I’d never been this close to one. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Logically, I knew we were fine. The tiger was in a cage. However, the eyes sent a twinge of anxiety racing through me. It could easily overpower us. The massive teeth would tear us apart.
“What are we looking for?” Xavier asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. I had hoped to find an animal covered in blood that could be tested. The tiger was pristine. I realized most of the animals would probably be in the same condition. Cats tended to be clean animals, they wouldn’t have three day old blood on them.
To our left, there was a growl. Another cat, the sound more physical than audible, it caused me to whip around to look at it. My gaze fell on another tiger. This one larger. I began to back away slowly.
“What are you doing?” Gabriel whispered.
“The way the cages are set up, we are surrounded,” I pointed at a third cage holding a tiger. “One gets out, we might not have time to react, because we will be distracted by the others. They will go nuts.”
We went back to the SUV and waited for the sun to rise. It did nothing to warm the frozen landscape, but at least we could see. During the hour wait, no one had spoken. Each of us contemplating our encounter with the tigers. I had been up close and personal with a wild predator of the exotic type once before. The standoff had ended when the predator had wandered off.
With the sun up, it was easier to see into the enclosures. Most were at least partially covered with thick tarps. Shelters could be seen within them. A few eyes peered out at us as we skulked around. The majority couldn’t be bothered by our presence and kept inside where it was warm and cozy.
One enclosure caught my attention. It was easily the largest one there. A tree inside had a few ropes hanging from it and there toys strewn about the ground. The occupant or occupants were invisible, hidden within the depths of the enormous shed like building.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the licensed gorilla lived on the other side of the metal. The others waited beside me. They were quiet, although I was sure they were questioning why we were standing outside a gorilla cage.
While part of me was standing there with the intent of seeing the creature that dwelled on the other side, another part had become trapped in thought. Not of gorillas, but of chimpanzees, chimps were notoriously aggressive and had large teeth. It was far more likely for a chimp to go on a rampage than a gorilla. There was always the possibility that the fang marks didn’t come from a predatory cat, but from something more apish.
It was easier to obtain a chimpanzee than it was a jaguar. A chimp would have the strength to bite through bone. It would also be able to rip a teenaged boy limb from limb, which might be why we weren’t finding anything other than the feet.
There was movement from the shed. A hatch opened and the first appearance of the large beast came into the morning sun. His face was black with large canine teeth that hung over his lower lip. His head was wide, one ear had been injured at some point and had healed into a grotesque curl that folded in on itself. However, the eyes were bright. He stared at us. I looked at the ground, trying not to stare at him.
The large male came the rest of the way out of his home. It wasn’t a gorilla. The ape was orange with large cheek pads. He swaggered over to the edge of his enclosure and I felt the men with me step backwards. I was close enough to feel his breath upon me.
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He seemed non-threatening. He also seemed as curious about me as I was him. Of course, I knew better than to trust his curiosity. He could become aggressive if I moved wrong.
“Ace,” Xavier whispered my name. I took a step backwards, then another. A hand shot from between the bars, reaching for me. The fingers brushed my coat, but failed to grab hold. I continued to back away slowly, eyes averted, until I was well and truly safe from the orangutan on the other side.
“Communing with nature?” Gabriel whispered once I was back with the group.
“It’s hard to explain,” I told him. The licenses hadn’t included an orangutan. “Was there any mention of the great ape?”
“Not that I recall,” John answered.
“Why?” Xavier asked.
“Not now,” I turned and looked at the rest of the sanctuary. All of these animals were safe, I wasn’t going to ding them on having an orangutan. Especially since I was pretty sure I knew the gentle giant. If I was right, he was about ten years older than me, more than halfway through his life cycle. If he was happy at the sanctuary, I was fine with leaving him there. “Can we get them a license before animal control shows?”
“Yes,” Gabriel answered.
“Good, let’s get a license. Do you need a name?”
“John?” Gabriel looked at our geek.
“No, I’ll be in the SUV, faking paperwork should you need me to dummy up any more official documents,” he sulked back to the SUV. I thought he should be happy to be out of the cold. The SUV was running and warm.
The orangutan hooted at us. I waved at him. He waved back and climbed his tree.
“You know him,” Gabriel said.
“I think so,” I answered. “Now to search for the dangerous animals.”
“You will explain, later,” Gabriel informed me.
I frowned. I could explain later, but I felt no desire to do so. Getting the information out of me might be difficult, I had history with the ape behind the bars. I wondered if he was cold. Maybe I would be a good pet owner.
We checked the rest of the cages and found no other unregistered animals. John found us as we finished, license in hand. Gabriel took it from him and called the sanctuary owners. Their panic was evident over the phone as Gabriel tried to reassure them.
About ten minutes later, animal control showed. Ten minutes after that, the sanctuary owners arrived. There was quite a mess and I huddled in the car for warmth while the people in charge worked it out.
A woman knocked on the window. She was older, around the same age as my mom. The sun had wrinkled and tanned her face. Her arms were thick, strong for her age, conditioned by caring for the animals. She wore a flannel coat over jeans and a lined shirt.
“May I help you?” I rolled down the window.
“I just wanted to thank you, Ms. Clachan. We’ve been trying for years to get the orangutan a license, but there was always so much red tape, it never went through.”
“It’s Cain now, not Clachan and you’re welcome. I suspect he is well cared for and in good health,” I didn’t make it a question.
“In the best possible health,” she said. “You are welcome to come see him any time you’re in town. He remembers you.”
“Thank you,” I answered.
“Since you’re here, you could take a few minutes now to go see him,” she pressed.
“Mrs. Rivers, I’m not sure how happy a reunion it would be,” I answered.
“I understand he grabbed for you earlier. He doesn’t do that unless it’s someone he knows,” Mrs. Rivers told me.
“Knows, perhaps, wants to be around,” I frowned at her.
“Orangutans do not hold grudges like people, Aislinn Clachan. It would do you both some good to see each other.”
“Fine, but I’m keeping my Taser.” I opened the door and re-entered the cold.