Read Online Zoo by Tara Elizabeth - Free Book Online Page B

the public
walkway. He is still there watching us. Smiling.
    Smiling?!
    “ Look at all these people.
Maybe he’s just some freak that wants to be like me,” Kale jokes.
Then he admits, “He does looks familiar though. I’m just not sure
why.”
    I don’t tell him I have a similar feeling
about the stranger. I press him further, “Familiar how?”
    Kale shrugs his shoulders, and then marches
toward the glass wall. He curls his strong hand into a fist and
raises it above his head.
    “ I wouldn’t do that,” I
warn him. “You’re going to get in trouble.”
    Boom. Boom.
Boom . He brings his fist down hard against
the glass three times. “Who are you? Can you get us out of here?”
Kale yells at the man on the bench. “You can hear me, can’t you?
Help us!”
    The man taps his
wristwatch and walks away just as the Keepers come to remove Kale
from our enclosure for disturbing the public. Struggling against
the Keepers is useless, and he finds this out quickly after they
inject him with something that paralyzes his body but keeps him
conscious. That’s new.
    It takes both men to drag Kale toward the
rock wall where they will vanish, delivering Kale to Dick for a
scolding. I follow them toward the back of the enclosure, hoping to
get a chance at escape. I need to make use of every opportunity
available.
    I’m not worried about him, because I know
he’s not getting any real kind of punishment. But I use it as an
excuse to stay next to them. I reprimand to Kale for his actions,
“I tried to warn you. You can’t interact with the public. They
warned you about that, right?” Then I give him a thumbs up to let
him know it’ll be okay.
    Walking as close as possible to the Keepers
and their disobedient animal, I try to slip through the portal with
them. I don’t make it through. I smack right into the rock wall, my
knee hitting first and then my stomach. “Shit!” I screech.
    Stupid magical
portals. Well, I guess I better quit
standing around and let the others know about Kale so they don’t
wonder where he is later. Actually, they’re probably too busy
making out to notice. No, I should still tell them. I smooth out my
itchy dress and tuck my hair behind my ears. Smacking into the wall
ruffled my appearance a little.
    It takes no time at all to find Janice and
Greg hanging out by the waterfall. She is showing her companion how
to fill up an animal skin with drinking water. As I watch them, I’m
making a note to myself that we’ll all have to arrange some kind of
shower schedule. The last thing I want is for one of these guys to
see me naked.
    They don’t hear me approach and interrupting
them is easy since I’m still angry. “Hey. The Keepers just took
Kale.”
    Janice is aghast. “Oh no. What did he
do?”
    “ He was banging on the
glass like an idiot. I told him not to.” I shrug, showing them that
it was his fault and his alone.
    “ What happens the first
time you get in trouble?” Greg asks.
    “ Nothing. It’s a joke,” I
answer.
    “ And what happens the
second time?”
    It’s Janice that answers, because I don’t
have one. “We don’t know. The first warning was enough to keep us
from finding out. It doesn’t sound good though.”
    Kale is returned to our enclosure three
hours later.

WELCOME BACK TO PRISON
     
    I’m sitting on the rock wall, listening to
Auntie Josephine perform for the crowds and keeping an eye on
James’ enclosure, when Kale approaches. He sits next to me, leaving
only a few inches between us. I hold my ground even though my
natural reaction is to scoot away from him. He still smells good,
like summer.
    “ You been for your first
warning yet?” he asks me. His accent is different than my southern
one, still American though. If I had to describe it, I’d say he
doesn’t really have an accent. His manner of speaking is relaxed,
as is his body language. He oozes coolness but not
arrogance.
    “ Yeah,” I answer. “Haven’t
worked myself up for the second one yet.