Another keeper shook his head. “You saw what happened with the dart. If we try again, he’ll just move it—or worse, hurt it.” Daniel stood silently with Noah pressed against him, watching the adults argue. His son’s eyes were wide, following every word. The boy’s grip tightened on his father’s hand. “They have to save it, Dad,” he whispered.
Speculation flew. Disease. Contraband. An escaped animal from another enclosure. But in the back of everyone’s mind lingered the same question: How did it get in there? Ben rubbed the bridge of his nose, then turned back to the screens.