Subject to Study (Naga!Brothers x Reader)

Chapter 25

The doors to the enclosures were never locked again.

While they remained closed for appearances' sake, I never touched the locking mechanisms to keep the nagas inside. I didn't want them to be trapped in their own rooms should something beyond my control happen again.

As the clock ticked past the zoo's closing time, I finished drying the last feed bucket and setting it with the rest in its assigned cabinet. Wiping off my hands, I moved towards the room with my bed and pulled out the laptop, silently wishing that Jeff responded.

'(Y/n),

I can have the crew there by Friday night. There's an air show this weekend that the Mil Mi-26TS can use as a cover for being in the area and I've hired a vet to ride along with the crew. She's a reptile specialist and a trusted family friend of mine. If the nagas are hurt or sick in any way, she'll be able to handle it during the flight.

Concerning the trip itself, the route we'd need to take would have us stop in Hawaii for a refueling before heading towards the naga island. It'll be a little bumpy, but that shouldn't be much of a problem as long as the weather cooperates with us. The vet is equipped to administer tranquilizers to help the nagas calm down during rough patches if they're not able to stay calm on their own.

The helicopter should be in your area around 8 p.m. on Friday, and will be ready for immediate departure when they touch down.

Jeff'

I read the e-mail multiple times over, my heart racing as the reality of the situation crashed over me like a wave.

Friday night...three nights from now.

I had two days to find a way to escape the San Diego Zoo with six nagas, preferably undetected, and get them across two busy roads into the field where the helicopter was going to touch down. Two days to stay under Calmine's radar and hope that his plan didn't move up in its schedule.

Responding to the e-mail with sincere gratitude, I quickly started to look through the pictures on the internet for detailed photos of the reptile house that we were currently in, finding the layout for the exterior exhibits and interior enclosures. Nothing really told me that we were underground except the elevator ride yesterday, letting me know that I was locked in here with no easy way out.

The elevator wasn't large enough to carry all six nagas plus myself at once, so that left the double doors by the security office. They were locked with an electronic keypad, but maybe there was a way to bypass that...which meant that I had to get friendly with the security officer if I wanted to use that exit.

Gently closing the laptop and sliding it back into its hiding place, I grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen area and the cleaning rake, opening up Oso's enclosure with some difficulty. Stepping over the lip of the enclosure, I leaned the rake against the wall before snapping the plastic bag open.

"(Y/n)?" Oso called out in a slightly raised voice, "You've already cleaned up today..."

"I'm giving myself an excuse to try and find a way out of here," I coughed a little as the stale smell of plastic hit my throat, "I've got two days."

"Two days...then that means we're leaving Friday?" He came fully into view, his hair still a little wet from the bathing I must've disrupted. I glanced down towards his chest and scales, still seeing the faint damage on his scales and disappearing scabs on his skin.

"Friday night, to be exact. The helicopter will be landing nearby since they can't pick us up from here directly, so I need to find a way to get you all out there," I began raking through the substrate, finding artificial leaves that had been pulled from their branches and thrown to the ground, "How are you doing on your venom?"