I don’t know how long we were there playing with the goats at the zoo. A long time. My 3D-printed 12-foot-tall naked purple plastic statue of Buddy Hield just never gets tired of being around cute animals, especially cute goats who are full of energy and always begging for more treats. And the bag of goat treats we brought with us was pretty big, so whenever the goats started begging for more food (which was all the time, they must have been really hungry), Buddy would pour some more into his palm and give it to them. By the end of it they all recognized Buddy as some kind of benevolent purple goat god who could dispense unlimited food and supply unlimited hugs.
Meanwhile, I just kind of hung back, keeping one eye on Buddy to make sure he didn’t get too loud while playing with the goats, and keeping one eye on my surroundings in case a security guard came on patrol. I would have liked to pet the goats too because they looked really soft, but it brought me so much joy to see Buddy having fun like that. Buddy deserves to have fun sometimes since he’s cooped up in my apartment all the time and there’s only one soft little animal there to cuddle (my tubby kitty Japurri Purrker).
Eventually, the night sky started getting lighter, turning into the deep grey of pre-dawn. That’s when I knew we had to get ready to leave. It would be light soon and I had no idea what time the zookeepers came in to get the zoo animals ready for the day. For all I knew, they could be coming right then. So I gently walked over to Buddy and told him that it was time to go.
Buddy was so overcome by happiness at the whole experience that he didn’t even seem disappointed that the fun time was ending. He petted each of the goats in turn as a farewell, then climbed out of the goat enclosure. The goats all chased after him as far as they could to the very edge of their pen, making little bleating noises and practically jumping over each other to stay in sight of Buddy. I actually felt sad for the goats because for those few hours, Buddy had been the best friend they ever had, with his neverending supply of food, love, and playtime. So not only was Buddy my best friend, but he was best friend of the cute goats in the petting zoo.
We walked back through the same patch of trees that separated the zoo path from the parking lot. But when we got to the fence, I heard unexpected voices. Buddy and I had been very careful to not make much noise walking through the trees, so whoever’s voices it was that I was hearing, they didn’t seem to know we were there.
“Bury him here,” said one of the voices, and my blood immediately turned cold. Had we just walked into the disposal of a murder victim?