The Six-Beast Short

The morning sun cuts through the dusty haze of Haven Wilds, turning the dry foothill grass to pale gold. Finley hoists the heavy 4K shoulder rig, adjusting the counterweights while the faint scent of sun-cured alfalfa and sawdust mingles with the sharp, ferrous tang of thawing beef from the prep station. Across the central divide, Rajah the Bengal tiger slinks along the chain link, shoulder blades rolling with predatory grace, his amber eyes fixed intently on Barnaby. The seven-hundred-pound grizzly bear sits thirty yards away, massive claws lazily gouging strips of bark off a deadfall oak, but his small ears are pinned flat against his skull. "The morning light is hitting the scrub ridge perfectly!" Jax whispers, leaning over the low timber guardrail. The intern grips his brass-framed electronic clipboard with white knuckles, copper hair bouncing as he points toward the overhead wire rigging where a secondary camera unit dangles. "If we get Rajah stalking toward the partition while Barnaby stands at full height, the teaser clip will hit a million impressions before noon. Our donor pipeline will explode!" Maya steps up beside the hydraulic hoist station, a heavy metal stethoscope…