Titan was currently pondering a very serious, potentially life-threatening problem.
It seemed…
quite possible…
that he had accidentally swallowed half of a solid steel crowbar.
He had originally intended to spit out the chunk of metal after biting it in half.
However, when the two burglars started running, his predator instincts completely took over.
He chased after them blindly, accidentally swallowing the heavy steel during the sprint.
This is going to cause some serious acid reflux.
Somebody help me!
He waddled over to the closed front gate of the zoo.
He slowly stepped forward, trying to use his stubby little claws to slide the heavy metal drop-latch back into its hole in the ground.
Click.
Absolutely nothing happened.
His tiny crocodilian arms simply lacked the leverage.
Titan let out a defeated sigh and slowly turned around.
His heavy, flat tail dragged through the dirt, leaving a long trail as he headed back toward the scene of the fight.
Whoosh.
The eagle-owl silently dropped out of the night sky.
She landed gracefully on the backrest of a wooden park bench near the main path.
“Rumble.”
Titan let out a low, vibrating hum to express his gratitude.
He had finally mastered his crocodilian vocal cords and no longer sounded like a squeaky toy.
The eagle-owl remained completely silent.
She simply turned her head away, focusing entirely on preening her ruffled feathers.
Titan wasn’t in a rush.
He just plopped down on the pavement and waited for his new partner to finish her grooming.
The night was still young.
However, after being stared at intently for several minutes, the owl seemed to grow uncomfortable and actively began to ignore him.
Well, that’s rude.
Titan shrugged it off and got back on his feet, waddling toward the discarded loot from the battlefield.
Seeing him move, the eagle-owl hopped from the bench to a nearby stone planter, silently following him from above.
Neither of them moved very fast.
Under the pale moonlight, they strolled leisurely through the quiet zoo like two old friends on an evening walk.
They passed the knocked-over trash can.
It was far too heavy for Titan to pick up with his jaws, so he decided to just let Old Larry assume the wind blew it over.
Finally, they reached the evil human contraption.
The flashlight was still lying on the concrete, its bright beam piercing the darkness.
It was the very device that had nearly exposed his ambush.
How despicable!
Titan gently picked the flashlight up horizontally in his jaws.
It was his hard-earned trophy, and he fully intended to keep it.
He turned his head, proudly trying to show off his loot to the owl.
Unfortunately, the harsh LED beam shined directly into her sensitive eyes.
She flinched, throwing her wings up to shield her face.
Realizing his mistake, Titan gently set the flashlight down.
He took two steps forward and raised a scaly claw, casually smashing the glass lens and crushing the bulb.
The light instantly died.
Perfect.
Titan looked up at the owl again, expecting some form of approval.
Tough crowd.
Titan picked up the broken flashlight and the severed half of the crowbar.
He slowly lumbered back toward his enclosure.
The night was dead silent, filled only with the soft scraping of his claws and the light hopping of the owl.
Going down stairs was incredibly easy for a crocodile.
Going up stairs, however, was an entirely different story.
Navigating the three concrete steps leading into his corridor with a mouth full of heavy junk nearly cost Titan his life.
“Hoot.”
The eagle-owl perched at the top of the stairs.
She watched the baby crocodile aggressively struggle for a full ten minutes, looking visibly amused by his suffering.
Stupid bird.
She didn’t fly over the glass into the enclosure.
Instead, she hopped through the open iron gate right alongside Titan.
It was exactly at that moment that Titan realized a massive, glaring flaw in his grand plan.
How on earth was he supposed to close the iron gate?
The heavy enclosure door opened outward.
If he went back out into the hall to push it shut, he wouldn’t be able to get back inside.
He slowly turned his head to look at the eagle-owl for help.
The massive bird just tilted her head backward, her dark green eyes filled with absolute, unhelpful innocence.
“Hoot?”
Ring, ring.
The rhythmic clatter of a bicycle chain broke the morning silence.
Old Larry pushed his bike up the front steps, humming a cheerful little tune.
He crouched down to unlock the main gate.
“Hmm?”
There was a massive, incredibly conspicuous scratch carved deeply into the metal lock cylinder.
Did a rock do that?
Ah, I am probably just overthinking things.
He swung the gate open and parked his bike next to the ticket booth.
He grabbed a plastic bag from his rear basket and stepped inside the tiny office.
First, he grabbed a handful of turtle food pellets from the counter and tossed them into the large water tank.
The surface of the water rippled.
The massive black boulder resting at the bottom slowly stretched its neck up, revealing Boss Croc’s snapping jaws.
Old Larry grabbed his red plastic bucket and the metal feeding tongs.
Something felt strangely off today, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
With lingering doubts, he walked down the main path toward Titan’s enclosure.
Along the way, he paused to right the knocked-over trash can, which only deepened his confusion.
Thud.
The plastic bucket slipped from Old Larry’s grip, thankfully landing upright.
The old man stood frozen in the hallway, his eyes wide with shock.
The heavy iron gate to the crocodile exhibit was wide open.
Titan was lying obediently on the lawn just inside, staring up with his jaws parted, patiently waiting for breakfast.
Larry, you have to believe me.
I swear I didn’t break out.
Titan tried to project maximum innocence through his golden eyes.
Clang.
Old Larry stepped forward and inspected the heavy sliding deadbolt on the gate.
It was completely intact. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
It hadn’t been forced or broken.
“How in the world did you unlock this?” Old Larry muttered.
“Wait.
Did I forget to lock the door yesterday?!”
Given the pristine condition of the lock, Old Larry vastly preferred to believe he was just getting senile and careless.
“Stay right there, Number Three.
Let me go check the veterinary manual to see why crocodiles try to escape.”
Clang!
Old Larry firmly shut the iron gate and slid the heavy deadbolt into place.
His rapid footsteps faded down the hallway, leaving the enclosure in total silence.
Titan slowly snapped his jaws shut.
He stood up from the grass, realizing something was terribly wrong.
He glanced toward the small island in the center of the lake.
The eagle-owl was fast asleep in the branches of the sapling.
Titan wasn’t afraid of Old Larry giving him a medical check-up.
He was terrified that the owl might wake up, perceive the old man as a threat, and attack him.
He made a firm decision.
No matter what Old Larry did next, Titan would cooperate completely!
Clang.
The iron gate swung open again.
Old Larry marched inside.
He held a thick, worn paperback book in one hand and a heavy burlap rag in the other.
Wait.
What is the rag for?
“Don’t be afraid, Number Three,” Old Larry said in a soothing voice.
“The book says that sudden irritability and escape attempts in reptiles can be a sign of underlying illness.
I am just going to give you a quick check-up.
It will be over in a flash.”
Excuse me?
Who said I was irritable?!
Titan had no idea that Detective Larry had just mentally fabricated an entire dramatic narrative.
The old man assumed he had left the door unlocked, and an irritable, sick Titan had furiously pushed it open, knocked over the trash can looking for food, failed to open the front zoo gate, and dejectedly waddled back to bed.
“Hold still.
Let me just check the chapter on how to safely restrain a crocodilian.”
Old Larry wasn’t really trying to comfort Titan; he was desperately trying to hype himself up.
Suddenly, the burlap rag flew through the air!
It cast a dark shadow, landing perfectly over Titan’s head and completely blinding him.
Before the baby crocodile could even flinch, a thin nylon rope whipped tightly around his snout.
It looped three times in rapid succession, pulling his jaws completely shut before being secured with a flawless slipknot.
The entire process took less than five seconds.
How in the world was this old man so incredibly fast?!
Titan instantly felt two calloused hands slide under his armpits.
He was hoisted unceremoniously into the air like a scaly suitcase.
Utterly defenseless, he was carried straight out of the enclosure.
Guys, seriously!
I didn’t even escape, and I am definitely not sick!