It didn't take Kim long to decide. The sad, hurt eyes. The pain in her voice. The genuine fear of being trapped. And, of course, all of her funny stories. There was no way this was anything but a young girl like her.
"Okay, Heather. I'll help you. It's the least I could do for my friend, " said Kim brightly.
"Oh, thank you so much, Kim, " said Heather, with tears in her eyes. "I will always be grateful. You are a true friend."
"Yeah, yeah, " said Kim. "Enough of the mushy stuff. Let's get this thing going. So what's your plan?"
Heather stared at her with a blank expression. "My plan?" asked Heather.
"Yeah, how do you plan on me getting those chains off your wrists? I mean, I can't just pull them off. They are way too thick. So, is there a key or something?" asked Kim.
"I don't know, " said Heather.
"You don't know? Come on, Heather, quit fooling around. We don't have much time. What is really your plan? " said Kim with frustration.
"Really, I don't know. I don't have any plan. I mean, if I had a plan, do you think I would still be here? " said Heather angrily. "That's why I need your help. I need you to come up with some sort of plan."
Kim looked at her with shock. "Heather, that's ridiculous. I can't just come up with something off the top of my head. I have no idea how to get you out of those chains. "
Heather's head dropped down into her front claws, and she turned her head away from Kim with a pout. "I knew it was stupid. I just hoped there might be something you could do. I am just so tired of being stuck here .... all by myself .... alone."
"Now, now, " said Kim. "Don't give up all hope. I am sure that I can think of something. Maybe I can try to find one of the Zoo staff and steal their keys or something. Do you remember when they come by, or maybe where they hang out? Come on, Heather. Don't give up on me. As long as we stick together, I am sure that we can figure something out."
Heather suddenly stirred. "Yeah, as long as we are together, everything will be okay, " mumbled Heather.
"What was that, Heather? " said Kim. "I couldn't quite hear you."
"Don't worry about it, " said Heather, as she turned to face Kim again. She was smiling, and full of pep and energy. "You know, I don't think I have every really examined these cuffs closely. Maybe they just snap off. Why don't you come over and have a look at them?"
"That's the spirit. That's good thinking. Keep it up, and you'll be out of here in no time, " said Kim, as she bounded over to Heather's front claws.
Kim examined the cuffs of the chains closely. They were thick round silver circles. She tried pulling on the rings, but they remained firmly attached. She couldn't find any kind of hole for a key. In fact, she couldn't even find a break in the circle where the loop was attached to itself. It was almost like the ends of the circular cuffs were welded or fused together.
"Well, I don't think that is going to work. It was a good idea, though, " said Kim. She looked up at Heather, and saw a strange look on her face. It was disturbing, like the look of a crazy person eager to share a surprise. Suddenly, Heather's large tongue dipped out of her mouth and licked her, coating her in slimy saliva. Kim turned away from her face, trying to shake the stuff off of her body. While her back was facing Heather, she felt the tongue lick her back, again coating her entire body with smelly, slimy saliva.
Kim jumped out of Heather's claws, and backed towards the door. "What the hell? " said Kim. "Are you trying to eat me or something?"
Heather giggled. "Why would I want to eat you? Then I would be all alone again. No, I would never eat a friend. Someone so close to me."
Kim didn't like the look on Heather's face. It was a look of joyful insanity. "Okay, Heather. That's it. I have had enough. I tried to help you, but you are just acting too weird. Let me go right now, and I promise I will come back with help, " said Kim. She tried to act tough, but deep down she was really scared.
"Oh, no. I can't let you go. Especially not now. It would be too dangerous, " said Heather, still grinning like a lunatic.
"Dangerous? What the hell are you talking about? Why can't I go now?" said Kim.
"You know, even after all this time you never asked why the exhibit wasn't open. I mean, I was turned into a dragon almost 6 months ago, why wouldn't they want to show me off? " said Heather.
Kim had to admit she was a little perplexed. The exhibit did look complete, and Heather would have made a jaw-dropping attraction. But at the moment she really didn't care. Her body was dripping wet with Heather's saliva. It was sticky, and her body feel warm and uncomfortable. Already it was making her wet clothes stick tightly to her body. She just wanted to get home, so she could wipe this disgusting mess off of her and get dry.
"I don't really care. Just move your tail so I can leave, " said Kim.
Heather rested her head in her paws, eyeing Kim with interest. "Oh, but you should care, Kim. Because the treatment on me proved to be a little unstable. You see, whatever they used on me is still active. It's continuously working to change my appearance and make me look like a dragon. An unfortunate side effect is that it makes my condition contagious. Highly contagious, in fact. Especially since it is present in all of my body fluids - blood, urine, and of course ....... saliva."
Kim suddenly understood what she was talking about, and her eyes went wide.
Heather just laughed, an insane cackle that chilled Kim to the bone.