Tempest: The Moments In-Between (#1.5)

Bonus Chapter: Rise of the Fauna

Clay Fauna

Everything I do never seems to be enough.

Hosting fundraisers, advocating for creatures that can't fight for themselves, traveling the globe to treat all animals as humanely as possible. And yet, despite all my efforts, I come home to find the creatures I left behind to be in less-than-ideal conditions.

Did I waste my time? Did I do all of these things just to stand here helplessly? Just to have the zoo committee scoff in my face for daring to demand a higher standard of care for the animals it housed? For suggesting that more staff would give CC Zoo and its occupants a more positive and upbeat position?

Was it really all for nothing?

I rinsed my face tiredly in the bathroom sink. When I looked up, there was no pleasure on my face. Only the inane feeling of obligation. The type that sucked the life out of the very thing you once loved. The very thing you once adored.

Slowly, I dragged my hands down my face, careful not to pull down too hard and rip my septum piercing out. My fingers briefly got tangled in my brown, scraggly beard. And my hair wasn't looking any better. I quickly put it in a bun, just to get it out of the way.

Tonight. I'll take care of myself tonight. I thought, but not as enthusiastically as I should have. The animals are probably sick of me at this point.

"Clay?" I heard Rebecca's voice over my walkie. "Clay, are you still in the rehab?"

I reached over, forcing myself to smile so I didn't sound as miserable as I felt. "Hey, Rebecca." I answered my coworker. "I'm still here. What's going on?"

"Thank goodness!" she said, relieved. "It's the Farmenian Viper. Something is wrong with it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my brows furrowing with concern. "What are its symptoms?"

"It hasn't eaten for the last two days, it seems lethargic, and when I approached it, it barely budged."

"Huh," I thought aloud slowly. "That is strange. Bring it down and I'll take a look at it."

"Will do!" Rebecca said with more pep than I've felt in eons.

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I didn't have to wait long for Rebecca to bring the snake. She hurried inside and placed the viper on top of my table before she wiped the sweat off her brow.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement as her blonde bangs stuck close to her round face.

"Doc," the zookeeper started, staring up at me. Rebecca, like me, was not very tall, but by comparison, I was much closer to the ceiling with my five-foot-nine self than she was at five-feet even. "I really can't understand it. It was fine two days ago."

"Any changes in diet?" I asked, staring at the grey and orange snake as I put on my examination gloves.

"No," she shook her head adamantly. "The viper is on a strict diet of mice and insects. As far as I know, nothing's changed."

"Strange," I began, carefully holding the viper in my hands as I looked at its eyes with my penlight. "It's responding to the light. So—"

Before I could say anything more, the snake's eyes snapped open! It coiled its body around my arm, squeezed, and then book a bite.

Startled, I shook the viper off of me, and the snake fell to the ground. It began to slither away quickly, but before I can say anything about snagging it, Rebecca freaked out.