Free Prey by Stefan Petrucha Page B

“Gshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
    THUNK!
    Derek’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! And you get paid for this?”
    She took the claw from him. “You’re right. I should be doing it.”
    â€œNo, no! It’s okay, really. I’m here. Let me. You get to do it for the next ten days!”
    She, of course, feeling stupid, relented, and he repeated the process twice. Each time Koko bit, Derek’s eyes lit up. The last time, he chuckled out loud. He looked at the bag again and seemed disappointed it was empty. Trying to maintain some of her dignity, Chelsea at least grabbed the wet bag and tossed it in the trash.
    â€œSo, I’m not seeing any leash,” Derek said.
    â€œI don’t see it either,” Chelsea said, walking up tothe Plexiglas. “But he was in a different position.”
    She watched Koko closely. He chewed a few times, as if savoring the last bite, then swallowed. When he was done, he leaned forward and brought his second claw back out under his chin.
    And there, under his arm, she saw it again.
    The angle was different, so she wasn’t quite sure what it was, exactly, but the little bit of pink was obvious. Maybe it was a piece of a plant?
    â€œThere!” Chelsea said, pointing. “Right there! Under his claw.”
    Derek was beside her in an instant, lining his head up with her pointing finger. “That? The little pink thing? That could be anything. It might even be a piece of rat.”
    â€œThanks for the picture, Derek. I’ll keep it forever.”
    â€œSorry.”
    â€œI saw more of it before. I just wish I could be sure….”
    â€œNo problem,” Derek said. He grabbed the claw again and pushed it through the window.
    â€œDerek, don’t poke him!”
    â€œI’m not going to poke him, I’m just going to grab that little pink thing. Gshhhhhhhh! ”
    Koko raised his sleepy head as he saw the clawcoming. He eyed it warily, as if aware he’d had his three rats already and there were something unusual about this fourth intrusion into his domain. Could lizards count? Chelsea wondered.
    Koko followed the end of the metal pole with his head all the way back to the window. Then he seemed to stare right at Derek’s face.
    Derek noticed. “ Gshhhh! Easy, fellow. Nothing to see here. Move along.”
    For now, the lizard did nothing, only watched, seemingly bemused as the claw edged closer and closer to the little pink flap—and finally snagged it.
    â€œGot it!” Derek said, terribly pleased with himself. “I’m a regular ‘Crocodile Hunter’!”
    He tugged gently, pulling it free from the straw and twigs that lay around and above it. Luckily, it wasn’t actually under Koko. Luckily, the lizard seemed to find this all terribly interesting.
    The pink thing swung forward, right in front of the lizard’s bemused face, into the light, where it could clearly be seen. There was no question now: It was a dog collar, pink with silver studs, torn and frayed at one end, as if it had been chewed.
    Chelsea screamed, long and loud, hurting her throat and filling the quiet space with a shrill, terrifiedsound. Koko snapped at the metal arm, yanking it from Derek’s hands. It fell onto the floor of the habitat, one end near Koko’s mouth, the other just below the circular window. Then Koko pulled himself completely into the shadows of the nest, disappearing, except for the tip of his tail.
    â€œDamn!” Derek said, working his index finger in his ear as if trying to dislodge Chelsea’s scream.
    â€œHe ate Aristotle! Koko ate Aristotle!” Chelsea sobbed as she sank to her knees. Her OCD, oddly enough, was completely silent, as if basking in its success. No need to say, “I told you so.”
    Derek tried to pull her back up to her feet. “Come on, L. C., come on. The good news, I guess, is, it’s not your OCD playing tricks on you.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with