Chapter 30 Wednesday, 2200 hours (10 PM)

We all gathered around the cart. I said it would be nice if someone could get my handcuffs off. Jack laughed as if I'd said something funny. They all were giggly and it was almost as if they were drunk, except I didn't smell any alcohol. Anyway, Jack took me in front of the cart where he could see the cuffs in the headlights.

"Does anyone have a credit card that they could part with?" Jack examined the cuffs. "And a scissors would be convenient."

Brian gave him a credit card and Jeffrey's dad handed him his pocketknife with the scissors-blade open. Jack cut the credit card into a kind of tool, wiggled it in my handcuffs, and presto. I was free.

"I'm not even going to think about asking you where you learned to do that," said Jeffrey's dad.

"Don't."

They decided it would be best to first drive me and Jeffrey's dad back to the leopard cage. I could take care of my pack, and Jeffrey's dad could take care of me. Meanwhile, Jack would go and take back control of CALF.

When we got to the snow leopard habitat, we found that Rom was already there. He'd escaped again. I knew he would. He thought the pack would probably be in with Jeffrey, and he was right. He didn't expect the cage to be unlocked though. Boy, it was good being with Rom again. A while later, a truck came to take us all back to Zoo Center.

In the truck, I looked out the window and thought about things. I don't know why exactly but I was feeling a little guilty about Mr. Cave. I'd bitten him, and if he'd had the werewolf gene, he  might have become a werewolf. I know only the bite of an adult will do this, but with all that Lycanthrozine in me, who knows. If he had become a werewolf, he would have been a very bad werewolf, and the pack would have had to kill him. There's no way Elso Lecke would have worked with Mr. Cave. Anyway, it doesn't matter because now he's polar bear chow.

The truck pulled up to Zoo Center, and I was so wiped that I could hardly get out. It was way past my bedtime, and wasn't following much of what was going on. My pack and Jeffrey bedded down in sleeping bags in the top floor of Zoo Center. I knew I'd be asleep in seconds.

I looked over at Jeffrey, in the next sleeping bag. "Jeffrey," I said, "I think you're pretty wild after all."

"Thanks Cat," he answered, sleepily, "but my name’s Jeff now. Good night."

"Night."