The Zoo Keeper (1st Story)

Your name is Richard S. Outley. You are a young man in your mid 20s. You have a strong passion for animals and you just graduated from Ohio State University with a major in Animal Behavior and a minor in Biology. [[Would you like to learn more about yourself?|Backstory]] Otherwise [[start your day.|In Bed]]

You are lying in bed. Comfy, cozy, oh so warm and sound asleep. Today is a Saturday. You have worked all through the week and you are so glad to have the day off. [[You hear a sound|Phone]]

Suddenly! Your phone buzzes! Barely conscious, you pull from you covers to glance at your alarm clock. "Great, its 8:00 am.", you think. Your phone buzzes again. You take a look to find that your new manager has been texting you for a while asking you to come into work. Do you... [[ignore him and go back to sleep?|Option 1]] or [[respond to his message?|Option 2]]

You ignore your bosses messages and curl back under your covers. You've worked hard this week and you are proud of yourself. Your boss should know that today is your day off. "I'm sure whatever it is that he wants, someone else can do it.", you think as you drift [[back to sleep.|Option 1.1]]

You sit up on the edge of your bed reading through the messages. You text your boss back letting him know you can be there as soon as possible. You start to think about how demanding this new job might be. But you've barely started yet so you still want to make a good impression. [[Start your wake up morning routine?|Breakfast (Option 3)]] or [[Change your mind and go back to sleep?|Option 1.1]]

You fall back asleep without any worries. Hours pass. [[Wake Up|Wake Up]]

You get up and do your morning routine. You pee, hop into the shower, brush your teeth, have a quick shave, dry off and find some clothes to wear. But all of your work clothes are dirty from last week. Do you... [[put on the worn, dirty clothes?|Dirty clothes]] or [[put in a load of wash?|Wash clothes]]

You wake up and take a look at the clock. It's after 1:00pm. You stumble out of bed into your living room, take a seat on the couch and [[turn the tv on.|Tv]]

You got another text message. It's your boss again only this time he sent you in all caps: "HURRY UP!!!!" What's his problem? It's only been 15 or so minutes. I've only talked to the guy a few times and didn't think he was a jerk. You get a bit anxious thinking if this is an emergency or not. Do you... [[continue with your routine and make yourself something to eat?|Breakfast 3 (True Ending)]] or [[text him back apologizing and saying "On my way Now!"|Option 4]]

It sucks but you know it has to be something important. You skip breakfast and grab your stuff and head for the door. You put on your shoes, grab your keys and make your way to the parking lot. [[Start your car and drive to the Zoo.|Get to work on time]]

After getting you uniform on you walk out to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. While it's cooking you make yourself some farm-fresh scrambled eggs and bacon (your favorite). "Let's not let this first week of work build any unneeded stress. I'm sure whatever reason my boss is asking me in on a Saturday, he can understand that I'm doing HIM a favor, so he can wait." You think to yourself. Besides, breakfast food is your favorite food. If you have to be up early, you might as well enjoy it. [[Eventally you finish and head to the door to leave.|Drive to work]]

One of the good things about living in this new apartment is that you are only a few minutes away from where you work. If you had more time you could probably even walk to work it's so close. Without even bothering to turn the radio on you just drive as fast as you can (while still trying to obey all the traffic laws). [[You shortly arrive on the main street the Zoo entrance is located.|Arrival]]

You turn the corner to the main entrance to The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. You show the guard your employee badge and he waves you in. You get to take the secret side road only for employees and you pull in the back employee parking lot. You get out of your car and take a peek at your phone. It's not even 9:00 am yet. Relieved and impressed with yourself with your superb time you... [[walk over to your manager's office.|Boss]] or [[just head strait to your work post.|Big Cat Exhibit!]]

"It's a good thing that your new apartment is so close to the Zoo." You think. "It's only 5 minutes away. I probably could have had a second helping if I wanted to." You hop in your car and drive to work. [[You drive to work.|Get to work late]]

You turn the corner to the main entrance to The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and show the guard your employee badge as he waves you in to park. You get out of your car and take a peek at your phone. "Jeez, it's 9:45 am! I hope I'm not too late" As you walk over to your manager's office, you can already hear him yelling over the walkie-talkie about you to your coworkers. Without saying anything he yells: "Dick!" (You hate it when people use that nickname.) "This is not how we do things around here! When I hired you we had an agreement that employees are to have open availability AT ALL TIME! And you said you'd be here ASAP and that was 30 minutes ago! What do you have to say for yourself?!?" [[Tell him off!|Tell him off]] or [[Apologize|Apologize]]

"Hey man! You texted me at 8:00 in the morning and you expected me to get here the next second? I said I would arrive 'As Soon As Possible'! It's an extra 30 minutes, so what?!?" You boss does not let anyone talk back to him, especially when he's already angry. Turning his back to you he says: "You're not going to last long around here if you have an attitude like that! I don't have time for this! Today is the busiest weekend we've had this whole month! Get to you post now and we won't have any more problems! You storm out of his office in a fit of rage. You are the new guy and you show up "late" when you're doing him the favor of working on your day off. Without saying "hi" or anything to your coworkers, you angrily get your stuff from the supply closet and head to your designated area for the day. [[Head to your post.|Post]]

You reply to him sincerely: "I am so sorry. I really didn't think a few more minutes would be a big deal. I know I say I would get here soon and I take full responsibility for that. I won't let it happen again." You boss can see that you are sympathetic. He says it was out of line for him to snap at you like that. He understands you're new still and you have to yet get the swing of things. You shake hands and you walk out of the office over to the supply closet saying "hi" to some of your coworkers on the way. You grab everything you need and head over to your designated area. [[You head to your post.|Post 2]]

Your designated work area for the week is the big cats. All that really means is you have to pick up trash, change the garbage cans and tell people where the bathroom is around the lion and tiger cages. You walk past the gorilla enclosure on your way, still angry and ignoring all the guests that walk past you. "Maybe this new job isn't really what I wanted." You think. You look over and see some small kid all by himself trying to climb up the railing by the gorilla exhibit. [[Tell him to stop.|Kid 1]] or [[Ignore the kid and continue on.|Kid 2]]

Currently, you live by yourself in a single apartment and you just started a new job as a Zoo Keeper. You moved from Columbus to Cincinnati, but so far you are very excited about your new full-time job. [[Next|Backstory 2]]

You just got through your training and you are ready to start working as an official Zoo Keeper. Your story starts on a Saturday, late into the month of May. It is very early in the morning and you are fast asleep. [[Start your day|In Bed]]

Your designated work area for the week is the big cats. All that really means is you have to pick up trash, change the garbage cans and tell people where the bathroom is around the lion cage. You pass the gorilla enclosure on your way and you see a small child all by himself trying to climb up the railing by the gorilla exhibit. You run over to him and yell out "Hey! Watch out! Don't do that!" But it's too late. [[The child falls in!|Kid 3]]

As you walk past the kid you yell over to him telling him to not do that and to go find his parents. You then continue past the gorilla enclosure and arrive to the big cats, where you can start working. [[Suddenly!|Child falls in]]

You walk past the child, ignoring his antics. You walk past the gorilla enclosure and arrive to the big cats, where you can start working. [[Suddenly!|Child falls in]]

Your turn around as you hear a group of people screaming out in fear! "OH GOD! HE FELL IN!" you hear a woman scream. You rush over to the gorilla cage frantically pushing your way through the crowd to get a look! The boy climbed over the railing and fell nearly 20 feet below into the gorilla enclosure. The crowd gasps as the 17 year-old male Silverback Gorilla "Harambe" charges from his den right towards the disoriented child. [[Next|End 2]]

Without any hesitation Harambe grabs the child by his legs and lifts him above his head. You are completely terrified and immobilized. The crowd is now screaming for someone to help and yelling at Harambe to put the child down. But there is nothing you can do. [[Next|End 2.2]]

Harambe the gorilla now has hold of the child by his arms and legs as the child is screaming for help. In the blink of an eye he tears the child half. It's all over. The child is dead. (Maybe you should have had a nutritious breakfast?) The End [[Try Again?|Introduction]]

You frantically rush over to the gorilla cage to look for the child down below. He's alive and appears to be uninjured, just disoriented and afraid. A crown of terrified people gathers around the cage screaming in fear. They all gasp as the 17 year-old male Silverback Gorilla "Harambe" walks out from den in confusion as he notices the child. If you want to save the child you have to act fast. You know that this is an emergency and you were told there was a security station with a high powered rifle for situations just like this. But you have no experience shooting a gun. Do you... [[grab the emergency rifle anyway?|Get gun]] or [[try and contact your boss for what to do?|Ask boss]]

You run as fast as you can over to the security station. You find the case where they keep the rifle and try your set of keys as fast as you can. The case unlocks after the third attempt and you pick up the rifle. They told you it is always loaded so you have to be careful. You run back to the edge of the cage yelling at people to get out of the way. Now Harambe has engaged with the child and is holding onto him. You have no choice. You look down the sight of the rifle and [[you pull the trigger!|Take the shot]] or [[wait and see what he does next!|Don't take the shot]]

You open your walkie-talkie to your bosses channel and try to speak as clearly as you can about the situation at hand. There is no response. You take a second to look around. There are no other Zoo employees in the area that you can see. You are probably the only person who knows about this so far. You don't get a response. You have to act fast. [[Get the emergency rifle!|Get the gun 2]]

The gun fires with a loud, ear-piercing burst! The blowback bashes the butt into your shoulder causing you to drop the rifle. You try to gain your composure and look around the gorila cage. [[Next|(Ending 3) Killed Harambe]]

It was a perfect shot. Harambe the gorilla is dead. You are so relieved that the child is safe. The crowd cheers for you as the other Zoo staff are able to enter the enclosure below and get the child out safely. You saved the day. And you could not have done it without a nutritious breakfast. The End [[Try Again?|Introduction]]

Your boss is impressed that you made it in so fast. "Not many of my employees come in on their day off, yet alone get here so fast! I think I'm going to like working with you Rich. Great job" He says. You thank him for the kind words, clock in and head over to your supply closet. You make sure to say "hi" to some of your new coworkers on the way as you grab everything you need and head over to your designated area, the [[Big Cat Exhibit!]]

You go straight ahead in the direction to your post at the big cat exhibit. There is an alternate route to your post that takes a bit longer, but you could stop and get a bit to eat. Do you... [[go straight to your post?|Kid 4]] or [[take a longer path and get food?|Get food]]

Your turn around as you hear a group of people screaming out in fear! "OH GOD! HE FELL IN!" you hear a woman scream! You rush over to the gorilla cage frantically pushing your way through the crowd to get a look! There's a small boy that fell in! The crowd gasps as the 17 year-old male Silverback Gorilla "Harambe" awakens and walks from his den. If you want to save the child you have to act fast. You know that this is an emergency and you were told there was a security station with a high powered rifle for situations just like this. But you have no experience shooting a gun. Do you... [[grab the emergency rifle anyway?|Get gun 3]] or [[try and contact your boss for what to do?|Ask boss 2]]

You run as fast as you can over to the security station. You find the case where they keep the rifle and try your set of keys as fast as you can. The case unlocks after the third attempt and you pick up the rifle. They told you it is always loaded so you have to be careful. You run back to the edge of the cage yelling at people to get out of the way. Now Harambe has engaged with the child and is holding onto him. You have no choice. You look down the sight of the rifle and [[pull the trigger!|Take the shot 2]] or [[wait and see what he does next!|Don't take the shot 2]]

You look around the cage and to your horror you find... you shot missed! Harambe the gorilla is still alive! You accidentally shot the child instead. The child is dead. You let everyone down. (If only you had a nutritious breakfast for the energy to make the shot count.) The End [[Try Again?|Introduction]]

You find the least smelly pair of your work outfit from a few days ago and throw it on. [[You take a look at your phone.|Breakfast 2]]

You gather together your pile of dirty clothes and throw them in the hamper. When you get to the laundry room you find that all the washers are currently being used. I suppose I'll just have to wear my [[dirty clothes...|Dirty clothes]]

You fumble with the gun, nervously trying try pull the trigger. But you can't. You watch in horror as Harambe grabs the child by his legs and lifts him above his head. There is nothing you can do. You are completely terrified and immobilized. The crowd is now screaming for someone to help and yelling at Harambe to put the child down. [[But you can only watch.|End 2.2]]

You text your boss back replying... [[Sure. I can come into work|Option 2.2]] or [[Sorry. I can't make it today|Option 1.1]]

The first thing you see on the TV is the news. There's a breaking story about a gorilla "Harambe" killing a young boy at your Zoo! It's being covered on all the news outlets. "I think I'm screwed.", you say. (Maybe you should have gone into work today.) The End [[Try Again?|Introduction]]

You just continue heading straight towards your post. "I can wait until lunch to eat." you tell yourself. You pass the gorilla enclosure which is right before the big cat exhibit. There's a large group of people gathered around the gorilla cage. Way more than normal. [[When suddenly!|Kid falls in]]

You go down the longer path where there is a food cart. You get to the counter and the guy working asks what he can get you. You don't have many options for food. Do you want.. [[the jumbo hot pretzel?|Pretzel]] or [[the cinnamon churro?|Churro]]

Of course you get the hot pretzel with nacho cheese. It's always your number one choice for a snack. You continue towards the big cat exhibit. But before you can [[take a bite of your food...|Kid falls in]]

Of course you get the cinnamon churro. It's always your number one choice for a snack. You continue towards the big cat exhibit. But before you can [[take a bite of your food...|Kid falls in]]

You fumble with the gun, nervously trying to decide whether or not to shoot. But it's too late. You watch in horror as Harambe grabs the child by his legs and lifts him above his head. There is nothing you can do. You are completely terrified and immobilized. The crowd is now screaming for someone to help and yelling at Harambe to put the child down. [[But you can only watch.|End 2.2]]