She Wanted Elephant BBQ, I Went Mad

My mother was a housekeeper for the wealthy Vanderbilt family. Growing up, I was

nothing more than a shadow to their daughter, Andy. If she told me to kneel

and buff her shoes, I couldn't stand up.

When high school ended, I thought I was finally free. Instead, she insisted on

taking the entire class on a luxury safari trip to Africa to watch the Great

Migration.

Deep in the wilderness, we crossed paths with a lone baby elephant. Driven by

pure, twisted privilege, Andy decided she wanted to taste its flesh.

When my protests failed and I tried to escape, she ordered the other students to

tie me to a massive tree.

I was forced to watch as they roasted the poor creature alive. Andy took a

single bite, spat it out in disgust, and complained about how terrible it

tasted.

Then, the enraged herd arrived. Andy and the others scrambled onto the tour

bus and sped away, leaving me forgotten and bound.

The furious giants trampled me into nothing but broken bones and torn flesh. In

that moment of absolute despair, I woke up.

I opened my eyes to find myself right back at the moment we first spotted the

baby elephant. This time, I did not hesitate. I walked straight to the bus and

punctured the fuel tank.

This time, absolutely no one is getting away.

As the mountain-like foot of the elephant crushed my spine, my eyes were fixed

solely on the dust cloud kicked up by the speeding bus.

Faintly, I could still hear the class president, Sam, sounding panicked. "Tessa

is still back there! Are we really leaving her?"

Andy had scoffed, yanking him back into his seat. "As long as she doesn't

move, the elephants won't bother with her. She is just a servant."

"Besides, she needs to learn her place. Who told her to keep throwing herself at

you?"

In that agonizing moment, my heart turned to ice. She had tied me to that tree

simply because I had offered a bottle of water to Sam when he was carsick.

Vision blurring, coughing up mouthfuls of blood, my fingers clawed desperately

at the dirt.

If I ever got a second chance, I swore I would make every last one of them pay.

I blinked, and suddenly I was back at the riverbank where we first found the

calf.

The playful little elephant was splashing in the water, and my heart hammered

violently against my ribs.

I was about to shout to scare it away when Andy's voice rang out in delighted

surprise. "Look over there! A baby elephant!"

The eyes of all my classmates were instantly drawn to the river. "Wow, it really

is a calf. Trust Lady Andy to have the best luck."

"It is all alone. I bet the smell of our barbecue attracted it."

Andy smiled broadly, licking her lips. "You know, I have never tasted elephant

before. Which one of you brave boys is going to catch it for me?"

The crowd exchanged glances, falling into a tense silence.

Seeing that no one moved, Andy frowned. She unstrapped the diamond-encrusted

watch from her wrist. "Whoever catches that elephant and roasts it for me gets

this Patek Philippe."

That watch was worth at least a hundred thousand dollars, more money than most

normal people could earn in a decade.

Instantly, the boys began rolling up their sleeves, eager to hunt.

Not far away, the innocent calf was still drinking water, completely unaware of

the danger. My mind flashed back to the agonizing screams it made as its flesh

was seared open.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to speak up. "Baby elephants rarely travel

alone. The herd must be close by. We shouldn't mess with it."

Hearing my warning, a few of the boys hesitated.

Andy spared me a disdainful glance and pulled a thick stack of hundred-dollar

bills from her bag, tossing them onto the ground.

"Stop acting like Mother Teresa, Tessa. If this isn't enough, I will add more.

Besides, even if the herd does show up, do you think we are stupid? We have the

bus right there to escape."

I looked at the parked tour bus, my hands curling into tight fists.

Fueled by her greed, several boys grabbed heavy nylon ropes and began stalking

towards the calf.

Sam, looking pale from his motion sickness, walked over to stand by us.

He was handsome, and his parents were heavy hitters in both politics and

business. Eight out of ten girls in our school were in love with him.

I was no exception, but even though I had never acted on it, Andy was

intensely jealous of any interaction I had with him.

Sam frowned as he watched the boys. "Andy, don't take this too far."

I quickly took a few steps away from Sam. Andy bit her lip, still glaring at

me with pure venom.

"Sam, don't listen to her nonsense. It is just a lone calf, there is no danger

at all."

"Besides, didn't we come out here for the thrill of the wild?"

Andy purred, leaning close to Sam, but he subtly stepped back, avoiding her

touch.

Her eyes snapped back to me, filled with rage. "What are you standing there for?

Go help them! Do you think I brought you on this trip to relax?"

Normally, I would have obediently bowed my head and complied.

But today, I simply shook my head. "I don't feel well. I am going to the bus to

rest."

Just as I turned to leave, a manicured hand with long acrylic nails clamped down

hard on my arm.

"Oh, please. Everyone is working on dinner and you just want to slack off? Do

you actually think you are a guest here, Tessa?"

I looked at the sharp nails. It was Andy's best friend, Lexi.

In my past life, she was the one who encouraged Andy to tie me up with the

nylon rope.

I violently shook off her hand just as a piercing, agonizing cry echoed from the

riverbank.

The boys had successfully ambushed the calf, tying its legs together.

The little elephant had a bleeding gash on its forehead from where they had hit

it with a rock. Its dark, grape-like eyes were wide with terror as it stared at

us.

Andy clapped her hands giddily. "Our feast is served!"

I was hyperventilating, my eyes darting toward the dense, dark forest behind

them.

The herd definitely heard the calf's cries of distress.

I began to tremble, bending my waist in a low, desperate plea. "Please, Andy,

just let the calf go. Elephant meat doesn't even taste good."

Before Andy could even respond, Lexi used her sharp nails to poke hard at my

face.

"Seriously? You are trying to play the saint again? Acting all pathetic. How

would you know if it tastes good or not? Even our Andy has never tried it.

Have you?"

Andy's face darkened completely. She waved her hand in pure disgust. "You are

just a maid's daughter. What right do you have to tell me what to do? If you

don't want to eat, then get lost!"

I didn't hesitate for a second. I turned to walk toward the bus, but my scalp

suddenly exploded in pain.

Lexi grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking me backward. "Andy, she is just

trying to get out of doing work. You can't keep spoiling her."

"You don't want to eat?" Lexi gave me a malicious grin. "Fine. Then you can just

sit there and watch us eat."

Looking at the nylon rope in her hand, the terror of being trampled to death

amplified in my mind.

My breathing became shallow, and I weakly held my head, surrendering. "I am

sorry. I shouldn't have tried to slack off. I will go gather firewood right

now!"

My scalp was yanked hard again before Lexi shoved me to the ground. "See? Was

that so hard? You just had to go and upset our Andy."

I looked up to see Andy giving me a look of pure disdain. "What a coward.

Utterly pathetic trash."

Standing beside her, Sam said nothing, though his eyes were filled with deep

disappointment.

I lowered my gaze to hide the mockery in my own eyes.

For years, I had endured the relentless bullying of Andy and her circle.

I had been their dog, a humble, obedient shadow.

But even after all that submission, I hadn't earned a single shred of basic

human respect.

As for Sam, that high and mighty bystander, I both liked him and despised him.

He clearly didn't approve of eating the calf either, yet he was too cowardly to

speak up himself, waiting for me to take the fall.

Every single one of them was utterly revolting.

Since they refused to listen to reason, they could deal with the consequences.

I kept my head down, quietly moving away from the crowd to gather firewood.

The moment I was out of their line of sight, I slipped underneath the tour bus.

Gripping the emergency glass-breaking hammer I had stolen earlier, I smashed it

violently into the fuel tank.

If I was going to die out here, none of them were making it back alive either.

I had finally realized that in this world, only death is truly fair to everyone.

By the time I returned from the bus, they had already tied the calf's legs to a

thick spit, suspending it over a roaring fire like a suckling pig.

The flames licked at its skin, causing its hair to curl and burn.

Andy and the others were busy filming videos for social media, completely

indifferent to the calf's agonizing, desperate screams.

A few classmates looked uncomfortable, but none of them dared to speak up and

challenge Andy.

I hid the emergency hammer up my sleeve and walked directly in front of the

crowd.

"Why do you have to eat an elephant? Is the normal food not enough for you?"

Andy was in the middle of recording a video. Seeing me interrupt her shot, she

immediately yelled, "Who the hell do you think you are to lecture me? Get the

hell out of my face!"

Instead of backing down, I reached out, grabbed her phone, and slammed it onto

the ground.

The sudden violence shocked everyone into silence.

Lexi was the first to react, screaming, "You little bitch! Are you crazy? That

is the newest iPhone! Can you even afford to replace it?"

It took Andy a few seconds to process that I, her lowly servant, had just

smashed her phone.

Her face twisted in rage as she tapped her temple. "Tessa, is there something

wrong with your brain? You dared to smash my phone over a damn animal?"

I stepped on the phone, grinding it into the dirt. "Yes. For this exact animal."

That calf roasting over the fire was a mirror of my past self. I was fighting

for it, but mostly, I was fighting for me.

Andy asked again, unable to believe what was happening.

I looked her dead in the eye. "Are you deaf? Untie that elephant right now."

Andy let out a dark, mocking laugh. She grabbed my collar, pulling my face

close to hers. "You think you have the right to order me around?"

She used her free hand to slap me hard across the face, sending my head

spinning. "If it weren't for my family's charity, you wouldn't even be in this

country right now, let alone on this trip!"

The other classmates finally snapped out of their shock, chiming in to defend

Andy.

"Tessa, don't bite the hand that feeds you. Andy pays for your elite prep

school, your food, and she even brought you on this vacation. Is this how you

repay her?"

I lowered my eyes, using the back of my hand to wipe the blood from the corner

of my mouth.

Did they really think I wanted any of this? I never had a father, and my mother

was the family's live-in maid. She earned a good salary, but she refused to

spend a single penny on me.

The shoes I wore were always a size too small because they were Andy's

hand-me-downs. The food I ate was always cold leftovers from Andy's plate.

Everything I owned was a scrap of charity from the Vanderbilt family.

But if I had the choice, I would rather have nothing.

Sam finally spoke up. "Tessa, you are crossing the line."

I let out a sudden, dark laugh. "And are those the only words you know how to

say, Sam?"

Sam's face went pale with embarrassment. I ignored him, pulling out a pocket

knife I had hidden, determined to cut the nylon ropes binding the calf.

Elephants are incredibly intelligent creatures. This calf seemed to realize I

was trying to save it. It stopped crying out and just stared at me with its big,

glassy eyes.

The nylon rope was thick and heavy. I sawed at it furiously, but managed only a

small nick.

Andy was livid, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Tessa, I swear to God! I

brought you into this jungle, and I can make sure you never leave!"

I just kept sawing, completely ignoring her threats.

The next second, a searing, white-hot pain exploded in my shoulder. I looked

down to see a round bullet hole, and blood quickly began to soak through my

white t-shirt.

Andy stood there holding a small, silver handgun, her forehead bleeding from

where I had pushed her earlier.

"You really thought I came out here unprepared? Trash like you dared to put your

hands on me? Tomorrow, you and your mother are both fired!"

Lexi snapped back to reality, pointing at me and cursing. "What an ungrateful

bitch! Andy treated you so well, and you turn on her for a stupid beast!"

The other students joined in the chorus of condemnation. "Exactly! We have never

tasted elephant before. Stop trying to act like a hero."

"Just stop cutting the rope. People are going to think that damn elephant is

your child or something."

A wave of cruel laughter erupted around me. Sam said quietly, "Tessa, there is

no need to fight everyone."

Amidst the cacophony of their mocking voices, my ears twitched. I felt a deep,

heavy vibration beginning to rumble through the earth.

The herd was here.