Testing Zero: a dystopian post-apocalyptic young adult novella series (Remnants of Zone Four Chronicles Book 1) Read Free

him.
    Lefty pulled off his T-shirt and wadded it up in his left hand. He took three steps back and walked a large circle around to the back of the crocodile. He opened up his shirt and tossed it over the croc’s head, covering its eyes. Annoyed, the croc jerked his head from side to side, but Lefty pounced on it and locked both of his hands onto its jaws, securing them shut.
    “You see? Nothing to it.” Lefty panted and stood proudly, facing Zero and holding the crocodile up to eye level—his hands still securing the jaws shut. “Pick up my shirt, would you? Just stick it in my back pocket.”
    As Zero bent down to pick up the shirt, the croc’s tail swung violently, smacking Zero across the side of his head, knocking him backward. He shook it off, got back to his feet, and then stuffed the t-shirt into Lefty’s back pocket.
    “Their jaws are super strong when they want to bite down on something,” Lefty said, “but they’re not nearly as strong when they’re trying to open. That’s why I can hold his jaws shut.”
    “Well, aren’t you just a fountain of knowledge?”
    Lefty smiled as he admired his catch. He lowered it until the tail touched the ground, which made the crocodile jerk back and forth again. “Come on, Zero. The hard part’s done. All we need to do now is get this guy into Flea’s desk.”
    Zero rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you at least going to close that hole you made in the fence?”
    “What for? The hole is two feet off the ground. Crocs can’t jump through it.” He grinned. “I’m sure Professor Bird will know we were the ones to do this as soon as he sees, and he’ll make us clean up the mess. We’ll close it when we bring the croc back.”
    “But aren’t you scared one of the infected people will climb through the hole?”
    Lefty raised an eyebrow and dropped his shoulders. “The Remnants? Are you serious?”
    “Of course I’m serious. Professors talk about the infected Remnants of the old world all the time. They’re all over the place beyond the outer city wall. I don’t want one of them making it onto the school grounds.”
    “The professors talk about them all the time, yeah. But have you ever seen a Remnant?”
    “No.”
    “Me neither.” Lefty looked through the chain link fence at the immense wall standing a few hundred feet away. Made of all sizes of rock and mortar, it was about 100 feet tall, towering above even the tallest of the trees. “If they actually do exist, and if by some miracle one made it past the outer wall, what do you think would happen to them once they reached the river? The crocs would eat them alive before they came anywhere near the inner fence here. I’ve never even heard of one even making it into the swamp, let alone swimming across the river to the school grounds.”
    “I’m just saying. Maybe we should close the hole. It’s better to be safe than—”
    “Fine. You can close the hole if you want to. My hands are a little tied right now.” Lefty lifted the crocodile again to show him to Zero, which he regretted when its tail whacked him across the knee. “I need to hurry and get this thing into Flea’s desk before lunch hour is over.”
    Zero watched Lefty drag the young crocodile as he sprinted a short distance toward a clump of bushes, holding his hands low enough that nobody could see the animal.
    With so many people buzzing around in such a small space, it was difficult for the boys to sneak the crocodile from one set of bushes to the next. Zero and Lefty had less than ten minutes to make it to Flea’s desk before lunch break would be over.
    They felt the bushes claw at their skin as they snuck along the fence, eventually coming up behind Building 18 where their homeroom was located. They froze when the sound of voices came from around the corner.
    “Go see who it is,” Lefty said.
    “Why do I have to go? This is your hair-brained idea.”
    “Because I’m holding this.” Lefty lifted the croc, his hands still clamping