Zookeeper's Claim

Nine

    I stumbled backward and tripped over the chair. The lion stepped forward and towered over my crumpled form on the floor.

    I put my arms over my face and waited for the pain. When it didn’t come, I looked up into the face of the majestic white lion who stood over me. All I could see was its giant mouth and inches long incisors heading toward me.

    I was too scared to scream.

    His mane framed his face with flowing fur. His mouth was closed and his ears were up. He looked like an eight hundred pound house cat, ready to play.

    My eyes found their way to his. The golden irises that stared back at me were the same color as Niaz’s.

    Wait.

    This lion was Niaz?

    No, that would be impossible.

    The big cat grunted and lowered down into a lying position. Now at eye level from my position on the floor, I could see just how massive he was. He showed no sign of aggression. His face pushed toward mine and he brushed his snout against my cheek.

    I reached my hand up and paused. He pressed his soft, warm nose into the palm of my hand. I ran my hand back through his mane. A low rumble resonated through his chest.

    No that I was no longer afraid that the lion would kill me, I tried to wrap my mind around the last few minutes. This lion appeared after Niaz stripped naked and disappeared.

    “I’m either hallucinating, or you’re Niaz,” I whispered. He grumbled and stood. He padded back behind the desk out of sight from where I sat on the floor.

    After a few seconds of shuffling sounds, a naked Niaz stood. He held his shirt in front of his most private parts. I gawked at him.

    “I— I don’t understand.”

    He chuckled.

    “Let me dress and I’ll explain.”

    He twirled his finger in the air, indicating that I should turn around. I used the chair to support me as I stood back up. I put my back to Niaz and waited.

    I heard a zipper and Niaz cleared his throat.

    “You can turn around now.”

    When I turned around, I saw that he was seated behind the desk again, relaxed and put together. It was as if he didn’t just turn into a lion and back again. He didn’t have a hair out of place.

    I turned around and pushed the chair back to the desk. I considered the possibility that I’d imagined the whole thing.

    “So, uh, what did I just see?”

    I needed to hear it from Niaz to be sure that I wasn’t crazy.

    “I’m a shifter, Beth.”

    “O- okay. I don’t understand.”

    “I share a soul with a lion. The lion is just as much a part of me as I am him.”

    “That’s impossible, Niaz. Is this a trick?” I whispered.

    “No. It’s not.” His tone was soft and gentle, like he was afraid to spook me.

    “But why are you forcing these animals to fight?”

    “Forcing? You still don’t understand, Beth.”

    “What’s to understand. You claiming to be a shifter doesn’t absolve you from responsibility of caring for the animals in your zoo.”

    Niaz sighed and crossed his arms. I thought I’d had him.

    “The fighters are shifters, too. They fight for money.”

    “What? What about the animals in the zoo?”

    “Those that are animals never fight. This is a sanctuary in so many ways.”

    He paused and scanned my face.

    “You don’t seem convinced. But, think about what I said. Do you see why the police can’t get involved? We’d be taken in as lab experiments.”

    “So why did you tell me?”

    He stood and paced around the office, frowning.

    “Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like you have a good heart. Your instinct was to protect these animals, even possibly risking your own safety to do so.”

    He turned around and stood just in front of me.

    “Can I trust you with our secret?”

    “I- I don’t. I don’t know, Niaz. This is all so much.”

    The corners of his lips pulled down into a frown.

    “The peacock. The one that lost and you carried out of the ring. Was he dead?”

    “Dead? No. Of course not.”

    “Can I see him?”

    Niaz pursed his lips and was silent for several long seconds.

    “This is just all so unreal. I’d like to talk to him, if he’s up for it. Please.”

    He offered me his hand. I stood from the chair without his help.

    “Alright, Beth. Let’s go see if he’ll talk to us.”

    He led me through the dark paths toward the fighting ring again. As we walked, I tried to process everything that had just happened.

    “So, how does it happen? Becoming a lion. Does it hurt? Have you always been able to change?”

    A low noise rumbled in his chest.

    “Yes. It hurts a little. It’s not unbearable, though. Other things hurt much worse.”

    He ran his hand through his hair.

    “The change is different for everyone. I began changing in early childhood but I couldn’t control it until I was a teenager. It made life pretty interesting.”

    “Wow.” I imagined how tough it must have been as a child to not be able to control the shifting. Still, even though I’d seen it with my own eyes, I couldn’t quite believe that Niaz wasn’t just making up an elaborate story to keep me quiet.

    “What about your parents?”

    “Normal. They weren’t shifters.”

    “So, it isn’t genetic?”

    “I don’t think so. That’s why The Menagerie is so necessary. Like me, the shifters here were displaced from their families. Most non-shifters can’t handle having a kid who is this different. I don’t want them to go through life like I started out.”

    His voice trailed off and he looked straight ahead.

    “I’m sorry,” I said.

    He didn’t acknowledge me. He probably wouldn’t answer any more of my personal questions right now, so I walked beside him in silence.

    We walked up to one of the little cabins in the parking lot area from before.

    “This is it. Frank stays in here.”

    He knocked twice on the door.

    A man groaned inside the building.

    “Frank?” Niaz called out. “Can I come in? I have someone who wants to meet you.”

    “Come in,” the voice said.