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

by Simsion, N. G.

  Once Zero was so close to the crowd that he couldn’t hear the water over the jeers, he had no way of knowing if his friend was even still alive. In one quick motion, he grabbed hold of the fence, jumped, and pulled himself over. He landed stiffly on the other side, falling to his right shoulder in the reeds. He popped up and hurried along the water’s edge, squinting and cupping his hands around his eyes in hopes of spotting him in the dark.

  He felt like his shoes weighed twenty pounds, considering how difficult it was to run in the mud. He was sure Lefty was far downstream now, but just how far he didn’t know.

  “I made it!” Lefty’s voice called out from the dark. “I’m on the other side.”

  Zero continued to move until he had reached the spot that seemed to be directly across from where he figured Lefty to be. He looked around for anyone who might be within earshot. Nobody was there. “Okay, now how are you going to get back here?”

  “I’m not coming back. There’s nothing for me over there.”

  He could hear Lefty sloshing through the mud. “You can’t go.”

  “Zero, we both know we’re going to have to say goodbye sooner or later. There’s no way they’re going to draft us into the same city. Go live your life. Become Elite. Live it up.”

  “No. I mean, you don’t stand a chance out there. You don’t have any supplies. Don’t you think you at least need a knife and something to make fire?”

  Lefty went silent for a while. “I didn’t think of that. Can you bring me some?”

  Zero shook his head, flustered. “How am I supposed to do that? You want me to sneak into the kitchen and then swim them across to you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “You made it this far. You don’t have to swim. Look how close you are to the bridge.”

  Zero looked up at the bridge by the front gates, which was now about two hundred feet away. “There are two guards just inside the gate. How am I supposed to get around them?”

  “I don’t know. You’re the smart one. Use your—” Lefty screamed in pain so loudly that Zero looked up at the guards to see if they heard. They didn’t seem to.

  “What’s wrong? Did you get bit?”

  “It’s my leg.”

  Lefty rarely complained about pain, especially when he was in the middle of something he considered exciting. Zero stepped one foot into the water before terror froze him. “What is it? Is it a croc?”

  “No. I stepped in a hole. My leg is stuck in the mud. I can’t get out.”

  “Just … just … just pull your leg out.”

  “I can’t! I need you to come pull me out. Hurry. Before one of the crocs gets me.”

  Zero took another step into the water and looked down. He was standing ankle deep with both feet now—something he thought would never happen. He wanted to jump in, but that was a terrible idea. Lefty was lucky to have made it across without being pulled under by a crocodile. And even if Zero did try to swim, the current wouldn’t allow him to reach the other side until he was far beyond the bridge.

  He jumped out of the water and ran toward the bridge. He struggled to remain quiet as he came close to the guards. Luckily, they seemed more interested in trying to see the cage matches than monitoring anything going on close by. When the sound of the crowd in the distance roared louder, one of them climbed up onto the top of the fence to get a better look.

  Zero froze. He was only about ten feet away, crouched down in the reeds.

  “What happened?” The guard still standing on the ground asked.

  “It’s hard to see from here, but I think the fighter knocked out one of the Remnants. The other two Remnants are latched onto him pretty good, though. I think—oh, there he goes. He just went down. I think one of them choked him out or something. Not bad.”

  “Excellent. I bet he’s the only one to knock out a Remnant tonight. That should at least get the attention of the Elite.”

  The guard jumped down from the fence. The crowd was still loud, but it was so far distant that the guards would still easily hear him if they were paying much attention. He had to take the risk. Any longer, and the crowd would soon be completely quiet. Any longer and Lefty might not survive long enough for him to reach him.

  He kept his head as low as he could and crept toward the bridge. He was relieved to find the ground a bit more solid as he approached. The sound of the crowd died down so low that he could hear himself breathing. He did his best to calm himself, but when he heard something splash in the water behind him, he jumped. He looked up at the guards, who still seemed oblivious. He hurried his pace, keeping in mind to move only on the tips of his toes so as to not make any more sound than necessary.

  He reached the bridge and looked up at the sky. There were no trees hanging over the opening of the bridge, which allowed the moonlight to shine down on him, making him feel exposed. There was only one thing to do now.

  Run.

  He took off as quickly as he could. He didn’t dare even turn his head out of fear that it might slow him down. When he reached the other side, he dove into the reeds. He raised his head just enough to be able to see the guards. One of them stood facing his general direction, but his demeanor appeared to be the same as before—at least from this distance. The other one sat astride the top of the fence again, trying to get a better view of the cage matches. Within a few seconds, the one on the fence jumped down and the other guard stopped looking out across the bridge. They stood a few feet apart, talking quietly as if nothing was going on. Zero didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until this moment when he finally felt like he was in the clear. He exhaled and wiped the sweat from his brow before stepping out of the reeds in search of his best friend.

  “Lefty. You there?” He panicked at first when he couldn’t hear a response, but then it came.

  “I’m here. Over here.”

  He hurried to the sound of the voice. The mud became thicker the closer he came. “Are there any crocs near you?”

  “They’re all over the place.”

  Zero’s heart began to pound even faster. He stepped into a pocket of soft mud and sank halfway to his knee. He was almost to Lefty by this time, so rather than just trying to pull his leg free, he lay forward onto his belly and reached out his arm. His own foot came free at the same time Lefty grabbed onto him. They grabbed each other hand-to-wrist and pulled. Lefty grunted and there was a loud sucking sound as he came free. They crawled on their hands and knees for about twenty feet before feeling the earth become solid beneath them, and then they dashed toward the outer city wall.

  “I can’t climb the wall with my bad hand,” Lefty said.

  “Follow me.” Zero hurried to one of the trees. He wiped his hands frantically on the back of his shirt, which was the only part of him not already covered in mud. He reached above his head, grabbed a branch, and hoisted himself up. Once Lefty was beneath him, he pulled him up and they climbed together toward the top. One of the thick branches hung close to the wall and before long they were both sitting astride the top of it, panting heavily.

  It took a moment for the situation to sink in. Zero had always considered Lefty to be crazy for always wanting to swim the river and climb the wall. Now that he had reached this point, it was exhilarating.

  The world was huge from up here. It looked completely different. It was a freedom he had never felt before—not even while admiring the horizon from the bus.

  He breathed in and tasted the air. Even with a putrid swamp behind him, it felt fresh in his mouth and lungs. It filled him with energy and yet calmed him at the same time.

  The sound of the cheering crowd was gone, replaced by the chirping and clicking of insects. A crocodile groaned below. A light breeze rustled the leaves and creaked the branches. Fireflies danced around the tops of the trees like restless stars, flashing bits of neon green. From this hei
ght he could see the glow of three cities on the horizon.

  “This is where I belong,” Lefty said, almost at a whisper.

  Zero snapped out of his reverie. For a short moment he had let go of every worry. Hearing Lefty’s voice brought them all rushing back, though. “We have to go back.” It pained him to say it.

  “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I said this is where I belong. I’m like a crocodile. A panther. I’m not meant to be caged.”

  “Running free isn’t an option. You know that. It’s either the cage—as you call it—or death. You have to understand that.”

  “Is that really worse than being a lab rat? At least this way I’ll have a day or two of freedom before something catches up with me.”

  “You have to try. Maybe someone watched you fight in the cage and saw something in you that, you know, would make them want to draft you.”

  “I didn’t even throw a single punch.”

  “You don’t know what the city officials are looking for. Maybe—”

  A branch snapped nearby. At first, it seemed like it might have been caused by the wind. As he listened closer though, it sounded like someone was walking toward them through the heavy brush.

  “What do you think that is? Is it a Remnant?” Zero’s heart raced so fast he could feel his blood pulsing all through his body.

  “No. Flashlight.” Lefty pointed toward the sound, where the faint hint of light could periodically be seen through the trees below, dancing back and forth.

  They sat motionless, wishing they had somewhere to hide without creating noise.

  Two figures stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight. Facial features were impossible to distinguish from this distance, but it was clear that one of the two was wearing a long dark robe. That man raised the flashlight’s beam until it illuminated the top of the wall about thirty feet away. The light moved closer, and before they were able to react, it shined directly into Zero’s eyes.

  “Well, what do you know?” Cumulus called from below. “When I heard someone was spotted outside the fence, I wondered if I would find one, or both, of you two out here.”

  Chapter 12

  Zero had been in trouble many times in his life, and almost always because Lefty pressured him to do something he shouldn’t have. But none of those times compared to this. Not only had he never done anything nearly as bad as climbing the outer city wall, he had never been caught in the act by one of the Elites. This was bad, and he knew it would likely be a turning point in his life from which he might never recover.

  “Jump down,” Cumulus demanded.

  “It’s too far. We’re twenty feet up,” Lefty said.

  “Did I ask for your opinion? I don’t care if you break your leg. I don’t care if you break your back. You two climbed up there, and I want you down.”

  “We can climb down the same tree we came up,” Zero said, “but it’s on the other—”

  “Now!” Cumulus yelled.

  Zero looked directly below him. There didn’t appear to be anything there. If he fell just right, he might be able to escape injury, but that would be difficult to do in the dark—especially now that Cumulus’ flashlight was shining into his eyes and was robbing him of his night vision.

  He turned and scooted off the ledge, but kept both hands gripping the top. He dropped down and hung there for a moment until his forearm muscles began to burn. He released his grip. The remaining distance to the ground was farther than he expected it to be. He felt a jolt of pain shoot through his right leg and up his back. He crumpled to the ground, toppling into a bush. The pain subsided quickly and other than a few deep abrasions that would probably bleed for twenty minutes or so, he was relieved to find that he hadn’t suffered any serious damage.

  He jumped to his feet and stood directly below the spot where Lefty was sitting. He raised both hands above his head with his palms up. “Go ahead and jump. I’ll catch you.”

  “Don’t catch him,” Cumulus said. “He needs to do this on his own. He needs to learn.”

  Zero lowered his arms for just a second before raising them again. “Jump now!”

  “Don’t you dare defy me!” Cumulus yelled, but it was too late.

  Lefty spun and tried to mimic what Zero had done atop the wall, but he was unable to grip it. His hands slowed his freefall for a split second, but he dropped right into Zero’s arms. Lefty’s forehead knocked into the side of Zero’s. They tumbled to the ground,

  Cumulus stomped toward them and shined his light into Zero’s eyes. “How dare you, boy? Who do you think you are?”

  “Sir, I knew he wouldn’t be able to hold the ledge. If I had let him drop, he would have broken his leg for sure—or worse.” Zero had never talked back to any authority figure like this before, and especially not to an Elite. He was terrified to hear the words coming out of his own mouth.

  “I don’t care. He needs to learn.” He continued to shine the light in Zero’s eyes for a long time.

  Zero lowered his eyes partly because of the discomfort of the bright light, but more because of the discomfort of the situation.

  Cumulus pulled the flashlight away and shone it on the face of the man accompanying him. It wasn’t until now that Zero recognized him as one of the guards from the front gate. “I’m leading the way back. You bring up the rear. If either of these two attempts to make a break for it, use your Taser.”

  Zero had no idea what a Taser was, but it didn’t sound like much fun and he wasn’t about to ask.

  Cumulus didn’t bother to share the light from his flashlight with anyone else. He trudged through the brush at a much faster pace than any of them would normally walk, continuously yelling at everyone else to keep up. “Hurry. Are you waiting for the Remnants to hear you and come swarming? Is that what you want?”

  It was easier to remain close behind him once they made it to the outer gate. They crossed the bridge, entered through the inner city gate, and walked across the lawn toward a two-story building near the cafeteria. Zero had expected to turn toward the dorm building now that all of the cage matches were over and the crowds had all gone to bed, but the building they entered was void of people.

  Cumulus flipped on the lights as they entered. They followed him up the stairs and down a long hallway. He opened the door and turned the light on inside an enormous classroom full of hundreds of desks. As Zero stepped into the room, Cumulus grabbed him by the back of the neck and gave him a shove. He did the same to Lefty, causing him to slam into one of the desks and topple to the floor. He grinned with satisfaction at the sight of Lefty lying on his back.

  “You two stay in here for now. I need to converse with the other Elite before I decide what to do with you.” He slammed the door behind him. The doorknob jiggled as he locked it from the outside.

  Zero looked down at Lefty, who was still lying on the floor, not bothering to get up. “What do you think they’re going to do to us?”

  “What can they do? Make us clean toilets? Give us detention?” Lefty smiled. “We’re out of their hair tomorrow. It was worth it.”

  “They can make it so we don’t get drafted. They can keep us from even being eligible to be in the draft.”

  Lefty stared at him for a long while before scraping himself up off the floor and getting to his feet. “Don’t you think he would have just left us out there if he didn’t want us in the draft?”

  “I don’t know. Is that what you think?”

  Lefty paused. “I don’t know.” He walked to the window, released the hasp and pulled it open. He stuck his head out and looked down at the ground.

  “You’re not thinking of jumping, are you?”

  “I was for a second, but this is higher than that wall was.” He turned to face Zero. The look in his eyes was serious now. “This is my fault.”

  Zero felt like saying something like Of course it was. It’s all
your fault. But instead he remained quiet.

  “If it weren’t for me, you’d be cuddling up in your blankets right now in your dorm room, trying to get some quality sleep for the placement tests in the morning. Now you’re not even going to get the chance. Because I’m stupid and got myself stuck in the mud, you came after me and now you’ll never become Elite.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  Lefty leaned his back against the wall and slunk down to the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest, folded his arms on top of his knees and rested his face in his arms.

  Zero stared at him for a long time—at least ten minutes. He didn’t know what to say. Part of him wanted to sit next to him and put his arm around him, or maybe give him a swift kick to the ribs instead. But he just planted himself into one of the chairs and then they both sat in silence.

  The doorknob eventually rattled, and Cumulus stepped in again. He remained in the doorway. He looked back and forth between Zero and Lefty with an expression of frustration and ferocity that suggested he wasn’t very happy about whatever it was he was about to tell them. “We’ve talked it over—the other Elite and I. My vote was to pack you two up, drive you out into the jungle, and drop you off in the middle of nowhere to fend for yourselves. After all, that seems to be what you want anyway, right?” He continued to look back and forth between the two boys with his lips pursed. “But I have been outvoted by the others. They looked over your evaluations.” He walked up to Zero and pointed a finger in his face. “They tell me you’re top of your class. They say you’re not only the smartest, but you might even be the strongest. They say you’re worth consideration to be trained as Elite. I don’t think you’re worth the trouble, but they … want … you.” His last words were crisp and deliberate.