Zero

19 : Rescuing Cha

P A R T 1 9

Mindjournal #31

No idea what date and time it is

"Are you SURE he's not dead?"

"Positive. This is just one of the many times he's lost consciousness."

"Jarren? Pull yourself together, kid."

Voice works before my eyes do and the sentence "who are you calling a kid, I'm older than you, Pandora" slurs out of my mouth.

Eyelids lift and everything is hazy, then the world comes into focus. Am in the shed, lying on the bed with Jones and Pandora at the side, looking at me. I sit up, feeling woozy.

Was at a tree last I remember. How'd I get back here? Asked Pandora and she says Mitchell lifted me back.

"Who's Mitchell?" I question groggily.

"The Eleven," she replies.

Oh. The super strong boy. Can't believe he's thirteen. He's a wisp of a kid.

Looked at Jones and asked, "How long?"

"A whole night and half a day, it seems," is his reply.

So it's around noon now. This is the shortest amount of time I've lost consciousness after remembering. Am usually out for at least a couple of days.

Pandora is looking at the both of us, unsure of what's going on. Jones glances at me and asks Pandora if she can wait outside while he discusses something with me.

My eyes meet hers and she raises an eyebrow. I remember that we'll have to send her all the way to Nine before she is unable to hear us and even then it probably isn't far away enough. "Nevermind, let her stay," I say resignedly.

Jones gives me a look like: "Are you sure?" and I return the look with a nod.

He sighs and begins speaking. "This is a drastic improvement. You weren't even out for a whole day."

Then he stays silent, indicating that I should read his mind. But I have already done that. He thinks Pandora is the reason I'm improving. Secretly, I kind of agree with him. But then what will this mean?

Pandora's probably clueless right now, especially on why I even blacked out. Am unsure of what I did before that. When I start remembering the past I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing in the present.

Find out when Pandora describes me running around growling. It makes even me cringe on the inside. Wish she wasn't around to see that side of me.

This is weird. I don't usually feel conscious of how people see me -maybe because before Pandora came, only Jones and the odd Four supplier saw me. Was stuck in this shed for ten years before Jones made the underground passageway for me.

Never went to school for a decade. Jones taught me everything I need to know. That's why it was weird when I went to school with Pandora. Learned the route to the school soon enough. Learned the rules, too, though I don't care much for them.

No Four kid has recognised me yet and if they have, they're not letting on. A lot of changes can happen to a person's appearance in ten years.

Anyway, back to the present. I don't tell her about what exactly happened when I was seven. Just said: "I fainted because I was remembering...stuff. I'm usually out for two days at least."

She is tactful enough not to ask what stuff even though there is an atmosphere if curiosity around her.

"Help me thank the Eleven?" I say it like a request. "For bringing me back?"