Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 26: Workplace Bullying

It turned out that someone had posted clips of her livestream online, and it had gone a bit viral.

She also discovered that her inbox was full of private messages asking whether she was still taking animal communication consultations.

Nancy filtered through them. Most were just people looking for entertainment.

A few, though, looked genuine. Nancy messaged them back, saying she would be livestreaming at eight in the evening and could connect to check things out.

Since she was still in the hospital with time on her hands, she figured she might as well rest in the afternoon and stream at night, when traffic peaked. It was a way to earn some pocket money.

That afternoon, Simon went to report in at Townsville Police Headquarters.

Nancy, well rested, had her nutritious dinner brought by the nurse and then started her livestream.

This time, the moment she went live, people quickly flooded into the room.

"Does the streamer really speak animal language? Ask if my husky yells '3, 2, 1, go!' before wrecking the house!"

"Did the streamer faint this morning because she ran out of superpowers?"

"Ms. Nancy is so pretty, like a delicate fawn. But her skin looks so pale and sickly, poor thing."

"I'm scared she’s gonna drop dead right in my phone. Here, let me send you some money for medical bills."

Seeing how weak she looked, some viewers sent Nancy small gifts.

Nancy wondered to herself. Guess this is me begging for food on the internet, family.

She greeted the audience warmly and dropped a link for Loren Zoo tickets. "Hi everyone, I’m Ms. Nancy. You’re all welcome to come visit our zoo!"

"If you want a pet consultation live on mic, just send 1000 bits."

1000 bits was about 50 bucks, and Nancy got to keep 35. That was enough to feed the four fennec foxes in the desert exhibit for a day. Those little guys were omnivores, eating crickets, mealworms, and cat food.

The carnivores, though, were surviving thanks to the three million in donations.

Not long after she started, someone sent a sports car and requested a connection.

Nancy realized the account was official, verified as Mortis Hill Park.

So, a fellow zookeeper had shown up?

She accepted the call, and to her surprise, the other side’s screen was black—only a panicked voice came through.

"Ms. Nancy, I need your help with workplace relationships!"

The young man sounded flustered. "My coworkers bully me every single day!"

Nancy blinked in confusion. "Workplace bullying? Shouldn’t you be talking to a lawyer about that?"

Then his camera turned on.

The screen shook. A young man in a staff vest was running for his life, clutching his head.

Behind him, a pack of furious monkeys chased him down, screeching loudly.

The young man cried out as he ran, "Sonic, Sonic, stop hitting me! What did I ever do to you?"

No sooner had he said that than a monkey dropped down upside down from a tree, clutching a branch.

Nancy shouted, "Duck!"

The young man instinctively ducked and narrowly avoided the monkey’s sneak attack.

He sprinted and finally made it into the staff lounge, slamming the door shut. Outside, the angry monkeys banged against the windows.

Panting, he said, "Ms. Nancy, I just started as a keeper at Mortis Hill Park."

He looked miserable. "I’ve only been here a couple of days, but these monkeys chase me down every time they see me. I’ve even paid them off with plenty of snacks, but they still won’t stop.I need you to ask them why they’re targeting me. What did I do wrong?"

Nancy looked out at the monkeys and immediately spotted the alpha. It said, "Die!"

The leader of the troop was easy to identify—larger build, well-developed muscles, longer and more colorful fur.

The monkey king tossed a banana peel against the window. "This is for spraying me with a high pressured water gun 15 years ago! I can spot him regardeless of how he changes his looks! Fellas! Destroy him! Show him no mercy!"

Nancy translated for the young man.

His face twisted. "Fifteen years ago I was only five! How could I even hold a pressure hose back then? And I looked totally different. I was just a kid!"

Nancy thought for a moment. "Monkeys can remember faces for a long time. They hold grudges too. Think carefully—maybe someone in your family who looks like you came here before?"

She recalled Mortis Hill Park Park had been around since the late 1900s.

Prompted by her words, the young man suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!"

"My dad and I look almost identical. He used to be a keeper here too. He’s the one who helped me get this job."

Nancy snapped her fingers. "There you go. Tomorrow, bring your dad to work with you."

"Old grudges should be handled by the old generation."

The young man hesitated. "But then won’t they end up beating my dad instead? That doesn’t seem right…"