Writing Prompt Day: 1

Writing Prompt: Write a 400 word story in the crime genre. It's about a lion trainer and should include not enough money. Also use the sentence 'I don't want to ask for too much.' Bonus prompt: Civilization has come to an end.

Lennie stood outside the fence of the private zoo, "Bayles Animal Kingdom", where she had been on contract with for the last three years. On the front gate she saw a large sign made out of particle board with a hastily spray-painted "Closed 4 Business". This was the second time she had stopped in the last twelve hours. She came back because she wanted to see her pride and joy, the lioness named Anissa who she had faithfully trained since she was a cub and when Lennie first started this job. Lennie understood that her chances of breaking in and making it past the initial gate were very small. The zoo's owner, Kevin Bayles, was probably watching her from his household tower, erected in the center of the zoo. He most likely had one of his prized AR-15s trained on her head. Lennie only wanted to see Anissa for one last time before she made her northward journey to stay with her brother and sister-in-law in rural Iowa. 

Since the fatal bombings on Washington DC two weeks ago, the United States was dissolving into chaos. There was no concise leadership from any government entity. People were rioting in the larger cities and many business owners were closing down to prevent direct losses to their livelihood. Lennie had been working with Anissa when the bombings happened. They were working on getting Anissa more accustomed to larger crowds, which meant more money for the zoo. She knew something was wrong when suddenly her phone started buzzing out of control in her pocket. She thought at first it was a prank when the headline, "BREAKING: CAPITAL GOES UP IN FLAMES AND ASHES” posted by NPR on her Facebook feed. The next moments time stood still until she fully understood what happened.  The customers in the zoo fled almost immediately upon discovering the news. Other zoo employees walked out, scared of what could happen to them and their families. Lennie left that day too, leaving behind Anissa and hurrying to get home and back to her apartment. The next days were spent chained to her phone, calling family over and over again. She impulsively checked the news each day not really knowing if things would ever be normal again. People in her small town had cleared out the grocery stores and there was a run on gasoline. Walmart had started restricted access to buying firearms but only after they almost sold out the day after the bombing. Some of her neighbors had even packed up and fled to other places. Most had left their places unlocked in their hurry to leave town. She then rifled through what was left and snagged a gently worn purple peacoat, some rain boots and few boxes of macaroni and cheese in the back of a kitchen cabinet. 

Lennie decided after talking things over with brother that she needed to leave town soon so she could ensure safe passage to his house. It was a four-hour drive under normal circumstances. Her used Prius had a full tank of gas and was packed full of anything she felt was essential. She just wanted to say her goodbyes to Anissa, who had become a central part of her day to day life. Lennie was soft-hearted about Anissa, she felt bonded to her. Over the course of their time together, Anissa would rub her head and body against Lennie's, just like a housecat would.

Lennie paced back and forth in front of the entrance to the zoo. She knew breaking in would result in her potentially losing her life and becoming food for Anissa and the other big cats. Kevin Bayles was crazy enough for that reality. He was a paranoid, doomsday prepper type. She knew he kept large supplies of food, water, firearms, ammunition, and medical supplies in a locked room in the same building where souvenirs were kept. She only found out one day when a large shipment of food from Honeywell was delivered while she had been asked to help unload gift shop souvenirs one day when one of the shop attendees was out sick. She knew nobody just ordered pallets upon pallets of powered eggs, textured vegetable protein and rice for zoo animals or for regular consumption. Several times she also heard Kevin exclaim to anyone who would listen that his second amendment rights were being infringed upon every second this President was in office and that the police would have to dig up and find all of his hidden firearms if they wanted them from him.

After failing to come up with a plan to get inside, Lennie decided that maybe it was time for her to leave. She felt she had now squandered too much precious time being indecisive about how to accomplish her need to say goodbye. She turned to walk back towards her Prius and gear up for the four-hour journey north into Iowa, when she heard Kevin call out to her.

"Hey Lennie, hey wait."

Lennie turned, Kevin was standing behind the zoo gate, AR-15 slung over his shoulder. He looked tired, his eyes had large bags under them, and his hair looked greasy where it was spilling out under his ball cap.

"Uh... Hi" she spoke, her breath caught in her throat. 

"Why are you here? I know you stopped by last night too."

She tried to make her voice sound less scared than she felt. "I wanted to see Anissa one last time and say goodbye. I'm leaving Missouri and going to stay with my family out of state. I was planning on leaving today". 

"Ah I see and you thought you could just drop by and I'd let you in. You walked out two weeks ago! You and everyone else who fucking works here. I've had to run this entire zoo with no god damn help from anybody. And you think you can just show up here unannounced to do whatever the fuck you want."

"I'm sorry about that, I just didn't know what else to. I don't think anyone does. I don't want to ask for too much. I really just want this last goodbye. Please Kevin."

He looked over her, trying to decide what to do. "What would I get out of it if I let you in? How do I know you won't try to steal something or sabotage me and the zoo?"

Lennie clenched her teeth. She only had $643 on her which was her entire savings account that she had withdrawn the day after the bombing. She had feared she might lose access to it. Money would soon become irrelevant if things continued to go downhill. Although if she was able to make the journey she might need the money as a tool to help her passage if she came across any obstacles. She tried to weigh her odds and decided she could offer some of to him.

"I'll give you $300 if you give me 5 minutes. I promise I'll be in and out."

He took another look at her and seemed to think she was worth some of the risk. "Sure, but you have to give me your money upfront."

She watched him unlock the gate. She unzipped her fanny pack and extracted fifteen $20 bills. She walked over the gate and proffered up the cash. He grabbed and gave her a grim smile. He pocketed the cash and stood aside, gesturing her inside the gate. They walked down the path towards the Lion enclosure where Anissa lived. Kevin let them into the pen and Lennie saw that all the big cats were in cages instead of roaming around their habitat like normal. She turned to say something to Kevin about the inhumanity of keeping them trapped but bit her tongue as he leered at her. "It's my zoo, Lennie. I'll do whatever the fuck I want with these animals if that means keeping them confined to the cages. "

Kevin walked over to the cage where Lennie could see Anissa was crouching inside of. Kevin undid the lock and Anissa shot out, stretching her legs but looking around warily. You could always tell when animals were not on their normal routines, that they regressed in behavior and sociability when things changed for the worst. Like waiting for a timid house cat, Lennie stood mostly still, not seeming threatening. Anissa could see her but mostly kept her distance for about 2 minutes before curiosity made her come to sniff Lennie out. Anissa slinked past her, hesitantly sniffing before using her body to rub hard against Lennie's legs. 

Lennie felt a strong wave of emotion flood her senses. She had underestimated how strong her attachment was to Anissa. Lennie fell to her knees, doing her best to embrace Anissa who then plopped into the dirt and stretched. Lennie poked her up and looked for Kevin. She saw him standing outside the enclosure, watching their every move. She checked her watch then and noticed her time was almost up. She stood and dusted off her pants from where she fell in the dirt. She gave Anissa some firm strokes and pats, being sure to relay as much affection and care as she could in the last few moments she had with Anissa. She walked over the door. Kevin made eye contact with her and then said, "So.. how do you feel about staying here and helping me instead of leaving. I mean, I could just not let you leave you know."

"What…I thought we made a deal, Kevin."

"We did, I was just giving you another outcome. I mean I do need the help with the animals among other things." He gave her a sneer that made her start to shake a little.

"Please Kevin, just let me out and I promise you will never see me again. Please."

He took a moment to look her over before unlocking the door for her.

"Fine Lennie, I'll let you leave. You are lucky I'm in a good mood today or else you might become another resident of my Animal Kingdom" He laughed morbidly.

She followed him quietly to the zoo entrance. She didn’t say anything and kept close behind him as to not give him an opportunity to change his mind. He opened the front gate and she made a beeline for her Prius. She turned when she got to the driver's side door. He stood behind the gate and gave her a small wave. She jumped in the car, started it and pulled out faster than she intended to, spraying some gravel in her wake.  She was able to correct her path enough to make her way on to the main road the zoo’s road branched off from. She felt a weird combination of relief to be away from Kevin and sadness that this would be the last time she saw Anissa.

She steered around a bend on the gravel path and ran over a large pothole that caused her car to bounce up and down for a few yards. Her low tire light flashed on her dashboard and the warning bell rang. Her heart dropped and she pulled over to assess the damage. She got out and saw two flat tires.  She knew there was only one spare, in the trunk under the mound of essentials she packed that morning. She leaned against the trunk and pulled out her phone. She had almost no service and when she tried to call her brother for help, there was no dial tone. Trying to figure out what to do next, she then heard the familiar sound of Kevin's ATV coming up the road.