AJ opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hospital bed. That much he could make out. He tried moving around but felt a sharp pain in his chest. He groaned and looked down. He pulled the hospital shirt up and saw bandages.
"No touching," someone said.
He looked over at the door and was met by the smile of one of the other zookeepers. Carmella stood there with a Starbucks cup in her hand.
"I ran out to get you an iced coffee," she said.
"How did you know I would wake up in time?" He asked.
"I didn't. A part of me was hoping you wouldn't so I had an excuse to drink it myself," she said.
He chuckled at her. She walked over and handed him the coffee. He took a sip from the straw and smiled.
"Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome," she said. "I have questions."
"Like what?" He asked.
"Like what the fuck were you doing in the tigers' cage in the middle of the night?" She asked.
"I left my wallet at work," he answered.
"Inside the cage?" She asked.
"No, I..." He frowned. "I wasn't inside the cage. I saw a woman inside the cage. She attacked me. She did this to me."
He pointed a hand at his chest. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"You were found inside the cage. One of the tigers attacked you. You were lucky that was all that happened. You could have died, AJ," she said.
"But..." He started.
He was just about to talk about the woman transforming into a tiger and realized how crazy it would sound. She would call doctors in to examine his head for trauma. Maybe there hadn't been a woman. Maybe he fell and hit his head all on his own, and in his confused state of mind he made up the story about the woman and somehow made his way inside the cage where one of the tigers attacked him. That did make more sense than what he thought had happened.
"I hit my head," he mumbled.
"Yes, you did. You got a big lump back there," she said.
She walked over to the closet where his stuff was left.
"I folded all your clothes and made sure everything is in order," she said. "Who's Teigra?"
"Teigra?" He asked.
"Yes, the name on the dog tag," she answered.
She held up the chain with the dog tag attached to it. He remembered the feeling of metal in his hand, and how he clenched his fingers around it. It was all real. The woman was real, and he had managed to get her dog tag that she had left on the ground with her clothes.
"Can I see it?" He asked.
"Of course you can see it. It's yours, silly," she chuckled.
She walked over to the bed and handed him the dog tag. He stared at the name. Teigra. No surname. There was some numbers engraved on the other side. He wasn't sure what they meant but he was going to try his best to google them later when he was back home. Maybe he would find a location, a date or a birthday. Just something getting him closer to the weird woman able to transform into a tigress.
"I'm gonna run out to find you something to eat. The doctor said you could eat when you woke up," she said.
"Thank you," he said.
She disappeared out of the room. He looked at the dog tag again. Seconds later he saw someone enter the room. He looked up and gasped at the sight of the woman from the night before.
"You...You..." He stuttered. "You can't be here."
She smirked and walked towards the bed. He wanted to scream and jump out of the window but the fear of this woman somehow made him freeze on the spot. He just laid there watching her come closer. She stopped next to him and took the dog tag out of his hand. She put it back around her neck where it rightfully belonged.
"I memorized the numbers. I will figure out what the hell is going on," he said.
She smirked at his threat, grabbed his throat and leaned down.
"And what are they?" She asked. "Tell me the numbers."
She was calling him out on his bluff right away. He hadn't memorized the numbers, and he was kicking himself mentally for not doing so.
"That's what I thought," she said.
He stared into those dangerous, dark brown eyes. Last night she had slashed his chest open and left him in the tiger cage.
"You left me to die," he whimpered.
"They do what I tell them to do. If I wanted you dead, you would be dead," she said.
"Who are you? What are you?" He asked.
"Don't worry your head about that. Just know I caught your scent. If you pursue this, you won't make it out alive next time," she said. "And there will be a next time. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
He whimpered again and tried nodding but she tightened her hand around his throat.
"Yes!" He almost cried.
"Good boy," she said.
She leaned even closer and ran her wet tongue up his cheek. He had never felt assaulted like this before in his life. It was like she was getting turned on by scaring him, and they both knew she would forever be in charge of this dance if he was stupid enough to try and dance with her again.
"You taste good," she said.
The warning couldn't be more clear. Next time she would eat him raw and only leave bits and pieces for people to find. Whoever this Teigra was, he would never speak a word about her to anyone. She let go of his throat, and he watched as she walked out of the room as if nothing had happened. Carmella came back a minute later with a plate of food.
"Are you crying?" She asked worried.
"Just the pain in my chest," he lied. "Breakfast? That looks good."
She walked over and handed him the plate.
"I told a doctor you woke up. He'll come in here to check on you soon, and you should be able to go home as soon as you're done with breakfast," she patted his knee. "So eat up, big man. I'm gonna take you home and make sure you're alright."