Zoo (12 page)

I pull my blanket over my body and head. I
want to block out the light that’s trickling in through tiny holes.
It provides a small sense of comfort. As I force myself to quiet
down, I hear someone approaching. Their footsteps are heavy and
erratic, like they’re stumbling around. They fall to the ground
with a thud and a groan, as they arrive at the door to my hut. I
curl myself up into a tighter ball in an effort to protect myself
from whoever is about to pepper me with questions.

I don’t open my eyes or pull down the
blanket when they push aside the fabric door-flap and crawl into my
space. I know exactly who it is. He still smells like the beach
after all this time here. He lies down beside me, molding his body
against mine. He wraps one of his strong arms around my shaking
body.

He’s warm and steady.

He calms my ragged breathing.

He knows not to ask what
happened, because he knows
exactly
what happened.

I thought I wanted to be left alone, but
Kale is exactly who I need right now.

THE NEXT MORNING

When I wake, I’m so warm and calm that I
almost feel restored. Then I feel the even push of Kale’s breath on
the back of my neck and the pressure of his arm holding me tight. I
believe that I helped him last night as much as he helped me, but
today is a new day. Whatever happened doesn’t change the fact that
I can’t be with him that way.

I easily slip out of his embrace and leave
him sleeping in my hut, as I visit the latrines and then the
waterfall for a shower. I take off my horrible dress and leave it
by the edge of the pool. I’ll wash it later. Right now I need to
try to wash away the last remnants of yesterday’s horrors.

My hair is badly matted from my sweat and
tears, mixing with the dirt and grass on the floor of my hut. I
dunk my entire body and head under the cool surface and hold my
breath for as long as I can. The icy water feels amazing. Not being
able to hold my breath a second longer, I push up off the rocky
bottom and break the surface. I gasp for air. And of course, Kale’s
standing there, staring at me in all my topless glory.

“
Ah!
What are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping!” I
cover my exposed breasts and turn a brilliant shade of red. The
heat burns my cheeks and neck. I knew this would happen
eventually.

Obviously ashamed, Kale averts his dark
brown eyes. He clearly did not expect to see me. “I’m so sorry. I
woke up and you were gone. I needed a shower. I didn’t see anyone
here.” He pulls his cotton shirt back over his defined, tattooed
chest.

“
Can you turn around,
please?” I ask. I’ve never moved faster in my life than I do at
this moment—across the pool, out of the water, and clothes on my
body in five seconds flat.

He turns around, sensing that I’m done
re-dressing. “Look, I’m really sorry, okay? The last thing I want
to do is upset you even more after our punishment.”

My anger recedes as I remember what he did
for me. “No. I’m sorry. I really appreciate what you did for me
yesterday with the mud and helping me get through last night. I’m
so sorry that you had to see whatever it was they showed you.
Really. I am so sorry.”

“
I acted on my own. I
wanted to protect you. So don’t be sorry. And last night you helped
me too.” He looks at me with truth in his eyes.

He reaches for my hand, but I step back,
away from him and his kind gesture. Regretfully, I tell him, “I
know they threatened us with the transfer if we don’t mate, but I
can’t. I’m sorry.”

“
I don’t care what they
threaten us or me with. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t
want to do. And I certainly don’t want to
mate
with you.”

His admission stings a little, but he’s only
telling me what I just told him. “Well, good then. We’re on the
same page. We’ll have to tell Janice and Greg—about the transfer, I
mean,” I say as I take another step back.

“
Fine by me. Well look, if
you’re done, I’m going to go ahead and take that shower now.” I
scurry into the jungle as he starts to pull his shirt back
off.

So, the wait for our transfer begins. I
wonder how long they will hold off.

WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING

The longest six weeks of my life have just
passed. Janice’s uber flat stomach has the tiniest hint of a baby
growing inside of it. Kale has kept his distance from me, sleeping
by the rock wall and avoiding me during the day. I’ve become
something of a vegetarian, because I haven’t wanted to join the
others at meal times for Janice’s cooking, and I refuse to gut a
fish on my own—hence, vegetarian by default. I can’t get over the
guilt I feel for dooming Kale to an unknown fate. And while I’m
happy for Janice and Greg, the thought of them bringing a baby into
this world disgusts me.

Auntie Josephine has become my only source
of entertainment or regular human interaction. She sings lullabies
to me sometimes—one in particular that she said she sang to her
husband every night before he died. She’s such a sweet woman.
Sometimes we play poker. Josephine deals the cards out on her
little side table, holds mine up for me to see, and then places
them facedown on the table as I dole out my instructions. She
always beats me.

It took me two weeks to work up the nerve to
communicate with James again. He looked for me every morning. He
pushed for me to tell him what they did to me as my second warning,
but I didn’t and still haven’t answered him. I told him he didn’t
want to find out. After we moved past that, we had our regular nice
conversations. He’s once again become a nice distraction to the
world around me. I feel close to him without being physically close
to him.

There was never another
protest as I had hoped or planned for. I did see the man with the
watch four more times. On three of those occasions, a young woman
accompanied him. She was close to his age with white-blonde hair
and skin that was even lighter than her beautiful mane—just like
me. She wore an ornate mask that covered all of her face. It was
black with sapphires and rubies, and it sparkled when the sun hit
it. It was beautiful. I’ve decided that they aren’t lovers since
they’ve never touched, but they
are
very familiar with one another.

The man still taps his watch when he comes
to watch Kale and me. I haven’t figured out why yet. The least he
could do is make a sign or play charades to give us a hint.

Today is Sunday. The park is closed and the
Keepers are due for a visit at any moment. Each Sunday that they’ve
visited, since our second punishment, they’ve left me shaking their
heads. My womb is empty of the life they are hoping to find growing
there. Today they will get the same negative result.

I sit, just outside my hut under the apple
tree, twirling my lackluster hair around my finger. There’s no use
in hiding from them.

The sun is almost directly
overhead now, and I’ve taken to drawing hearts and
Emma + James
in the dirt
like a lovesick tween. Why haven’t they come yet? It’s too late in
the day for them to just be late. What’s going on? Did I miss
them?

I walk toward the fishpond where Janice and
Greg are hunting for lunch. Janice is kneeling next to the water’s
edge with her short dress tucked under her bottom. Greg has
fashioned a fishing pole out of a thin tree branch and some vines.
I wonder if Janice has told him he can simply reach in and grab the
fish. She’s probably stroking his ego by letting him catch them the
“regular” way. They’re so weird.

I interrupt their venture and ask them, “Did
I miss the Keepers today or something?”

Greg answers me, “We were just talking about
that. It’s strange that they haven’t come yet, right?” He hasn’t
shaved in a few days, and his stubble looks out of place on his
normally clean face. It’s the first sign of edginess I’ve seen from
him, besides knocking up Janice without being married to her. I
don’t think that was really done in his time.

“
Yeah, it’s strange.” I
drift away from the couple and walk toward the glass where I see
James, the other cowboy, and the two sisters. They’re looking back
across at us. I look around our enclosure, wondering where Kale is
and then look back over to James who is holding his hands up in
question.

I shake my head no.
I
don’t
know
what’s going on.

Wait. What’s that?

I see it first in James’ enclosure. A white
mist is rolling down the glass. It’s also creeping into our
enclosure, curling and pluming, as it tumbles down the smooth
surface. Panic fills me, an emotion I haven’t felt in a long six
weeks. James is pointing at the top of our enclosure.

Duh, James! I see it
too!
I scream at him in my head.
I point to the top of his dome in
response.

Behind him, the smaller girl falls
unconscious and hits the ground at her sister’s feet. James spins
on his heel to see what’s wrong. He’s bending over the girl,
searching her neck for a pulse, when the taller girl and man fall
beside them. James is only seconds behind. His body collapses over
the petite sister.

They’re not moving.
Shit!

I cover my mouth and nose with the neck of
my dress. Then I run back toward Janice and Greg, screaming, “Cover
your nose and mouth! Don’t breathe it in!”

Too late.

Greg slumps over, his makeshift fishing pole
rolling out of his limp hands. I make it to Janice just in time to
pull her head out of the pond water before she drowns. I drag her
by the arms across the ground so that she’s resting next to her
partner.

The exertion has cost me. My dress dropped
from my nose and mouth when I reached out to save my
enclosure-mate. I gasp and fall to my knees. I fight the pull of
sleep, but only for a second.

THE TRANSFER

My head is heavy. I can’t lift it just yet.
My eyes flutter open. Barely.

I can see my lap. My sack dress is hardly
covering my lady parts and my legs are fully exposed. I struggle to
inch backward and work the dress down my legs, but I can’t move my
body at all.

I force my eyes to stay open, as I slowly
lift my burdensome head. I see a steel floor below me lined by a
string of small lights on either side of an aisle. They look like
Christmas lights. I almost giggle, but then remember that this is
actually a scary thing that’s happening.

Across from me, I see brown leather cowboy
boots with an intricate pattern. My heart surges as I hope to see
James’ face looking back at me. I move my eyes upward and see blue
jeans, a button-up shirt, tan skin, brown eyes, and brown hair.
It’s not him. Maybe if I close my eyes and reopen them, I’ll see
James sitting across from me . . . Nope.

Next to the cowboy—that is not James—is a
beautiful Japanese woman. She is dressed like a geisha in a
luxurious, red robe. Her face is painted white, and her lips are a
bright red that match the exact shade of her dress. I’m sad to see
that her flowing tears have ruined the image her stark white makeup
creates. They have left streaks down her cheeks, exposing her
darker flesh.

Both of the people across
from me and the two next to them are immobilized in their seats by
leg, arm, chest, and head restraints. I buck in my seat and find
that I share the same fate. I try to twist my head to see how many
people are in here, but I can’t.
I
can’t!

I can feel that we are moving. This is the
transfer they warned us about. It’s happening now. I buck in my
seat again, fighting with all my might against the restraints. They
don’t give an inch.

The men, women, and children surrounding me
are crying and complaining. Some are cursing at the Keepers that we
can’t see. Languages I’ve never heard before are being spoken and
yelled. My panic increases and I join in the disquiet. My sobs are
even restrained by the chest harness, which reduces them to
whimpers. I hate being this weak, but I’m scared. My courage has
fled and left me with its nemesis—cowardice.

I am so close to the prisoners on both sides
of me. Our outer thighs even touch. But I am surprised when
someone’s fingers thread mine. The hand is rough and sturdy.

I know this hand. I squeeze it tight.

“
Shh. It’s going to be
okay. Shh. I’m here Emma.” Kale reassures me in the calmest tone
I’ve ever heard him use. How can he be so relaxed? Why isn’t he
frightened like the rest of us?

The vehicle comes to an abrupt stop. My head
smushes further into the restraint, and my heart beats faster—if
that’s even possible. Something shifts and pulses in the back of
the container. Sunlight streams in, causing everyone to squint
their eyes. Then there’s the sound of air compressing, followed by
a click. And finally, our restraints unlock and disappear somewhere
into the vehicle.

It takes several seconds for people to stand
and shuffle toward the light. Kale, still holding my hand, pulls me
to my feet. I wipe the tears from my face with my free hand and
follow close behind him. I let him lead me for now. I’m too
vulnerable to make clear decisions. I know that I can get through
this on my own, but right now I don’t want to, nor do I have to. I
just need a minute to think and regroup.

We pause at the cusp of the people
transporter and gaze upon the grandeur and nothingness of our new
enclosure.

ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING

There are three transporters lined up next
to one another. Each appears to have carried about a dozen people.
They look like the containers I used to see on the back of
18-wheelers in my time, but there is no cab or driver. The
container is chrome and blinding when the sun bounces off its
surface.