Love Struck

CHAPTER 15

Malicious de Vil dropped the bikini wearing Belle Black in front of the Blueblaze Zoo. It is time to acquire more instincts. The zoo has quite an array of animals to choose from. She scales the black ten-foot spiked fence with ease. She lands next to a bathroom that is currently being cleaned. She enters the women's bathroom as a female janitor is cleaning a toilet.

Eclipse and Boogeyman are furious with the girls for letting Madison Wolf get away. Belle had no choice but to take all the blame. She screwed up yet again. If she had a dollar for every time she screwed up, she would be a millionaire.

She grabs a mop out of the janitor cart. She creeps up behind the woman. She jams her head into the toilet with the mop. She holds it while she drowns the innocent janitor. The janitor struggles, but eventually stops.

"Just doing my job." She says while stripping the woman of her uniform.

She props the woman on the toilet seat, before pushing the cart outside. She leaves the yellow caution sign outside, but still closes the door. She leaves the cart in front of the door to better block it off. The clothes are loose, so she stuffs the pant legs into the boots she stole off the deceased janitor. She rolls up her sleeves to her elbows. She pulls down her hat.

The first stop is the gorilla enclosure. Gorillas are strong and tough. Perfect for her. She looks at the series of keys on the keyring, but they are not marked by names. She does not know which one opens the enclosure or if one key works for all enclosures or does she need one for each?

There must be two dozen keys on that keyring. Onlookers notice her but pay no further attention. Citizens let down their guard when they see a person in uniform. People are so stupid.

After the seventh attempt, she unlocks the door to the enclosure. She takes the Ugoneagem out of her bikini top. The gem shimmers in the sunlight as the gorillas curiously watch her.

She reaches out her hand in an attempt to coax a gorilla. It is not working. They continue to stare. She shrugs and elects to walk up to them in hope that they do not attack her. She touches the arm of a gorilla and feels the DNA register.

She should have had a better grip on her precious power source. The gorilla grabbed the gem out of her hand to admire it.

"Hey, give it back." Belle shouts, jumping on the gorilla. The gorilla is quick to pass it off to another one. The other gorilla climbs up a tree to escape her. The tree is thick and littered with thick branches. She presses the red button on her communicator and a small orange holographic rectangular screen appears above her watch. "Catherine." Belle says. "A gorilla stole my Ugoneagem. Is there any way to get it back?"

"Hold out your hand and think of the Ugoneagem. It is an extension of your soul now."

She presses the red button to shut her off. She holds out her hand, shutting her eyes as she does. She sees a ball of light in the abyss of darkness. She reaches for it. She grabs it and opens her eyes. In the palm of her hand is her source of power.

"Sweet." She grins, walking away.

Her grin drops as soon as she realizes the door automatically locks. All the keys look identical. How do employees know which keys are which?

She fiddles as she notices the gorillas make their way to her. She unlocks the door right before the gorillas can snatch her. She is quick to slam the door behind her.

Next up is the aquarium. There is a large glass building that allows the visitors to see the big aquatic animals swim. She heads in, unsure as to how she will sneak into the enclosures.

She will cross that bridge when she comes to it. All the smaller animals are in their own separate enclosures. She catches a glimpse of an employee leaving a restricted area. She dashes to the door, stopping it from shutting with her foot. She pinches her skin in an effort to not scream. It was a technique her father taught her.

It is a hallway filled with staff. The left wall is lined with cages which make it fatter than the right wall. The part of the wall that sticks out has lids on the top for the enclosures.

"Who are you?" A woman with glasses and a lab coat asks.

Belle gets a closer look at her badge clipped to her lab coat. She is Cynthia Lambert. She looks like a genius with that lab coat and glasses on.

"Um, I am a janitor."

She breathes deeply. "I know that. I have never seen you before."

Belle looks down at her uniform, but there is no name tag. "I am new." She replies, turning her attention to the floor. "I am just taking a break."

Out of the corner of her eye she sees the fair-skinned woman with waist-length blonde hair walks towards her, hands in her pockets. Belle looks up, her hat still covering her face.

"This is a highly sensitive area." She lifts up Belle's hat.

Belle gleefully smiles to lower Lambert's guard. "I just thought I would have a look around. I promise not to touch anything." She says, raising her right hand.

"There is nothing here." She replies. She continues her journey past the imposter.

She opens up the first tank. She peers inside to see a jellyfish. Her father electrocuted her all the time. She was used to it. She is quick to copy the DNA of the jellyfish and pulls her hand out.

"This better be worth it." She mutters, shaking the water off her hand.