Chapter 1

A brown bear escaped from the zoo.

"They say brown bears eat people. Like, alive," my bestie said.

Thud.

She warned, "Whatever you do, don't go out tonight."

Thud. Thud.

"Nicole…" she called out.

I couldn't even reply to her because the bear was literally knocking on my front door.

*****

"Nicole, are you listening? Your place is way too close to that zoo. Don't even think about going outside until they catch the bear!" My bestie, Ariadne Foy's voice came through the phone.

But I was frozen. Through the peephole, I saw the brown bear standing at my front door, knocking like a damn person.

"I think I already found it," I said. "It's knocking on my door."

Ariadne screamed on the other end while the slow, steady knocking kept hammering in my brain.

"It's fine. Your front door's, like, unbreakable. Just don't open it. Wait for the cops, okay? I mean it, Nicole, don't open that door," Ariadne said.

I forced a laugh, trying to keep the panic down. "I'm not in that much of a hurry to die. Relax."

Half an hour earlier, the zoo where I worked had sent out an emergency alert in the staff group chat. [A brown bear escaped. Current location: unknown.]

The zoo was out in the middle of nowhere and was already in trouble. Six months ago, there'd been an incident with a bear mauling someone. The place had never really recovered after that.

It was supposed to shut down for good next month.

The bear outside must've heard me move. Its knocks started getting harder, turning into full-on smashing.

It was getting pissed.

Its claws scraped the door, that awful high-pitched screeching cutting through the air.

Once I was sure it couldn't break through, I finally let out a breath and backed slowly into the living room.

I messaged Robert Malone, the director of the zoo, and told him the bear was at my place and he needed to send someone fast.

The thing with Robert was, he loved animals way too much. Even when he sent out that emergency alert, he made sure to bold one rule: do not call the police.

If the cops came, they might shoot his precious bear and that was something he just couldn't live with.

Six months ago, some tourist accidentally fell into the bear enclosure. Rifles were aimed, ready to take the bear down. But Robert jumped in front of them, swearing the bear could be "saved with love."

However, the bear sensed it wasn't going to get shot and smacked the tourist to the ground, smashing his left leg.

That bear got shot anyway. Robert had been bitter about the cops ever since.

Remembering that poor tourist's mangled body, I ignored Robert and called 911 anyway.

Screw Robert. The zoo was closing down anyway.

I wasn't dying for his moral high ground.

Sounds of claws scratching continued at my door. It was making me nervous.

The bear knew someone was inside and it wasn't leaving without getting in.

Thank God this apartment complex was nearly empty—especially this floor. I was the only regular resident up here.

But then I heard a voice. "Shhh, honey. Stop crying. If you don't stop, a big ol' tiger's gonna come eat you..."

Then, the same voice shouted, "Who the hell's making that awful noise? It's the middle of the night! Can't you be considerate?"

It was a woman's voice, and a crying baby.

Crap. It was from the apartment next door, owned by Patrick and Sarah Roland.

They didn't usually live here. I'd no idea why the hell they showed up now.

I ran to the door and yelled as loud as I could, "Run!"

Too late.

My voice got drowned out by the bear's roar and Sarah's scream.

"Help! No, don't come closer, please. Somebody help me." Her voice was so close, just one door away.

"Please, miss, save me..." Sarah was begging me.

My hand went to the door handle and I locked it.

Sarah's screams slowly faded. Maybe she passed out. Or maybe she died.

I couldn't look through the peephole. I didn't want to see what was happening. I didn't want the guilt to eat me alive.

But what could I have done? Drag her inside? No way.

If I'd opened that door, we both would've died.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered, sinking to the floor and breaking down in tears.

I wasn't some fearless movie hero. I wasn't a savior in some fantasy book. I just wanted to survive.

I didn't know how long I sat there, but eventually, everything outside went quiet. No bear. No Sarah.

Suddenly, a voice sounded repeatedly. "Fingerprint unlock failed."

My heart stopped. I stared at the door, terrified.

Finally came a soft ding, followed by "Fingerprint unlock successful."

A door opened. It was the apartment next door.

I realized it wasn't my door that was unlocked but the Rolands'.

But that didn't make sense. I wondered if Sarah was still alive.

Perhaps the bear had knocked Sarah out, thought she was dead, and, losing interest, left. Then, when Sarah woke up, she quickly hid inside.

I wasn't sure if Sarah would blame me for not rescuing her.

I wanted to open my door and call out to her. But instinct kicked in. Years of living alone made me cautious. I looked through the peephole.

With one glance, my blood turned to ice.

The bear was dragging Sarah's limp body into the apartment.

Then it turned back around and picked up her baby.

I don't know if I was imagining it, but before it went inside, it looked straight at my door.

Pain shot up my arm. I'd bitten down on my wrist without realizing it, hard enough to bleed.

Sarah didn't wake up, which meant the bear had used her fingerprint to open the door.

It was smart, terrifyingly so.

I had a horrible feeling I was next.

But as long as I didn't do anything stupid—as long as I wasn't some bleeding-heart idiot who opened the door—I'd be fine. I just needed to hold out until help came.

That thought gave me a bit of comfort.

I looked around. Thank God I lived on a high floor. No way that bear could climb up or come through the window... right?

To my horror, I realized I had an open balcony.

Just as that thought hit me, I heard a noise coming from the neighbor's balcony.