“Seriously? You’re watching Days of Our Lives?” Red had emerged from the other room in a large purple bath robe and was drying his hair with a towel. “Does that kind of stuff interest you?”
“Kind of,” Zero admitted.
“I know. Me too.” Red smirked and pressed one finger to his lips. “Don’t tell anyone. I watch those old reruns all the time on my days off. Now hurry up and get in the shower. We’re already late as it is.”
He kept his eyes glued to the TV as he walked across the room.
The shower room was fancy. As he stood in the hot water, which came at him from three different directions, he realized that his whole world was quickly being turned upside down, and that it was all happening simply because he was standing where he was standing—in this strange new city. He found himself trying to figure out a way to make it back here—not for himself, but because he wanted to show Mud what it was like to rub her toes in the little fingers of the carpet. He wanted to try taking a dip in the pool below. He wanted to show Lemon and Root the TV on the wall.
Then he began to wish he hadn’t seen any of it. It wasn’t so much that he would be leaving here in a matter of minutes, probably never to see any of it again. It was more of the fact that discovering so much he had never seen in such a short time—and knowing that he had never knowingly met a woman before yesterday—left him even more frustrated that he had lived so much of his life with blinders on. Now more than ever, he looked forward to a life outside the grip of the Elites.
He turned off the water, toweled himself off, and slipped into the clothes Red had given him. He paused for a moment before leaving the room. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He placed his hand on the doorknob and whispered quietly to himself, “Here I come, Root.”
Chapter 9
Caiman stood with his back against the wall of the Exile City cafeteria. His arms were folded in front of his chest. His eyes moved back and forth as he watched and monitored the movements of everyone eating their lunch.
Ten feet away, a man lifted his food tray and threw its contents all over the face of the man sitting across from him. Before anyone around had time to react, the one drenched in milk and pudding grabbed him by the shirt and jerked him across the table. Fists and elbows began flying more furiously as more and more exiles became involved in the brawl. Caiman and more than a few other Exile City guards approached the chaos but kept their distance. Caiman ensured that he was far enough from the fighters that he wasn’t in danger of being struck. It wasn’t until one of them grabbed hold of a plastic fork that he finally intervened.
He grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted it backward until he cried out in pain. “No weapons. You know the rules,” Caiman said, jerking the man away from everyone else and hurling him against the wall as easily as if he was tossing a small child. He picked the man up by the back of his neck and marched him out the cafeteria’s double doors.
At one point, a few feet away from the cafeteria, the man screamed, “Don’t throw me in the hole again!” and he took a swing at Caiman. Caiman easily dodged the punch. While still gripping the back of his neck with his right hand, Caiman smashed his left fist in the side of his face just below his eye. The man’s knees buckled, though he managed to continue to walk the next four steps. Caiman paused, allowing the man time to gather his wits again before continuing on toward solitary confinement.
“How long do I have to be in here?” The man asked.
“Twenty-four hours for using a weapon. You know that.”
“A weapon? It was a fork, not a weapon.”
Caiman threw him in the cell and pulled the door shut, glaring at him through the small barred window. “Do you really want to argue with me on this?”
They stared at each other for a few seconds through the bars. The man grunted and turned his back to the door. He walked to the opposite wall, leaned his back against it, then slid down until he was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
On his way back to the cafeteria, the residents of Exile stepped off the sidewalk to allow Caiman to pass. He had only been working here for a short while but his reputation was setting in quickly. Even the hardest of men shrank back when he passed them by.
He stepped through the double doors and could see that the fight had dissipated. With everyone now eating and carrying on like before, the splattered food and small pools of blood were the only evidence left that there had been a fight.
One of the guards walking between the tables caught Caiman’s eye—a broad-shouldered man who everyone called Bo. He had sloppy shoulder-length hair and a beard that touched his chest. Caiman watched Bo reach over the shoulder of one of the Exile City residents, steal a chocolate donut off his tray, then continue walking. The owner of the tray looked up at him in disgust but didn’t say or do anything in retaliation.
Bo continued to walk nonchalantly as he approached Caiman, who was leaning once again with his arms folded, his back against the wall.
“What’s the matter with you, Bo?” Caiman asked.
“What are you talking about? What’s your problem?” Bo asked.
“Why are you taking from the Curious?”
“Why not?”
“You can have all the donuts you want if you go into the guards’ lounge. Or you could steal a donut from one of the Angries.”
“No, I don’t want to go that far. I wanted one now.” He stuffed the last bit of donut into his mouth. He closed his eyes and smiled, as if savoring the most wonderful thing he had ever tasted.
“You’re a small man. You know that?”
“I’m an inch taller than you are.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re small inside.” Caiman tapped a finger on his chest. “You pick on those who you know won’t fight back. It makes you feel like a big man, but you’re small.”
“You can shut your mouth. I heard about you back at your old schoolyard.” He poked his finger into Caiman’s chest. “Yeah. That’s right. I heard you were one of the biggest bullies in the school—you and the rest of your gang.”
Caiman grinned and looked him in the eye. “Maybe so, but that was then. Some of us grow up when we leave the schoolyard. Some stay thirteen years old forever.” He jabbed his finger into Bo’s chest.
Bo’s eyes narrowed. “You should watch what you say. I hear they’re looking to promote a few of us to Elite, and if I get selected, you’ll be beneath me.”
Caiman’s grin broadened. “Really? Would that make you feel even bigger?”
Bo shoved him, managing to move Caiman only about an inch. Caiman didn’t even bother to unfold his arms. He chuckled as Bo walked away. Caiman lifted his eyes to continue monitoring the cafeteria.
His gaze was drawn to two men entering the room. It wasn’t unusual to see men in purple robes walking the Exile City grounds. Elite men were here all the time.
One of the men was Red. This also wasn’t unusual, since Exile was his regular post. No, what Caiman’s eyes locked on to was the man standing next to him: Zero.
He had grown up with Zero. They weren’t exactly friends—quite the contrary, actually. The last time he had seen Zero was yesterday when he had spotted him hiding in the top of a tree about ten miles into the woods. All previous feelings of animosity had been replaced with pity the moment he had watched as Red drove a blade into the back of Zero’s best friend, Lefty.
Those feelings of pity were gone now. Lefty was dead. Caiman had been instrumental in tracking Lefty down, but he wasn’t the one who’d killed him. None of this really had anything to do with him. Lefty shouldn’t have broken the law and gotten himself sent to Exile. Once here, he shouldn’t have broken out and gone running off into the woods. If Red hadn’t stabbed him, it would have only been a matter of time before something else killed him.
But here Zero was standing in the same room. Not only had he survived a few days in the outside w
orld and escaped the wild animals and Remnants, but he’d somehow made it into the heart of Exile City—standing next to Red, with his chin up, too, pretending he belonged in that purple robe. He had to know how this was possible. He had to talk to them.
“Oh, Caiman,” Red said as he approached. “I want you to meet my new friend here.”
“Leaf,” Zero said quickly, and reached out his hand to shake.
Caiman shook his hand, staring deep in his eyes as he did. He looked down at the long purple robe Zero was wearing. He knew Zero well enough to know that he was in this moment as uncomfortable as was humanly possible. But nobody else, including Red, seemed to realize that. “Pleasure to meet you. Are you going to be working here now, Leaf?” He made sure to emphasize the name.
Zero shook his head. “Just visiting for the day.”
Caiman and Zero both watched out of the corners of their eyes as one of the other guards approached and pulled Red aside. They carried on a short conversation as Red’s expression turned serious, then angry. When the other guard turned and walked away, Red fixed his eyes on Caiman and stomped back up to him.
He pointed a finger in Caiman’s face. “I told you there was more than one person out there in the woods with that Lefty guy. You said there was only one, but there are all kinds of reports going around that someone helped Lefty escape. Some of the cockroaches are saying one of the guards helped him escape, but I think it was that Zero guy. Remember that name we saw written on the backpack? I knew it!” He gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“Okay. Maybe Lefty did have some help escaping. What’s it matter now?” Caiman said.
“What does it matter?” Red jabbed his finger into Caiman’s chest. “Now I have to conduct a bunch of interviews, not just with the cockroaches, but with the guards, to find out what the truth is—as if I don’t have anything better to do with my time.” He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t I start by interviewing you? Why were you covering for Zero out there? Why were you so set on convincing me that Zero had nothing to do with it? Did you have something to do with Lefty’s escape?”
“Me?” Caiman chuckled. “Don’t you think I would have been happy to let you place the blame on Zero if I had something to do with it?”
Red leaned in and studied his eyes. “Not if you and Zero were in cahoots.”
“Cahoots? I’m not even sure I know what that means. Are you saying we were somehow partnered up in that escape? When, do you suggest, were we able to plan this whole thing out? I haven’t seen him since our placement tests, and back then I obviously didn’t know Lefty was going to get sent to Exile.”
Red stared straight faced at him for a long time before a grin eventually broke across his lips. He slapped Caiman playfully on the cheek and nodded repeatedly. “That’s my boy. I knew you were smarter than to do something like that. I knew you realized you’re above the cockroaches.”
Caiman didn’t bother to pretend he appreciated Red’s praise. He remained stone faced and shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked at him with an expression that seemed to ask, Are you done yet? Can I go now?
Red put his arm around him. “Caiman, my boy. I need you to do me a huge favor. I need a few hours to conduct some interviews and get to the bottom of this mess.” He pointed a finger at Zero. “Keep my friend—Leaf—company until I come back. Show him around.”
Caiman looked at him but said nothing.
“Thanks.” Red patted him on the chest, then turned away.
Both Zero and Caiman watched Red walk away until he was out of sight. Caiman turned to look at Zero again, who now averted his eyes. He looked even more uncomfortable now than he did when Red was next to him.
Caiman waved for Zero to follow him and he walked out the door, without even turning around to see if Zero was still behind him. Caiman didn’t stop until he was under the shade of a tree, far away from anyone who might want to listen in. He didn’t say a word.
“Obviously, I was the one who broke Lefty out of Exile,” Zero began, without Caiman having to ask a single question. “When I did so, I promised him we would one day come back to get Root. That’s why I’m here. I’m keeping a promise I made to Lefty before he—”
Caiman held up a hand to quiet him. “I know Root. He’s one of the leaders of the Curious.”
“The Curious?”
Caiman nodded. “Zero, two types of people get sent to Exile. They’re very different from each other. The Angries are the dregs of society. They’re the rotten ones, they’re always mad. Always starting fights. The kind of people who will cause trouble everywhere they go, no matter who they’re with.” He raised his eyes and glanced over the trees at the outer city wall. “Then there are the Curious—the people who can’t seem to stop talking about the world outside the walls. They obsess about it. Even though they know their curiosity is what keeps them here, they won’t leave it alone. Root is one of the Curious, always talking about the ‘bigger picture.’”
“And which of those was Lefty? A troublemaker, or one of the Curious?”
“Both.”
“I’ve been out there in the old world. I have a long way to go before I figure out how to coexist with the Remnants and stay away from the jaguars and stuff, but I—”
“What’s in it for me?” Caiman turned his eyes toward Zero, looking at him sternly.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re about to ask for my help, aren’t you? It’s not like you and I are friends, so I have no real reason to help you. In fact, I’d probably get a nice medal or something if I turned you in. Plus, you already owe me for helping you disappear out there in that tree. So if I help you get Root out of here, what’s in it for me?”
“You’re right. I already owe you.” Zero’s eyes were piercing now. Pleading. “I don’t know what’s in it for you. What do you want?”
“I don’t know. I have everything I need.”
They continued to stare at each other for a long time.
“What’s out there?” Caiman asked.
“Stuff that’s beyond your imagination. You’d be surprised what the Elites are keeping from you.”
“Like what?”
“Unless you plan to follow me out there into the old world, you don’t want to know. But as soon as you know, it’s impossible to un-know something. You just said you have everything you need. If I tell you what you’re missing out on, then suddenly you don’t have everything anymore.”
“I want to know.”
“Do you want to follow me out into the old world?”
Caiman pondered the thought for a long time before responding. “No.”
“Then you don’t want to know.”
Caiman continued to stare, partly angry that Zero was refusing to bend, but mostly just frustrated that he couldn’t quench his curiosity. He nodded. “Fine. Follow me.”
Caiman led the way to the sidewalk, keeping his head turned partway to keep his peripheral vision on Zero. They walked alongside the cafeteria between two buildings, then entered a brown stucco building through a rusty colored metal door. They continued down a dark hallway until they reached an open door.
“What’s this place?” Zero asked.
“Get in.”
“Where are we?”
“I said get in.”
Zero stepped through the door into a tiny room just big enough for a bed, stainless steel sink and matching toilet. “Is this solitary confinement? What are you planning to do with me?”
Caiman pulled the door closed, twisted the key in the lock, and walked away.
Chapter 10
Zero sat on the edge of the bare mattress and dropped his face into his hands. He fixed his eyes on the floor, where bits of dried blood could be seen caked into the grout between the tiles. He shook his head, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. Clearly it was a big mi
stake coming straight into the center of Exile and expecting Caiman to go along with it.
“Hey, new guy,” a voice echoed through the hall.
Zero closed his eyes and ignored him. He looked at the mattress, which was stained a variety of colors, and resisted the urge to lay on it.
“Hey, new guy. What are you in for? You stab someone?”
“I’m not really sure why I’m here.” Zero rose to his feet and stepped up to the sink. He looked into the mirror and examined the many scratches he now had on his face from fighting his way through so many bushes and branches over the last few days. He had a red spot on his left eyeball and wasn’t exactly sure when that injury had occurred.
“You wanna know what’s goin’ on?” The voice echoed again. “They’re looking to promote one of the guards to Elite. At least, that’s what the rumor is. So lately all of the guards have been on a power trip, throwing guys into solitary confinement left and right, hoping to show off how tough they are. Hoping they can stand out above everyone else as Elite material.”
“And whichever one of the guards can make himself stand out above the rest—then he’ll get promoted to Elite?”
“That’s the rumor.”
Zero dropped his chin down to his chest and closed his eyes. How could he be so stupid? He should have at least told Caiman what he and Red had decided to do—their plan to break Root out. As it stood right now, the only thing Caiman knew was that he wanted to help Root escape. And now that Red was interviewing people and becoming more interested in Zero, there was a real possibility that Red could discover the truth about who he was. That couldn’t possibly be good news for Caiman, especially not if he was hoping for that Elite promotion.
He twisted the knob of the faucet. He watched the water pour into his hands before he splashed it onto his face. It was colder than he expected it to be, which should have felt refreshing on a hot day like this, but something as simple as water couldn’t possibly bring him any form of comfort right now.
The Elite: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 4) Page 5