Page 139 of First Chance

“It doesn’t have to. You can stop whatever you’re planning, and we can fix this. I’ll tell them you had a change of heart, and it’ll be fine.”

“I think it’s too late for that, but nice try.” He pulls a chain out of his deep pocket and wraps it around my waist, pulling me flush against him to tighten it and lock it around me. “If you behave, I won’t hurt ya.”

“Behave?” Is he going to…

“Don’t move.” He loops the chain around the fence post and secures it loosely. I could escape. If he steps away a few feet, I could untangle the chain and run…

He grips the chain link fencing in both hands and peels a section back that he must’ve previously clipped, opening a doorway into the enclosures. He steps through after he grabs my chain, tugging me along.

“Come on, girl.”

“You’re taking me in there?”

“Looks like it, don’t it?”

“It’s not safe.”

He rolls his eyes at me like I’m the unreasonable one. “Come on.” He tugs me harder, making me trip through the hole, falling to the ground at his feet.

When I don’t immediately right myself, he pulls my chain, forcing the metal to dig into my waist, and bite me with pain.

“Please, don’t.”

“Get the fuck up, I’m tired of being nice.”

“Nice? This isn’t nice!”

“Pretty girl like you probably isn’t used to the real world, but guess what? Life isn’t nice,” he yells in my face, making me flinch away.

I’m too scared to fight as he tugs me a few feet along the fence line, farther into the bear enclosure.

My feet crunch through the dried leaves on the ground until my open-toe sandals squish against something soft andmoist. It’s cold against my skin.

Jerry sticks a small flashlight into his mouth, holding it between his teeth while he secures my chain around one of the metal fence posts. I glance down with the extra light and squeal, kicking my feet.

Blood. And what looks like brain matter is scattered all over the ground, coating my toes in dark red. “What is this?” I scream, trying to get away from it, but he’s tightened my chain around the fence post, and I can’t move. I can only twist a few inches left and right.

“Stop being a sissy. It’s ground beef and chicken livers.”

“Why?”

“It’ll attract the bears.” He laughs from deep in his chest, and my jaw drops.

“You want them to eat me?”

“Something like that.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t hurt me?”

“Well, I won’t. Can’t say as much about the bears.”

“On no, no, no, no,” I mutter repeatedly, trying to twist free from the solidly locked chain. He’s padlocked me in. “Why? Why me?”

He shrugs. “My brother wants power, and this place is like a gold mine. He thinks this will do the trick.”

“What?” My brain is not understanding his plan, and I don’t know who his brother is.

“If Mr. Dane’s fiancé gets mauled by the bears he cherishes so much, it’ll finally get him to shut it down.” He smirks, amused by this outlandish conversation.

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