Mud held up her hand and silenced him. “First of all, I’ll take care of feeding the baby. Second, what are you talking about, ‘in the morning?’ You have to leave with Red tonight, don’t you?”
“I said that before I knew you were carrying a baby in your belly. I can’t leave you now—not with the Remnants running around these woods. Not with your baby ready to come out any day now.”
“My body will let me know when I’m getting close to time. I don’t think we’re there yet.” She waved him over and patted the floor next to her. She waited for him to be seated before she continued. “We both know you need to go get Root. I don’t know how to cook or gut an animal, and you said you don’t. We need him to be able to survive ourselves, don’t we?”
“I suppose so, but I can’t leave you here.”
“You can and you will. We don’t have a choice. I’ll stay in this shack all day tomorrow. If there are any Remnants in these woods, they’ll never see me.” She pulled a few things out of her pillowcase until only clothes remained inside. She bunched it up, set it down next to his leg, then lay her head on it. She reached out, grabbed his hand and pulled it toward her. She placed his hand on her shoulder and rested her hand on top of his. “You really are different than any man I’ve ever met. You have to go get your friend from Exile. We need him.”
He didn’t say anything. He dared not move. She interlocked her fingers into his and was rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand. He stared at their hands for a long time. This was new to him—difficult to understand, since there was no real productive reason for it, but it was also really nice.
“When should I go?” Zero wasn’t sure why he was whispering now.
“Can you just wait for me to fall asleep,” she whispered back. “I’m exhausted, and I fall asleep pretty quickly. It shouldn’t take long. I’m just not quite comfortable falling asleep alone in the old world yet.” He sat motionless for a few minutes. It turned out she was right when she’d said it wouldn’t take long for her to fall asleep. He noticed that her thumb had ceased to rub the back of his hand. Her breathing became deeper. He placed his hand on her cheek. “That’s right,” he whispered. “Sleep. Dream.”
Even though Zero had a few memories of his early years still tucked away deep in his mind, and Lefty said he didn’t have any at all, he realized that Lefty had seemed more in-tune with this side of life—this part of existence. He used to poke fun at Lefty for being so curious about what other things life had to offer outside the fence.
He thought of Root’s words: Was this the “bigger picture” he had always talked about? He thought it might be. One thing was for sure: Over the last hour—ever since Mud came into his life—his perspective on everything was different now. Broader.
He gently ran his fingers through her hair. She was right. He was going to worry about her every second he was gone, but he needed to go. He needed to keep the promise he had made to Lefty when he said he would break Root out of Exile.
Chapter 6
Zero did his best to remain perfectly silent as he climbed back into the driver’s seat. The last thing he wanted to do would be to wake Red up while they were still close to the shack where Mud was now sleeping. He kept his foot on the brake as they moved back down the dirt road, careful to slow down anytime they were about to go over any bumps.
As he turned onto the main road, he heard Red grumbling in the back seat. He hoped he would continue to sleep until he could get the car back near Gualan. But Red awoke after Zero, having gotten the car up to speed, took a turn a little too fast, making the tires screech against the pavement.
“Wha—where are we?” Red sat up, holding his hand to his forehead.
“I’m trying to figure out where we are. You passed out when you were giving me directions.”
“I did?” He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. He looked out the window next to him and then looked around in every direction. “I know where we are. You took us completely the wrong way.”
“Yeah, well you haven’t been much help, snoring in the back seat.”
“Pull over. I’ll drive.”
“You can’t drive. You’ll kill us.”
“Well, you obviously can’t drive either. You’re going like thirty miles an hour. We’ll never get there.”
Zero felt embarrassed at this. He thought 30 was pretty fast. “Okay, but if you start scaring me, I’ll have to take over driving again.”
“Whatever.” Red popped open the back door as the car was coming to a stop. He staggered for a moment and placed both hands on the side of the car to brace himself for a moment.
“Are you sure about this?” Zero stood next to the driver’s side door, holding it half closed.
“Get out of the way.” He pushed Zero aside and slipped into the seat behind the wheel. He turned the key—even though the engine was still running—which caused a loud grinding sound.
Zero gripped the dashboard in front of him as Red brought the car up to 60 miles per hour, swerving left and right on the road. “You’re going to kill us both.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Ten minutes further down the road, Red stomped on the brake after veering too far to the right onto the shoulder. He jerked the steering wheel and the car slid sideways before coming to a complete stop in the center of the road.
“My turn. I’m driving again,” Zero said.
“Whatever. We’re a half a mile away from my place. I can make it, no problem.”
Zero sighed and said under his breath. “You’d better.”
“Hey. It’s your fault we’re out here in the first place. I could have just taken the shuttle home. Next time you’re tempted to rescue me and drive me home, do me a favor and just leave me wherever I’m passed out.” He belly-laughed as if what he had just said was the funniest thing he had ever come up with. “I mean, seriously. You drive like it’s your first time. You had us wandering ten miles in the wrong direction.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the direction from which they had come. “Where on earth were you going? We don’t have any settlements that direction for at least two hours.”
Zero laughed along with him, trying his hardest to match his level of fervor.
The lights of a small city, with tall high-rises, came into view as they turned a corner. All his life, he had wondered what an Elite city looked like. This wasn’t exactly the way he’d wanted to find out. He couldn’t help the feeling that he was walking straight into a lion’s den.
Zero looked up at the outer city gates. The name City of Triumph was written across the top of it. He tried his best to pretend like it was the same as any other ordinary city, but even while they were sitting here on the outside of it, he knew that would be a difficult accomplishment.
Two enormous men with large black rifles stood like statues on either side of the gate. He knew there was little chance either of them would recognize him or suspect anything was out of the ordinary, but he still thought it would be best to avoid eye contact.
Red pulled a rectangle-shaped plastic card out of his pocket, reached out the window, and slid the edge of it through a small black box. He then punched in a four digit code, and the city gates began to open without anyone having to touch them.
Red lifted his foot off the brake, and they idled through the gate. Once inside, he pressed lightly on the gas. They moved toward the center of the city.
The city of Triumph was much smaller than Zero had expected it to be. It wasn’t just smaller than Quirigua, it was even smaller than the schoolyard where he grew up. There were only six buildings, all of which were erected in a circle with the front of each building facing the center of the city. The bottom three floors of each was unique from the others—built with different ornamentations of colored stones or patterned brick. The upper floors, which towered at least 25 stories over them, looked as if
they had been constructed completely out of mirrors, which reflected the stars. A small handful of lights were still on in the buildings, but for the most part the city appeared to be sleeping.
At the center of the city was an enormous pool of crystal-clear water with a fountain jetting out of the center of it—spitting water a hundred feet into the air.
Red turned the car toward one of the buildings, and within a few seconds they were below ground. The sound of the engine hummed off the concrete walls of the underground parking garage. Red pulled his car into an empty space between two shiny silver ones before shutting off the engine and stepping out.
“I noticed there was only one city gate,” Zero said as they walked through the parking garage. “Aren’t you guys worried about those from the old world jumping the fence?”
“Not really. The armed guards seem to work out just fine. If we were further out west or something, then that might be a bigger problem than it is here. We’ve been living here for so long that the threat level is low.”
Zero nodded, then noticed they were walking toward a flight of stairs. He veered toward it before Red grabbed the back of his shirt.
“Where are you going? Are you seriously planning to take the stairs? My room is on the 20th floor.”
“Oh. I guess I wasn’t thinking.” Zero had no idea how else they would get up to the 20th floor, so he walked behind in order to follow Red’s lead.
Red approached a solid concrete wall with two metal doors, neither of which had a handle. He pressed a button on the wall that lit up a small yellow arrow pointing upward. Other than a quiet bing that sounded when he pushed it, nothing happened. They stood there staring at the two metal doors for almost a minute. Just when Zero was about to ask if something was supposed to be happening, the two metal doors slid apart, revealing a small room about six feet wide and five feet deep. Red stepped into the room and Zero followed, stopping halfway through the doorway.
“Come on. You know the door can’t close if you’re standing in the way.” Red grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in.
Red found a button on the wall next to the open doors that had the number 20 on it, and when he pushed it, it lit up. After another bing sounded, the doors closed. Zero felt claustrophobic as the entire room began to shake—as if they were experiencing a small earthquake. He had no idea what on earth was happening. This seemed like a terrible place to be caught during an earthquake, but Red didn’t seem the least bit concerned so he remained calm and quiet.
The room continued to shake for about 30 seconds before one last bing sounded and the doors slid open again. Zero’s eyes widened when he saw that the world outside their little room was now completely different. The ugly concrete parking garage was gone, replaced by the most beautiful room he had ever seen.
“Take off your shoes, would you?” Red said. “I’m kind of particular about keeping my carpets clean.” He clicked a switch on the wall and the lights came on. He quickly shut them off again and muttered something about them being “too bright,” leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the room.
Zero kicked off his shoes after entering Red’s apartment and heard the metal doors close again behind him. He also peeled off his socks, which had been stuck to his feet after days in the jungle, swimming in the river, and hiking through Remnant-infested forests. He was about to drop them onto the floor next to his shoes when Red pointed him toward a hole in the wall.
“The laundry chute is right there,” Red said as he stripped off his shirt and threw it into the hole. “Go ahead and toss all your clothes in there when you’re ready. You look like you’re about the same size as I am. I’ll grab you some clean clothes, then you can sleep on the couch there.” He pointed at the sofa in the center of the room. “Take the cushions off it and it pulls out into a bed.” He turned and began walking away. He staggered, pausing momentarily to brace himself against the nearest wall before continuing on to his bedroom.
Zero waited for a moment for Red to return with that promised set of clean clothing, but when he heard him snoring from the other room he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Zero walked across the room, placed his hands on the glass walls, and looked down at the fountain below. He had never been so high off the ground before. His mind reverted back to the day when he and Lefty had jumped the city’s inner fence and climbed the outer wall. That night they had looked out across the vastness of the world and wondered what life was like beyond. Now he was beginning to discover.
He looked down at the pool of water surrounding the fountain and noticed someone floating on his back. Lefty would have given his one good hand to be allowed to do what this man was doing, although he probably would have complained that there were no crocodiles to play with. He thought about all the things he had discovered in the moments since Lefty’s death—things Lefty never got a chance to see or experience. So much had been happening in his life since he walked away from Lefty’s grave that he had neither the time nor the space to think about it, but he did now, and he hurt.
“There’s still a long way to go before I understand everything. We’re not there yet, Lefty,” he said aloud, “but we’ll get there.” He pressed his forehead onto the glass. It felt cold on his skin. “You would be proud.”
He walked to the sofa and removed a few of the throw pillows—all except one, which he could use for his head. Red had told him that it could fold out into a bed, but he didn’t feel like bothering with something like that. He was quite a bit longer than the couch, so when he laid down he had to prop his feet up on the armrest. He stared at the ceiling and began to think about Mud—hoping she was all right. He was determined now more than ever to get in and out of Exile as quickly as possible so that he could get back to her. He hated the idea of leaving her there alone, especially since he didn’t know how long it would be before that baby was born. Just thinking about Mud and that baby gave him more drive than he felt before. Everything he did from here on affected both of them just as much as it did Zero.
***
“I told you that sofa folds out into a bed.” Red was standing over Zero with his arms folded across his chest.
Zero blinked his eyes open. He rolled to his side and sat up, placing his bare feet on the carpet.
“I don’t have any extra shoes here in the apartment. You can pick up a pair on your way out of the building.” Red dropped a fresh set of clothes into Zero’s lap, which included a clean pair of jeans, a purple robe, and a purple T-shirt to wear underneath. “Seriously. What’s wrong with you? I told you to pull the bed out last night. Now my armrest is going to smell like your stinky feet for a month.”
“These shoes are fine.”
“They’re filthy. Like you’ve been walking around in the swamp or something.”
“They’re comfortable. They’re already broken in. I’ll just wash them when I get back home.”
“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m about to jump in the shower. Tell me what you want to order for breakfast and I’ll call it in,” Red said.
“An omelet?” Zero said, more question than request.
“Okay.” Red tapped his foot on the floor, becoming impatient. “What kind of omelet? We don’t have all day.”
“Ham and cheese with salsa and sour cream on top. Orange juice. Toast.”
“Fine.” Red grabbed a small black plastic gadget and pointed it at what looked like a black painting on the wall. When he pressed a button on the contraption, the black painting came to life, showing moving pictures of people. He dropped it into Zero’s lap. “Here’s the remote. Watch whatever you like on TV until I’m out of the shower. But I’m warning you, they don’t stream very good programs this time of day. It’s mostly old reruns from America.”
Zero’s eyes went huge as he stared at this TV thing. When Red disappeared into the next room to take his shower, Zero walked up to it. He stood with his nose
six inches away, jumping back every few seconds when the glowing picture shifted to a new scene. He lifted part of the TV away from the wall, trying to see if there was anything behind it, but behind it didn’t look any different from the rest of the wall.
He backpedaled toward the kitchen area, keeping his eyes glued on the shifting scenes in front of him. There was a man on the TV with large glasses, a woman about the same age, a teenage boy, and a teenage girl. What was most interesting about the scene on the TV was an odd animal-like creature with a long nose sitting in the center of the room. While everyone else was moving around the room, the brown furry guy, who they all called “Alf,” never stood up or walked around. He talked just like everyone else, but stayed sitting behind the coffee table the whole time. Alf was constantly saying things that would annoy the older man, which would result in the sound of many people laughing—even though none of those people ever appeared in the scene.
Zero sat back down on the sofa and rubbed his toes in the carpet. He loved it. It was like having tiny little fingers massaging the bottoms of his feet.
He picked up the remote and looked it over. There were little rubber buttons on the face of it. He pressed a button that had an upward arrow on it, and the scene on the TV changed to a bunch of guys running around on a large lawn while kicking a ball. Clearly, they were playing some sort of sport. It seemed a lot like kickball, except that these guys weren’t punching each other or throwing elbows while going after the ball.
He pressed the arrow button again, and the scene changed to a large shirtless man and a woman with long blonde hair. They were standing with their noses only inches apart. The woman was crying and asking him why he needed to go on his business trip—that he should quit his job and chase his dream of being a writer so he could stay home. In the middle of her sentence, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed his lips to hers. Zero recoiled in disgust at the sight of this, but he also felt himself being drawn in at the same time.
The Elite: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 4) Page 4