Missing
“Tsuzura…?”
Tsuzura leaned forward with her hands behind her back giving the brightest smile she has.
“What-”
*WAHHHHHHH*
Before Mary could bombard her with multiple questions, a siren sounded. The siren is an alert for an approaching change of a violent weather.
The zoo then made an announcement urging all to seek shelter in the main building or any nearby shops, if they are unable to get there in time, until it is clear to go out again.
Mary looked into the bamboo house where Aoi was at. She was going to bring her into the shelter but she has already made her way inside. The animals were accustomed to the siren and would automatically move into the shelter. The shelter was made with materials to protect the animals in such events.
Mary then walked to the other side of the enclosure ensuring that the other pandas were inside before pulling Tsuzura out of the enclosure.
“Follow the rest of the visitors, I meet you there.” Mary pointed at the human crowd making their way to the main building.
“I want to follow you!” Tsuzura held onto Mary’s hand and looked into her eyes with determination.
“N-”
*WAHHHHHHH*
The siren whistled the 2nd time. Mary sighed. She has to hurry if she does not want to be caught under the heavy downpour. She knows that Tsuzura would not back down so easily. It had been long but she remembered that look in her eyes. Afterall, how could she forget someone that she was so close to before. The animals are at priority. It is her duty to ensure the rest of the animals in this area have stayed safely inside the shelter.
“Tch, do whatever you want.” Mary scrowled, letting Tsuzura hold her hand, happily swinging it as they moved to the next enclosure.
After Mary had finished the checks, they barely made it back into the main hall as the rain started crashing down. As soon as she stepped in the hall, Mary was immediately surrounded by a group of girls. The same group that had seen her this morning but wasn’t satisfied with the time they have with her. They pushed Tsuzura aside. Glares were shot for being close to Mary. As if it was a crime.
__________
A man wearing a heavy trench coat carrying a bag walks up to the enclosure gate. The heavy rain with the lack of lighting caused him to lean over the keypad.He looked around suspiciously, constantly wiping the keypad as he keyed the numbers. The red light turned green giving a low beep. He pushed over the door and carefully threaded his way into the enclosure. He stood at the door of the shelter. The animal noticed his presence but paid no attention to his gimmicks and calls. The man’s patience grew thin and threw the bamboo shoot at the animal. He made his way towards the animal and grabbed it forcefully, trapping it under his arms. Pulling the hood lower to cover his face, he made his way back to the main gate and picked up a black bag from the ground. He then tried to shove the animal into the bag but the animal resisted, kicking and flailing its arms and legs. The animal managed to land a few hits on the man, drawing blood from his arms and face.
“Little SHIT!” He yelled and held it in between his thighs, squeezing it. The man then dug out an anesthetic syringe from his pocket. Biting off the cover from the needle, he gave a test push for the liquid to give a little squirt. He pressed the animal’s neck to the side to have an area for the injection. His chuckle turned into a manic laughter as he held his hand up with the syringe.
“NIGHTY NIGHT!” He yelled as the lightning cracked, revealing his face to the animal.
*BOOM*
Followed was the sound of the roaring thunder, causing the man to flinch. The animal took the opportunity to give a harsh bite on his arm not letting go. He hollered in pain and swung the animal out of the way.
The animal ‘flew’ out of the enclosure, onto the pathway. Sensing that the man was a danger just like before , it went on a run again.
“COME BACK YOU RUNT!” He dashed outside, holding onto his bloodied arm but he was too late. The animal was nowhere to be seen.
__________
“I think that’s about it!” A keeper walked in with his raincoat dripping of rainwater.
“If anyone’s afraid of the thunder, my arms are available for comfort!” He announced stretching out one of his arms and winked at the ladies who surrounded Mary.
They, including Mary, gave the disgusted look at him. Who gave this boy such confidence? They quickly ignored him and turned their full attention to Mary who was caught trying to secretly move away from them.
“Kyaaaa! Maryyyyyy!” Their squeal continued to resonate in the building. Mary awkwardly smiled at them, she didn't want to deal with this. They had been crowding around her the moment she stepped in and thirty minutes later, they are still going. Questions after questions, they don’t seem tired at all. She was fine with it in the morning but no longer in the mood after she did not get to see a certain person today. Tsuzuru tried to squeeze through to help Mary but was met with vulture’s eyes, tearing her down. Mary rubbed her face with her palm.
Where’s Sayaka when you need her...
“Attention Mary Soatome, kindly proceed to the control room immediately. I repeat, attention Mary Soatome, kindly proceed to the control room immediately .”
“Sorry girls, I need to go.” She gave the usual awkward laughter as she walked in the direction of the control room. A few steps onwards, she then suddenly walked back to grab Tsuzura before making their way to the control panel.
“Who’s that?” They burned with jealousy seeing that Mary was holding some girl’s hand.
__________
Mary pushed open the door and pulled Tsuzura in with her. Sayaka blinked a few times, trying to register who Mary had just bought in.
“Mary, I don’t remember agreeing to bring your girls in here.” Sayaka stared at Mary with her arms crossed.
“She’s a childhood friend, you idiot! Anyway, thanks. They were getting a bit handful out there.” Mary slummed across the couch with Tsuzura sitting beside her.
“We’ll continue on that later and I did not call you in for that either. I want you to look at this.”
“ha?”
Mary dragged her feet over to the panel. She thought that she could get a break from standing around for the past 30 minutes. It wasn’t easy trying to put on a smile and serve everyone. She looked at the screen and noticed that red lights were flashing repeated in one of the columns.
*Caution, gate unlocked*
The panel was indicating that Aoi’s enclosure’s gate was opened. This was weird considering that they were the last one who exited the area.
“Tsuzura, did you leave with the door open?”
“No, you were the one who closed it!” Tsuzura had her hands in front of her waving, declaring her innocence.
Mary was skeptical but Tsuzura was right. She was the one who closed the gate and she had even checked twice before moving off to the next location. Sayaka moved into the log record. It will show the time entry of all the keepers who had gone in and out.
“That’s the time we left.”
Mary pointed to the second last record. She remembered it well because there was a clock located on the signage outside the enclosure and she has a habit to look at the time whenever she exits.
“How about this one?”.
Sayaka circled the last record with the cursor. It was recorded as fifteen minutes later. The gate was opened and left open for more than 10 minutes, which is why an alert was sent to the main controls.
Mary pushed Sayaka aside and took control of the system. She had a bad feeling about this. She switched to the cameras wanting to look at the enclosure but was met with a black static view. Apparently, most of the cameras in the zoo weren’t working due to the power storage caused by the storm.
Sayaka had already expected for things like this to happen and had invested in backup generators to ensure that at least the cameras in the animals’ shelters were operating so that they would be able to check on them in such weathering events.
Sayaka switched to the one in Aoi’s enclosure. Mary looked at the screen thoroughly but couldn’t find the white panda.
“WHERE’S AOI?!”
“Mary ss-top.” Mary shook Sayaka, who had become a victim, simply because she was standing beside her.
“Maybe she's hiding?“ Tsuzuru chimed in.
“I'M GOING OUT.” She grabbed a raincoat.
“Mary, it’s thundering and you’re jumping into conclusions. This wasn’t the first time it happened. Aoi does hide from time to time. You’re a keeper. You know that!”
Sayaka was right. Just because Aoi wasn’t in the frame, doesn’t mean that she wasn’t inside. Aoi may very well be hiding again . But what about the gate? Why was it left open? Her heart was heavy, she refused to accept that she was simply hiding. The chances of her hiding and missing was on par. Mary opened the door.
“As your manager, I want you to stop this instance!”
Mary ignored Sayaka's calls and ran out. The door slammed, leaving Sayaka and Tsuzura behind. Sayaka sighed. One may think that she was harsh and had no regards for the animals. She was worried as well. However, it’s not just for Aoi, for Mary too. The weather forecast had reported that the rain would most likely get worse and urge people to stay in for precautions.
Mary made a dash to Aoi’s enclosure, braving the thunderstorm. The enclosure’s gate was indeed opened. Walking into the enclosure, she called out her name but all that was heard was the rain hitting onto the shelter’s roof.
Aoi is everything to her. She was rescued from a raid from illegal traders. The rescue team had personally requested for Sayaka to take her in as they were sure that Sayaka would be able to provide a safe environment for her, away from animal traders. Being a rare breed, many will continue to hunt her unless she is protected. When Aoi first came to the zoo, it was evident that she was malnourished and afraid of human beings. She wasn’t able to mix well with the rest of the panda’s here and were occasionally having and starting fights with them.
Mary immediately ‘forced’ Sayaka to build an extension just for Aoi and made a rule that Aoi will only be allowed to mingle with the other pandas if someone was here watching closely.
Unfortunately the interactions never lasted because they would end up trying to bite each other's neck. On the bright side, with the amount of time that Mary had spent with Aoi, she managed to gain her trust but was still wary with the rest of the humans and would hide immediately if it was anyone else other than Mary.
__________
Ririka stood under the shelter, safely away from the torrential rain. The shelter was small. It would be more fitting to call it a decoration rather than a stopping point for resting. There’s barely enough space for more than 2 people. However that isn’t a problem at hand now.
There are currently two issues.
One, she did not manage to get back to the main building. When the sky turned dark and the cloud definitely seemed heavy, she should have gone back to the main building immediately. But instead of making her way towards it, she decided to walk further into the zoo, away from the enclosure.
She had actually noticed that flocks of birds were flying dangerously low and spiders were weaving at the bottom. These were indicators that there was a drop in the atmosphere and the reason for their behavior was due to an incoming storm. She blamed herself for letting her knowledge be gone with the wind. Her sister would surely be amused if she knew about this.
Two, she’s currently stranded somewhere in the middle or the back or wherever in the Zoo. She’s not very sure. Even with the tour that Mary had given, it was almost impossible for anyone to memorise the entire map of the Zoo at the first instance. The only route she knew by heart is the way to the panda’s enclosure.
Her phone? It just ran out of battery when the rain started falling. She had tuned in to some soothing music at the moment when she moved away from Aoi’s enclosure. That wasn't entirely to be blamed though. She herself had forgotten to charge her phone last night as well which her sister would have another thing to laugh about.
Knowing that the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon, Ririka decided to make herself comfortable under the small shelter. Surely it would not be long before Sayaka sent a search team for her. With such a storm, her sister would surely attempt to reach her.
Ririka began to relax and had her mind drift. Her brain picked a memory when she was 7 years old. Since young, she has always been hungry for knowledge and when she happened to chance upon a cartoon book titled “A day at the zoo”, she never left her room. She had never seen such vibrant colors before. Everything around her was plain and dull. Being born as a Momobami would mean that you would not be able to partake in selfish indulgence in life. The day they were born, they were instilled with skills for survival and domination. There is no room for enjoyment. While the family shuts their eyes on the heirs interest, they expect them to adhere to strict unspoken rules and compose themselves that will be deemed acceptable to the family.
She was engrossed in the cartoon book and dreamt that outside these walls, the cities were this vibrant as well. While she did manage to escape through a weakened fence she found in her garden, she was absolutely devastated when she realised that the book was nothing more than just a fantasy.
“This? This is just a cartoon book! Go home little girl!”
“Zoo? The Zoo is nothing like this! This is fake! You hear me fake!”
The scene then cuts to her sitting at the playground feeling dejected and frightened from the madman screaming at her.
“You look sad. Want to play with me?”
That was the first time anyone other than the family had spoken to her. It felt nice and refreshing for a change, so much that she kept sneaking out. They played and talked endlessly. Every time she goes back, she would tell Kirari the stories from the outside world. What was supposed to be an hour of escape was then turned into two and then three. But things changed when their family demanded both of their presence in a meeting. Back then, Kirari would often impersonate her sister to cover for her. But obviously, the trick will not work now.
So when they realised that little Ririka had been running out, they followed her and found her at the playground, enjoying herself. She was immediately dragged back to the estate and placed in a room with uncountable pairs of eyes staring at her.
“Disgraceful!”
“What is that on your face? Wipe it off!”
“I expected better.”
“Disappointing.”
“You’re given the power to rule.”
“This will teach you.”
“NO!”
Ririka's eyes snapped open and reached to the back of her neck and touched the short scar. She let out a sigh, clearing her mind of the painful memory. Her brain then picked another piece of memory from the collection and started playing it.
“I’m sorry, I won’t be coming here anymore.”
“Why?”
“I’m going somewhere far away.”
“When will you come back?”
“Tell her never.” A man in black stood beside her, prompting her what to say..
“Nev-.” Little Ririka’s lips trembled. She did not want to say that.
“Never.” The man said again.
Clenching her little fist, she remembered that she was given something special from t he day she was born.
“Last I remembered, I don’t recall you’re allowed to tell me what to do. Wait in the car for me.”
“I’m under strict orders to watch over you."
“Are you defying me?” Little Ririka challenged.
“.... My apologies, Momobami-sama. I will wait for you in the car." He finally left.
Little Ririka waited for the car door to close before turning back to the child standing in front of her holding onto a soft toy.
“Do you remember what we promised?” Little Ririka asked.
“Yes! Promise that you’ll come back when I do?”
“I… I promise.” She lied. She knows that by the time they had grown up, this was nothing but a piece of old memory and they will forget about each other.
“Pinky promise! And I want that too! So that you won’t forget about me!”
Ririka smiled bitterly at the sweet memory. She never thought that she would remember the event so clearly. It was certainly something that she had kept in her heart until now. It was the closest thing she had to a ‘normal’ childhood. She never regretted her actions and would do it again, even if it meant to go through that whole ordeal again.
It seems like I will be stuck here for a while.
At first, she thought she was seeing things. The sky was dark but there was a white speck moving at a distance. Lightning cracked crossed the sky and shed some light to the dark day. The outline of the white speck turned out to be an animal hiding under the tree. It was definitely alive as it was hugging the tree with all it’s might.
The first thing you should never do in a thunderstorm is to stand under a tree. But how was an animal supposed to know? She ditched the jacket and ran to the poor animal. The closer Ririka got, the more she could make out what animal it was. She would never forget the furball that she has been seeing.
“Aoi?!”
Aoi flinched upon seeing a blurry figure in front of her. While she couldn’t see well, her panda sense could tell that this person was different from the one before. Aoi did something which all the animals would probably do when they are confused and unsure of what they have to do - be very still, pretend that she wasn’t seen and hope that they move on.
Despite Ririka's numerous attempts to coax the panda, Aoi refused to budge as it had found solidarity under the tree in this thunderstorm.
Ririka heard another grumble in the sky. The odds of lightning striking down on a tree was definitely not zero. She had to act fast. Even if it’s one in a million and an unlikely possibility, she wasn’t going to take that chance. She pried the panda’s paws forcefully and pulled her in tightly to her chest.
Aoi immediately struggled against getting held. After all, this was the second time in the day that a stranger tried to hug her.
Ririka managed to get back to the shelter with Aoi in her arms. She was still trying to wriggle out of Ririka’s arms and in the process of struggling, she knocked off Ririka’s mask.
“Aoi!”
She raised her voice slightly to get the panicking panda’s attention. It took a while for Aoi to stop her struggles as she recognised the voice. Of course she would recognise her voice, Ririka made it a point to lift her mask whenever she talks to Aoi. It was just that Mary did not notice her presence in the enclosure. The white panda relaxed and leaned back comfortably in her arms, showing her belly.
“Aoi, what are you doing out here? It’s dangerous. How did you get out of your enclosure? Did Mary let you out? Did you escape? Are you planning to run away from home? You can’t do that. Where were you going?”
Ririka reprimanded Aoi, like a mother to a child while trying to dust the dirt that was trapped in her fur. That was when she noticed that the fur around her mouth was stained red. She lightly touched it, trying to figure out what it was.
“Aoi, were you playing with paint? Red coloring? It’s not blood, is it?”
Aoi tilted her head and responded with a sneeze, giving a short jump on her lap. Ririka quickly wrapped Mary’s jacket around Aoi, as the poor thing began shivering. The leather jacket was only good for keeping warmth and couldn’t soak the water from the drenched panda.
Ririka completated. She was stuck. She doesn't know where to go even if she decides to make a dash to any of the nearby buildings. She couldn’t risk letting Aoi get caught under the rain again. Even animals get sick sometimes and Aoi is definitely weaker with her immune system. The poor panda sneezed again, cutting short of Ririka’s thoughts. She hugged Aoi tighter in her arms, this was the best that can be done for now.
I hope that we will be found soon.