I shivered, unable to stop myself from snapping at Tatiana.
“Are the cages in your zoo even secure? That bear’s huge; it looked like it could bend the bars just by pushing.”
“And when it stood up with its back to me… from a distance, its silhouette, seriously, it looked like a person standing there. Scared the hell out of me!”
Back then, Tatiana had only laughed, brushing off my fear as paranoia.
“The cage is made of special alloy. Super sturdy. And besides, it’s always been pretty quiet.”
“Looks like a person? You’ve definitely watched too many horror movies…”
Now, remembering that moment, I swallowed hard, my heart hammering in my chest.
I was just about to ask her, how intelligent was that bear, really? Could it use an elevator?
If it was only wandering around the landscaped areas near the building, maybe I didn’t need to panic.
But before I could say a word, a sudden knock echoed through the room.
The hair on the back of my neck bristled. I nearly dropped my phone.
That sound, so sharp, so unnatural, cut through the silence of the night like a blade.
Even Tatiana heard it from the other end of the line.
She asked, her voice tight with anxiety, “Zariah, what was that? What’s going on over there?”
I froze, clamping a hand over my mouth, not daring to breathe.
But the survival instinct quickly overpowered the fear.
I pressed my back to the wall, inching slowly toward the door. On tiptoe, I brought one eye to the peephole.
Under the dim light outside, a large figure stood motionless, broad shoulders nearly filling the entire frame.
He wore a yellow-and-blue delivery uniform, the helmet pulled low over his face, obscuring his features.
And then it hit me, a foul, heavy stench seeping through the doorframe. Thick, wild… animal.
I gagged on the spot.
Just then, a robotic voice crackled from outside the door. “Your delivery has arrived. Please open the door…”
Could it be that Isaiah Dixon had ordered food for me?
But through the peephole, I saw it clearly, that burly delivery man wasn’t holding anything at all.
Right then, Tatiana’s voice returned, low and urgent. “Zariah, don’t open the door! That’s definitely the bear!”
“It’s terrifyingly smart, it can mimic human speech! Back away, now! Get away from the door!”
A sharp gasp escaped me.
My knees gave out, and I nearly collapsed. I scrambled back into the bedroom, limbs shaking.
Could that bear, the one the AI fortune-telling app said would kill me at 2 a.m., really be right outside my door?
It was almost 2 a.m.
Clutching my phone, my voice trembled so much it no longer sounded like mine.
“Tatiana, what do I do? It’s knocking on the door… and it can talk…”
“When will the rescue team get here? What if it breaks through…”
Tatiana’s voice wavered with tears, but she tried her best to stay composed.
“Samuel’s team is close to your place; they should be there any minute, ten minutes at most!”
“Listen to me, Zariah. That bear might be smart and strong, but it shouldn’t be able to break through a reinforced security door. As long as you don’t open it, it can’t get in!”
“Find a sturdy corner and hide. Samuel’s team brought tranquilizer guns. They’ll take care of it!”
But I still didn’t feel reassured.
Just then, the knocking stopped.
The peephole had gone pitch-black, and I couldn’t see anything at all.
What was it doing now? Was it trying to find another way in?
I couldn’t just sit here and wait for death, hoping an old door and a rescue team would save me.
Then, that eerie AI fortune-telling app flashed through my mind again.
A wild thought suddenly surfaced.
If it could predict the time of my death, could it also reveal if there was still a sliver of hope?
