The wanted murderer L.S.

Zoo Keeper.

Louis stopped walking down the path. The murderer with Raspberry Rose curls continued on for a few more steps until he realise he wasn't being followed. He stopped as well and turned around.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing how Louis was cracking his knuckles with somewhat of an unreadable expression. It was somewhere between overwhelmed and either happy or sad.

"Why did you say that?" Louis asked, "That I'm your friend?"

"Is friendship a great secret?" the man asked back.
He walked up to Louis and looked down at him, tilting his head curiously. "Let me take a guess. Tell me if I'm right."

Louis looked up at him with his wide blue eyes and the man said, "You like having friends, but you don't like making them. Is that right?"

Louis nodded. The man smiled and ruffled Louis' hair again.

"Me, too." He said. "I grew up in a little village. I don't know what I was doing wrong but people have been calling me strange ever since I can remember. I didn't get bullied, just avoided. I had one friend, that's all."

"People think I'm strange, too." Louis said in reassurance.

The man smiled at him. "People think you're strange because they don't understand how you think. If they understood, they'd see that you're completely and utterly normal."

"Oh.." Louis said. "I'm not boring, am I? I'd much rather be strange than boring."

"Oh, no." The man denied, shaking his head. He put his hand on the base of Louis' back and guided him down the path. "There's a lot of words people can use for you. Some words, I find, are ones that can only be used for you. Boring is the furthest away from that. There's nothing dull about a man who doesn't process danger when it's right in front of him."

F They reached the end of the path and found themselves by the entrance where they'd started.
The man put a finger to his lips and guided Louis behind the greenery by the wall. They sat on the grass, facing each other. It felt very intimate, Louis thought, and the man smelt incredibly sweet.. Like a musky, flowery type of scent.. He didn't know anything about flowers, but he enjoyed the smell nonetheless.

"Hey, wakey-wakey, Louis".

Louis blinked a few times and came back to earth.
"I am awake.

"Did you see the security building? The one attached to the gift shop?" the man asked, to which Louis nodded.

"In there is the park-keeper on his night shift. He's supposed to guard this place and make sure no one breaks in to steal the lions or what-not. His wite divorced him two years ago and his kids have grown up and gone to university. In 1978, he did a hit-and-run. An eight year old girl died and her mother suffered severe injuries to the spine; he was never caught. He drinks very heavily on weekends which means that when he drops asleep, he's dead asleep."

"Okay."

"He's got a ring of keys tied to his belt. We need to go in there and get them."

"Why?" Louis asked, to which the man tutted.

"No questions, remember? Do you want to come? If not, stay here and dig a hole about three inches deep, and five inches wide."

"With my hands?

"Yes, Louis. With your hands. I don't have a spade."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you did.."

"Well, I don't. Dig with your hands, right here." The man said, tapping the soil between them.

Louis made a face of disgust and stood up. "No way. I hate having mess on my hands." He said, I'm coming with you."

"You sure?" the man asked, looking Louis up and down before standing up as well. "Alright then"