“But Director, I’d really like to—”
“I said you can go. I want to talk to these boys alone.”
Director Keys waited patiently for him to leave. Professor Bird looked as if he’d been punched in the stomach, but he rose to exit. He clearly had a lot more he wanted to say, but he swallowed hard, gave the boys a stern look, and left.
The Director gently shut the door, but didn’t turn around. “Do you know why they call me Director Keys?”
“Because that’s your name?” Lefty asked.
“No.”
The boys looked at each other, but neither had an answer.
“They call me ‘Keys’ because when I was your age, I developed the ability to get past any locked door. At first I used to steal the professors’ keys, but that took too long and I kept getting caught. So I mastered the skill of picking locks.” The Director turned and looked down at the boys. “By the time I was your age, I could pick just about any lock. But just because you can open a door doesn’t mean you should.” He paused and stared down at them.
Zero wanted to run from the room, but was scared to move.
“Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
“I’m not so sure you do.” Director Keys walked back to his desk and took a seat in his enormous leather chair. “Lefty, why do you think we have fences surrounding the entire city?”
“To keep everything out. Because ever since the New Beginning a hundred years ago, predators have taken over the world. Things like crocodiles, bears, and jungle cats are everywhere. If we didn’t put up fences around the city, they’d come in and eat us.”
“I’m glad you’ve been paying attention during your history lessons. But I’m sad to say you haven’t learned a thing.”
“What do you mean, sir?” Lefty asked.
“You’ve obviously found a way to smuggle a crocodile inside the city fences, which leads me to believe someone created a hole in the fence. It’s probably safe to assume that someone was you. I’ve seen your obsession with the crocodiles in the far corner of the schoolyard.”
Lefty began to fidget nervously. “I did it. I made a hole in the fence, but I made the hole about two feet off the ground so none of the other crocodiles could get through.”
“Lefty, you’re rationalizing. That’s exactly what I used to do when I was your age. I used to tell myself I wasn’t hurting anyone by breaking into locked rooms …” His voice trailed off as if he was lost in a memory. “I want to tell you a story about when I was your age. I lived right here at this same school. Just like you two—from the time I was three years old until I was 18, I lived in dorm building twelve. I used to think I was invincible. I thought it was a lot of fun to sneak one or two of my friends outside the gates, and we’d dare each other to swim across the river.”
Zero saw the look on Lefty’s face and knew exactly what he was thinking. He had once gone through the fence and tried that, only he couldn’t swim. He was in the water for less than a minute, splashing around and going nowhere. The result was that he hurried out of the water, sure his flailing about would only attract crocodiles hunting down their next meal. The look on Lefty’s face now, as they listened to Director Keys, was one of jealousy about his ability to swim and frolic with what Lefty often called “the greatest creatures on earth.”
“Did one of your friends get eaten by a crocodile, sir?” Lefty asked, wide eyed.
“No, Lefty. Something much worse happened.”
Lefty’s face fell. “What’s worse than being eaten by a crocodile, sir? Is a jungle cat worse than a croc? I’ve never actually seen one. I’ve only heard stories about how—”
Director Keys shook his head and held up a hand to stop Lefty from speaking. “I’m not proud of this, but while my friends and I were beyond the fence, everything went haywire.” Director Keys paused before continuing.
“You don’t mean infected people got in, do you, sir?” Zero asked. “Remnants of the old world?” Lefty’s eyes grew big as he contemplated the thought.
Director Keys stood up and stepped toward his window. He pulled open the thick red curtains, letting in the afternoon light. “Did you know there are more infected people out there in the world than there are those of us who haven’t got the virus? The numbers aren’t even close, actually. They’re everywhere. They’re as vicious as rabid animals, and yet they’re very clever—much more so than a crocodile or a panther. They know where we live—where we colonize. They watch us.” He turned and stared at the boys for a long time, flattening his mustache with one hand. The silence was awkward. “You two don’t know how good you have it. We look after you, and you go and do stupid stuff like putting holes in the fences.”
He said nothing more for a long time. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. A deep sadness seemed to fill his face and even his body. Zero wanted to know what happened to his friends; if the Remnants attacked one of his friends while they were beyond the outer wall, or maybe got all the way into the schoolyard and infected other people, but he dared not ask any questions. He knew they were in serious trouble. Director Keys had an emotional connection to their style of mischief. That could never be a good thing.
“I’m sorry, sir. It was all my fault,” Lefty said. “Zero had nothing to do with it.”
“He also didn’t stop you from making a hole—from playing a prank,” Director Keys said. “If you were smart, you’d concentrate on things that really matter. You’d spend every second of your free time preparing for your placement exams.”
“Sir, I’m not good with tests,” Lefty said. “I’ve already accepted the probability that I won’t do very good, and I’ll get assigned a boring job somewhere.”
“A boring job?” Cumulus laughed, but there was clearly no humor in his expression. He had been standing motionless for so long, Zero had almost forgotten he was there. “Boy, you don’t understand. If you don’t score higher than a 5.0 on this exam, you’ll have much bigger fish to fry than worrying about whether or not you get assigned to a boring career. None of the city leaders will want you. Nobody will choose you in the draft. You’ll have no place to go.”
“So it’s true? I would be kicked out? Someone would drive me out past the city walls and drop me off in the old world to fend for myself?”
“Oh, your fate would be a whole lot better than that. Do you really think we would send you out into the old world just to die when there are ways you could still serve the common good?” Cumulus smiled so broadly that even his molars showed. “You know that injection you get every month? It’s a booster shot to help keep you from contracting the virus—the same one that has affected the people living in the old world. That virus is the reason the Remnants’ brains are scrambled the way they are. Well, our Elite chemists and biologists are working tirelessly to create an antidote for the virus. And every time they come up with an antidote for testing, they need a live subject to try it on. Can you guess who those scientists use as guinea pigs to test their serums?”
“Sir, do they catch a Remnant and inject him?” Lefty asked.
Cumulus tilted his head to one side and smiled, but said nothing.
“They inject people … like me?” Lefty was starting to sweat now.
“The brains of the Remnants are so far past hope that injecting them would do no good at all. Our hope is to find a cure that can act quickly after the virus has taken hold—before it has overtaken the entire body and brain of a person. The chemists and biologists need healthy people for the experiments so they can inject them with the virus, and then administer their new concoction.” He tilted his head upright again and nodded. “So, you see? Even those who appear to be useless to society can serve a grand purpose.”
Lefty and Zero both looked at each other. Zero saw fear on Lefty’s face, and it wasn’t a look he saw very often.
Zero thought frantically for something to say. “You won’t have any trouble from us for the rest of our time here,” Zero said. “We promise. We’ll even stay away from Flea and his gang.”
Lefty nodded.
“You’re not going anywhere near anybody,” Director Keys said with a grin. “We’ve got a bus coming this evening with the new arrivals. There are about two hundred of them, I think. As punishment for your childish prank, you’re going to have to miss the end of the year party. You’ll spend the evening babysitting them.”
“New arrivals?” Zero’s eyes went big. “You mean, the little kids? The three year olds?”
“You look a little worried.” Director Keys’ grin grew even wider. “Don’t worry, you’ll have Professor Bird and many of the other professors there with you. The bus should arrive about five o’clock.”
Zero glanced at Lefty to see if he was as worried about babysitting duty as he was, but Lefty no longer looked like he was even paying attention. It wasn’t unusual for Lefty’s mind to wander, especially while someone was reprimanding him, but this was different. Wherever Lefty’s mind had gone was not good.
He hardly listened to the tail end of Director Keys’ lecture now that he was growing increasingly more concerned about Lefty’s state of mind. He stared at Lefty’s back as they were ushered out of the room, noticing his drooping shoulders and head now bowed.
Chapter 4
Zero kept the same pace as Lefty as they walked down the sidewalk toward their dorm building. He hoped Lefty would start speaking without having to pry it out of him—already knowing what was so heavy on his mind, but Lefty kept his eyes on his feet as they walked and it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything.
“Lefty, come on.” Zero finally asked. “You have a lot of great skills. Someone will see that. I’m sure you’ll get drafted by one of the great cities. ”
Lefty said nothing, just shaking his head.
Zero slapped him on the shoulder with the back of his hand. “Come on. Buck up.”
Lefty returned the smack, only much harder. “You don’t get it. You just don’t get it! Didn’t you hear what Cumulus said in there?”
“What don’t I get? I mean, sure, we have to babysit the new arrivals on our last night at school. So what? As far as I’m concerned, you put a crocodile in Flea’s desk and got away with it.”
“I am pretty proud of that.” A grin appeared on Lefty’s face for a brief moment, but quickly disappeared. “I meant the part about the placement tests tomorrow.”
This was something that had been on both of their minds—not just for the last few weeks, but for years. They had both steered around the topic anytime conversation came near it because it was already uncomfortable. This newly revealed information about using those who failed to get drafted as lab rats made the conversation much worse.
“I’m really going to miss you,” Lefty said.
Zero stopped dead in his tracks. Lefty was starting to wax sentimental, and that was far out of his norm. Lefty also stopped walking after a few more steps, and then turned around to face his friend.
“Don’t worry, Lefty,” Zero said. “I’ll help you study. You’ll do just fine.”
“Studying isn’t the problem. I try to concentrate. I try to focus. I just can’t get through a written test. Every letter of every word jumbles up in my brain. It takes me forever just to decode what the sentence is even asking—not to mention the fact that I never know the answer once I do finally read the question.” He grabbed a fistful of his own hair with both hands and made as if he was going to pull it all out. “We have taken practice test after practice test and I only finish half the questions during the time limit—and half of those answers I just guessed on because I couldn’t figure out what the question was even asking. I can’t pass that test. I can’t even get through that test.”
“Maybe the test won’t even matter. You have a lot of other talents and abilities. I’m sure the drafters will take those things into account. Maybe your new job won’t be fun, but you’ll be good at whatever it is. Besides, does it really matter what we do for jobs? I mean, we’ll still be able to do whatever we want after work. We won’t even have to worry about schoolwork anymore.”
Lefty looked at him in disbelief, shaking his head. “See? You don’t get it at all. You’re somehow suffering from the delusion that you and I are going to get drafted by the same people.” He held two fingers up in front of Zero’s face. “The two of us are going to end up in two different cities.”
As far as he knew—as little as he knew about how the system actually worked—it would mostly be left up to chance, but maybe their test scores could swing chance a little more in their favor. “If we score about the same on the exam, we’ll probably be sent to the same place.”
Lefty’s lips tightened, and he punched Zero square in the chest. It wasn’t a soft or joking type of punch, either. He meant it. “Don’t you dare fail the exam on purpose.”
“I didn’t say I was going to do that.” Zero rubbed the sore spot in the center of his chest.
“No, but I know you’ve thought about it.”
Zero stood flatfooted and thought about life without Lefty. Yeah, he was annoying and pigheaded, but they had done everything together ever since they were little. It didn’t seem right to part ways just as life was starting to get interesting—when they were finally going to learn what life was like out there in the real world.
“Zero, you’re not failing that test,” Lefty said. “You’re going to get a good score, and you’re going to move on to become one of the Elites class. You’re a shoo-in to finish top of our year and get the most amazing career out there. You’re not going to end up like me.”
“And what’s wrong with ending up like you? I wish I were more like you. You’re clever, and you’re not afraid of anything.”
“Look, Zero, we both know I’m not going to pass that test. If I’m lucky, I’ll end up in the sweat shops with the rest of the dummies. I’m scared to think …” Lefty paused. His squeezed his eyes shut and pursed his lips as he thought about what Cumulus had said. When he spoke again, his words were slow and deliberate. “For the first time in my life I’m scared. I’m really scared.”
“I think he was just trying to scare you.”
“Somehow I don’t think so.” Lefty shook his head. “You and your big brain are destined for greatness with all the Elites, but I won’t be there with you. Can you picture me next to you at some snooty dinner party?”
Zero laughed. “No… no, I can’t.”
“See? We are different, and we’d be fools to think this could last forever.”
They stared at each other for a minute. Zero was the first to look away.
“Promise me,” Lefty said.
“Promise what?”
“Swear to me that you won’t fail the exam on purpose.”
Zero said nothing.
Lefty punched him in the chest again, even harder than before, knocking Zero to the sidewalk.
“Zero, if you fail that test, I will never talk to you again. Not even if we get sent to the same city. Got it?”
Zero still said nothing.
“Got it?” Lefty pointed a finger in Zero’s face. “You’re not going to throw your life away and become a lab rat like me just because I can’t get through a test.”
“Fine … I promise.”
There was nothing left to be said. Even though they knew they should make their way back to class, neither felt like going—they didn’t even have to discuss it. Besides, Professor Bird probably expected them to be expelled anyway. He wouldn’t be expecting them back.
They walked again in silence. Lefty kicked a rock along the path, hopping from one foot to the other. Just outside the front steps of their dorm building, Lefty bent down and picked up two zompopos, both of them about an inch lo
ng. He sat down on the step and shook the two giant ants in his hands as if he were shaking a pair of dice, and then he tossed them onto the concrete platform in front of the door. He watched them roll around as they fought.
After five minutes of fighting, which seemed likely to end in a stalemate between the two zompopos, one finally bit a leg off the other.
“And we have a winner!” Lefty said, prying them apart and lifting up the ant that was now missing a leg.
“Why do you always call the one with a leg missing the winner?”
“Because I’m a winner, and I don’t have all my body parts.” Lefty grinned, holding up his right hand. An expression of sudden understanding flashed across his face and he jumped up, almost knocking Zero over. “Of course! That’s it!”
“Of course what? What’s going on?”
“You don’t have to fail the test to be at the same loser level as me. I just need to qualify to become part of the Elite class.”
Zero scanned the area, making sure no one was around to hear them. “You know of a way to cheat on the test?”
“No! It won’t matter how I do on the written test.” Lefty turned to face him, his eyes bright with excitement.
Zero couldn’t help but feel some of the excitement too, even though he still had no idea what Lefty was talking about.
“I’ll become a front-line scout,” Lefty said.
“Um, I think I misheard you. What?”
“Hear me out. They spend all day learning how to fight. When they’re not training, they’re out there in the world, scouting out places to colonize—fighting Remnants of the old world and all that dangerous stuff. Doesn’t that sound awesome? I just have to be physically and mentally tough. That’s easy.” His smile was large now.
Zero’s heart sank again. He really had his hopes up for a split second there, but this just wasn’t a possibility. He did his best to keep a smile on his face, though.
Testing Zero: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 1) Page 3
