Dubai the Jungle

By Abdulla AlQatami

Its not about a war taking its course; we are living in peace and tranquillity. Its not about the end of time; the skies still there.

Something unprecedented is happening, the unknown is rattling the land and bringing havoc.

The once quiet, peaceful land of Jumeirah, Dubai. Has now been flipped on its head and Dubai Zoo animals are at the center of the blame. As the animals start to rampage, everyone begins asking the questions, What is that happening to the animals? and most importantly What caused them to rampage?

This are the answers Police Commander Omar and the deductive Sultan must find before the worse is run down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546220411

Abdulla AlQatami

My name is Abdulla Ibrahim AlQatami. I was born in 1982. I am from Dubai. The first ever book I have read was Supernatural or in Arabic ( ). I loved fiction, especially with science or the unnatural, and I love mystery. I have never written or tried to write a novel before, only I was writing down the main plot of something that just pumped out in my head. So I have a lot of stories, mostly fiction and a little with science. My country, the United Arab Emirates, tries its best so that it can produce level-A writers, so we can compete with international writers. I hope one day that Ill be their first writer.

Book preview

© 2018 Abdulla AlQatami. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/18/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2042-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2041-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017918858

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 1

W inter was the preferred season for most people in Dubai, and in Jumeirah, this was no exception. It let people wander outdoors without the concerns of excessive humidity and allowed them to cover their bodies well enough to conform to the acceptable way of life. Located along the strip of the coast of the Arabian Gulf, the interaction of land and sea breezes made Jumeirah’s weather most suitable to tourists. True to form, Jumeirah was a peaceful neighborhood to live in, and it might well have suffered significant anonymity if not for the Palm Jumeirah, the Jumeirah Beach, and the zoo. The Dubai Zoo was renowned for its collection of different species of wild animals. These attractions set Jumeirah on a rather brave pedestal. It was a magnet for the world’s adventurists—as was the Burj Khalifa. Every year, tourists from all over the world thronged this part of Dubai for close-ups with the wild and a view of the sophistication of the Palm Jumeirah.

The town was populated by about thirty thousand people at any given time, with tourists adding their numbers to the figure. All year round, a visit to Jumeirah featured boldly on the itinerary of those who came into Dubai.

This winter morning, dew hung heavily in the air. The morning was chilly and a little windy. The sort of morning, visibility aside, that was good for a run. It was Saturday morning, and the denizens of Jumeirah were in no rush to begin the day’s activity. The dew sat in the streets like the streets belonged to it. But this, as was normally the case, was before the sun tore through the cloud to announce itself.

Saeed was up. Even before the sun climbed off a band of cloud in the eastern hemisphere, he was up and getting ready for the day. Preserved food items for the animals in the zoo were arriving. He was the supervisor there. It was important that he and his staff were ready for it. He needed to take stock of what was left in the warehouse, stock what was arriving, verify the state of the items left and the state of the items coming in, and relate the number of items brought in with the ones quoted on the waybill paper.

Saeed was a meticulous man. It was one quality—the eye for detail—that had seen him scale the ranks quickly from a zoo assistant to the supervisor of the facility and everyone in it. Saeed went about his morning routine quietly. He was careful not to wake his wife, Laila, who was soundly asleep. Like he always told her each time she woke up while he was getting ready, There is no need for two to carry a load meant for one. This morning, Laila didn’t even turn; Saeed carried his load alone—gladly. Laila had stayed up deep into the night to finish a collection of special hijabs she made. It was her way of keeping busy and contributing to the growth of the family. She sold the colorful hijabs to zoo visitors who wanted to try something new.

Saeed got into his clothes, put on his shoes, and walked quietly out of the house. The sun had now won the duel for dominance against the cloud and the morning dew. It was mild on the body, the sun, like it was exhausted from its duel. The air was chilly. It announced itself arrogantly—the same way warm air smoldered one in the summer. Saeed lived in an apartment close to the zoo. It was paramount that he lived close. As he walked to the zoo, he thought of his instruction to the zoo assistants to be punctual. Today was an important day.

It took Saeed twelve minutes to walk to the zoo. The guards that manned the entrance gate smiled and greeted him. Saeed greeted them back and asked if they had had a good night. They said they did.

I thank Allah for that. For preserving us all. Saeed was always thanking Allah.

He walked the length of the zoo premises toward the administrative block, which served as his office. The premises recently had had a handful of structures erected on it. Among the new additions were the coffee shop and a café. And just outside the premises, to the left, was an open garden that allowed daylong visitation. The sections where animals were kept were barricaded with walls and steel pools. Two minutes away from the administrative block was an entrance through the barricade that allowed access to the animals. The entrance through the barricade was usually manned by two guards, who demanded tickets and passes into this section.

The zoo charged a token for everyone who wanted access. Saeed didn’t go through this small gate. He went instead to the administrative block. There, he found the stock register and took note of the quantity of animal food left. Then he left the block and went to the store. He was counting the items when one of the zoo assistants joined him. They exchanged brief pleasantries, and Saeed continued counting.

When he was done, he turned to the assistant. We have a duty today to make sure everything goes as planned.

The assistant nodded.

Saeed nodded too and left the store.

He took a bunch of keys and walked to the entrance of the barricade. One of the guards that manned it was already there. He had just arrived to resume the day’s duty. Saeed greeted him and threw him the bunch of keys. The guard opened the barricade using two different keys. Saeed went through the entrance.

This section was built in a partial spherical fashion; this way, while touring, one usually ended up where one started. Saeed couldn’t imagine how many times he had walked round the zoo. He had been here since he was twenty. Now he was twenty-eight—well, in two months he would be—and it still fascinated him. He still looked at the animals as if it were his first time seeing them. The curiosity was concentrated; the awe at their shapes and forms and attitude was still a part of him. He had watched most of them mate, produce offspring, and tend to the babies. He had watched the offspring grow, even though sometimes they had had to be removed by the vet team. When he went back home after the day, his favorite shows were those that documented animals’ lives and behaviors.

Every morning, Saeed began his morning with the chimpanzees. They were the first animals everyone saw when they came into the zoo. He didn’t know why it was so, but he liked it enough to try not to change things. Then there were the orangutans, which were followed by shrubs that allowed birds to join the mix. Gorillas with their ugly faces came next. What Saeed liked most about the gorillas was their nonchalance. They made no effort to please those who came to see them. The monkeys, which followed next, were the most entertaining.

Saeed would walk around, giving the various animals their due attention. He went close to the cages. He smiled at them. He called them names that he felt were cool. He could almost tell they liked him, too. The monkeys usually got excited when they saw him. Though he hardly ever brought food with him, it was almost as if they could tell their food came from him. He had been the one who fed them for a long time in the past. And, yes, they were always well fed.

Something always made Saeed pause and then walk slowly when he got to the section designated for the cat family. For reasons he couldn’t explain, the cats commanded his respect and his acknowledgment of their value and superiority over everything in the wild. He would stand close to the cage, watching the lions move around with pride. Sometimes he felt sorry that something so proud, so powerful, and so confident was confined to a steel cage. Even though the interior had rocks and artificial caves, it was nothing like the wild.

This morning, Saeed was looking out for something else, not the usual round and bonding with the animals. He was looking to see if the animals had changed in any way. Over the past few weeks, the animals had developed a weird behavioral pattern. The pattern was nothing like he had known from watching them for eight years now. The animals’ behavioral changes were usually to show signs of illness and a call to action from the team of caregivers. But what was happening to the animals now was different. The changes in their behavior had been sweeping and similar. Saeed would have missed it if it weren’t for the monkeys. Their usual joy at seeing him was missing one morning. He frowned and went closer to their cage. They didn’t even look at him. He tried to get their attention; he called some of them the names he’d given them, but the acknowledgment of his presence didn’t come. He walked away from them. The behavior was the same from the other animals. At first he had thought it was just a bad day. This was the first day he took note of their change.

When, after a week, the monkeys still cut aloof figures, minding their own business with the least of enthusiasm, Saeed concluded something was wrong. That day, he observed them all; their mood stayed the same—like that of a bereaved partner. When it was time to feed them, Saeed watched closely how the animals treated food. They seemed to be active only when the smell of food filled the air. They ate vigorously, savagely, devouring speedily everything placed before them. Usually, the animals ate fast but would soon mellow and eat with less rush. Now they consumed everything with the same fervor with which they began. This gave Saeed a furrowed face. It could be a one-off; he tried to take solace in this fact.

The next day did nothing to abate his concerns. The animals were incredibly moody. When they stared, they did it sightlessly, as if they were looking beyond their environment toward something in the distance. Something no one else saw. There was a certain mindlessness to their gaze, their behavior. They still ate with ruthless savagery. When they finished their meals, Saeed opted to feed them more, to observe the level of the appetite. His fears got a rude confirmation; the animals attacked every dropped food item in their cage. They had incredible appetite. The lions didn’t leave a stash of food like they normally did so as to walk back to it later. They devoured everything. And they wanted more!

He also noted that the animals had taken to licking the skins of the people that fed them. They stuck out their tongues and licked the hands of the assistants. What was worrying was that they licked them the same way a kid would lick a lollipop—with relish. This was usually before their food was served inside the cage for them.

After Saeed had watched them for a week, his concerns and curiosity metamorphosed into worry. Something was absolutely wrong with the animals. And it was sweeping. He knew he had to do something about it.

The vets were called in. They sedated some of the animals and went into their cages to collect samples—blood samples, skin samples, hair, eye mucus. They checked for changes in the color of their tongues. They carried out x-ray tests on the bones. They took samples of their feces. They took everything that may be helpful.

The result, returned some days later, showed the animals were suffering no infections. They had no viruses or bacteria swelling in them—well, nothing of the malicious type. In fact, nothing out of the ordinary was detected. There was a thing though—their bones seemed to have gotten bigger, well, swollen. The x-ray report showed this. The bones seemed stronger, too. The canines were strong too, like they were reinforced. And some of the animals grew new ones. The vets, however, could not offer an explanation for this. No substance or process they knew of could bring about such changes in such a short interval.

We will have to do something else, Halim, the head of the veterinarian team, said to Saeed.

Anything. This is quite bothersome, Saeed said, lending his support.

DNA test is what I’m thinking, Halim said.

It was simple scientific fact that DNA tests reveal more in the search for hidden body anomalies. Saeed wanted anything done to find out what was going on with the animals. The DNA tests, however, would take at least three months to obtain adequate information. So quite simply, it wasn’t going to be of any help now.

They are not showing any sign of dying, are they? Saeed asked just as Halim was turning away.

Halim chuckled a little. He could tell Saeed was worried. No, he said. There was no sign of impending danger.

Saeed resolved to keep feeding the animals—if that would keep them alive.

Today, as Saeed watched the animals while he made his round, he could see nothing had happened yet. Their situation was the same still. The animals paid him no mind; they idled their time away, staring sightlessly. Saeed completed his round somberly. He wished the DNA result was out already to help him with a grasp of the issue. He would forever be a sad man if something went bizarrely wrong at the zoo under his watch.

One of the zoo assistants came to inform him of the arrival of the truck with food items for the animals. Saeed thanked him and left. Outside the barricades, in front of the store, a truck was parked. He shook hands with the driver and the delivery assistant. The waybill paper was presented to him, and after noting the number of items registered on the paper, he ordered the items to be brought down and sent into the store.

Saeed turned to the assistant who came to him in the store earlier—the storekeeper—and told him to count the items as they were taken in. Saeed knew he couldn’t concentrate. His mind was on the state of the animals. He left the store area and went to the administrative block. In his office, he sat down and began to think. Then he took out his phone and called the head of the vet unit.

I am coming over to see you, he said and hung up.

Saeed came out of his office. A handful of people had made their way into the zoo. Early Watchers was what they called them at the zoo. He wished the animals would at least please their visitors. Saeed shrugged and went into another office. Here, he found two assistants. They greeted him when he came in.

Go. Go and feed the animals, he said to them.

But, sir, it is still forty-five minutes before their mealtime, one of the assistants, Ahmed, said.

Just do it now, Saeed said and left.

The assistants walked toward the store to bring out food for the animals.

Feeding the animals was usually a pleasure for those who did the job. It was around this time that the animals were most excited. And nothing beats seeing a happy animal. The monkeys jump up and down, the gorillas beat their chests, the lions growl happily, the crocs moved with incredible agility, and the peacocks spread their amazing feathers. Different animals did different things, every one of them impressive.

Today, as Ahmed was feeding the gorillas, one of them licked his right hand. This was nothing. The assistants had gotten used to being licked. The gorilla grabbed Ahmed’s hand and bit into his skin. It was so sudden, so fast. Ahmed was so shocked that he was initially paralyzed. The gorilla made to bite him again, and Ahmed shrieked and snatched his hand from the grasp of the gorilla.

This got the attention of Ahmed’s colleague, and he raced up to him. Are you all right? What happened?

Ahmed was now bending on the ground and holding his hand. He left the opening through which he passed the gorillas’ food open. The pain in his arm was killing him.

In the cage, the gorilla that bit Ahmed stood staring with intense curiosity. It was almost as if it was trying to comprehend what it just tasted. When comprehension was gotten, there seemed to be a look of relish on the gorilla’s face. It cast an appetizing glance at Ahmed on the other side of the cage. Then it turned to the rest of the animals and howled. It howled loudly and clearly in a note none of the zoo attendants had heard before.

It was a special kind of howl. It seemed to send a message, as, within seconds, the intent became clear. The rest of the animals in other cages became restless. They bounced up and down, side to side, and even bounced off the cages. They made a cacophony of noise, amplifying the pitch of each other’s howl. The gorilla that bit Ahmed was now howling even louder, agitated, animated. It began to tear at the cage, to try to force its way out.

Ahmed and his colleague fled. They had seen enough to know something was not right. The eyes of the gorilla were bloodred and maniacal. They could see it had but one aim—to lunge and maim. The Early Watchers stared on curiously. Some brought out their cameras and began to take photos. A few cautious ones began moving out to the barricades.

The gorilla that bit Ahmed got out through the opening left by Ahmed. It moved with calculated precision to the cage closest to it—the monkey’s. The cage was locked. The gorilla began pulling apart the lock. It demonstrated incredible strength, grinding its teeth, adjusting and readjusting to find the best position, trying again and again, and eventually succeeded in opening the cage. The monkeys poured out. The gorilla moved on to the next cage.

It didn’t take long for the gorilla to open some cages. The crocs, the deer, the bear, the tiger, the ostrich—they all came out too. The rhino’s cage was untouched however; it had a special kind of cage that couldn’t be broken—at least not by a gorilla. Even the cages barricading members of the cat family from the exteriors were opened by the gorilla.

There were so many distorted noises and behaviors from the animals. The zoo assistants and the Early Watchers ran around dodging the animals. There was fear in their eyes—no one had seen this happen before.

While this unrest was going on, a tiger identified a scent and began to trail it. It sniffed with calm urgency, following diligently to the lead of the scent. The scent led the tiger to the lion’s cage. The lion sat in its cage, unperturbed by what was happening outside. It was almost as if it perceived the chaos as intruding and foolish.

The tiger growled and attacked the lion. With its paw and claws, it slapped the lion, and bit it with its canines. It kept attacking with intent to maim or kill. The lion was going to dismiss the early attacks, but it was incessant and hurting. It got angry and rose. With its beastly might and the anger of a hundred men, it roared. The roar was loud and numbing. It traveled far across the space in the zoo and beyond. It was heard along Jumeirah Road. It seemed to quiet other animals momentarily.

The tiger stood rooted on its four feet. It had been temporarily rendered immobile by the lion’s roar. Its ears chimed with bells, and its fur dance in the vibration from the roar. Its vision appeared partially impaired. As it stood there immobile, the lion lifted itself off the ground and lunged at it.

The lion’s powerful paws came down at the neck of the tiger. The blow dismembered the tiger’s head from its body. The head rolled some distance away before coming to a stop. The lion began to devour the bleeding and jerking tiger. Eventually, the only thing that would be left was its head. This, the lion kept close-by like a championship medal.

The lion’s roar introduced a new feeling in the rest of the animals. First, it awed them and left them stunned. And then it filled them with fear and dread. Their random behavior had been in response to the need to eat, to taste human flesh, as seen in the encoded message from the gorilla. Now they were filled with fear, and this made them more hyperactive. All they wanted to do was get far away from the zoo—the source of such insane roar. They began moving toward the barricades to the exit, to force their way past. Others angled for the wall, to try to scale past it.

It was while they were edging to the exit that Saeed appeared. He saw to it that the last of the people in the zoo scurrying toward safety moved past the barricade. He kept yelling at some of the workers to call the police. Get the police now! Stop looking at me; just run off and call the police.

When the last person passed through the barricade, Saeed tried to shut it, to keep the animals locked in. A giraffe kicked out at the barricade with its long legs. The barricade slammed into Saeed’s chest, and he was flung off to the ground. The force from the giraffe was so much that it knocked Saeed out cold. He was flung into a flower bed, hidden from sight by a cloud of green leaves.

The animals poured out through the pass in the barricade. People scattered. In the zoo area were zoo workers, ware sellers, visitors, café and coffee attendants, office administrative workers, and others. The animals had a handful of stricken people to grab from. The guards at the main entrance didn’t know what to do. When people began running toward the gate, they were not sure what was happening. Then they saw the animals running toward them, too. The guards would have loved to have kept the animals locked in until order was restored. But that would mean jeopardizing the lives of people. They threw the gate open, and as people and the animals ran through it, they too disappeared to find safety outside the zoo premises.

The animals tore at whomever they caught up with. They devoured and chewed flesh with malicious relish. The shrieking of injured people rent the air, and the soulful wail of people being devoured by the animals dulled the day.

In the cage, the lion sat immobile again. Its size was doubled now. It looked scary, with a huge head and swollen body. It didn’t appear to be in discomfort; in fact, it was so at ease it shut its eyes in a supposed sleep.

Outside, the rampaging continued. Saeed regained consciousness and gradually rose from the flower bed. His chest hurt as if he got punched there. Well, he did get more than a punch on the chest. He cried in pain as he rose. His immediate environment was desolate. He got away from the flower bed and moved to the barricade; both sides of it appeared bereft of life. From where he stood, he felt the animals had all left the zoo. He went the other way, toward the main entrance. There were people on the ground. Some of them were dead, and the others were injured. The injured ones cried from the pain of their injuries. A man had his arm torn off. Another man’s belly was ripped open, but he was still alive. Saeed cried with them without knowing it. Tears spilled from his eyes. How could things get this much out of hand?

Saeed watched the people in confusion, as he didn’t know who to help. He took his phone from his pocket and speed-dialed the police emergency hotline. The lady on the other side returned that the police were almost at the zoo by now.

Brigadier General Omar, the head of the Dubai Police Division, was the man tasked with the simple yet tricky task of clearing the animals on the streets of Jumeirah. Several panic calls had been received from people who claimed the animals in the zoo had gone crazy and were attacking people. It didn’t seem realistic, given that animals never seemed to have a compulsion to break from their enclosures. At worst, one animal could force its way out of a cage due to negligence or carelessness on the part of zoo attendants, but for a whole lot of them to pour out at once, the idea was laughable. In fact, only an act of terrorism could make that possible. But the calls kept coming in while Omar was gathering and briefing his men. A woman who was on the phone from the zoo must have had her head chopped off, because she stopped talking midsentence, and the phone was heard crashing hard on the ground.

Omar took thirty policemen with him. They were armed with rifles and carried with them extra cartridges in their vans. They also had with them guns for firing tranquilizers into the animals. Omar’s first line of action would be to use the tranquilizers to try to subdue the animals. Bullets would only be used if the tranquilizers failed. Deep within, Omar knew they’d have to use their bullets; they only had a handful of tranquilizers in their armory.

They left the Dubai Police Division in four police vans. The drivers had their siren on. They couldn’t afford to be delayed by a lousy driver on the road.

The animals didn’t move around as a unit. They had, in their chase for meals, ran amok into the streets of the surrounding neighborhood. The first set of animals the police found were monkeys. Omar made the vans stop and ordered his men to file out. It was just after they had passed Jumeirah Mosque on Jumeirah Road. There were six monkeys. The sight of the policemen made them hungry for flesh. With purpose and confidence, they ran toward the policemen. Omar equipped his men with the tranquilizers and positioned them on their knees. Behind them, he had another set of men—six of them—stand with their rifles loaded with real bullets.

As the monkeys got close, the policemen with the tranquilizers fired at them. It only seemed to push them back a little. It didn’t even dull their speed. The pain of the needles as they injected their content into their