The Human Zoo (1)

Chapter 11 - Priya

The warm wind whips my hair as I sit in a circle surrounded by what feels like strangers. Right under my nose, Tate, and Chance have somehow infiltrated my group with Ben. He tells me I'm acting stubborn, but Chance puts me on edge. There is something about him that makes my gut say run. He likes to touch me. It's mainly innocent so far, gripping my hand or roughly grabbing my thigh. I always pull away and never return the gesture. Even stating don't a few times. He's persistent even with my apparent "no." Ben says I'm reading too much into it, that he hasn't noticed Chance touching me at all. Then I remind him that's because he's too busy looking at Kara.

Since the feeding eight days ago, Ben and Kara have become better friends, pushing my patience to a boiling point. They spend what I consider to be a lot of time together. She's everywhere Ben is. Snack time, feeding time, if he takes a nap, if he talks to me, ev-er-ry-where. I remember when Ben used to always be with me, no matter what. I'm not jealous of their budding relationship; I miss my best friend.

There was this one time where Ben and I walked into the sleeping area; we were around nine years old. People surrounded the former leader, the brutal one, and in front of her stood a teenage boy. He was gangly for his age. His long eyelashes batted as his eyes tried to prevent the tears from falling. In front of them stood a screaming and angry crowd. This young boy tried to escape, and the showers were shut off at the same time. I don't know how they came to this conclusion, but it was his fault. As punishment, the leader allowed everyone to repeatedly beat him with whatever could be found. I was so angry with these people, the ones who thought the punishment fit the crime, and I started hitting them. Ben tried to help me, but we kept getting pushed off. Not because of our age or strength, but because our opposition meant nothing due to how unimportant we were to the entire group. Finally, when the boy was still and bloodied, people became bored with satisfaction and left. Ben stayed with me the rest of the night as I held the dead hand of the teenage boy, weeping.

Many things like this have happened, yet Ben has always been with me, not her. My pity party continues until I notice Chance is watching me. Luckily, I sit between Tate and Kara who are engaged in a substantial conversation about the people who are watching about us with excitement.

"So, Priya, what do ya think of the viewers?" Kara asks me as she flips her perfect hair over her shoulder. My teeth find my lip as contemplate my answer.

"Oh, you don't want to know what I think," I say, knowing my opinion tends to upset others since I usually don't agree with them. It's the main reason Ben says I'm unapproachable. I think it's all bullshit.

"Yes, I do," she pouts.

"Kara, you know how when you are young, bees are intriguing?" I ask.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, Priya's opinion is a lot like that. At first, it's exciting because it's new, so you're curious. Then you approach it and get stung." Ben says, looking at me before we both burst out laughing. Kara smiles at both of us but it doesn't hide the sadness her dull eyes emit.

"Okay, Kara if you promise to keep an open mind, I'll tell you my opinion," I say hesitantly.

"I promise." She smiles beautifully.

"Okay, well, I—" My words are stuck. Outside of Ben, opening up to others has always been difficult. I try to open my mouth to speak again, but it's like holding a fly by its wings. Even my body is saying, "No! Don't do it!"

Inhaling deeply, I force the gut-wrenching churn of my stomach. "I don't see or understand the difference between us and the viewers. We're all humans in the end, aren't we? We look the same: two eyes, one nose, a mouth, and ears. We speak the same: hello, goodbye, and sorry. We share the same feelings: smiles, laughter, screaming, and crying. From what I can tell, the only difference is that we live in different places. I have tried to wrap my head around it: us in here, them out there. Nothing about it makes sense. So, they are monsters who enjoy watching the deterioration of their kind. Almost a sick schadenfreude sort of view, you know? Sorry, I'm not sure how to pronounce it."