Testing Zero: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter 6

Zero awoke just as the sun was coming up and noticed Lefty already sitting up in his bed. That was highly unusual for him. But today was the big day. This was the last time they would ever wake up in this dorm room—at this school. Today was the day he was going to prove to the Elite and city officials that they should be counted among the best of society.

Lefty jumped out of bed and began shadow boxing in the small amount of light sneaking through his curtains.

“What’s going on?” Zero raised himself up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “I know you’re excited about today, but breakfast isn’t even available for another hour.”

“I can’t help it. I’m too pumped up to sleep.” He threw three quick jabs at the invisible opponent in front of him, watching his shadow on the wall as he did. “Today’s my day! Today is the day I prove to the Elite that I’m one of them.”

Zero sat up and stretched. He looked around at their dorm room. “Do you think the next place we live will be as comfortable as this?”

“I hope so.”

“If we don’t get sent to the same—” Zero stopped talking halfway through his sentence. He was about to say he hoped to have his own dorm room—that he didn’t want to have to share a space with a roommate unless they were sent to the same city.

They had been sharing a dorm room since they had been six. When they first arrived, they were assigned different roommates, but that didn’t last very long—especially not for Lefty. Lefty had been reassigned five different times before becoming roommates with Zero, and always for the same reason—he couldn’t stop fighting with the other kids. Back in those younger years, when tenacity and scrappiness were more important than size, he actually won a fight once in a while.

“I bet the new rooms will be a lot like this one no matter where they send us,” Zero said.

Lefty turned on the light and scanned their room. It was simple, but that was all they had ever known. The floors were a speckle-patterned linoleum. The two beds were about three feet apart with a nightstand and a lamp between them against the wall. Other than the two beds and nightstand, the only other bit of furniture was a small bookshelf that held their textbooks from previous years.

The walls used to be white, but it was typical for the students to customize their walls with colorful markers. Now, after so many years of drawing crocodiles and jaguars, there was barely any room to squeeze in another bit of art.

Zero stood up from his bed, and walked across the room to a where a stick figure kicking a ball had been drawn. “This was the first drawing you ever did. I remember you saying one day you would be the best kickball player in the world.” He laughed. “That didn’t pan out so well, did it?”

“Yeah. I guess I grew up. Other things became more important to me.”

“Like crocodiles?”

“Exactly. I’ll take playing with a croc over playing kickball any day.” Lefty took two steps to his right and traced his finger along the lines of a poorly drawn crocodile. “I’m leaving the schoolyard with one regret. I never did swim with the crocs.”

Zero rolled his eyes.

Lefty stomped his foot. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. What if the Elite city they send me to doesn’t have crocs? What if I never get a chance to see one again?”

“You went swimming with them once.”

“No. I splashed around in the water and almost drowned. I wish I’d just gone for it—risked it all. Swam all the way across and climbed the wall. Now, that would be living!”

Zero pointed at another crudely drawn crocodile. “Check this one out. This one must have been drawn during that period of time when you were trying to learn how to write and draw with your left hand.”

“Give me a break. Making the switch to being left-handed was harder than you’d think.” He laughed. “Besides, I think that drawing’s pretty good, considering.”

Lefty knelt down, reached under his bed, and pulled out a backpack. It had black felt-tip marker drawings of crocodiles all over it and “Lefty” written on the front. He shook it a few times to get rid of some of the dust.

“Are you taking that with you?” Zero asked.

“Sure. It’s the only thing in the world that’s just mine.”

“Why do you need anything to be just yours? You can always get a new backpack at your new place.”

Lefty shrugged. “Call me sentimental. I just like it.” He unzipped the bag, grabbed his pillow and began stuffing it inside.

“Good thinking.” Zero grabbed his bag from underneath his bed and copied Lefty’s idea, stuffing his pillow into it. “It always takes a while to break in a pillow just the way I like it. The feathers are too fluffy when they’re new.”

They slipped their arms into the straps of their backpacks, stole one last glance at the dorm room that they were sure was soon to be painted white again once the new residents took it over, and walked out their door for the last time.

They stopped by the shower room for a quick wash and a new set of clothes. Before long they were taking a stroll around the schoolyard one last time.

The breakfast menu was the same as always. Lefty chose his usual hot stacks with syrup and sunny-side-up eggs on top. Zero grabbed a few sausages, scrambled eggs, and toast on the side. They didn’t typically eat breakfast out in the corner of the schoolyard by the fence—that was really more of a lunch and dinner thing since the grass was always so wet in the mornings—but today they made an exception. Lefty really wanted to eat one last meal next to the croc that ate his fingers, and Zero didn’t feel like arguing with him on what might be their last full day together.

***

“I get to sit by the window,” Zero exclaimed as they climbed up into the bus.

“Why do you get the window seat?” Lefty asked.

“Because you’ve been for a ride in a vehicle before—when you got your fingers bit off and went to the Elite hospital.”

“They took me in the back of a cargo truck. There were no windows. I didn’t get to see anything. Besides, you’re the one who says he can remember being three years old and what it was like on the bus ride.”

“Still, I called it.”

Lefty slapped him on the shoulder. “Fine. Just get on the bus.”

Zero took his first step onto the bus and couldn’t help but smile. This bus ride was going to be the greatest thrill of his life. In no time at all they would be through the city gates, finally seeing the old world. This was living!

They found an empty seat toward the back of the bus, stuffed their backpacks under their seat, and sat eagerly waiting for the bus to get moving.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Zero said. His eyes widened as the bus began to roll. He gripped the seat in front of him a little tighter once the bus navigated through the fence.

The landscape beyond was overgrown and crowded with thick brush and trees, the ground covered with a layer of muddy water. He spotted some crocodiles bathing in the sun and more swimming in the deep parts. After about a hundred yards they reached the outer wall and the bus came to a stop. An adult who had been sitting directly behind the driver stepped out onto the road and walked in front of the bus to unlock the enormous wrought iron gate. Zero’s heart began pounding. He’d never seen the wall this close up before. He struggled to see the top, but from this angle he could only see about fifty feet up. The bus idled forward and then stopped again after it had cleared the gate. After the man locked the gate and climbed aboard the bus again, they were off, gaining more and more speed as they went. He gripped the seat in front of him until his knuckles turned white. Moving this fast was exhilarating!

Within twenty minutes’ travel time on the road, the vegetation and swamp had changed dramatically. Mud and water turned into tall grasses. The trees weren’t as tall, and the forests weren’t so dense. The bus slowed as it climbed a tall mountain. As it crested the top, Zero’s jaw fell open and he inhaled deeply. His eyes grew large as he tried to soak in every bit of what he was seeing.

“Breathe, Zero,” Lefty joked.

“I—” Zero’s eyes scanned back and forth across the panoramic scene through the window. “I can’t help it. It’s just—I’ve never seen the horizon before. I mean, I’ve seen the horizon in picture books, of course, but that doesn’t do it justice. Look at it.”

“It really is amazing. It’s a much nicer view than seeing only trees and a rock wall in every direction. As far as I’m concerned, they could stop the bus right here and just let me out. I could spend the rest of my life here just looking at this.”

“Which wouldn’t be very long, I’m sure.” Zero laughed. “A jaguar would come out of the woods and swallow you whole while you sat mesmerized by the skyline.”

Lefty shook his head back and forth, his eyes still bouncing from one point of interest to the next. “I had no idea the world was so different,” Lefty said.

The bus began its decline down the back side of the mountain and the horizon disappeared again behind some trees.

“Why do we have to go so fast? What’s the rush? All I can see now are trees zipping by,” Zero said.

Over the next half hour, Zero analyzed every sight. He commented on every tree that looked different than those around the schoolyard. He gasped every time the horizon came into view, even when it happened for only a split second, often clapping his hands like an excited child.

The bus driver stomped on the brake. A few people who had been standing in the aisles went tumbling to the floor. Others, like Zero, got their faces slammed into the back of the seat in front of them. The back of the bus slid partly to one side as it came screeching to a halt. Groans and curses echoed throughout the bus as people tried to figure out what was going on.

Zero rubbed his forehead, wondering if he was going to have a bump or bruise where he’d just hit it. “Why are we stopping? This can’t be the place we go to take tests. There aren’t even any buildings around.” He looked confused.

Lefty stood up and peered toward the front of the bus in hopes of seeing what was happening. “Uh-oh,” he said. “This can’t be good.”

“What? What is it?” Zero stood and tried to see out the front of the bus, but now everyone was on their feet and it was difficult to see anything. It wasn’t until he heard a loud
smack
on the window next to him that he understood.

A dark-faced man stood outside his window holding a machete against the glass. Black spittle dripped from his lip and down off his chin. His eyes were red. He slapped his open hand against the window, yelling incoherently. There was no doubt who—or what—this man was. He was infected with the virus—a Remnant from the old world. And there were many of them—too many to count as they poured out of the woods, surrounding the bus.

Chapter 7

Zero jumped away from the window. The Remnant’s black saliva drooped on the glass, oozing downward. He looked at Lefty, who took a closer look at the Remnant, placing both hands on the window and leaning forward. Their noses were less than an inch apart, separated only by the sheet of glass.

Zero grabbed the back of Lefty’s shirt, jerking him away. “What are you doing? If that guy breaks the glass and bites you, you’ll be as good as dead.”

“I’ve never actually seen one before.” Lefty kept his eyes glued on the Remnant. “They’re fascinating.”

More of them continued to pour out of the woods until the layer of Remnants surrounding the bus was at least four people deep. Then every one of them able to reach the bus began to push. Those on the driver’s side pushed first, and then those on the passenger side. Back and forth, back and forth they shoved, causing the bus to rock farther with each thrust, to the point where Zero was sure the wheels were starting to come off the ground and he worried they might tip over.

“They’re coordinated,” Lefty said, with a facial expression that made it clear he was more impressed than terrified. “I remember Director Keys saying they’re clever, but I underestimated them. Did you know they travel in packs? They’re like wolves.”

“What do you know about wolves?” Zero said. “You’ve never seen a wolf.”

“I’ve read about them in the history books.” Lefty leaned in closer to the window.

“What are you doing? Don’t make eye contact.” Zero knew his friend had an appetite for living on the edge, but this wasn’t some brainless crocodile he was taunting.

The Remnant closest to the window took one step back, creating enough room between himself and the bus to raise a machete. He struck the glass with a loud
crack
and the glass spider-webbed. Another swing of the machete split the glass even more.

“Keep away from the window!” the bus driver commanded, his voice barely audible over the screams of the students.

Zero and Lefty pulled away from the window just in time to escape the machete breaking through with the third strike. Glass sprayed in all directions, causing more screams to reverberate inside the bus. The Remnant placed his hands on the window’s frame and pulled himself up to the point where his entire head was now inside the bus. He bared his black teeth and hissed.

Lefty jumped up onto the seat and with one mighty kick planted the heel of his shoe square on the Remnant’s nose. He lost his grip on the window and fell flat on to his back.

“What are you waiting for? Drive! Just run them over,” someone yelled from the back of the bus.

Every student began to yell in unison, “Drive! Drive! Drive!”

The bus driver twisted the ignition key, bringing the engine back to life, but just as he was about to jam it into gear, the doors at the front of the bus were pried open. All of the students left their seats and began pushing toward the back, cramming together so tightly nobody could move.

The driver and the man who had been sitting behind him attempted to push the front doors closed, but it was no use. Three dark-skinned men in tattered clothes climbed aboard. All three of them held machetes and yelled gibberish at the top of their lungs.

The students gasped in horror as they watched the Remnants grab and claw like wild animals at the driver. The bus went silent when one of them sank his teeth into base of bus driver’s neck. His eyes widened and rolled back into his head.

Two of the three Remnants grabbed hold of him and pushed him out the door. He landed face-down on the road before rolling to his back. The two dark-skinned men grabbed his wrists and dragged him toward the trees.

For a moment, Zero thought the driver was already dead, but he knew he was mistaken when his eyes rolled back to normal and terror flashed across his face. He began to scream as loudly as he could: “Someone! Help! Someone … Don’t let them …” They disappeared into the woods.

Still packed in tightly with the rest of the students, Zero felt someone next to him pushing against everyone else. Lefty was trying to break free.

“What are you doing?” Zero grabbed hold of his shirt.

“We need to help him. He can’t be taken.” Lefty tried hard to push through, but there was no room to move.

The third Remnant—the one that hadn’t exited the bus—turned his attention toward the students. The students packed in even tighter as he inched closer, his teeth bared, panting as if he had just run a long distance. Black spit dripped off his chin as he held a machete up in front of his face. He began rambling gibberish—the kind that made it clear just how scrambled his brain had become. With one swift whack, he brought the machete down into the top of one of the seats, splitting it and exposing the padding inside. He then looked Lefty straight in the eye and pointed to his own head as if to say, “I could stick this blade into your skull.” This only made Lefty struggle harder against the crowd.

The Remnant turned his back, walked away from the students, and exited the bus. It wasn’t until this happened that Zero realized all of the other Remnants were gone. They must have slunk back into the woods when the bus driver was taken.

The bus lurched forward. Zero looked up to see that the second adult—the one who had been sitting behind the driver during the ride—was now sitting in the driver’s seat.

“No. You can’t drive away!” Lefty yelled. “We need to go after him.” Lefty looked around at the other students as if he was looking for their support. When no one offered any, he began to force his way through the mob toward the door, but by the time he got there the new driver was shifting into a higher gear. They were hundreds of yards away from the incident. “Stop! Go back!” Lefty yelled, but he refused.

Zero waited for the other students to move and clear the aisles again before walking to the front of the bus to coax Lefty back to his seat. He placed one hand on his shoulder.

Lefty spun around and looked him in the eye. “They’re going to kill him. We have to do something.”

“There’s nothing we can do.” Zero grabbed him just above the elbow and attempted to pull him away from the front of the bus.

“We can still get him back.” Lefty jerked his arm free.

“They’re too powerful,” Zero said.

Lefty turned his back on him, sitting in the open seat behind the driver. “You noticed how small they are. The largest one of them is no bigger than I am, and I’m the smallest person in our year. We could have done something.” He placed his hand on the seat next to him as if to say the spot was taken.

Zero took the hint, walking back to where they had been sitting. He was careful not to cut himself as he gently brushed the glass shards off the seat. After sitting down again, the wind now blowing heavy on his face through the open window, he looked up at the back of Lefty’s head. Why did he have to be this way? He was easily the bravest person Zero knew, but he had a feeling it was going to get him killed someday—perhaps by a crocodile or a jungle cat, or maybe by some Remnant infected with the virus. The odds of Lefty dying of old age weren’t very high.

Zero hardly noticed the scenery going by during the rest of the drive. His mind was too preoccupied with Lefty. How long would it take for him to cool off? Was he going to ignore him for the rest of the day—the day that could very well be their last one together?

About half an hour after leaving the site of the attack, the bus slowed to a stop. Zero looked toward the front of the bus and saw wrought iron gates similar to those they had passed through when exiting the schoolyard. A stark difference with these, though, was that they weren’t much taller than the bus. The rock wall barely reached the height of the surrounding trees, making it no taller than about twenty feet.

The driver left the bus idling as he opened the gate, and then he drove through. As the bus sat idle while the driver closed and secured the gate again, Zero glanced through the window next to him and saw that they were sitting on top of a small bridge traversing a murky river similar to the two rivers surrounding the schoolyard. Two eyes emerged from the water and seemed to be keeping tabs on them. He looked toward the front of the bus to see if Lefty had noticed the crocodiles, and just as he had expected, Lefty had switched seats so he could get a better view. Zero was glad to see a smile on Lefty’s face again. Zero looked back down at the water and saw another set of eyes pop up. Another crocodile, somewhere between eight and nine feet long, was stretched out in the tall grass on the bank to soak up the sun.

The bus began to inch forward again, and after about a hundred yards, it slowed to a stop. This time the driver didn’t need to open the gate. Two guards were located just inside to take care of that duty. They unlatched it, swung it open in a wide arc, and the bus crept through to the inside of the enclosure.

When the bus came to a final stop and the engine was shut down, Zero reached under his seat, pulled out both his and Lefty’s backpacks and filed out with everyone else. Much to his pleasant surprise, Lefty stood next to the front door. He was waiting for him. He wasn’t exactly wearing the same bright smile he’d had while admiring the crocodiles, but the anger he’d shown when everyone refused to help fight the Remnants seemed to be gone—mostly.

“This place is a lot like the schoolyard,” Lefty said. “About the same size. Just not nearly as many buildings.”

Zero nodded. The buildings were indeed both smaller in size and in number. The smell of the swampy river smelled even stronger than the one to which they had grown accustomed.

Someone emerged from the closest building wearing a purple robe that nearly touched the ground. All of the students immediately recognized that robe as something an Elite would wear. Zero looked down at Lefty and laughed when he saw him puff out his chest—obviously hopeful of making a good tough-guy first impression. They had already met him, and while he was successful at scaring them, that didn’t mean they were impressed.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” said the man in the purple robe. “My name is Cumulus.” He stood silent with both hands behind his back, his chin up in the air. It was as if he was giving the young group ample time to absorb and understand the magnitude of his presence.

Cumulus waved a hand, beckoning them to follow after him, and he led them along the outside of a large building similar to the schoolyard’s cafeteria. When they reached the corner, a large cage came into view. It was elevated about four feet above the ground.

“The fighting cage,” Lefty said, his eyes large and his mouth agape.

Next to the large cage was a smaller one, which puzzled Zero at first. Then he realized it was probably meant to cage jaguars or panthers or whatever the fighters would have to face as their second and more dangerous match.

The man in the purple robe stopped, turned to face the students, and cleared his throat. “Before we get started on your testing, we are presenting you with the opportunity to sign up for the physical battles. Anyone wishing to try out to become an Elite front line scout or an Elite guard at Exile Prison must prove his skills inside the cage—first against one of your peers, and next against a very… special… opponent.” He grinned with menace when he said the word “special.”

Zero turned to look at Lefty, but he had already dropped his backpack at their feet and disappeared. He was pushing his way through the crowd, stopping only to smack Flea on the back of the head as he passed him.