Two nights earlier, Oakridge had slept peacefully under a curtain of rain. At the city zoo, floodlights flickered as winds ripped branches from trees. In the chaos of alarms and scattered staff, a chain-link gate gave way. Sahara, restless and trembling, seized the chance no one had imagined possible.
She slipped through puddles and shadows, her lithe frame hugging the ground. Rain masked her scent, drowning the sound of her paws. For the first time since infancy, no bars confined her. The city’s glowing horizon beckoned like a strange constellation. Freedom felt unreal—sharp, frightening, and irresistible all at once.