Outcast Oneshot book #3

Zookeeper au: The Widow.

This is an au I've come up with! Check my message board thing for more info on it!

Enjoy!

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You had always had a love for animals. You loved them more then you liked humans.

Pets would love you for who you are, they never judged you, they would never run out on you, they'd never leave you, they'd lick and kiss your face even if you haven't showered in a week!

And when you had gotten a job as a zookeeper you were ecstatic!

However, you didn't think your job would take place in a facility specializing in the strange and unusual.

Not just normal animals no, beast. Beasts of fairy tails and folklore, things that shouldn't even exist. Yet, here they do.

The facility was going to be open to the public one day, but not anytime soon. Many of the creatures lashed out at anyone who dared to step foot in their enclosure.

Security guarded the doors to each enclosure, you had to have a top key card to get into any of the rooms.

You had been working there for less than a week when they decided to let you take a turn at feeding one of the beasts.

Your card hung from a red lanyard around your neck as you nervously fiddled with your hands.

One of your coworkers walked in front of you, leading you down to one of the lower floors.

The lower the beast, the more dangerous it was.

You two along with three guards, walked along the first basement floor. Two of the guards held rifles loaded with sleep darts, while the third carried a crate.

"What specimen am I going to feed today?" You ask, your voice quivering with nerves.

"A Skider. Its a strange hybrid between a skeleton monster crossed with an arachnid. They have the hourglass of a black widow." Your coworker, James replies plainly.

"...And how big is it?" You ask, a chill going down your spine at the mention of anything with eight legs.

"Its on the smaller side.. Just avoid its mouth. A normal Black widow is about the size of a quarter and its bite wouldn't kill you if you went to the hospital. However, this one is three times the size of you. And, with its size, its venom would paralyze your lungs and kill you. If it doesn't eat your first." He smirks.

You shake your head. "That's not reassuring!"

"You'll do fine. We've had this one for a year now, its never shown any signs of aggression. Its a patient one." James stops on front of a heavy metal door with a small glass window.

"And.. What does it eat?" You ask, your arms shaking now that it was only a door separating you and a giant spider.

"Meat mostly, like most of the things in here. But it prefers bitter things, so, we feed it dead tarantulas." He replies with a shrug.

The guard behind you hands you the crate in his arms, its a bit heavy, but you can manage.

"Let us know if you need us miss l/n." The guard softly smiles at you, giving you a pat on the shoulder.

You nod your head and slide your key card into the slot, making the door slowly open for you.

You take a step inside with the crate in your hands. The door slides shut and locks behind you.

The enclosure was oddly a bit chilly. There was no signs of the Skider that you could see.

Dark mud covered the ground, the room had tall ceilings and large pine trees, lavender flowers blossomed around the enclosure.