Animal Kingdom by Iain Rob Wright Read Free Book Online

would be to admit that things were as bad as they all feared.
    “ My name is Grace. I’m twenty-three and I came here today for a job interview. I don’t think I’m going to get it.”
    Joe smiled at her, appreciating her effort. “Anybody else?”
    Shirley stood up from a chair behind Randall. “My name is Shirley. I’m a retired nurse and I come to the zoo often. It’s only right that we appreciate God’s creatures and enjoy the beauty of his creation.”
    The next person stood up – a wiry-muscled bald man, covered in red and green tattoos that covered his sleeveless arms. The one on his right bicep read, HIGHLANDER. “Name’s Victor. I were on a date. The wee gal I was courting died outside, I think.”
    Joe was surprised that the man didn’t seem particularly bothered by this, but told himself that people grieved in different ways. “I’m sorry to hear that, Victor. What has happened today is a tragedy.”
    “ Ay, a tragedy.” Victor repeated. “Woman had a damn fine backside.”
    The comment may have been a joke, but it elicited only a brief moment of awkward silence until the next person stood up.
    “ Hi, everyone. You can call me Bill. I’m a self-employed accountant. Came here today with my partner, Gary. He’s…dead too, I guess. I tried to help him, but…”
    Suddenly, Victor threw his hands up in the air, letting them fall down and slap against his thighs. “Oh great, we’re stuck in here with a fucking fairy!”
    Bill waved an arm at him dismissively. “Oh great, we’re stuck in here with a closed-minded bigot.”
    “ What you say to me, fag?”
    “ Sorry,” Bill said. “Were you not intending to come across as a bigot? I kind of got the impression that you were.”
    Victor stomped towards Bill. His muscles bunched up, ready for a fight. “You don’t get to call me anything, you hear me, faggot?”
    Joe got between the two men, towering above them both. “Pack it in! We don’t have to like one another, but at least act like adults.”
    “ Dad?”
    Joe turned to see that Grace had put Danny down and that his son was now walking towards him in a fuzzy, half-asleep daze. “Hey, sleepy head,” said Joe. “Everything is okay. The adults are just talking.”
    Danny rubbed at his eyes. “Why are you shouting?”
    Joe picked his son up into his arms. “I’m not shouting, little dude. I was just excited about something.”
    “ About the monkeys?”
    Joe frowned. “What monkeys?”
    Danny rubbed at his eyes once more, before pointing over his father’s shoulder. Joe turned around to see what his son was looking at. The others in the room turned at the same time.
    “ Shit pickles,” said Grace beside him. “That’s not good, is it?”
    Joe shook his head. “Not good at all.”
    Lined up against the long horizontal window of the far wall was row upon row of monkeys. Dozens of human-like faces pressed up against the glass, side by side. They looked almost comical in a way, but a wild spark of sinister intent glistened in their eyes. Joe knew what it was.
    It was murder.
     
    Chapter Six
     
    “ What do we do,” Grace cried out, frantic, pulling her hair. “What do we do?”
    Joe put a hand on her shoulder whilst simultaneously pulling Danny against his hip. “Just calm down. I don’t think they can get in at us.” As if to question his assertion, one of the monkeys smashed a fisted paw against the glass. Joe flinched and studied the area where the animal had hit. It was cracked, a delicate spiderweb of fractures snaking through the glass where the impact had struck. Joe swallowed. “Actually, maybe you should go ahead and panic.”
    “ We need to move upstairs, right now.” Mason rushed across the room, clapping his hands above his head to get everyone’s focus. A door stood at the side of the room and he punched in a code on a square pad beside it. “Everyone, in here, quickly.”
    Without argument everyone raced to the door, passing through into the corridor