Zoo (7 page)

Tap. Tap. Tap.

THE KEEPERS’ ROUTINE CHECK WAS A LITTLE
DIFFERENT . . .

It was Sunday. The Keepers appeared to
perform their weekly checks. I sat by the rock wall watching them
flit about, as they scanned things around the enclosure. They only
ever stopped long enough to type on their hovering pad. There was
one man and one woman that day, unlike the two men that were there
the week before. I could tell their gender by their movements and
body structures. The only part of them that wasn’t covered by their
white suits was a thin strip across their eyes. A clear shield
protected them and left their vision uncompromised.

I briefly wondered what they were like
outside of this place without the white suits. Did they dress like
sailors from World War II, or perhaps they preferred wooden shoes
from Holland. Maybe one of them dressed in Kimonos and the other
one in lavish gowns like a long ago Queen of Spain.

I made up silly stories about them as I
watched them work. The woman was secretly in love with the man, but
he was really into robots or whatever nerdy thing guys liked in
that time. She tried to catch his attention at the staff holiday
party by wearing her lowest cut Queen of Spain gown. Unfortunately,
she stepped on the skirt of his Kimono, and he fell face first in
the fruit punch. He was furious and demanded to be reassigned so he
didn’t have to work with her another day. The head Keeper denied
him and stated that he needed to follow the Center’s motto; “Let’s
learn from each other.”

I hoped they were as miserable as me. How do
they do the job they were doing? The made-up story made me feel a
little better.

I noticed that one of the
Keepers had green eyes and the other had blue eyes. I knew this,
because they eventually came to stand right in front of me for my
scan. It was finished in seconds, but they didn’t leave right away
like they usually did when they were done with me. So, I figured
they
weren’t
done
with me. I gave them my best annoyed-face and simply said,
“What?”

The woman with the blue eyes said, “There
will be two new additions to this enclosure tonight. We are
providing you with mates. Procreation is mandatory.” Her voice was
muffled from her suit. Maybe I didn’t hear her correctly.

“
Excuse me?” I
responded.

They didn’t answer me, of course. The rock
wall engulfed them, and they were gone.

After feeling returned to my body and I was
able to move again, I screamed, “Janice!” at the top of my lungs. I
yelled again, “Janice!”

She came running out of the jungle from
where our huts are hidden. Her face was pinched and concerned,
because I was screaming like a banshee. “What? What’s wrong?” She
looked me up and down, searching for some type of injury. “What
happened?” Her panic was rising by the second.

“
Did they talk to
you?”

“
No. What are you talking
about? They never speak to us, you know that,” she
answered.

“
Well, they did today. One
of them said we are getting two new people tonight. He said they
are supposed to be our mates and that procreation is mandatory.
They can’t make us do that, can they?” I was baffled.

My enclosure companion responded after
taking a minute to consider what I said. “I don’t know what they
can make us do. I’m sure if we want to stay alive, we have to do
whatever they say. I don’t know about you, but I believed them when
they said they’d send us back.”

“
But . . . ” my voice
trailed off. I couldn’t wrap my head around being forced into
something like that. “How can they make us? No, I won’t do it.
There’s no way.”

Janice remained silent. I wanted her to join
me. I wanted her to be angry or have some kind of reaction. It was
as if she had accepted her life here, neither happy nor unhappy
with it. I had not accepted it. I still wanted out. I was convinced
I would eventually find a way when the right moment came. When the
protests happened the day before, I thought it was time. It had
been such a tease.

Anger began to swell in me, pushing its way
through my core and out to my limbs. I needed to move. I couldn’t
stand to look at Janice a second longer, because I couldn’t
understand her indifferent attitude. I stormed off toward the front
of the enclosure to perhaps catch a glimpse of James, but he still
wasn’t there. His horse was milling around, looking for something
to eat. The glass wall had been repaired. Everything looked as it
had, except it was missing a person—a very handsome person.

I wondered if he was fortunate enough to
have escaped during the protest. Or worse, was he injured? Dead? Or
maybe the Keepers noticed us communicating and chose him as my
mate. Yes. That had to be it. I was certain.

Hallelujah!

BUTTERFLIES

My anger subsided and was replaced with
butterflies. They flapped around in my empty stomach. I snatched an
apple from the full tree on my way to the waterfall. I had to make
myself presentable for him—for James.

The water was cool and helped calm my
nerves. I lingered under the spray and held my breath as I longed
for my situation to improve. I told myself something good had to
happen eventually. But then there was Auntie Josephine’s poor
husband who had stuck it out for over two decades, until he’d had
enough. Poor guy. However discouraging their situation was, I was
certain I wasn’t going to go down that same path.

I took care when brushing
out my hair with a fish bone.
Totally
gross, but it worked
. I tied a vine that I
cut from a tree around my waist, like Janice always did. I found a
pink flower that smelled sweet and rubbed it on my neck and wrists.
What I would have given for a mirror.

After I finished primping, I returned to the
spot where the Keepers always appeared. I sat on the hard ground
with my back up against the rock wall. It would be hours before the
evening was upon us, but I wanted to be there the second James
arrived. I wasn’t sure if anything would happen with James or that
I wanted it to. I certainly didn’t want to mate for the Keepers,
but I was excited to meet him. He was an attractive guy. He would
help me pass the time.

I counted the freckles on my left arm. 243.
Then, I counted them on my right arm. 276. Their numbers had
doubled since arriving here and being exposed to so much sun. I
wondered if I could request sunscreen for my fair
complexion—probably not.

I stretched out on my back in the grass. My
arms propped my head up as I watched the birds fly above me. There
were no birds inside our enclosure, but there were plenty outside.
I saw another bird I’d never seen before. It was purple with a red
bill. It made me giggle. I felt pretty good. Excited. Happy.

It didn’t last long though . . .

THE

PRESENT

MATES

The time is finally here. Our new mates are
set to arrive. I’m so excited to see James that I can’t keep still.
I’m bouncing on my toes and absently fluffing my hair. Janice joins
me by the rock wall and we wait together. I’m feeling a lot of
anxiety over this first meeting, and I find myself wondering,
without reason, if Janice will try to steal James away from me. I
convince myself that that’s exactly what she’ll do, and I begin to
fidget even more as Janice makes me doubt my appearance. She’s
looking as radiant as ever. She’s like a tanner, bustier, hotter
me. So it’s no wonder that I’m suddenly self-conscious about my
average looks. It feels like high school all over again.

I hate this feeling.

As I stand here, staring at the space where
I think they will appear, I notice a white fungus growing on one of
the boulders. My vision fills up with the white growth, and it
becomes blurry around the edges. I’m stuck in one of those weird
dazes. I’m aware of what’s happening around me, but I can’t move my
eyes away from this thing that has me transfixed—however
unimportant it may be. I mean, someone could be getting murdered
next to me and I couldn’t force myself to stop looking at this
stupid fungus.

Finally, I’m able to blink
the fuzziness away and refocus. When I open my eyes, they’re here.
And
they,
does
not include James.

My heart sinks as I look at the two guys
that lie in his place. They are both dressed in white, long
sleeved, button-up shirts. Their pants are made from the same
material as our sack dresses. That sucks for them. One of them is
Caucasian with brown hair that is in a clean-cut hairstyle. He is
freshly shaven. His features are the All-American boy kind of look.
The other guy has darker skin—tan skin. His jet-black hair is only
a quarter of an inch long, much shorter than his long eyelashes.
He’s lying on his stomach, and I can see the dark pattern of a
large tattoo under his ultra-thin shirt. I wonder what it is and
how extensive are the markings.

They start to stir, which
prompts Janice to kneel next to the All-American guy. He groans and
looks up at Janice with frightened, blue eyes. I suppose this means
she’s chosen her mate, which leaves the other guy for me.
He’s good-looking, but he’s not James.

I don’t help him up or walk him over to my
hut like Janice is doing with the other guy, but I do stay and
watch him to make sure he’s okay. I’m not so cruel as to abandon
him in his first moments here.

“
You okay?” I ask him when
he finally gets into a sitting position.

He cradles his head in his strong hands and
groans. I remember the feeling of waking up here and how awful my
head hurt. He answers me with another groan, “Yeah.”

“
Oh good. You speak
English. What’s your name?”

“
Kale,” he barely
answers.

I point around the enclosure as I tell him,
“Well Kale, waterfall’s that way if you want a drink or shower,
toilets are that way, and food’s over there. There’s a vegetable
garden, fruit tree, and a fishpond. You’re on your own for sleeping
arrangements because they didn’t bring anymore huts when they
dropped you two off.” I’m so consumed with my disappointment that
he’s not James that I give him a horrible welcome.

He stared at me the whole time I was
explaining where everything was with this look on his face like I
was some kind of angel or ethereal being. And he’s still doing it.
“Thank you,” he says as he tries to smile at me. “Thank you for
waiting here with me.” I look away, feeling ashamed for the harsh
welcome I just gave him.

“
You’re welcome.” I am
about to smile, but realize that he could be being nice because he
knows what’s at stake if we don’t mate. Nope. I am not falling into
that trap. He may be cute and charming, but I can’t do what they
want. “Well, good night.” I throw a wave over my shoulder as I
scoot off to hide in my hut.

I crawl into my private
space, which suddenly isn’t so private anymore as I listen to
Janice and the All-American guy talk in her hut. He says his name
is Greg Smith. “Figures,” I snort. He’s 17 years old and was born
in 1938. Greg grew up in the Chicago suburbs and had a mother,
father, sister, and a dog name
d—you
guessed it
—Spot.

Janice is going to get bored with this guy
so quickly. She’s much too lively for him. They are complete
opposites. Eventually, Janice and Greg quiet down, probably having
fallen asleep.

I’m still so angry and disappointed that I
almost forget to consider what’s actually happened to James. If he
isn’t here, then where is he? Maybe he did escape. I hope that’s
the answer and not that he got injured or punished. I fall asleep
thinking about his friendly smile and the way it lights up his
handsome face. Good thoughts before another long day of
misfortune.

BAD DAY

Janice’s girlie giggles
wake me up. She’s flirting with her intended mate, Greg. It makes
me want to vomit. How can she so easily obey the Keeper’s demands?
How long will she wait to give them what they want?
A BABY!
The thought
makes me shudder. I won’t give in to them.

Outside, Janice is cutting up fruit with a
sharp rock and grilling fish over the fire pit for our new
zoo-mates. Kale sits off to the side, not speaking to anyone. His
dark eyelashes hide his even darker eyes as he sulks.

“
Oh, Emma! You’re awake.
Good. Do you want to join us?” Janice plasters on the biggest grin
I’ve ever seen her wear. Her happiness frustrates me.

I skulk off without even bothering to answer
her. I can hear her making excuses for my behavior, as I get
further away. “Oh, she’s just upset about the protest that happened
before you got here. She thought she’d get to escape. She’s really
a nice girl. You’ll see.”

But I’m not a nice girl—not lately anyway.
This isn’t like me, and it adds another thing to the
list-of-reasons to hate this place. My parents would be so
disappointed in the way I’ve been treating people. I judged Janice
when she was divulging all the horrors of her past, and then I
assumed that she would try to steal James away if given the
opportunity. I was completely rude to Kale, although if I’m being
honest, I know I will probably continue to question his
motives.

The apple tree is full, of
course, so I pluck one of its fruits on my way to check on
James.
Will he be there today?
I wonder as I try to focus on something positive.
At first I don’t see anyone except for Sue, his horse, but then I
see movement inside the window of the closest building—the very
building James lives in. A man’s leather-booted foot crosses the
door’s threshold, followed by another. Hope sparks inside me, but
then the man fully emerges from the building. It’s not
James.