A Day at the Zoo

Jade wanted to sleep in, but the twin toddlers jumping on her bed, and sometimes her, made it impossible. “You two are up awful early,” she said.

“Aunt Jade! Zoo! Zoo!” the little boy in lion pajamas called.

“You promised,” the little girl in penguin pajamas said, the pleading clear in her voice.

“Yes, I promised, Tracey. And we are going to the zoo today, Kasey, but you need to eat breakfast and get dressed first.” Jade sat up and spread her arms. “Come here, you little monkeys.”

After cuddles, tickles, and giggles, Jade got up and began the day proper. She knew her sister wouldn’t approve, but she’d gotten them sugary cereal special for this day. Adding half a banana made it sort of healthy, right?

Her phone rang. It wasn’t her sister, or even a contact she recognized. With her phone on silent and shoved into the bottom of her backpack, she continued dressing the twins.

#

“Now?”

“No response.”

“Begin next. Power plus twelve percent.”

#

They walked up to the main gates of the zoo at opening. Being the middle of the week, there were no crowds, no lines. Jade couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to the zoo, but nothing was the same as she remembered. The little map printed on the back of the pass would come in handy, as would the toddler stroller for two she rented for the day.

While the twins started the day with what seemed like boundless energy, she knew that it was certain to flag as the day wore on. Jade looked over the map and decided on a route that would start them with the largest enclosures first, working to the reptile house, then finishing at the aquarium and touch tanks last when the twins were less likely to bounce off the walls.

They were watching the giraffes, Kasey talking about how he was going to grow that tall, when her phone rang again. Jade dug it out of the bottom of the backpack, under changes of clothes, a small first-aid kit, wet wipes, and an assortment of contraband snacks.

The number didn’t show. Annoyed, she turned it back to silent and shoved it to the bottom of the bag. She had a moment’s doubt about whether she had set it to silent earlier, then put it out of her mind.

Kasey had gotten bored with the giraffes, and Tracey was urging them on to the gibbons hooting and hollering in the next enclosure. Her bag slung back over her shoulder, Jade led the toddlers on.

#

“Anything?”

“Still nothing.”

“Protocol four-two-alpha.”

#

The twins were covered in a sticky mess from the cotton candy Jade bought for them from the stand just past the gibbon cage. She cleaned their faces and hands with wet wipes, disposing of the mess in the trash can near the crocodile enclosure.

Tracey asked why they couldn’t swim in the “pretty, green water” while Kasey made faces at the crocs, trying to get them to open their mouths. They were nearly half-way through the zoo, and the twins hadn’t slowed down at all. Jade began to think she would need a stroller long before they would.

Lunch was fish sticks and fries at one of the eateries in the zoo. The twins gobbled it up, Tracey with ketchup and Kasey without. It sat in Jade’s stomach like a greasy lump, leaving her more than a little queasy.

After another round of face and hand washing, and a trip to the facilities, the twins were ready as ever to continue their journey. They were nearing the black bear enclosure when her phone rang again from the bottom of the backpack.

Frustrated, Jade pulled it out and looked. It was set on silent, and nothing displayed, yet it continued to ring loud in her hand. Something about it felt dangerous. She dropped the phone in the nearest trash can and shooed the kids on towards the next exhibit.

“Why you do that?” Tracey asked.

“Are you okay, Aunt Jade?” Kasey asked.

“I’m fine, we’re fine. Let’s just keep going.”

#

“Tell me.”

“Finished through four-two-gamma, nothing.”

“Follow the guide, keep going.”

#

The afternoon sun beat down on them, Jade sweating bullets. The children seemed to take it in stride. That didn’t stop her from making them drink plenty of water as they went.

“Just because you’re used to the weather here and I’m not, that’s no reason to not stay hydrated,” she said.

“What’s higraded?” Kasey asked.

“Hydrated. It means that you drink enough water to not get sick.”

“I have to pee,” Tracey said.

“That just means I’m doing my job.” After taking care of their needs in the restroom that had no climate control, Jade led them to the bird house. While the shade should’ve helped, it was every bit as stifling there as out in the sun.

They spent a longish time in the bird house, deciding which were birds, which were “birbs” and which were “borbs.” The laughter made the heat a little more bearable.

#

“And now?”

“Getting closer. Maybe”

“Keep it going. Power plus another seven percent.”

#

Jade had hoped that the aquarium touch tank building would be cooler, but it wasn’t. Instead of just being hot, it was humid as well. The twins were quiet as they touched the sea stars and other tide pool critters.

Thinking was difficult. Jade felt like her mind had melted from the heat. It almost seemed as though the twins were busy plotting something while they played in the touch tank. At least, it did until they began splashing each other and squealing.

She felt the need to get the kids back outside. Just then, her phone rang again. Not in the bag, but in her pocket.

She pulled it out. It was her sister.

“Jules, what the hell is going on?”

“I’m at the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“It’s Kasey. He…” Julie trailed off.

“He’s here with me at the zoo,” Jade said. “What are you talking about?”

“I can’t talk right now.” The call cut off.

Jade turned toward the touch tank, but the twins weren’t there. She looked at the phone, wondering how it got there. She reached for the stroller, but it wasn’t there. Nor was the touch tank or the zoo. Everything went dark.

#

“What is it?”

“I think we have it.”

“About time.”

#

Jade woke, strapped to a metal table, machinery plugged into her brain. The room was dull grey and barren save for the wires that connected her to the machines THEY were using.

She groaned. “I’m still here? Can you at least turn the heat down? Maybe give me something to drink.”

“I thought you said we had it.”

“I thought we did.”

“Tell us where the base is. Tell us who is in charge.”

Jade laughed. She could feel the machines trying to guide her mind to specific memories, and she kept leading them astray. “You aliens suck! You’re not getting anything from me. I don’t know what kind of weak mind you developed this crap for, but it ain’t me.”

She took a deep breath and chuckled. “Did I tell you about the time I broke my leg and kept poking at the shin bone sticking out?”

She closed her eyes, letting her mind return to the mountain climbing trip with her sister gone wrong. While it had been traumatic for her at the time, the shock had left her numb to the pain. She hoped the memories would make her captors ill.