Bam, bam, bam.

Again and again the sound echoes through the walls of the cage, the old metal gates tremble and creak more with each new attempt of release. The troll retained inside does not cease at any moment to launch itself against the thin bars, which continue trembling with each blow of his still young body. No longer matters the horrible noise of the blows in his ears, nor the dull pain that extends for each one of his muscles, nothing matters if it is not to leave that place.

And then it happens...

CRACK

...

After finishing eating Jeremy and you go back to the corridor.

To be honest, you probably have not felt this relaxed in a while: nature and animals seem to have that general effect on you, and Jeremy is kind and funny enough to make any kind of worry in which your head was spinning disappear instantly. Or at least that's the way it is until you get to the next stop.

Suddenly all the color of the environment seems to disappear when you two stand in front of a different door, completely white, with just a small silver sign in which black letters stand out.

"Veterinary Department" you read aloud.

"I do not think I need to explain what this is, right?" Jeremy says, the humorous tone clearly recognizable in his voice. He taps the door with his knuckles, and just a few seconds later it opens to reveal an extremely white room. The floor is made of black wood, and at the front there is a desk that seemed to be made of the same material, above, stuck to the wall, stood multiple shelves full of jars, occasionally alternated with diplomas and bright certificates in dark frames.

Your eyes open even more when your vision focuses on the jars that rest on the ledge, creatures and small stuffed and preserved animals watch you from the inside with those dead eyes that make chills run down your back. The memories of your first years of career and all the horrible first practices and dissections come to your head, and you have to make an effort to retain the nausea that goes up your throat. You have never had problems dealing with living creatures, or wounded or sick animals of any kind, the dead however...

Almost as if your brain was looking for a way to distract you, your head quickly rises to see the man, older than you, who watches you with a serious look reflected in his dark brown eyes. Which incidentally, combine with his also dark hair and in turn with his own version of the uniform of the zoo, white and sterilized.

His look is still serious even after Jeremy has given his own cheerful comment, introducing you to the "Dr. Aaron", after which you are forced (for the sake of your work and the good manners) to shake his hand, discomfort following you all the way.

"Miss (y/n)" his way of speaking is strange, somehow he manages to remind you of a long and convoluted conference, however it is not one of the good ones, rather one of the boring ones "I have read your file, and I am pleased that you have decided to join us as a worker in the zoo. I hope we can become great partners".

"Amm... yes, of course..." you nod somewhat disoriented.

"Mr. Aaron is also the co-owner of the zoo." Jeremy whispers in your ear once you separate from him "He checks the employees' records with the owner before hiring them."

Oh... thank you... you guess... Mentally you slap yourself for your attitude in front of what is probably the closest authority to a boss for you at this moment. Jeremy seems to hold the laugh when he see your reaction, while the doctor simply frowns more deeply, which immediately impels you to rectify your posture and strive to look as professional as it is possible.

"If you do me the favor of sitting down we could move on to a little revision of the zoo 's rules..." the doctor moves away to let you pass, indicating you the empty chair in front of the desk. Something uncomfortable you are preparing to sit down when-

Eeeoooeeeooo, eeeoooeeeooo...

Instinctively you put your hands in your ears, hoping to block the sudden alarm that seems to come from some loudspeaker hidden in the room. Jeremy and the doctor, on the contrary than you, seem to know exactly what to do when they quickly get up and leave the place. You, still disoriented and in panic, quickly follow them to the outside of the room.

And then you are welcomed by what is probably the strangest vision of your whole life.

A creature stands in the middle of the aisle, looking furiously at two employees armed with dart guns a few meters away, his is mouth open showing sharp white teeth. His body (looking surprisingly like a human's) is covered by a thin layer of light gray fur, in which small dark gray spots stand out in his joints and near the edge of his yellow eyes with bright red irises. A similar gray mark is on his chest, but nevertheless this one looks more like the sign of cancer? Wavy black hair slightly blocks the vision of two small rounded horns on the top of his head, which stand out almost as much as the black scales with red edges on both sides of it, a few centimeters from those pointed ears with dark edges that rise alarmed as he stare at the armed men. The greyish tail of bright red scales is also raised, and its sharp nails and teeth are enough to make you not want to be in this place the moment that creature finally decides to attack.

Almost as if he was reading your mind, the strange animal decides to jump in the opposite direction in that moment, trying to mislead the guards, who point directly at him with the dart guns, for your misfortune in the exact same direction in which you are.

From there everything happens too fast for you to realize, suddenly the sound of the shots fills the air and at the next second you feel like something sharp stuck in your thigh. But you do not have time to feel the pain, because suddenly a feeling of warmth and tingling creeps up your leg to your hip and spreads throughout your body, making you suddenly feel incredibly tired. You do not even have enough energy to try to hold you standing when your legs fail, and you fall on your knees to the ground. Your eyes begin to close when your ears get a last sound, the moment before you fall completely into unconsciousness.

"SHIT!"

Wait, what was that?