Dark Tales

Fearful Symmetry

When a young tiger escapes from the zoo, it throws the community into a state of hyped fear and excitement; and only a little girl is able to see the pure intentions of the beast...

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That morning, it was all over the news. A young male Siberian tiger had escaped from the Delmonte Zoo. Though it had been reiterated that there was no need for panic, the recurring reports and updates throughout the day did little to curb the general anxiety and mass excitement over this misfortunate event.

In the afternoon, it was understood that the tiger had been spotted heading towards the nearby residential area. This alarm was raised by a sedentary old man who had been reclining in his garden chair and watching the world go by, when he glimpsed something that appeared to a "huge cat" of some sort. Despite his weak vision, he was able to affirm that the cat had orange and dark brown stripes. That was sufficient to assume that it was the tiger, still prowling on the loose.

Mothers fretted over their young children's safety, most opting to keep them at home from playgroup. Windows and doors were secured, and some even took to piling sandbags at the front steps so the door would not be knocked down. It was funny really, how this one young tiger could cause such mass hysteria and fear; and this fear was contagious and spread like wildfire. 

One mother in particular had just settled down her little girl in front of the television, and was baking in the kitchen. 

Fifteen minutes later, the girl, who had grown bored of watching a soppy cartoon, had slipped out of the house into the front yard. She hoisted herself (with a rather unladylike grunt) onto her favourite spot on the garden wall, and sat there happily for a few minutes, feeling the sunshine and fresh air on her face. A rustling of leaves caught her attention, and she looked for the source of the sound. A rather large orange tabby cat was hiding among the shrubs, bright eyes unfazed as it stared at her.

"Hey," she giggled, swinging her little red shoes against the wall. She loved all sorts of animals, especially cats. 

When that greeting elicited no response whatsoever, she hopped off the wall and made her way slowly towards the cat. As she approached, she noticed that it was larger than she had thought, but it was a cat all the same, and deserved the love she could give.

She crouched on the ground carefully, disregarding the damp soil, and then extended her hand to stroke the cat's fur. The girl was delighted when the cat yawned almost infantilely and made a sound like a low purr. "I think I like you," she whispered. The cat blinked in reply.

It was only after ten minutes of pleasurable bonding that the mother noticed her daughter's absence. One glance out of the window was all it took for her to fumble frantically for the phone. "The tiger's in my front garden!" she hissed. "My daughter is out there... no, I don't know how that happened - I just had my back turned for a moment!"

Within minutes, burley man in crisp ironed uniforms arrived in front of the house. An ambulance had been called, perhaps just in case the little girl had had her arm chewed off. A squad of policemen sealed off the area with police tape, as if that could stop the vicious monster of a beast from unleashing its wrath. A harried vet wielded a tranquilizer dart gun, muttering, "I got this. He's a baby, really." A slew of onlookers and enthusiastic reporters had gathered behind unnoticed, video recording devices all poised and ready.

"Little girl!" An officer spoke into the megaphone he clutched in a beefy fist. "Stay where you are, you hear me? Don't move and you'll be alright. Your life is in save hands." The girl had been watching the commotion with confusion in her eyes. It was not likely that she was aware of being in any danger in at all in the first place. At the sound of the unwelcoming voice mingled with crackling static, the tiger looked up, immediately alert. A growl emanated from deep in his throat and he tensed, but he didn't budge from his position. 

"When I give the word, you shoot," the same officer told the vet beside him. "Girl, you stay there. Right. Wait for it... now!"

The tranquilizer dart shot forth with alarming velocity, whizzing through the air towards its target. The tiger sprang into action, pushing the girl safely out of harm's way, and threw himself onto his attackers. The crowd screamed. "Shoot!" The officer yelled, and tore the gun from the vet's hands anyway, launching a flurry of darts into the animal. 

The tiger had been shot with a culmulative dose strong enough to knock him out immediately, and the team heaved the limp body into a van. Nobody took notice of the girl sobbing uncontrollably, tears spilling down her cheeks and dripping onto the polished leather of her shoes. "Where are you taking my cat?" she cried, "Please don't take him away..." Yet her pleas went unheard, and by the time everything had been taken care of, the child was still asking for the cat that had gone as quickly as it had come.

Two weeks later, the girl's mother took her inconsolable daughter to the zoo to see the tiger. He had been transported back to his cage, yet the zoo had fixed new locks in place of the old ones, an attempt to prevent the tiger from escaping again. The girl, delighted to see him again, smiled and waved, but the tiger showed no emotion. He merely paced back and forth within the confines of the cell in a lethargic manner previously unseen. Unsatisfied, the child stubbornly stuck her hand beyond the bars, wriggling her fingers, demanding attention. 

Nobody expected what happened next - it was a matter of seconds, and in one swift, fluid motion, the tiger moved across the cage, bringing his jaws down on to the girl's small, chubby hand. Later on, the mother would scream hysterically that she had heard the most sickening crunching sound as her daugher's bones splintered under the blunt force of the animal's powerful bite.

As people hurried over, the tiger slinked off to the furthest corner, and let out a deafening, feral roar.  

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Cover credits @_teenagers