The 17

by Mike Kilroy

  “It’s an e-cigarette, you bloody moron. It’s just vapor, you twit.”

  “Just shut up, Cass. Just shut up!” Zill held the fork so tightly in her right hand that her knuckles began turning white. She cocked her right arm back, paused for a split second and then thrust it forward. The fork tumbled out of her hand, end over end, and just missed Cass’ right ear. It lodged in the pewter wall behind her and vibrated like a diving board after a dismount.

  Cass swiveled her head around to peer at it, and then back at Zill. Cass’ eyes were wide and her mouth agape in indignation.

  Zack feared her wrath.

  “Are you trying to kill me, skank?”

  “So what if I was? You’d just come back anyway.”

  Jenai watched with a nervous smile.

  Brock fumed in his chair, his hands clasped together with his index fingers pointed up and pressed against his lower lip. Finally, Zack supposed, he had reached the end of his tolerance. He spoke in a deep, commanding voice. “If we’re being studied, we’re not setting a good example for the human race. We bicker. We ridicule. We belittle. We are everything that is wrong with our species and we are giving our captors no good reason to keep us alive.”

  Zack knew Brock had a point, a very valid and obvious one. If they were under a microscope from aliens or God or some other deity he had never even fathomed, they were surely not leaving a good impression.

  Zack’s eyes cycled through the others around the table, finally resting on Mizuki, who gave him a look that pleaded for him to just stay out of the way.

  Sound advice.

  Zill and Cass just peered down sullenly, as if scolded by their parents. Brock slid his plate loudly across the table, stood and towered over them. “We better get our act together and work as a team, or Harness will be right. We’ll be stuck here for an eternity.”

  Brock strutted away, glancing over his shoulder at them with a dismissive look. He ambled into the living room and sank into the opulent leather couch. He grabbed a book—Zack couldn’t see the title—from the oak coffee table and began reading quietly in the light cast by the brushed nickel floor lamp.

  “He told you, didn’t he?” Zill muttered.

  Cass clenched her jaw and made a fist. Before he knew it, Zack was doing what Mizuki had warned him not to do with her eyes: he was intervening.

  “Enough, okay? Just stop.” Zack made his voice as forceful as possible. “I don’t know about you, but I’d like to find out who brought us here. I’d like to know why and how we get back home. Fighting each other isn’t going to accomplish that.”

  Brock lifted his eyes from his book and smiled, then began reading again.

  Jenai giggled softly. When is she was going to make some microwave popcorn? She was enjoying the strife way too much.

  Zill and Cass began to sulk, staring down at their half eaten and mushy Hot Pockets.

  Zack had gotten their attention, at least. “I know I just got here and you are all disappointed in me for dropping my sword, but we’re in this together. For some reason we have been thrown together in this situation. I have to believe there is a reason and I have to believe there is a way out of it.”

  Mizuki nodded. “He’s right, you know. Cass. Zill. Can you at least try to get along?”

  Mizuki peeked at Zack out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She had broken her own rule and Zack approved.

  Zack was a bad influence. “Yeah. C’mon. Who knows, you might find you’ll like each other.”

  Zill and Cass tried to suppress a smile, but both failed.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Zill said and held her hand out across the table to Cass, who stared at it, and then reached out and grabbed it firmly.

  “Sure. Why bloody not”

  “See. One big, happy family,” Mizuki said.

  Brock had wandered back into the dining room and so had Harness, who was sweaty, and dabbed his neck and broad shoulders with a damp towel.

  They all sat around the table now, united.

  Zack wondered just how long that would last.

  †††

  Zack held a military canteen in his hands, camouflaged brown and tan. He shook it and could feel and hear water sloshing inside.

  It didn’t take long for him to feel the full wrath of the sun that hung in a hazy blue sky almost directly above him, even though he wore a long white tunic and a headcloth secured with woolen coils.

  Heat rose from the sand beneath his feet and he could see the air ripple at the surface all around him.

  He couldn’t see the others, but he could hear the screams of Harness coming from the other side of a dune in the distance. Soon, Harness, wearing the same desert clothes as Zack, crested, followed by the others, who also wore the same garb. They marched toward Zack’s position.

  “There he is,” Harness bellowed as he stomped ever closer, leaving eddies in the sand as he walked. Finally, they all reached Zack and stood in a semicircle around him.

  It was quite intimidating.

  “Oh my God. They stuck us out here with no water!” Jenai shook her empty canteen vigorously. “What the hell?”

  Brock shook his empty canteen, and then Zill and Cass. Mizuki opened hers and turned it upside down, only a small trickle of water dripped out of it onto the sand. They all looked at Zack, eager to discover if his canteen was empty as well.

  It wasn’t and Zack was hesitant to reveal that fact. This was obviously another test posed by their captors and one he knew they were doomed to fail.

  Zack pondered his decision, but realized it was moot. They would find out—it was quite difficult to keep a full canteen of water hidden. “I have water,” Zack finally said, prompting jubilation from The Six.

  “Hand it over.” Harness barked.

  “Wait,” Brock intervened. “We should distribute it evenly among the other canteens.”

  Zack thought that logical and held the canteen out to Brock, but Harness snatched it out of his hands. “We could spill some while pouring it into the other canteens. We should just keep it in one and pass it around. I’ll hang onto it, noob. You’d probably waste it watering a desert flower or something, you pansy.”

  Harness began to march away, heading for an outcrop of mountains in the far distance. It was a logical destination, one the group would have come to a consensus to head for, but Harness didn’t wait. He never waited. He just acted.

  The others merely put their heads down and followed, Zack pulling up the rear.

  They marched for hours and Harness kept his word, handing the canteen to whoever called for it. It finally came around to Zack and he took a sip. He noticed the canteen was already nearly empty.

  The sun was setting behind the mountains and the air was rapidly becoming crisp. They had no shelter for the night and they were still far away from their destination.

  Harness marched on, his feet pounding into the sand with each determined step. Brock followed behind them and then Mizuki. Zill and Cass were falling behind their pace—even Zack had passed them, even though his legs were weak and burning.

  Finally, Cass fell to her knees and Zack called out for the others to stop.

  Cass’ voice was weak and strained. “I can’t walk another bloody step. I’m so hungry.”

  Harness tramped back to her, grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. “Don’t be a drama queen. It’s not dark yet. We can still make up some ground.”

  “Harness, she’s tired,” Mizuki argued. “We all are. This is as good a place as any to make camp.”

  Harness sighed deeply, gazing around at his surroundings. It was getting dark quickly and Zack could barely see the outline of the others from just a few feet away. It was getting colder and Zack could feel the chill piercing him.

  “Fine,” Harness said, lowering himself to the sand and sitting Indian style. “Anyone have any suggestions on what we can use for shelter? What we can eat?”

  Silence.

  “Thought so,” Harness barked. “At least we have wat
er.” He took a rather large gulp, prompting silent protest from the rest of the group. They all wanted to say something, Zack could tell, but were too timid to do so, even Brock, who just slumped down to the sand flat on his back and stared up at the sky.

  Brock slowly sat up, an anxious look on his face. “Guys. There are no stars. We should be able to see stars.”

  Zack turned his gaze to the blackening sky above him. It was as dark as coal, no twinkles of light, no constellations or orbiting bodies or distant planets to see, just a blank canvas. A disturbing, sinking feeling crashed over him.

  There was no doubt now.

  They were far from home.

  He could hear the whimpers of Jenai near him, even though he could not see her in the now pitch blackness. She sobbed and sniffed snot back up into her nostrils. The others ignored her as if she were a ghost. Zack crawled in the now cool sand toward the sound of her blubbers and put his arm around her. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered.

  A smattering of laughter erupted.

  “Yeah. Everything is hunky dory,” the deep voice of Harness rang out.

  “This is a regular beach party and I didn’t pack my gorg bikini,” Zill quipped.

  Zack thought he could hear the hunger rumbling in his gut and was sure the others could, too.

  Jenai buried her head into Zack’s chest as he cupped her head in his arms. He could feel her streaming tears dampen his arm and felt the urge to try to drink them, but thought that would be wildly inappropriate.

  He was hungry. He was thirsty. He suspected everyone else sitting in this circle on a moonless and starless and empty night felt the same. He thought a shared agony would bring them closer.

  It did not.

  He could hear Harness gulp down the remaining water.

  Brock bellowed. “You oaf, you drank all the water!”

  Zack heard grunts and groans and the sounds of knuckles hitting flesh. Then nothing.

  “Hey. I gave everyone the canteen when they asked for it,” Harness said. “I’m the biggest one here. I need the most water.”

  Brock spoke between heavy breaths. “We went through all that water in one day. We have no more left and we have many more days of hiking ahead if we want to reach those mountains. Even then, we’re only hoping there is water and food there. We’ll never make it now.”

  “What are you complaining about? I thought you black guys were used to the desert.”

  “You ignorant racist!”

  Zack could hear the smacking of fists on flesh again. Jenai sobbed loudly now and buried her head deeper into his chest. He could hear the voices of Mizuki, Cass and Zill yelling, “Stop!” in unison until finally there was silence.

  Zack held his breath, hoping to hear any kind of sound. Finally, Harness’ voice broke the stillness. “You all suck.”

  The truce Brock had proposed couldn’t hold up in these conditions. They were all fatally flawed, a band of misfits with no hope of survival. He imagined his captors watching contemptuously and that frightened Zack more than anything this group could do to each other or to him.

  Zack lay on his back, holding his grumbling stomach and peered into the blackened sky. He had trouble even telling if his eyes were closed or open.

  This must be what purgatory is like.

  He tried to remember the last thing he was doing back home. Was it life threatening? Was it dangerous and reckless? Did I feel ill? Did I die?

  Zack concluded watching a South Park episode was none of those things.

  If I’m not dead, then what?

  The air was stale and cold and Jenai shivered next to him; she snuggled against his body for warmth. He was happy to provide it. She was frightened and at the very least he could provide her with a bit of comfort.

  Zack could hear the sound of snoring coming from Harness and a few mutters from Brock. Jenai smacked her parched lips and Mizuki breathed heavily. It was going to be a long night.

  Zack didn’t sleep, just stared into the abyss above him. More quickly than he could have anticipated, the sky began to brighten and he could see the outlines of the group again. Zill was missing.

  The others stirred awake as the sun crested over the sand behind Zack. Harness stretched and peered about. He was the second to notice Zill was missing. “Where’s that crazy chick? I guess I should be more specific with this group. Where’s that dumb, crazy chick?”

  Brock stood and spun around, looking toward the horizon. “She couldn’t have gotten far.”

  There were no tracks in the sand. A steady wind had erased them.

  “What … what do we do?” Jenai asked.

  “Forget her. We can’t waste time looking for her.” Harness always had a plan. And it usually entailed looking out for himself.

  “We can’t just leave her,” Mizuki said. She had a plan, too. “We can spread out and look for her. Brock is right. She couldn’t have gotten far in that darkness.”

  Harness balked, but relented. “Fine. We’ll split up. Cass is with me. Brock, you take Mizuki, and the two losers can go off and be losers together.”

  Harness and Cass walked off to the northeast; Brock and Mizuki, who peered over her shoulder at Zack and shrugged, headed southwest and Zack and Jenai just stood there, dumbfounded.

  Jenai tugged on Zack’s tunic and pointed toward the northwest. “I guess we should head that way.”

  Zack led the way. He had a difficult time plowing through the sand. His legs were so weary and stiff and his head pounded something awful. That was the dehydration, he supposed. They walked for a few minutes, scanning for any signs of Zill, but did not find any. Jenai lagged behind.

  “My legs are cramping. Oh my God!” Jenai bellowed, collapsing to the warm sand. She rubbed her calves and grimaced. She began to cry again, but no water escaped her eyes. “I’m gonna die again.”

  Zack knelt down. His legs were beginning to cramp, too, but he ignored it the best he could. He lifted Jenai’s chin with his finger and she looked wide-eyed at him. “It’ll be okay.”

  Zack wasn’t sure if that was true. In fact, he knew it probably wasn’t, but it was the only comforting thing he could think of saying. People often said those words in times of strife and trouble. They were quite meaningless, Zack realized.

  Jenai didn’t believe them either. “No, it won’t.”

  Zack smiled. “Yeah. You’re probably right. At least we don’t have to hear Harness call us losers out here.”

  Jenai chortled and pushed herself up, moving her stiff legs forward. “She’s not out here. Let’s head back.”

  They trudged through the sand back to where they started. As they got closer, they could see the group standing in a circle and staring down at the sand below them. Zack and Jenai walked as quickly as they could and finally reached them. Zack wedged his way between Brock and Mizuki.

  Zill laid face down in the sand.

  “Is she dead?” Zack asked.

  Harness glowered at him. “Well, she certainly isn’t trying to get a tan.”

  “What happened?”

  “Cass and I found her just over that sand hill over there.” Harness didn’t know the term was dune, apparently. “We dragged her back here.”

  “What do we do now?” Zack asked. “We can’t just leave her in the sun to rot?”

  “Yes we can. She’ll come back. She’ll slow us down.”

  “We’re not going to make it anyway.” Brock said glumly. “We might as well just stay here and die with her.”

  “Then we’ll end up back in that cell again. Do you want that?” Harness pleaded.

  None of them wanted that. Zack, though, saw little alternative. He could tell the rest of the group, except for Harness of course, felt the same. “I’m staying with Zill,” Zack proclaimed as he sat down next to her body and brushed sand away from her face. Her eyes were wide open and stared at him hauntingly. He closed them gently with a swipe of his hand. She looked at peace now.

  Mizuki sat in the sand next to Zack “I’m st
aying, too.”

  Jenai plopped down into the sand next and stared at Harness defiantly. Brock followed their lead.

  Harness rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Cass, you comin' with?”

  Cass’ eyes darted to Harness and then to Zack and then back to Harness. “Yeah. I’m comin’ with.”

  Harness and Cass marched off toward the west, the sun reflecting off their white tunics. Zack watched as they became smaller and smaller and disappeared into the wavy heat rising off the sand.

  Mizuki cut an expectant glance at Zack. “Well, what now?”

  Zack had no idea how to answer that. He looked to Zill for answers, but of course she wasn’t providing any, either

  “I guess we just wait to die.”

  It was a grim proposal, but the only one available to them now. Zack lay on his back, staring into the deep blue sky that seemed to have no beginning and no end, sort of like their lives now in this menagerie where they were living.

  A peace crashed over him as he got lost in the endless sky, a sort of contentment that he had no business feeling in these circumstances. His eyelids felt heavy and he gave into them. Now, there was only darkness.

  †††

  Zack awoke to Jenai shaking him vigorously. He licked his parched lips, but his tongue was just dry and felt like sandpaper. It was beginning to swell and he had trouble talking.

  “I guess we’re still alive,” Zack said as he focused his eyes on Brock, who lay lifeless in the sand. Mizuki was nowhere to be found.

  “Look.” Jenai pointed toward the western horizon where the sun was dipping fast. The dark outline of two figures marched toward them.

  “Is that Harness and Cass?” Zack asked through a raspy voice. His throat was dry and tight.

  “No. That’s someone else.”

  As the figures came closer, Zack could tell they were not human. Their heads were disproportionately larger than their bodies and he could tell that even under their tunics, their arms were long and skinny.

  Jenai began to panic. “What do we do? Oh my God. They’re gonna kill us.”

  “Let them. Can’t be any worse than dying in the sun.”

  Zack tried to push himself to his feet, but failed. His legs were numb.

  Jenai crawled on her hands and knees away from him, then collapsed onto her stomach and sank into the sand.