1. P R E V I O U S L Y : On "ZooPhobia"

CHAPTER X

Cameron carefully plastered a sign reading "Ms. Walden, Z.P.A. Guidance" on her door. She adjusted a small bonsai on a desk next to her patients' beanbag chair, placed a "Keep On Swimming" poster on the wall behind her desk, and—last but not least—adjusted a small golden statuette of a phoenix on the desk behind her own.

The guidance counselor backed up and held out her hands. "Mmh... much better!" she decided, satisfied with her redecoration. Then she checked her watch and quickly slipped into her chair, taking a deep breath. Okay. You can do this, she thought.

Right on cue, two knocks sounded on the door, and Jackson Wells slowly pushed it open. "Um, Ms. Walden?" he called meekly. "I'm, uh... here for my session..."

"Oh, yes! Jackson! Good morning to you!" Cameron greeted him cheerfully. She stood, gesturing to the beanbag chair, and said, "Please take a seat, and we can get started!" She hesitated before adding sheepishly, "Hope you don't mind bean-bags..."

"Nah, they're actually really nice! Heh..." Jack awkwardly sat down in the beanbag chair. "Also, I, um, like what you did with the new room! It's very... humble."

"Thank you!" Cameron rested her cheek on a hand. "Yes, I'm... very thankful to Zechariah for letting me change rooms. I kinda have a weird connection with my surroundings. The old room was just a little too intimidating on first arrival."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Then Cameron said (a little too loudly), "So! You are my first official counseling session here at Z.P.A.! Is there, um, anything bothering you at all that you would like to talk about?"

Jack blinked, apparently thinking over the question.

"...Anything!" Cameron pressed. C'mon, Jack... please don't tell me you just came in here to chill or something...

"Um... well... I think for things I tell you to make sense," Jack began, shifting uncomfortably, "I kinda have to fill you about... myself. And my, um... 'condition'. Or, well... curse."

Cameron didn't comment, knowing that if things went the way they had so far, this explanation would only get weirder.

Jack took a deep breath and, without further ado, dove right into his origin story.

-

My parents were extremely close, according to my mother. And when she got pregnant with me, they were very excited. But... before I was born, my father was killed in a freak accident. My mother was... devastated by it.

In desperation, she turned to her sister—my Aunt Narissa, who... well, is married to the devil... as creepy as that sounds...

She begged him to make a deal, and as a gift to his wife, he granted my mother her wish: to give her unborn child the gift of eternal life.

But the devil's magic works in very odd ways... so his gift was really a curse. When I was born, he cursed me with immortality, along with a supernatural affinity for bad luck. And, heh... the thing is... I still feel pain.

-

"So, um... yeah..." Jack chuckled awkwardly, looking away. "Not being able to die on top of the crazy—often violent—things that happen to me... with the pain... it, um..." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah. Not fun."

A short moment of silence followed.

Jack frowned, noticing Cameron's baffled expression. "You okay, Ms. Walden?" he asked. "I'm sorry if my story's a little strange..."