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

calling him R-11, the name that had been assigned to him at birth. When those in the classroom spun around, surprised to see him standing there, one of them commented on Zero’s invisibility. “R-11? More like R-0,” the boy had joked. “Sometimes it’s like you don’t even exist.” It didn’t take long for R-0 to be shortened to just Zero, a name that might have felt offensive to someone else, but he liked it. He knew it fit.
    Zero used those chameleonic skills to blend into the crowd of students while still keeping a close eye on Flea as he entered the classroom. As much as he wanted to avoid being part of the inevitable conflict that would soon erupt, he wasn’t about to miss watching it.
    “Are you lost?” Flea yelled at Lefty as he entered the room.
    Zero stopped in the doorway to watch.
    Lefty was now wearing his shirt again, but it had come out of his back pocket with a lot more wrinkles than it had before. “Who, me?” Lefty put on an innocent face.
    “Yeah, you. You’re the only one in my space. Now get off my desk.”
    “Oh, is this your desk? How was I supposed to know it was your desk? I thought you sat over there.” Lefty jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
    “This is your last warning, and you’re lucky to get that.”
    “Oh. I appreciate you giving me more chances than usual. I wouldn’t want to get on your bad side. If that ever happened, I just don’t know what I’d do.” Lefty was mocking now, filled with confidence. Zero cringed, knowing this would end badly. Why was Lefty so confrontational?
    Flea was obviously perturbed by Lefty’s refusal to move, but he didn’t say anything more. He didn’t have to. Caiman now stood behind him, towering over both Flea and Lefty. He began to move in.
    Lefty hopped down from the desk, keeping one hand still resting on it to keep it closed, and coming face-to-face with Flea’s enforcer. “Relax, Caiman,” Lefty said, patting him on the chest, which was just above Lefty’s eye level. “No need for this to get out of hand. I just got disoriented, that’s all. It happens sometimes when I’m in a classroom. You know how it is—something about a classroom scrambles my brain. I’ll just get out of your way and let Flea have his desk back.”
    Zero felt a tap on his right shoulder and turned to see Professor Bird. He could feel the color draining from his face.
    “Why are you standing in the hall, Zero? You’d better be in your desk by the time the bell rings.”
    Rather than step into the classroom, Zero stepped back into the hallway to let Professor Bird through.
    “Everybody, in your seats. Don’t make me say it twice,” Professor Bird yelled. He turned back toward the doorway. “That means you too, Zero. You have five seconds to be in your seat or you’ll spend the rest of the day scrubbing toilets.”
    But Zero remained in the hall, frozen in place.
    Then it happened. A quizzical look flashed across Flea’s face when he heard a rustling sound coming from inside his desk. The smart thing to do would have been to crack the desk open to peek at what was inside, but Flea was never known for his genius. He threw open his desk, and the crocodile sprang out, snapping.

Chapter 3
    Zero pulled back another step. In less than two seconds every student in the class was either cowering in the corner or pushing past him to get out the door—all except for Lefty and Flea. Flea was unable to run away because the crocodile had latched onto his foot. Lefty was standing next to him, one hand on his stomach, doubled over with laughter.
    Flea squealed, flailing his arms and legs, knocking over his desk and kicking his chair down the aisle. He kicked at the crocodile, but that only seemed to make it bite down harder, causing him to cry even louder in pain. “Get it off me! Get it off me!”
    “Lefty,” Professor Bird yelled, “if you don’t have that crocodile off Flea’s foot and back in the river within two minutes, I’ll see that you’re