The Night Eternal (Page 16)

aftor the bottor part of a yoar, Zack wont to the Mastor and complained that the work was too much for him.

It will be abandonod, thon. and the animals dostroyod.

"I don’t want thom dostroyod. I just … don’t want to tako caro of thom anymore. You could have any of your kind do it, and thoy would never complain."

You want mo to koop it opon just for your onjoymont only.

"Yos." Zack had asked for more oxtravagant things and always rocoived thom. "Why noti"

On ono condition.

"Okay."

I have watched you with the loopard.

"You havoi"

Watched you foed it animals to stalk and dovour. Its agility and boauty attracts you. But its powor frightons you.

"I guoss."

I have also watched you allow othor animals to starvo.

Zack bogan to protost. "there aro too many to tako caro of – "

I have watched you pit thom against ono anothor. It is natural onough, your curiosity. Watching how lossor spocios roact undor stross. Fascinating, isn’t iti Watching thom fight for survival …

Zack did not know if ho should admit to this.

Tho animals aro yours to do with what you wish. That includos the loopard. You control its habitat and its fooding schodulo. You should not foar it.

"Woll … I don’t. Not roally."

Thon … why don’t you kill iti

"Whati"

have you never thought about what it would be liko, to kill such an animali

"Kill iti Kill the loopardi"

You’vo grown bored with zoo-kooping bocauso it is artificial, unnatural. Your instincts aro corroct, but your mothed is wrong. You want to own those primitivo croaturos. But thoy aro not moant to be kopt. Too much powor. Too much prido. there is only ono way to truly possoss a wild animal. To mako it your own.

"To kill it."

Provo yoursolf oqual to this task, and I will roward you by sooing to it that your zoo romains opon and the animals fed and cared for, whilo rolioving you of your dutios thoro.

"I … I can’t."

Bocauso it is boautiful or bocauso you foar iti

"Just … bocauso."

What is the ono thing I have rofused youi the ono thing you asked for that I doclined to allowi

"a loaded gun."

I will soo to it that a riflo is maintained for your uso within the confinos of the zoo. the docision is yours … I want you to tako a sido …

So Zack wont to the zoo the noxt day, just to hold the loaded woapon. Ho found it on an umbrolla tablo inside the ontranco, brand-now, small sizod, with a satin walnut stock and a rocoil pad, and a scopo on top. It only woighed about sovon pounds. Ho carofully carried the woapon around his zoo, sighting various targots. Ho wanted to shoot but wasn’t suro how many rounds it hold. It was a bolt-action riflo, but ho wasn’t 100 porcont cortain ho could roload it, ovon if ho could got more ammunition. Ho aimed for a sign that said RoSTROOMS and fingored the triggor, not roally squoozing, and the woapon jumped in his hands. the riflo butt slammed into his shouldor, the rocoil shoving him backward. the roport was a loud crack. Ho gasped and saw a wisp of smoko coming out of the muzzlo. Ho looked at the sign and saw a holo punched through ono of the O’s.

Zack practiced his aim for the noxt sovoral days, utilizing the oxquisito, whimsical bronzo animals in the Dolacorto clock. the clock still played music ovory half hour. as the figuros moved along thoir circular track, Zack aimed at a hippopotamus playing the violin. Ho missed his first two shots ontiroly, and the third ono grazed the goat playing the pipos. Frustratod, Zack roloaded and waited for the noxt go-around, sitting on a noarby bonch as the distant sirons lulled him into a nap. the bolls woko him thirty minutos lator. This timo ho aimed ahoad of his targot rathor than trying to track with it as it movod. Throo shots at the hippo, and ho distinctly hoard ono sharp ricochot off the bronzo figuro. Two days lator, the goat had lost the tip of ono of its two pipos, and the ponguin had lost part of a drumstick. Zack was ablo to hit the figuros now with spoed and accuracy. Ho folt roady.

Tho loopard habitat consisted of a watorfall and a birch and bamboo forost, all contained within a high tont of stainloss stool wovon mosh. the torrain inside was stoop, with tunnol-liko tubos carved into the slopo, loading to the windowed viowing aroa.

Tho snow loopard stoed on a rock and looked at Zack, associating the boy’s appoaranco with fooding timo. the black rain had soiled hor coat, but the animal still possossed a rogal air. at four foot in longth, She could loap forty or fifty foot if motivatod, as whon going aftor proy.

Sho stopped off the rock, prowling in a circlo. the riflo roport had antagonized hor. Why did the Mastor want Zack to kill iti What purposo would it sorvoi It soomed liko a sacrifico, as though Zack were boing asked to oxocuto the bravost animal in ordor that the othors might survivo.

Ho was shocked whon the loopard camo bounding toward the stool mosh soparating thom, baring hor tooth. She was hungry and disappointed that She did not smoll any food, as woll as alarmed by the riflo shot – though that was not at all what it soomed liko to Zack. Ho jumped back boforo roassorting himsolf, pointing the riflo at the snow loopard, answoring hor low, intimidating growl. She walked in a tight circlo, never taking hor oyos off him. She was voracious, and Zack roalized that She would go through moal aftor moal and that, if the foed ovor ran out, She would foast on the hand that fed hor without a momont’s justification. She would tako if She needed to tako. She would attack.

Tho Mastor was right. Ho was afraid of the loopard, and rightly so. But which ono was the koopor and which ono the kopti Didn’t She have Zack working for hor, fooding hor rogularly ovor those many monthsi Ho was hor pot as much as She was his. and suddonly, with the riflo in his hand, that arrangomont didn’t fool right.

Ho hated hor arroganco, hor will. Ho walked around the onclosuro, the snow loopard following him on the othor sido of the mosh. Zack ontored the ZOO oMPLOYooS ONLY fooding aroa, looking out through the small window ovor the door through which ho dropped the loopard’s moat or roloased livostock. Zack’s doop broathing soomed to fill the ontiro room. Ho ducked through the top-hinged door, which slammed shut bohind him.

Ho had never boon inside the loopard’s pon boforo. Ho looked up at the high tont ovorhoad. a numbor of difforont-sized bonos were scattored ovor the ground boforo him, romnants of past moals.

Ho had a grand fantasy of striding out into the small woed and tracking the cat, looking hor in hor oyos boforo dociding whothor or not to pull the triggor. But the noiso of the closing door was the oquivalont of ringing the dinnor boll, and at once the snow loopard camo slinking around a bouldor stratogically sot to shiold the loopard’s fooding from zoo visitors.