Chapter 1

Ever since I became an animal keeper at the city zoo, I could hear what the animals were thinking.

And I was hosing down a black bear's enclosure one day when I felt eyes on me. I turned, and there it was, staring right through me.

'That keeper... she looks tasty,' it mused. 'Alright, I'm breaking out tonight. Gotta rip her to pieces and swallow her whole.'

I actually laughed. Shook my head and kept spraying down the rocks.

Seriously? A bear? Escaping a maximum-security zoo? Tracking me across the entire city? Yeah, right.

But that night, it did come to me.

*****

'The zookeeper is so cute. I could just eat her up,' the black bear thought.

At first, I thought it was funny.

Ever since I started working here, I'd had this weird ability to hear what the animals were thinking.

It made my job incredibly easy.

I always knew exactly what they needed, whether it was food, fresh water, or just some company. I took care of them like they were my own.

No wonder I'd been Employee of the Year two years running.

But most animals weren't exactly deep thinkers. Their thoughts usually ranged from "I'm hungry" to "Is it play time yet?"

So it was new when I heard the black bear's emotional thoughts.

For a second, I actually thought it had a crush on me. And it gave me a little ego boost.

Then it kept thinking, and my blood ran cold.

It thought, 'She's actually looking at me!

'Oh no, what do I do? She's just too cute.

'I can't take it anymore. I have to eat her. Right now.

'Tonight's the night.

'I'm going to swallow her whole.'

Tonight? How? It could actually break out?

That was impossible.

But then the bear moved, and suddenly nothing felt impossible.

It caught me staring and flashed me this slow, unnatural grin.

I was standing in the blazing sun, but a cold sweat broke out all over my skin. That smile was way too human.

The other bears were clowning around on their hind legs, begging tourists for snacks. But this one stood perfectly still by the rock, like it didn't belong there.

Its eyes were different, too—sharp and alert, rolling in its sockets like it was observing everything.

If it weren't for the enclosure, I would've sworn it was just some guy in a bear suit, staring right through me.

The thought made my skin crawl.

I forced myself to act normal, grabbed my cleaning tools, and bolted out of the bear enclosure.

Then I went straight to Samuel, the head director, and told him I was worried one of the bears might try to break out.

He burst out laughing. "Break out? No way. We do safety checks every month. Just two days ago, we inspected every enclosure—bears, tigers—everything's solid."

Lewis, the safety manager, chuckled too. "Ashley, did the bears spook you? They're not exactly geniuses. All they do is beg for snacks. They're not plotting a jailbreak."

Hearing them say that did make me feel a little better.

But then I remembered that unnervingly human grin and the thoughts I'd overheard, and I had to push a little more.

I asked, "But everyone says bears can climb, right? What if one climbs the fence at night when no one's around?"

Samuel laughed even harder. "You think we didn't account for that?

"The fence is electrified after dark.

"It's got a serious charge.

"The bears won't even go near it, let alone try climbing.

"Seriously, Ashley, we've never had a single incident. You've got nothing to worry about."

Electrified. Okay, that sounded secure. Maybe the bear was just messing around.

I finally felt my heartbeat start to slow.

But I was still pretty shaken up.

I couldn't focus on the rest of my shift, so I asked Samuel for the day off and headed home for some rest.

At home, I called my best friend Zoey to vent. I left out the part about hearing its thoughts and just told her everything else.

She said, half-teasing, "You think a bear smiled at you? And that it wants to eat you?

"Ashley, have you totally lost it? It's impossible.

"Even if that bear did get out, it wouldn't have a clue how to find you.

"This city is huge. It's not like it has your address."

She really knew how to put my mind at ease.

The idea of a bear tracking me down in a city of millions suddenly seemed ridiculous.

For the first time all day, I finally felt the fear lift.

I was completely wiped out from today.

The moment I finally let my guard down, exhaustion hit me like a wave.

Outside, thunder rolled and rain hammered against my windows.

After venting a bit more to Zoey, I set my phone down and collapsed onto my bed, falling into a deep, heavy sleep.

I was jolted awake by the sharp ring of my phone. That was when I noticed a thick, animal-like smell hanging in the air. And someone was pounding on my front door hard.