She’s Poking the Tiger, and I’m Enjoying the Show Chapter 01

She’s Poking the Tiger, and I’m Enjoying the Show Chapter 01

My coworker, Aria Bennett, was a pet-content creator who had gained 300,000 followers by claiming she could understand animals.

During a company outing at a privately owned drive-through safari park, she insisted on getting out of the van to livestream from inside the carnivore enclosure.

“Just watch. Today, I’m going to prove that even a tiger can sense when I mean it no harm.”

I told her not to risk her life for a video, but she only waved me off.

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s a gift.”

I couldn’t talk her out of it.

When the tiger charged, she ran to the door beside me, sobbing and screaming for me to pull her inside.

I reached for her.

When the tiger rushed toward her, she ran to the door beside me, sobbing and screaming for me to pull her inside.

Then she scrambled back into the van and survived.

When I opened my eyes again, our minivan was waiting in line to enter the carnivore loop.

Aria was still smiling sweetly at the camera.

“Okay, guys, you’re about to see that even the biggest cats can behave themselves.”

I looked down, felt for the door lock beside me, and pressed it down.

Click.

Locked.

Aria sat on the left side of the van, a pink canvas tote beside her.

I knew exactly what was inside.

Freeze-dried pet treats. A feather wand.

And the idiotic certainty that a tiger would fall for the same tricks as a house cat.

“Emma, why are you so quiet?”

Aria suddenly turned the camera toward me, laughter in her voice.

“Getting scared again? Relax. Your girl’s about to show you what communicating with animals really looks like.”

Several coworkers laughed.

Ryan patted the back of the seat in front of him.

“Aria, if a tiger actually responds to you, I’ll send you a gift during the livestream.”

Maya Collins covered her mouth as she laughed.

“Her followers love this stuff. We can edit it into a company-outing reel afterward. It’ll be great for engagement.”

Our department manager, Ethan Hart, glanced back from the passenger seat. He sounded less like he was warning Aria than giving her permission.

“Just don’t take it too far. Film through the glass. We still need that footage for the company account.”

They had said those exact same things the first time around.

Everyone had treated the danger like a joke and the rules like fine print.

I had spent the entire ride trying to talk sense into Aria.

I told her that a tiger wasn’t a house cat, that opening any door inside the carnivore enclosure was strictly forbidden, and that no livestream was worth dying for.

In front of everyone, Aria rolled her eyes and accused me of being jealous of her following. She called me a killjoy and said it was no wonder nobody at work liked me.

Then she got out anyway.

After getting me killed, she sobbed during police questioning and claimed she had only been trying to survive.

According to her, I had panicked, fallen out of the van on my own, and been attacked by the tiger.

This time, I stopped trying to talk her out of it.

I started recording on my phone, angling it so Aria’s bag and the open package of treats were in frame while the microphone picked up every voice in the van.

Then I photographed the posted safety rules and opened the park’s emergency chat. I entered our license plate number and the entrance gate number.

Finally, I buckled my seat belt and pulled the strap tight.

The buckle clicked softly. Somehow, that tiny sound felt like salvation, pulling me back from the blood-soaked mud of my previous life.

The gate ahead was already open.

Daniel Reed pressed the gas, and the minivan slowly rolled into the shadows.

I kept my palm over the door lock.

Of all the moments fate could have chosen, it had sent me back when it was already too late to get out.

But this time, no one was going to drag me out through that door.