He scurried back through the hole to the safe side of the fence and sat in the grass, his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees. He couldn’t do it. He wondered how far into the jungle Lefty was now. Had he made it all the way to the outer wall? How far away was the outer wall? Would he be able to get back? Chasing after Lefty was out of the question now, especially since he had no way of knowing which direction he had gone. The only thing to do was wait.
The sun was gone. Darkness now overpowered everything. He lay in the grass, looking up at the stars and listening to the clicks and chirps of the insects. He decided to wait in that very spot until morning. But, then what would he do? If morning came and Lefty was still gone, would he go after him?
Then Zero heard something moving through the grass. “Lefty? Is that you?”
No answer.
He stood up and pulled the links of the fence closed. “Lefty, if that’s you, you’d better speak up. If a cat charges the hole in this fence, I’ll never be able to hold it closed.”
He heard Lefty’s voice, but it came from somewhere out in the jungle. “I can’t—” was all he said.
Whatever was close to Zero—whatever was rustling in the darkness through the grass—was definitely not his friend.
As soon as Lefty’s voice echoed through the darkness, something dashed through the grass toward the trees. Zero heard what sounded like someone pushing through the thick brush in the darkness.
“Lefty!” Zero yelled. He slid one leg through the fence again, exposing half of his body through the hole. “Lefty, run toward my voice. Come on.” He cupped his hands around his eyes, but he couldn’t see anything. “Come on. Lefty!”
The sounds faded in the distance and the night went silent. Zero let go of the fence and was halfway to the jungle trees before he even realized he had slipped all the way through. Scared, he retreated halfway back toward the opening. He couldn’t decide which way to go. His friend was in trouble, and if there was ever a time to push past his fear, this was it. But he didn’t know where to go. He didn’t even know if Lefty was still alive. The tiny bits of light still remaining in the sky allowed him to see only a few feet ahead of him. That did him no good.
Then he heard Lefty’s unmistakable voice in the distance. The sound was so faint that his ears barely registered it, but the tone of it was deafening. There was no way Lefty would ever make a cry like that simply out of fear. He had never screamed like that before, not even when the crocodile bit off half of his hand. A cat had caught up to him in the darkness. He was sure of it.
He didn’t know what to do. Paralyzed by fear, he couldn’t take a step forward but unable to abandon his friend, he couldn’t retreat.
The cry resonated a second time, even more piercing than the first, and then everything was silent. Not even the insects dared to make a sound.
He fell to his knees, sucking air as his nerves seized control of him and he felt as though he was going to pass out. He fell to his back and lay there for what felt like a lifetime. Waiting. Listening. Wondering. But nothing sounded until he heard something creeping through the grass nearby.
“Lefty, if that’s you …”
The sound paused for a moment, but then continued to inch its way closer. Something was stalking him—something that could see in the dark a whole lot better than he could. He was sure of it.
“I’m sorry, old friend,” Zero said out loud. “I can’t stay here. I have to go back.” He hurried back to the opening and stepped through before pulling it closed. “I’m so sorry, Lefty. I’m so sorry. I have to close the hole.”
One by one, Zero wrapped and twisted the links of the fence closed. He no longer heard the rustling of grass, but he could still hear something breathing heavily. Something was watching him.
He felt a knot in his throat as he put the last tie on the fence. “This is it.”
He stepped back and heard the rustling once again. He saw its silhouette from a short distance, but he couldn’t see any of the cat’s features until it was right up against the fence. This wasn’t the same jaguar Lefty had been feeding earlier in the day. This cat was as black as night, and about a foot taller at the shoulder.
The black panther breathed a low, deep growl, communicating to Zero that he wasn’t welcome on that side of the fence. Zero dropped to his knees and they stared each other in the eye with less than a foot between them, separated only by the links of the fence.
“You did this,” Zero said.
The black panther’s jowls curled up and it hissed.
They remained face-to-face until the cat lost interest and meandered away.
Zero’s remaining strength gave way and he collapsed face down in the grass. He made no effort to roll over even though the grass irritated his face. He bit his bottom lip and for a long time he was successful in fighting the urge to cry.
Once hours had passed and the remaining bit of hope inside was gone, he stopped fighting the urge and he let it go. He rolled over and stared at the stars. When his tears clouded his ability to see them, he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to go back to his room. He didn’t want to do anything but lie there. The insects began clicking and chirping again, but there were no sounds of cats walking through the grass. There was no sound of growling or heavy breathing. There was no sound of Lefty returning.
Chapter 12
Zero had a difficult time knowing exactly when he’d finally fallen asleep. Time had become irrelevant. He was emotionally numb. He awakened shortly before dawn, soaking wet from the heavy dew that settled on him and the grass. Shivering, a part of him wanted to hurry back to his dorm building to take a hot shower. Surely he was hypothermic by now. But there was no way he could leave before the sun came up. He needed evidence.
As soon as the sunlight peeked through the trees, Zero found himself twisting open the wires of the fence. He looked behind him at the trail leading back to the center of town, and then peered once again into the shadows of the jungle. Going back to town meant saying good-bye. Reopening the hole in the fence and crossing through meant possibly finding the dead body of his best friend, or possibly losing his own life in the search.
Wondering if he would regret this decision, he twisted open the last wire. He stepped through onto the grass and let go of the fence, vulnerable. He did just as he had seen Lefty do, walking only a few steps at a time, and then pausing to scan the area. He made it to the tree line and looked into the shadows. He wasn’t feeling brave, but he spent no time dwelling on any of his fears either.
He heard something move, and his eyes traced the location of the sound. Enormous yellow fangs told Zero all he needed to know. Something was monitoring his every move, and he wasn’t welcome on this side of the fence.
He turned back toward the fence and walked. He was worried about taking too long getting there, but also was afraid that running might trigger the cat’s desire to chase him. He turned his head partway and saw out of his peripheral vision that the cat was escorting him out just like it had done to Lefty that one time. Once he had safely stepped through the opening, he began twisting the wires closed. The yellow and black jaguar, along with its two cubs, paced back and forth as he secured the fence closed.
“This is your fault,” he yelled, pointing a finger at the large jaguar. It hissed back at him.
Zero walked about fifty feet away from the fence and sat with his back against a banana tree. He stared out across the clearing and into the shadows of the jungle waiting for any sign of Lefty. He kept an eye on the jaguar. He was hoping it would leave the area and give Zero another chance to try searching for his friend, but it continued to walk back and forth along the fence.
After a couple of hours—once the sun was above the trees—Zero abandoned the last bit of hope he held inside. He walked back to the fence one more time and spoke out loud. “I’m sorry, Lefty. I can’t stay here forever.” He bit his lip. “G
oodbye.”
He lowered his eyes, turned, and followed the trail back to town.
***
Zero had his hands shoved deep into his pockets and his eyes fixed on the ground as he walked through Quirigua toward the loading docks. He didn’t bother to go back to his room for a shower. He skipped breakfast partly because he didn’t have an appetite, but also because he couldn’t stand the thought of sitting alone in the cafeteria—the same cafeteria where Lefty was supposed to be working at the moment. He came straight to work, where he saw Lemon sitting on the edge of the docks, waiting for him to arrive.
He heard someone call his name. He closed his eyes and sighed. He recognized Flea’s voice without needing to look up.
“Your little friend didn’t show up to work this morning,” Flea said. “The kitchen crew is pretty shorthanded right now with Root gone, so he’s really putting everyone out. There are only two people in the kitchen right now trying to prepare enough food for the whole city. They’re not very happy with him, I’ll tell you that.”
Zero stood with his back to Flea. His hands were still in his pockets and he didn’t bother to lift his eyes.
“I came here to see if Lefty had come to work with you. It wouldn’t surprise me. That job’s probably too advanced for him. He needs you next to him to be his brains. And you need—”
Zero spun on the spot and walked right up to Flea. He bumped their chests together, knocking Flea a step back. “Walk away, Flea.”
The top of Flea’s head barely reached Zero’s chin. He was caught completely off guard by Zero’s sudden change in demeanor.
Zero was also surprised by his forwardness.
Flea took a step back. “Don’t ever step up on me.”
Zero took another step forward, bumping him a little harder this time. It felt good. Lefty was gone, but Zero felt like he was present inside him when he acted like him.
“Look, man,” Flea said. “I’m just here doing my job. I was told to come looking for Lefty since he didn’t show up to the cafeteria this morning. He wasn’t home, so I thought I’d come here. That’s all.”
“Yeah, well. You did your job. He’s not here.”
“Do you know where he is?”
Zero turned his back to Flea and walked back to the dock. He jumped up and sat on the edge next to Lemon.
Flea stared at him for a long moment before giving up on hearing an answer and walking away.
“That was pretty amazing.”
Zero lifted his eyes to the sound of Lemon’s voice. He was holding a steaming cup with both hands.
“I didn’t know you had it in you,” he said.
Zero shrugged his shoulders, looking down at the ground again.
“Something’s up with your friend, isn’t it?”
Zero remained silent.
“You can tell me.”
Zero looked up at Lemon for a long time before finally speaking. “He’s dead.”
Lemon stared back for a long time. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“He’s so stupid. He was always so reckless. Why did he always have to be so reckless? Why couldn’t he just be… normal?”
“He jumped the fence, didn’t he?” Lemon asked.
Zero paused, surprised that Lemon would come to that conclusion so quickly.
“It’s no secret he was obsessed with everything outside the fence,” Lemon said. “I heard about him putting a crocodile in Flea’s desk at school.”
Zero managed a small laugh at the memory. “He was so stupid.” He shook his head over and over. “So stupid. I should have stopped him.”
“You think you could have stopped him? You really think there was something you could have done to keep him inside the fence?”
“I could have. Somehow.”
“Look. There was nothing you could do. Nothing. Lefty was made from the same mold Root was made from. Root could see that from the first moment they met. That was why Root was so insistent that Captain should draft you guys.” He took a sip from his cup and breathed in through his teeth. “Root and I were just like you two when we first got here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Reckless. Stupid. Everything you said to describe your friend. For Root, though, it wasn’t the jungle cats that had his attention. He was obsessed with what he called ‘the bigger world.’”
“What’s that mean?”
“The world out there.” Lemon traced his finger along the horizon. “Ever since the bus ride from school to Quirigua, he was obsessed with the bigger world. He wanted to travel—see everything.”
“And he wasn’t afraid of the Remnants?”
“Was Lefty afraid of the Remnants?” He laughed. “Root always said he wanted to wrestle a Remnant someday. Like it was one of his life goals or something. I can’t begin to tell you how jealous he was of you guys when he saw that you had conquered one on the side of the road by the testing grounds.”
“He does sound like Lefty.”
Lemon nodded. “He didn’t care. He always said, ‘We get an injection once a month for a reason. It keeps us from getting infected. That’s all the protection I need.’”
“What do you think happened to Root? Do you think he made a run for it? Jumped the fence?”
“Not a chance.” Lemon shook his head and then took another sip from his cup. “He wouldn’t try something like that without telling me. Plus, jumping the fence wasn’t his style. His thing was stowing away in the delivery trucks. He did it three times in the first year. The first two times he got caught at the central hub when someone was unloading the truck. The last time he was able to switch trucks without someone spotting him, and he made it all the way to a new city.”
“I bet he loved it. How did he get back?”
Lemon laughed and slapped his knee. “He stowed away in the closest truck he could get into, but he had no idea where that truck was going. It happened to be going to Exile City.” He paused to laugh even harder. “It was his third time getting caught, so they just kept him there for a month to punish him.”
Zero began to laugh along with him. It was the first time he had smiled since the previous day. “So where do you think Root is now?”
“Exile. I think they took him there—after what he pulled with Lucid. It can’t be a coincidence that he defies the most powerful guy in the city, and then disappears in the night.”
“Did Root ever say what Exile was like? Is it terrible?”
“He said it’s not that different from here, really. Except that it’s got cornfields instead of bananas. He said it wasn’t the city that was the problem. It was the other people there that made it miserable. He said the food was bland but tolerable. The rooms were a bit crowded, but that wasn’t a big deal either. It was the company around him that made it unbearable.”
“Wouldn’t Captain be in on something like that? Someone being sent to Exile? Because, I talked to Captain yesterday and he didn’t know anything about it. He wanted to know where Root was just as much as you or me.”
“That’s not how Lucid works. He doesn’t like to mingle with us any more than he has to. He believes he’s above all of us—even Captain. I’m sure he has his own Elite goon squad to take care of that kind of stuff.”
Zero sat pensive, quietly mulling everything over in his mind. “That makes sense.”
“What does?”
“The front gate. Remember how someone didn’t latch the gate correctly? It makes sense when you think about it, that someone unfamiliar with the gate tried to latch it in the dark—Lucid’s goons.”
Lemon thought for a moment about this revelation. “How did you end up here?”
“At the docks?”
“No. In Quirigua.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, you don’t belong here. I’ve been watching you
. You’re super-smart—intelligent. Not only that, but you’re enormous. People like you end up in purple robes somewhere living the easy life, not stuck here in Quirigua.”
“I like it here. I don’t feel like I’m stuck.”
“I think you’re avoiding my question.”
“I tried to help Lefty cheat on the placement tests, and when Flea saw us, he tried to rat us out. Before I knew it, Lefty and Flea were in a full-blown fist fight right there in the middle of our test. The Elite guy didn’t let us even finish the test.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No. I didn’t want Lefty to end up as a lab rat.”
“I’m talking about you giving up your chance to be an Elite—the good life.”
“The good life? That’s what they always called it at school. That’s what the Elite always say, but have you ever met one that actually looks happy?”
“Good point. Why do you think that is?”
“Beats me. How much do we really know about them?”
Lemon shrugged. He rotated his cup in his hands before swirling his finger in the top of his drink. He downed another sip. “Do you think we’re really living?”
“Living? What do you mean?”
“I mean, when was the last time you really pushed the limits—bent the rules?”
“That’s what got Lefty killed.”
Lemon sat pensive for a moment. He hopped down from the dock and dusted off his pants. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Take me to the place you guys have been going every day after work. That is where he jumped the fence, right?”
“How did you know about that?”
“You’re not as sneaky as you think you are.”
The Inner Fence: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 2) Page 8
