Eden's Gate

Chapter 3: Trip to the Zoo

Two weeks later, as a treat to get them ready for Grading Day, Eliza took the entire 5th grade class into the city to go through the Zoo. She had brought several of the teachers to make sure the kids could all go on their own path, but she had chosen to take the group Kaitlyn and her friends were in herself. Kaitlyn was always excited to spend time with Eliza, she was always so busy so it didn't happen a lot, but when it did it was always fun. She had something special to show them, she said.

Kaitlyn was excited. She rocked back and forth on her heels whenever they stopped at one of the exhibits. They were currently looking at the meerkats. The creatures were running about, with the lead female watching the students to make sure none of them were doing anything evil.

Kaitlyn found sensing the minds of animals weird. Many of them thought, but their thoughts weren't 'fully formed.' They certainly weren't words, but most thoughts weren't. Most thoughts were images, or sensations, or impulses. Reading a mind wasn't like reading a book, it was like sticking your head into a swirling vortex of feelings, connections, pictures and things the mind didn't even realize it was thinking.

But these meerkats, they were different. Images flickered through their mind, but first of all they felt different. Like she hadn't tuned in to the right channel on a radio, which made sense. Anyone who thought animals should think like people didn't know much about them. But even through the haze she could make out some things. She knew the lead female was the lead because every time one of the meerkats looked at her, a feeling would come from them. This other animal they were looking at was important, to be respected, to be honored...or, in the case of her oldest daughter, potentially usurped. When they looked at the humans, there was a feeling of contentment, but also wariness. She got the feeling the meerkats didn't trust the humans, but had learned that for whatever reason they did nothing but stand there and gawk at them.

She got a feeling of confusion on this matter. Why do this? They didn't understand. Or that was the only way she could describe the feeling.

She watched as one of the younger ones scurried over and picked up a whitish rock, and nibbled on it. It looked a bit like a pill to her, so she chuckled.

Oh. Oh wait! She had forgotten her medicine!

'You okay, Kaitlyn?' Edelweiss' voice came into her head.

She must have noticed the look of surprise on her face.

'I forgot to take my medicine,' she said back.

Edelweiss frowned, 'Oh dear. Mum's not going to be happy about that. Just take it when you get home.'

'Yeah, I guess. Why do we need to take it anyway?'

'I'm sure she has her reasons.'

'I hear Matthew got to stop taking his.' Clifton popped in.

Kaitlyn often forgot that Edelweiss would keep her channel open to all of them, because it made communication easier. However good any of them were at telepathy, she was better.

'Really? Lucky git, it tastes like a possum's bare arse.' Taylor said.

'It really does though.' Kaitlyn said in agreement.

Richard didn't speak, but his curiosity about why Matthew wasn't taking it anymore was easy to feel over their connection. Kaitlyn knew not everyone took the medicine, but Eliza and Mrs. Westson both said it was very important and very personal if you were, so it wasn't talked about much.

"Come now, children." Eliza called. "What I wanted to show you is over here."

Her gloved hand trembled as it waved them over to another one of the enclosures. Kaitlyn rocked on her heels in excitement before she bolted to her to see what she was looking at.