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.

“Even if Caesar broke through all the security and escaped, he couldn’t possibly find you,” she said.

“The institute is hundreds of kilometers away. It takes hours to drive there, no way he could make his way to your home.”

“I think you’re just being soft. You begged to come see Caesar every day and now that you have, you’re scared?”

Her confidence and teasing finally eased my nerves.

After saying goodbye, I drove back home.

But I hadn’t expected to be woken up by my best friend’s call at three in the morning.

She said that somehow, the chimpanzee had stolen the guard’s key, released all the animals and shut down the monitoring and infrared systems.

The entire institute was in chaos.

I gulped, unsure how to respond.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit the sky, followed by thunder and then heavy rain poured outside the window.

A moment later, loud banging echoed from my front door, so forceful that I nearly fell out of bed.

My best friend must have heard the noise, because she fell silent for a moment, then tried to reassure me again.

“Jessica, I’m just kidding, don’t be scared.”

“Even if Caesar escaped, he definitely couldn’t have found you. The tracker must be malfunctioning. With this storm, there's no GPS signal and even if it had an address, it wouldn’t be able to find your house.”

“Don’t you live with your boyfriend? He’s there, you’ll be fine.”

I screamed, “My boyfriend is on a business trip! He won’t be back until tomorrow!”

If I waited for him to save me, I’d be dead before he arrived.

The banging outside grew more urgent.

Still clinging to a sliver of hope, I tiptoed toward the door.

Maybe, just maybe, it was my boyfriend, back early and playing a prank.

I leaned in to look through the peephole, but it was pitch black outside.

And then, I heard a heartbeat.

“Am I not pretending enough? Why doesn’t she open the door?”

“If she won’t open it, I’ll have to bang harder.”

“No, I have to hold back. If I scare her, I’ll ruin the skin.”

A cold sweat broke over me. I pressed my back against the wall, trying not to make a sound.

Then I crept to the window, using the noise of the rain to cover my voice and whispered, “Sophia, Caesar… that gorilla… it’s right outside my door…”

“And my boyfriend’s not home tonight. Please do something!”

My boyfriend and I lived in a small apartment, with no partitions, just a combined bedroom and living area.

The door was a flimsy, standard model.

With Caesar’s strength, he could smash its way in easily.

I was panicked.

How had he found my address? How did he get here through a storm?

This was unbelievable, could he actually understand human language?

My best friend quickly tried to calm me.

“Don’t worry. The institute’s security team is already on their way, but the weather might slow them down.”

“All you need to do is stay inside and wait for help.”

“That chimpanzee is smart. Don’t provoke him!”

I was on the verge of tears.

“How long will it take? I don’t think my door’s going to hold much longer!”

She grew anxious too.

“Why don’t I send my brother over first? He lives near your place!”

“Don’t be afraid, even the smartest animal can’t resist an electric baton!”

“Don’t open the door until he’s dealt with Caesar. You hear me?”

I nodded vigorously and hung up.

My best friend’s brother was a veteran, 1.9 meters tall, almost 200 pounds, all muscle.

She had told me that, back in the army, he could kill a cow with his bare hands.

Even against Caesar, he might stand a chance.

And he had an electric baton.

My heart, which had been suspended in terror, finally calmed a little.

Soon, I heard the sounds of a struggle outside the door, grunting, crashing and something heavy falling to the ground.

A strong metallic smell of blood wafted in through the doorway.

I wanted to look through the peephole to see what had happened, but I couldn’t summon the courage.

Then the loud pounding at the door suddenly softened.

Tap… tap… tap…

Summoning my courage, I called out softly, “Benjamin?”

There was no reply.

I reached for my phone, held it up to the transom window above the door and snapped a picture.

Sure enough, the person outside the door was my best friend’s brother.

But his entire body was slumped against the door in a strange position.

Looking closely at the photo, I noticed bloodstains on his clothes.

Had he been injured?

I was instantly filled with guilt. I was about to open the door to help him when I heard that same heartbeat again.

“Why is this woman smarter than a monkey? I’ve been hiding and letting this man knock, why won’t she open the door?”

“Has she figured it out?”

A pool of bright red blood began to seep in from under the door.

My heart leapt into my throat and cold sweat drenched my palms.

A terrible thought crept into my mind.

Had my best friend’s brother… died?

I turned pale, clamped a hand over my mouth and tears flowed uncontrollably.

She’d told me he was getting married next month. And now he’d died trying to save me?

How could I ever explain this to her?

But before I could dwell on that, a greater danger still loomed.

The only silver lining was that the gorilla outside the door didn’t seem in a hurry to kill me, it was playing a game of cat and mouse.

I moved as slowly as I could, tearing my bedsheets into strips and trying to fashion a rope to escape out the window.

But my apartment was too high up, the sheets weren’t long enough.

And it was raining hard. The exterior walls were slick and treacherous.

Then, again, that familiar voice came from the door, “She’s not thinking of escaping through the window, is she? So smart. She’s my favorite skin.”

“But I don’t have much time to play. I’m hungry.”

“A steak has to look like a steak. You want to run? No way!”

I froze.

How did it know what I was thinking, what I was doing?

My best friend had said this chimp was genetically mutated and extremely smart.

But I hadn’t expected it to be this smart… able to predict my next move.

Still, I had no other choice.

Either I’d be skinned alive and eaten by the chimp or I’d jump and fall to my death.

Just as I was sinking into despair, my boyfriend Sebastian suddenly messaged me.

[Honey, I finished my work early and came back. I even brought you a small gift. The cab will be downstairs soon, remember to bring me down an umbrella.]

I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at once.

Sebastian had come back at this very moment.

No.

He definitely couldn’t come upstairs.