The humidity of the Louisiana morning already clung to the pavement as Kimberly Watson gripped her steering wheel. It was 7:45 AM, and the digital clock on her dashboard felt like a countdown to her unemployment. Being late had become a chronic symptom of her life lately, a persistent shadow over her role as a zookeeper at the Bayou Mounds Zoo. Her shift began at 8:00 AM, but the red brake lights stretching across Interstate 10 told her she wouldn't even be close.

  A sudden bottleneck on the interstate added another twenty minutes to her commute. With a sigh of resignation, she dialed her supervisor, Kellen Harris.

  "Hello," Kellen answered, his voice clipped and professional.

  "Good morning, Mr. Kellen. I'm calling to let you know I'm going to be a couple of minutes late," Kimberly said, her voice small against the hum of idling engines. "There has been a bad accident on I-10".

  "Define a couple of minutes, Kimberly," Kellen replied.

  "About twenty to twenty-five minutes. The cars are literally not moving".

  "Fine. Get here when you can. Goodbye".

  Kimberly tossed the phone onto the passenger seat as the call disconnected. "Man, I just keep messing up," she whispered to the empty car. "It is only a matter of time before they fire me. I love this job. I need this job".

  Her phone buzzed again. This time it was Dale, her boyfriend.

  "Hey, are you at work yet?" he asked without greeting.

  "No, I am stuck. There was an accident on the interstate".

  "Listen, you'd better stop this, or they are going to fire you," Dale said, his tone shifting into a familiar, sharp lecture. "It is almost like you can do nothing right. You cannot lose weight right, you will not eat right, and now you cannot even show up to work on time. Please stop this before it gets worse".

  The sting of his words brought hot tears to her eyes. "Can you please stop attacking my weight? You are acting as if I do not already know that. Goodbye, Dale". She ended the call and shoved the phone away as the traffic finally began to flow.

  She pulled into the Bayou Mounds Zoo at 8:45 AM, nearly an hour behind schedule. She hurried toward the briefing area, trying to blend in. "Good morning, everyone," she ventured.

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  Kellen Harris was already looking at her. "Hey, Kim. Follow me to my office for a moment".

  Once inside, Kellen did not soften the blow. "What is the deal, Kimberly? This has been going on for over a month now. Are you not getting enough rest? Are you having car problems? Or are you eating too much?" He gestured vaguely at her frame. "You are not exactly in the best shape compared to your colleagues".

  "I know, sir. I am trying my best to do better," Kimberly pleaded. "I am trying to lose the weight and go to bed at a reasonable time. I promise this will not continue to happen".

  Kellen sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I will take your word for now. You are one of our best zookeepers, and the animals truly love you. I would hate to see you let go or miss out on raises. Please, fix this. Now, get to your shift. You are already late".

  Kimberly hurried through her briefing and headed toward her assigned sector. The timber wolf exhibit had been a primary attraction for nearly a year, housing a pack of five wolves. As she approached, she noticed a shift in the pack's social dynamic. One wolf, a gray timber wolf named Bo, who had arrived six months prior, was distancing himself.

  When Kimberly set out the morning feed, the other four wolves descended on their trays with typical ferocity. Bo remained still. He lay on the grass, his amber eyes fixed on his tray with an unnerving, vacant stare. After a moment, he rose, ignored the meat entirely, and paced to a far corner to lie down again.

  "What is wrong with Bo?" Kimberly wondered aloud. "Why isn't he eating?" She watched the gray wolf for a long moment, noting his strange, heavy silence before moving on to her other duties.

  At the end of her shift, she sought out Kellen again. "Hey, just to give you a heads up, something looks off with Bo, the gray wolf".

  "What do you mean by strange?" Kellen asked.

  "He refused to eat during the feeding. He just stared at his food while the rest of the pack ate. Then he just went to a corner and stayed there".

  "Alright, I will notify the veterinarian. Thanks for the update," Kellen said. He paused, pointing a finger at her. "And remember what we talked about this morning. Do better".

  "I am trying," Kimberly replied softly.

  Across town at Jake's Shooting Range, the air was thick with the scent of cordite and the rhythmic crack of gunfire. Derek Brown and Olivia Hale stood side by side, lowering their M4 rifles as their hour-long session came to an end.

  "I was not too bad," Derek said, pulling back his target. "I shot a thirty-seven out of forty".

  Olivia laughed, her eyes bright as she checked her own score. "You still cannot beat my perfect forty out of forty".

  "You are a cop, Olivia. You are supposed to shoot like that," Derek countered with a smirk.

  "And what is your point? How long have you been out of the Army?" she teased. "Plus, let us not ignore what you actually do now".

  Derek's expression tightened slightly, and he glanced around the range. "Hey, not so loud".

  "Hahaha, it is not like they would believe us anyway," Olivia said, though she lowered her voice.

  "Let us get these weapons cleaned up and go to Lionel's for dinner," Derek suggested.

  "Oh yes. You can never go wrong with Lionel's, "Olivia agreed. "I do not care what time of day it is."

  The duo loaded their gear into the utility van and drove back to Derek's condo. After a disciplined routine of cleaning and securing their firearms, they headed out to Lionel's Diner, seeking a few hours of normalcy and laughter in a world that refused to stay quiet.

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