Page 62 of So Twisted

No response other than the cacophony of animal sounds inside. Faith tried one more time, and when there was still no answer, she said, “Okay, before we go in, I want you to check the exterior of the habitats and tell me if there’s an entrance from the outside that Jason might escape through. While you’re at it, see if your flashlight will reveal anything inside. If you don’t find an exit, come back here. If you do, then you stay there while Turk and I go in through the front.”

“Got it.”

Michael split off, and Faith listened intently. She had no idea what she would find on the other side of the door. When Michael returned, he told her, "There's an exit, but it's padlocked from the outside. He'd have to come through here to get out."

She nodded. “Okay then. We’re going in.”

Faith stepped back. Michael took a deep breath and said, “Cover me. I don’t want to get shot after I kick in the door.”

He lifted his leg and kicked hard. The door splintered inward, and the two agents rushed into the house and straight into chaos.

A moose charged Michael. He cursed and lifted his handgun, but Turk jumped in front of him and backed the big animaldown, barking savagely. The moose bellowed and stepped away, backing into a corner.

A small, furry animal bounded past Faith, nearly knocking her off of her feet. The animal turned back to her and lifted its long ears for a moment before resuming its journey. A jackrabbit.

Michael swore again when a falcon landed on top of his head. He swiped it off, and the bird shrieked in indignation before huffily perching on the rail of the staircase.

More birds flew and squirrels, rabbits and rats flitted along the ground. A raccoon clambered across a countertop. Apparently, Jason had released the animals from their cages. Hopefully, he hadn't released any of the predators. Considering the boldness the prey animals were showing, she doubted it, but that would be a bad surprise to suffer.

“It’s like Dr. Doolittle’s house party,” Michael muttered.

The only animal to threaten them was the moose, though, and it didn’t want any part of Turk. Faith nodded for the back door and said, “We’re going outside. When we get to the door, I’ll call Turk through. Then we’ll close the door behind us so the moose doesn’t get out.”

“We need to clear the second floor first,” Michael said. “Jason could be up there.”

Faith frowned. “You’re right. Okay, you go upstairs. I’ll stay here and watch the door.”

“Got it.”

He headed upstairs, and Faith turned to the moose. The animal continued to bellow and shake its head at Turk, but Turk remained undaunted, dancing out of the way of the animal's mock charges and nipping at its ankles to keep it in the corner. The raccoon approached Faith and cocked its head curiously. Faith fixed a stern look on it and shook her head, and thecreature decided it wasn’t worth the risk and trotted to the refrigerator.

“Damn it!” Michael called.

Faith rushed to the staircase, gun leveled. “Michael! What is it?”

He nearly bowled her over on his way down. "A snake! Damn it, it was a snake! In the bathroom! No, Jason, but there's a damned big snake! Some kind of python or boa. Crap!"

She heard a hiss and looked up to see a snake lifting its head and staring at them. The snake flattened its neck and glared at them through slitted yellow eyes.

Faith backed down, pulling Michael with her. “That’s not a python, Michael. It’s a cobra.”

Michael snapped his head around and blanched. “Oh crap.”

“Call animal control,” she said. “The moose and the cobra are the most dangerous animals here. They need to know about them.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Mind if we do it away from the ten-foot-long killer snake?”

“Right behind you.”

The snake watched them until they were at the foot of the stairs. Then, satisfied that it had chased the intruders away, it retreated into the darkness of the bedroom.

Michael shivered. “Christ. The thing struck at me. I was an inch away from dying.”

Faith squeezed his shoulder, then motioned to the back door with her head. “Come on. Let’s go check the enclosure. Turk!”

Turk snapped at the moose once more, then followed his humans outside and into more chaos. Elk, bison and an odd-looking species of deer walked around, browsing on the various bushes planted in between the enclosures. One of the deer saw Turk and leaped ten feet into the air before bounding away. Two more deer followed it into the enclosure, and they boundedtoward the opposite side, then turned to watch the intruding dog carefully.

“Pronghorn,” Michael said. “Neat.”

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