Zoo (21 page)

He loves talking about where he’s from. He
always wears a smile when he mentions Hawaii. “I’m from a beautiful
island where the water is a shimmering blue-green, and there are
mountains, beaches, and jungles. I worked as a surf instructor for
one of the hotels. So, I got paid to surf everyday. It wasn’t a bad
life.”

“
What’s surfing?” Victoria
asks.

“
Well, you take this board
that floats, and you ride the waves on it.”

“
Standing up?”

“
Yeah. It’s the best
feeling in the world when you’re out there alone, just you and the
waves. Even though that’s what killed me, I’d still go back and do
it everyday.”

“
What about your family?
What were they like?” I ask Kale, as I push a pile of dirt
aside.

He answers, still smiling, “I had a pretty
big family; mom, dad, two older brothers, one little sister, lots
of cousins, aunts, and uncles. I had a little baby niece that was a
few months old. We would all get together and bar-b-que every
Sunday on the beach. We’d play football and surf together. Man, I
miss them.”

It’s nice to know that Kale was close to his
family and loved his job (James once said the same things, but I
know for certain that Kale is being honest). It’s true that I
thought he was spreading it on a little thick so he could “mate”
with me, but I’ve never questioned whether he is a good person.
I’ve always known that he is.

I decide to ask him about the tattoos, since
I’m staring at them right now. “Is there a meaning behind all of
your tattoos? They’re tribal right?”

“
Yeah, all the men in our
family get them. It’s a tradition we’ve kept from the original
tribes.”

“
They’re really
beautiful,” I admit to him. “What’s your last name, if you don’t
mind me asking?” It’s weird that I don’t know the answer to that,
since we’ve practically been living together.

“
Kekoa.” Then he asks me,
“What about you, Emma David, what was your life and family like?”
He pronounces my last name correctly. It makes me smile. Janice
must have shared that with him. I wonder what else they said about
me without me knowing.

“
Well, I was a senior in
high school, and I was getting ready for college, but you already
know that . . .”

“
I didn’t know that. Not
that I really know what all that means. I didn’t go to school
much,” Victoria interrupts.

“
Oh sorry, you’re right
Victoria . . . Well, I had a big extended family, but I was an only
child. My mom liked to spoil me, but I was more interested in
earning everything myself. I had a part-time job filing at a
lawyer’s office. It was so boring. I hated it, but it paid for my
gas and helped me build up my savings, which was important since I
knew I wanted to go away to college. I spent most of my free
time—when I wasn’t studying—with my best friend Avery. She was so
much fun. She was always so persistent about me not spending all my
time stuck in a book. She was great.” I look over to the girl
sitting near me. “And what about you, Victoria?” I was actually
interested to know what life was like for her.

“
Spent mosta my time
cookin’, cleanin’, and weavin’ baskets. We sold our baskets in
town. Lived on a bit of land in a little house with my Ma, Pa, and
sister.” Victoria shrugs her shoulders. “Everyday was the same
until the consumption got us. I was the last to die.” She shrugs
her shoulders. “Not much else to tell.”

“
What state did you live
in?” Kale asks her.

“
Texas. Right smack in the
middle of it. Hot as hell there,” Victoria answers.

I totally knew it. I’m very familiar with
that accent.

I smile. “I know whatcha
mean. Louisiana’s not much better.” I definitely did not miss the
summer heat that lasted from March to November. Longest summers
ever! And the humidity.
Blah.
It did horrible things to my hair.

By the time we finish with our stories, the
hole is big enough and it’s much darker in the forest. The sun has
set and the moon’s soft light trickles in through the trees. Even
in the dim light, I can see that my fingernails are grimy and caked
with dirt. I would clean them, but I can’t waste our drinking water
on my vanities. It makes me feel disgustingly filthy. Try as I
might, I can’t rub all of it away.

Kale finds a rock, a little larger than the
size of my head, to cover the two-foot deep hole we dug. It fits
perfectly, concealing our remaining stores.

Victoria surprises me by saying, “I’ll take
first watch. I know you didn’t sleep well last night Emma. So hand
over the gun.” She holds her delicate hand out, waiting for the
deadly weapon.

That was really nice of her. My heart is
starting to soften toward her. “Wow, thanks Victoria. I guess I’ll
take the last shift so, Kale, you can get some more rest before you
leave,” I say to them.

Kale hands Victoria the sleek, black
handgun. She screws up her face as she studies it. “Well this
certainly isn’t a revolver or a rifle, but I can manage. Now get on
to sleep before I change my mind.”

She stays seated where she is, while Kale
and I move closer under the overhang. I lie down on my side, facing
away from him.

He lies down next to me.
Even though he doesn’t touch me, I can still feel him. The pull
toward him is still there. So, I ask myself,
since this isn’t a new sensation, does this mean that I like
him or that I’ve liked him from the start? Did I not see him, like
he mentioned to Kansas? No. I thought he was faking being overly
nice to me in the first enclosure—but that would make me a really
poor judge of character. Was it because of the silly crush I had on
James? I am absolutely a poor judge of character. Maybe I am just
totally insane, and this is a completely normal reaction to a male
friend who’s comforting.

I don’t know. I don’t know if anything here
is real or can be real. And it’s probably best not to start
anything with anyone, when one of us could be dead tomorrow. That
possibility is strong, here in this new zoo. I’ll keep my eyes
closed to him for now.

TWO GIRLS ALONE IN A FOREST

“
Wake up.” I shake Kale’s
arm. “Kale.”

He groans and then jolts awake, nearly
knocking me over as he suddenly sits up. “Oh man, I thought
something was wrong,” he says, while grabbing his chest. “Are you
okay?” He reaches out to take my hand, steadying me.

“
Sorry. I was just waking
you up. You said you wanted to get an early start. The sun’s coming
up.”

He rubs his hands back and forth over the
top of his head—a habit that I’ve gotten used to seeing him do when
he’s thinking or frustrated. He stretches and rises off the hard
ground to his feet. “Hey, did you do that?” he asks me.

Embarrassed by the question, I just nod
yes.

“
That looks great, Emma.”
He bends down to get a closer look at the wall that I’ve already
constructed from the branches and binding twigs. “You did that
while we were sleeping?”

“
Um. Yeah. Had a few hours
to spare. My eyes are killing me though. The moonlight wasn’t
really sufficient,” I say with a small laugh.

His eyes light up when he smiles at me. I
can see his feelings for me displayed clearly across his face. He
makes no effort to hide them from me now. There’s no longer a
cowboy standing in his way.

I quickly turn my head, avoiding him and his
affections. I pluck the backpack off the large rock that’s covering
our goods. “Here,” I say as I hand it to him. “The bottles are
already in there, and so is the bow.”

His smile falters, but doesn’t fade. He
takes the bag from me and puts his arms through the straps,
securing it to his back. “I guess I’ll be going then. Be back soon.
Look after her.” He nods toward Victoria’s sleeping form. “And if
you hear anything, run and hide. Don’t worry about me finding you.
Just stay safe.”

“
We will, and it seems
like Victoria might be the one taking care of me.” I offer him a
small smile as he turns to leave. Then I decide to offer my friend
something else. “Kale,” I call after him.

He turns and pauses, waiting for more than I
can offer him now.

“
Be careful and hurry
back.” I mean what I say, but I know that he wants me to say
something different or add something extra. I don’t.

He finally says, “I will, Princess,” after I
stay silent for too long.

Then he leaves us alone in the forest.

***

I let Victoria sleep as I
continue working. I try to keep my mind off of Kale and even James.
It’s hard though. The wounds James caused are so fresh. I’m so
angry with him. And even angrier that he’s delayed the possibility
of something wonderful happening with a man that treats me like a
princess—as he calls me.
Can I move on
this fast? I can’t. I won’t.

Victoria interrupts my self-concerned
thoughts. “Good morning!” she sings. She rolls over and eventually
gets up, wandering off into the woods to take care of her business.
Her feet crunch over the dead things the trees and plants have
expelled onto the ground. She kicks a thick branch before ducking
behind a mess of bushes.

When she returns, she sits next to me. After
lining up the larger branches, she then begins binding them with
the more pliable twigs. She looks like she’s done this a thousand
times. She works efficiently and quickly, her tiny hands making
tighter holdings than mine.

“
You’re good at this,” I
compliment her.

“
Well, I did used to weave
baskets with my sister. This is pretty much the same thing,” she
says.

“
Do you miss
her?”

“
Yes and no. She was my
whole life before we came here, but like most sisters, one always
tries to outdo the other. That was how she was. It didn’t take her
two minutes to sleep with the man that was meant for me.” She
doesn’t look at me when she speaks, and I fear that she may be
angry with me as well. I did try to take her man from her too,
after all.

I try to apologize for that. “I guess you’re
upset with me about that as well. I’m sorry. I had no idea that you
two had anything going.”

“
Oh. I know. I’m not mad
at you. But my sister, she knew.”

What a crappy sister. I’m suddenly grateful
that I don’t have any siblings to disappoint and hurt me like
that.

“
I’m sorry,” I say again,
because I can’t think of anything else to say to her.

“
I’m
sorry that bastard attacked you.”

“
Me too.” I’m really
starting to like her.

We work the rest of the morning in total
silence until Victoria’s stomach starts to growl. A coy smile plays
across her lips as she glances at me. “Do you think it’s okay to
eat something?” she asks sheepishly.

“
Sure. Kale should be back
soon. I’m sure he won’t mind.” I notice that the sun is directly
overhead. Kale should have been back by now. My stomach feels tight
with nerves. I hope he’s okay.

We sit down, and I roll back the rock
covering our hidden food. We decide to split a banana and each take
two crackers. This meal is hardly enough to fill our empty
stomachs, but enough for now. This leaves an apple and a few more
crackers for Kale.

I wonder how long we should wait before we
go looking for him. My foot twitches as we eat and wait. I listen
for signs of Kale and rumblings of trouble. Twitch. Shake. Fidget.
More twitching. I scratch my ankle. I take note of how dirty my
hands still are and how I didn’t even notice when I was holding my
food.

Across from me, Victoria glances down in our
food hole. “When he gets back, I’ll hunt. There’s hardly anything
left.” She rolls the rock back over the top, pushing it into the
correct position.

“
Kale said he would do
it,” I tell her, suddenly needing him to do everything he said he
would do.
Like return!

“
I said I would do what?”
a voice from behind me says.

A LIFETIME OF WAITING

I spring up from the ground, bound over to
Kale, and wrap my arms around him. “I was worried. I thought you
would’ve been back sooner. What happened?” I ask as I clutch his
shoulders.

Whoa, calm
down
, I scold myself.
I release my hold on him and regain my composure. I step
back, embarrassed.
Geez Emma! Being a
little dramatic, aren’t we?

“
I stole a pot from behind
that house that was all burned up. It weighed a freakin’ ton when I
filled it up with water. Wasn’t sure if I was going to make it back
with it . . . but here it is.” He lowers the shiny metal pot to the
ground slowly.

Then, he takes the bag off his back and
lowers it to the ground as well. He unzips the top and hands us
each a full bottle of clear liquid. I take small sips. “Thank you,”
I say, acknowledging the demanding task Kale just endured—and will
have to endure every other day until we finally escape.

“
Did you run into anyone?”
Victoria asks nonchalantly. She’s probably probing to find out if
he crossed paths with James.

“
No, just the people at
the well. That professor guy was there again. I traded him two
matches for a handful of dry beans.” He unzips the smaller pocket
on the front of the backpack to show us.

“
Oh. Good,” Victoria says
as she draws in the dirt with a twig. “I can use those in a stew or
we can eat them on their own.”