Chapter 1
Caesar was the name of the chimpanzee in my best friend’s lab. I felt a stab of panic and just as I was about to respond, my best friend spoke again, quietly. “Do you think… it really went looking for you?” The hairs on my neck stood on end as I remembered what had happened that afternoon. I had nothing to do that weekend, so I drove a few hundred kilometers to visit my best friend’s animal research institute. Since childhood, I had been able to hear the inner voices of animals and I’d heard that their institute had just received a genetically rare chimpanzee from Africa. I hadn’t expected to freeze the moment I glanced through the cage. This burly chimpanzee, almost as tall as an adult man, was drooling as it stared at me and I heard, “Her skin is so smooth…” I’d assumed that, as a primate, this was just its way of complimenting me. But the next thing it said made me suck in a breath of cold air, “If only I could wear it on myself.” “Can’t wait to peel it tonight! She’s so white and tender and the meat must be delicious!” I had heard countless animal thoughts over the years, most were simple, things like hunger or wanting to go out and play. But this was the first time I had heard such a bloodthirsty thought. Could an animal be joking? Surely it didn’t really want to skin me, right? I laughed at myself for even entertaining the idea. But he kept staring at me with a blank, intense expression, not like an animal, but like a person. The eyes of a murderer. Terrified, I took two steps back and fled the chimp’s line of sight. Seeing my pale face, my best friend rushed over, concerned. “Jessica, what’s wrong with you? Why do you look so pale?” I quickly told her what I had just heard. I hadn’t expected her to burst out laughing. “Jessica, have you watched too many sci-fi movies? Caesar is super gentle, how could he hurt anyone?” “Besides, the iron cages at the institute are so strong that even lasers can’t cut through them. We have patrols every night. What you’re saying is absolutely impossible.” My best friend had always been skeptical of my ability to hear animals’ inner voices, so it was understandable that she didn’t believe me. Still, my heart pounded. “Didn’t you say this chimp is genetically modified and exceptionally intelligent? Couldn’t there be an exception?” She was about to answer when an older security guard scoffed. “No matter how smart it is, it’s still an animal. How can it slip past human surveillance?” “I’m telling you, there’s an infrared security system around the institute. Not even a fly could get out, let alone a gorilla! Don’t worry!” The security guard, with an electric baton at his waist, patted his chest with confidence. That finally put me a little at ease. Still, I couldn’t forget the fierce, predatory look in that chimpanzee’s eyes. Sensing I was still shaken, my best friend took my arm and gently comforted me.