Twisted Zoo (Yandere Various Twisted Wonderland)

Chapter 11

Sorry that it took over a month to write this, but I needed inspiration + my new job is kicking my butt. It's pretty short and bad but I didn't have a lot of inspiration.

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You were on your way to the birds' enclosure when you heard your name being called. You turned around to see Crowley making his way towards you, one arm raised to flag you down. You hurried over to him.

"Yes, Mr. Crowley?"

As you drew closer, you could see the concern on his face.

"I need you to come with me," he said softly, leading the way to the aviary. You nodded and followed him, worry starting to consume you.

"Is everything okay?" you asked.

Mr. Crowley led you around to a side of the aviary you hadn't been to before- a side that faced neither the employee entrance nor the zoo visitors. It took only a few seconds to realize why he had led you there.

The metal enclosure had been dented outwards, as though a lot of force had been applied to it from the inside. The seams were starting to split apart, artificial light from inside the enclosure peeking through the cracks. It looked like an elephant had been body-slamming the aviary's walls.

"Wha- what happened?" you asked, stunned.

"We've had some... incidents recently. All of the halflings have been acting up more than usual and, as you can see, there's been some damage to the aviary's metal dome."

"But the birds are so well-behaved!" you protested in shock.

"That's the thing," Mr. Crowley said gravely, "It seems to happen after your visits. The halflings become... agitated when you aren't around."

You couldn't believe that the gentle, friendly birds had caused this kind of damage to a metal enclosure. And because of you? It was almost unthinkable.

"I don't understand," you said in a near whisper, "Why would they do this?"

Mr. Crowley sighed wearily, "Halflings form strong bonds, that's why we have so many bonded species at this zoo. They will especially latch on to anyone who shows them true kindness. You clearly mean a lot to them and your absence upsets them."

"I didn't mean to cause any trouble," you said, a pang of guilt tugging at your heartstrings.

"I know, and I don't blame you," Mr. Crowley reassured you, "But we need to find a solution."

"Do you have any ideas?" you asked.

Mr. Crowley went silent and avoided eye contact. A thrill of apprehension shot up your spine but you willed it away. Mr. Crowley would never put you in danger, right?

"For now, just continue as normal," Mr. Crowley replied, "We'll work on fixing the enclosure."

You nodded and the zoo director dismissed you with a careless wave. You hurried to the enclosure's employee entrance and were disturbed to hear, instead of the usual quiet, the sounds of squawks and hoots and other cries.

You stepped inside and were surprised by the scene you were met with. The halflings were clearly distressed: pacing in their cages and looking around wildly, feathers fluffed up in agitation. Even calm-and-collected Vil looked ruffled.

"Guys? Are you alright?" you called out softly.

Ace was first to respond, "Where were you?" he demanded to know, voice tinged with panic, "You're late! You've never been late before!"

"I'm sorry, Ace," you said, trying to sound as soothing as possible, "I was talking to Mr. Crowley about some... problems with the enclosure."

Ace's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Problems? What problems?"