Alex Reynard
The Library
Alex Reynard's Online Books
--Chapter Eleven--
Cody lay sprawled on his back in the little cube room for quite a long time. Just breathing. Feeling the morning sun on his face and chest. He was dizzy from excitement. It seemed impossible he'd done what he'd just done. But he had. And it had all happened so fast!
From out amongst the trees, Cody heard a sudden wail of pain.
It was definitely Rick. Cody imagined that the elk must have called for backup a moment ago and now someone was trying to help him stand up. Maybe he'd broken the guy's knee. Maybe Rick would have to sit in a wheelchair for a while.
Cody shut his eyes tight and tried not to think about that. It wasn't his fault. This whole camp was a prison and Rick was just another guard. It was unfortunate that, of all the people Cody could have run into, it had to be him. But that's all it was. Unfortunate.
'Good thing it wasn't Gilda,' he thought. 'If I'd tried that on her, my foot would've shattered.'
It would've been great if it'd been Guy though. Hear that mouthy fox wailing and crying instead. Or that lioness bitch who'd kidnapped him! Cody couldn't even remember her name. Geena? Trina? Didn't matter. It would've been great to kick her to the ground. 'Yeah. Take that. That's for scooping us all up and taking us to your damn reeducation camp.'
Of course, the thought of education made him think of Vera. And that caused a strange duality inside him. The rage part of him simply hated her. He wanted to smack her in the back of the head with a shovel. But another part... He had to admit she seemed sincere. And she was at least nice and polite. She was pretty much just doing her job.
Still, her job was to undermine everything he knew about his society, his government and his genus. Cody was not exactly inclined to be forgiving about that. He didn't like the disrespect of being lied to even once. Much less day after day for hours on end.
His stomach gurgled. 'Oh right. I was able to do all this because I skipped breakfast.'
He knew he really ought to have conserved his resources more, but it'd been yesterday evening when he last ate (and he'd barely scratched the surface of his dinner). Cody selected two granola bars, a bag of corn chips, one water and one OJ. A decent little meal, with plenty left for later.
Ohhhh, that water felt GOOOD! He slugged down half the bottle in two big swallows. He even splashed a little in his hair to feel it trickling down through his hot fur. He finished the whole bottle in moments. 'I earned this.'
He thought about the Newbrain chair as he unwrapped the first granola bar. He grinned. That silver fluid spilled all over the floor was a beautiful thing. 'That crap would've been pumped into someone's head if it wasn't for you,' he congratulated himself. He imagined Vera coming to class that day and shrieking in grief! "Oh no! I can't brainwash anyone today!" Cody cracked up. He'd actually done her voice pretty well.
The chips were salty and made him want to down his juice with the same speed as the water. But he held back. If he did that he'd just want to drink more. He knew it'd get hotter in the afternoon. Plus, with nothing to do up here but read, the day would feel twice as long.
Plus, he had no idea how long he'd be up here.
How long could he be up here?
He decided to do a bit of math. He swept some pine needles off a section of floor and dumped out his shirtbag. His book fell out on top. 'Oh right, I can finish that now!' Sweet.
'Okay, let's see...' He'd managed to snag five water bottles (counting the one he'd finished), two orange juices, eight granola bars, three chocolate bars, a pack of fruit gummies, four things of cheese-n-crackers and some spearmint gum. 'Blecch. Hate spearmint.' He was just about to chuck it over the side of the tower and send it flying off into the trees, but then he reconsidered. If it landed somewhere visible, it might give his position away. And who knew? He might eventually get so desperate that he'd end up chewing the stuff.
So, ignoring the gum for now, if he let breakfast be his biggest indulgence and restricted his meals to one liquid and two food items from now on, that meant he had enough for seven little meals with two snacks left over. Awesome. He could stay up here for days!
Quite happy, Cody picked up his book and was about to start reading. But then he reconsidered again. It'd be better to finish eating, then read. He'd be spending a lot of time up here, and multitasking would not be helpful. So he took his time. Chewed every chip. Let his mind wander as he finished the first granola bar and started on the other.
Granola sounded like Yola. He remembered Hydra's outburst about wanting to move to the private bunk. How Tycho had chosen to stay with the others. Cody guessed Yolanda might stay behind too. Though it was hard to guess. Yola spent so much time silent it was hard to predict her. Cody also thought of Hydra perking up at the idea of a new uniform. And Tycho had again denied that perk. Would Yolanda? Cody suddenly imagined the ottergirl in the same kind of outfit as that lion lady. 'Whoa...' Okay, that mental image was kinda hot but also ridiculous. What about a GPA outfit more like Vera's? Oh, yeah. Definitely more plausible. He could totally see Yola in a tightly tailored olive green uniform. One that really hugged her butt...
He squeezed his eyes shut and felt like punching his brain. 'No! Bad Cody! That is NOT sexy! Stop getting turned on by your classmate wearing the clothing of a murderer, okay!?'
'Murderers or not, you gotta admit their costume-designey people know what they're doing,' he counter-argued. And he had to agree with himself on that.
He finished breakfast amid other equally unimportant musings and then tried to figure out what to do with his garbage. Tossing it over the side would be like launching a signal beacon: 'INSURGENT HIDING HERE'. For now, he wadded all the wrappers up inside the two bottles and kicked them into the corner.
Before settling down with his book, Cody thought it might not be a bad idea to take a look around camp. See if they already had search parties out canvassing the grounds for him.
He rolled over onto his knees and peered up over the lip of the tower's wall.
Calm as usual. Not many people visible. Some Preykids were eating breakfast outside on the grass. A small bunch of Preds were playing dice or cards in the bleachers by the athletic field. He spotted a couple GPA members, though they didn't seem to be on the hunt. Just what he assumed was their normal patrol route.
Hmph. He felt a little insulted.
Of course, feeling a little insulted was a lot better than looking down the forest path and seeing that hyena guy leading a pack of nonev rottweilers straight towards him.
That guy must have reported what Cody had done in the classroom by now. So why weren't search parties combing the area for him? Maybe no one had connected the broken Newbrain chair to the vending machine vandalism to what he'd done to poor wrong-place-wrong-time Rick. They'd connect it eventually, Cody knew. The Preds were stupid about a lot of things, but they weren't drooling imbeciles. Missing camper + smashed snacks + destroyed Newbrain chair + kick in the knee = we got us an escapee.
A brilliant thought occurred to him then. If they thought he'd escaped, the first places they'd look would be anywhere in camp where their security was weak. Holy shit! All he'd have to do was periodically keep an eye on the camp and watch where the GPAs started searching! If there was a hole in the wiredome, they'd lead him right to it!
He'd have to keep popping his head up over the side to check though. Like a whack-a-chipmunk game. He let his eyes wander over the old, worn wooden structure he was seated in. 'Or maybe not...' He skootched himself closer to the east wall. The boards were slightly warped by rain and seasonal swelling. If he got up close enough, it was easy to peek through the cracks in the boards.
It was settled then. He'd read his books to pass the time, making sure to periodically check the cracks to see if anything interesting was happening. If it was, he could look over the side for a clearer view.
'Sounds a hell of a lot better than whatever I'd be doing in class today,' he thought with a smirk. He settled into a relatively comfy position and prepared to finish last night's story.
*****
He didn't have far to go. Only a chapter and a half. He made a rule to himself to check through the cracks each time he got to the end of a chapter. At least. Once the Preds started looking for him, things would happen very quickly. He had a pretty strong hope they wouldn't think any of their kidnapees knew about the observation tower. If they didn't check it in the first hour or so, Cody had a gut feeling he'd be relatively safe. 'And if they do start trying to climb up here, I can bean them in the head with water bottles.'
Breakfast ended. Cody heard the noise increase when Preykids and Predkids swarmed out of their cafeterias to head over to their classrooms. He made a game of trying to locate his various classmates. There was Tycho. 'Round targets are easy to spot', he chuckled. Jayden seemed to be really excited, talking to two of his friends. Then Kenny's ears went by. He certainly didn't look like a happy bunny today. Cody felt a small pang of regret. He'd kinda been an asshole to his friend again, hadn't he? Now here he was, gone missing, and Kenny had no idea why. 'Sorry, amigo,' Cody sent out.
He tried to figure out where this luxurious private bunk was that had lured Hydra away and- Holy What The Fucks!? Speaking of Hydra Kensington, there she was!! She had double the usual crowd orbiting her today, mostly boys. Likely having to do with the fact that the bunnygirl's brand new GPA uniform hands-down won the gold prize for jaw-dropping, pants-tightening craziness. It looked like someone had slathered black housepaint in long, diagonal swatches all over her. Cody couldn't tell if it was leather or rubber or what, but it was something shiny and tight. She also had a black cap, pointy boots and shimmering pink gloves. She strutted like a fashion model. And was she wearing black lipstick too? Damn, if she'd designed that outfit herself, her mind was more impressively warped than Cody had given her credit for.
Chloe-Sophia bounced along behind her heroine, naturally. She had a new uniform too, but it was far less... whatever the hell Hydra's was. The squirrel had a cute skirt and a vest-thing, with delicate little shoes and a military-style hat. It looked suitably lackey-like. Hydra might've designed that too.
Cody leaned on the railing and almost wished he'd come to class today to see those outfits up close. 'Bravo, Miss Kensington. You have successfully made yourself the center of attention again. You've earned it.'
He noticed Mason and Scott run up and join her. She started talking amiably with them. Apparently they'd grown closer since they all defected. Cody realized he'd hardly thought about the deer and the mouse for a while now. They both had new uniforms too, but they were simple, like Vera's. Though Scott did have a big hat.
And hey, there was Frank. The zebragirl was hard to miss, streaking down the path like she was in a relay race. Cody winced a little when he saw her. He didn't feel sorry for running her 'boyfriend' off, but he wasn't exactly proud of how he'd done it.
He'd thought Frank was racing to get to class early, or just for the sake of running. But no; she zoomed right past the class building. Cody perked up. Where was she heading?
Past the center of camp, down towards the woodsy area...
Was she heading towards the tower!?
No, impossible! How the fuck could she possibly know where he was!? The chipmunk had a brief freakout as he watched the zebress heading like an arrow straight toward his location. But then he sighed with relief when she suddenly made a sharp turn.
'Oh. Okay. Yeah, she couldn't possibly have known where I was. So where's she...'
Her destination became clear. The Predside.
'No,' Cody thought. 'Don't you fucking do it.'
The zebragirl headed for the Predkids' cafeteria and started dashing around in a zig-zag, asking random Preds questions. Cody knew what she was doing now, and there was the proof of it. She'd spotted him; her fucking boyfriend. Frank ran over to where the maned wolf guy was walking towards his classroom.
Cody dug his claws into the wood railing.
There was too much distance and ambient noise to tell what they were saying to each other, but the content of the conversation was clear. Frank pled. The wolf guy looked unsure. She took his paws in hers. They moved closer and talked in little tidbit-words. And then they hugged. Cody wanted to scream.
'Screw her! Screw that genus-traitor!' Cody guessed he hadn't made his message to her clear enough, because she wasn't scared off. In fact, he might have actually strengthened her little crush. FUCK!
Cody slumped down behind the wall and held his head in his hands. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it...' This wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Frank was supposed to be one of the holdouts. Frank was supposed to stay strong and reject the Preds even when nobody else would. How the hell could she do this to him!? Cody pounded on the floor with his fist, then immediately regretted it in case anyone had heard the noise.
He peered through a crack between boards. He didn't see anyone around for quite a distance. That was good. It meant he could make at least a little noise up here and not get immediately noticed.
His eyes happened to fall on the archery range, and for a brief moment his cheeks flashed hot as he realized how incredibly brainless he was for not trying to grab a bow and bring it up here.
But, no. His rational side quickly brushed away that idea. The storage shed was locked. Trying to get it open would have wasted enough time for the Preds to catch up with him. Plus, he knew he was good with a bow, but good enough to hit a moving target from this height? Un-fucking-likely. Plus, who would he aim for? PLUS, there was the fact that even if he did get a hit, it'd more than likely give away his position, and a miss would give away his position for nothing. Arrows were a big no.
He felt an intense need to destroy something though. So he grabbed the empty OJ bottle and squeezed it till his claws poked through the plastic. He imagined it was that wolf guy's face. He wished he'd done more than just yell at him last night. Maybe break some of his fingers. Kick him in the nuts. Grab a pocketknife and carve off his tail. 'That'd make a nice trophy,' he thought.
Cody's Dad had three tails up on the wall at home. He would've had even more if the military didn't enforce that stupid policy of not letting soldiers take trophies from their kills.
Cody guessed it was to keep people from just mowing down civilians and snipping off tails like dandelions. That made sense, he supposed. Dad said he had to work with some guys who would've sprayed an orphanage with machine gun fire, then claimed the tails were from enemy snipers.
Still, Dad had his three from before he'd even joined. Back when Grandpa was alive, he and Dad would drive out to the border and set up camp. While some hunters crossed the Fence into Pred territory and just shot at anything they saw, Grandpa believed that wasn't sporting. You camped out near a weak spot in the Fence and you waited. Most nights you went home empty-handed. But sometimes you saw a shadow sneaking close, and you waited until it set foot on Prey territory, then BLAM. Grandpa had seventeen tails on his wall.
Cody wondered if, at the end of his adventure, he'd have any tails to bring home to Dad. 'Probably not,' he admitted. His top priority was getting the hell out of here. Taking the time to find a knife and cut off a tail would be unwise. Not to mention that carrying a bloody appendage would leave a scent trail almost anyone could follow.
Though overall, it didn't really matter. If he ended up doing anything to deserve a trophy, and he told Dad he just hadn't been able to take it with him, Dad would believe him.
Cody took a moment to look around the camp again. All the kids had gone inside to class. The only people he saw were GPA guards. One of them on the Predside, a skunk, Cody caught scratching his ass. The chipmunk enjoyed a laugh.
He looked towards the corner and saw the four books arranged carefully there. 'Might as well get started. I've got the whole damn day ahead of me.'
*****
Cody read for as long as he could stand. Eventually his legs got restless and he needed to get up and stretch. He eyed his shirtbag, feeling a bit hungry again. 'No. Too soon.'
He did some more stretching exercises. He did pull-ups hanging onto the ceiling beams. He contemplated seeing whether or not he was acrobatic enough to make it up onto the roof. That idea was quickly nixed. One; if he failed he'd fall and go splat. Two; even if he succeeded, he'd make himself highly visible for no good reason.
Cody scanned the camp periodically, though he never saw anything more interesting than the GPAs just walking around like usual. He was beginning to wonder if they'd even noticed his little rampage.
That thought was put to rest at the end of first class. Just as the kids were being let out from their classrooms, the four loudspeakers in the center of camp started talking. "This is a special announcement. This is a special announcement. A boy named Cody St. John is missing. He is a chipmunk, fifteen years old. If anyone has seen him or knows where he might be, please tell a staff member."
Cody waited for there to be more. Like, 'He is wanted for malicious destruction of property', or maybe even 'Shoot on sight'. But no, that was it.
'Allright, you clever bastards, I see what you did there. You're trying to keep it quiet about all the stuff I did. You don't want to make a hero out of me. So instead of 'Cody trashed that brainwashing chair we've been trying to get you to sit in', the story is, 'Some kid got himself lost'.' Dishonest as fuck, but clever.
He watched the kids milling about down below. He looked for Kenny's ears, hoping to see how he'd been affected by the announcement, but he couldn't spot his friend anywhere.
He did see Walter though. And even though he was clear across camp, Cody could have swore that little bastard was smiling. 'Eat shit,' Cody thought at him. That smug little turd was probably elated to hear the announcement. He probably thought Cody was off in the woods, crying and cutting his wrists over the snappy comeback he'd been handed. 'You'll find out exactly what my response is the next time I see you.' And it'd be even better then, because the kittycat wouldn't see it coming.
Cody knew bobcats had stubby little tails, but man, would Walter's look good mounted right above his bed. He grinned at that image.
Vera's would make a good trophy too. And he could dust the furniture with it.
That got him laughing so hard he had to sit down for a while.
*****
The book he was halfway through now wasn't anywhere near as good as the first two. It was a historical fiction tale, set in the years after the change from humans to furkind. Cody was kind of miffed. He could almost hear the author's voice describing events in a dull monotone. This had been a hell of a time period, worthy of a much better storyteller. It had been the bloodiest age in history. The time directly after humanity, when people had gone fucking insane after suddenly finding themselves unwillingly inhabiting a new species' skin. It had been as close as the planet had ever come to a post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie. Riots covered the globe. It had taken decades to get society functioning normally again. And a big part of that reconstruction was the distinction being made between Predator and Prey. Before, everyone had just been fighting each other randomly. But once that line was drawn, suddenly people had clearly-defined enemies. And more importantly, allies. Being able to trust your neighbor because he was the same genus as you was the turning point that had allowed civilization to return.
This author was really taking a crap on all that. The book's plot was a plain, standard story about a rabbit guy crossing the country to find his lost lover, encountering all sorts of transparently allegorical set-pieces along the way. It was all designed to preach morals instead of telling what had really happened to real people. If it wasn't for staving off boredom, Cody would have considered ripping the pages out and teaching himself origami.
Sounds of Preds and Prey hovered in the background the whole time he was reading. Kids running around shouting, having fun. At times it was easy to believe the illusion that this was a normal summer camp.
Soon the chime rang for lunchtime. Cody was glad for a reprieve from his boring book. He peered through the cracks and watched everyone on both sides of camp converging on the cafeterias. Then he opened up his shirtbag and rustled around inside.
Lunch was not as pleasant as breakfast. Lukewarm water and crackers is not exactly gourmet dining. A chocolate bar for dessert helped though. Cody also decided to open up the fruit gummies. If he rationed them carefully, the little bag would last for quite a while. Artificial cherry flavor melted over his tongue.
As he finished, he wondered what everyone else was eating. He wondered how many Preykids had accepted Pred Helper armbands, or full GPA membership, and if those two extra lunch lines were starting to get crowded.
Cody continued reading through the rest of lunch hour, on into the beginning of second class. He finished the historical novel, grimaced at the entirely-predictable ending, and tossed it in a corner. He grabbed another book. This one was about a hospital robbery, a hostage situation and a girl with a bonesaw. Hopefully more exciting.
Cody remembered to keep checking the camp as he read. Still no search parties. Unless they were being fantastically sneaky and having individual Preds look around without looking like they were looking around, it seemed like they just didn't care if they found him or not. It boggled his mind. The more time passed without anything happening, the more Cody felt a creeping sense of dread. They couldn't be just doing nothing, right? He worried that whatever they were planning, it might catch him completely off-guard. He'd be reading along one second, and the next he'd be caught up in a net. Or jabbed with a tazer. Or stuck with a tranq dart. He'd just have to be more alert, he decided.
As second class neared its end, Cody was getting so wrapped up in his book he'd forgotten to check on the cracks a couple of times. The main character was currently crouched down in a burning operating room, trying not to be found by a blinded, chaotically-shooting bad guy. Cody was so into the story it took him several seconds to recognize the sound of helicopter blades.
Then his head popped up and he spun around like he was spring-loaded.
Heart pumping in his chest, he scanned the sky until he saw the little white dot approaching from beyond the treeline. When he'd first recognized the helicopter sound, he'd thought it might be the bigass troop transport he'd been kidnapped in. That might've offered a chance at escape. That is, if he had the balls to try clinging onto its landing gear as it departed. He honestly wasn't sure if he could go through with that or not.
But no, this one was just a baby. It looked like a big white baseball with a tail and a swirly top. Probably only room for two or three passengers. There was no way he could stow away on that thing without someone noticing. Cody relaxed his deathgrip on the tower's edge as his excitement soured into disappointment.
He still kept an unwavering eye on the little craft as it came closer. For starters, he wanted to know who the hell was in it. And also, how the hell was it going to get through the wiredome? He'd been wondering about that in the back of his mind ever since his arrival. The transport chopper hadn't teleported through. If there was a way in and out, it might be exploitable.
Cody's attention was pulled away by movement on the ground. Looking like ants pouring from their hill, his fellow members of K Group left their classroom, led by Miss Vera, to watch the helicopter land. Cody tilted his head. What did they have to do with whoever was inside it?
A moment later his question about the wiredome was answered. Six pie-slice sections at the very top of the dome unlocked with an echoing clang and slowly peeled themselves backwards, making an entry hole in the center. 'Well, I'm not getting out that way,' Cody thought with a grunt of frustration. 'Not unless I find a grappling gun lying around.'
The pie-panels didn't close up again as the little helicopter descended; Cody guessed they might be taking off shortly. His guess was right. It landed just barely long enough for one GPA member to hop off, escorting a handcuffed special guest. The copter pilot shot back up immediately afterwards. Cody couldn't help but wonder if it was due to all the weight he'd suddenly offloaded.
Cody suddenly understood exactly why the GPA had flown in this man specifically, and why Vera had brought her students out to greet him. Standing there in the middle of camp, quite obviously swearing his face red, was Prey Vice President Andrew Denton.
Even from so far away, Cody knew it was him with a single glance. President Kincaid was a slender fella, but his VP was a freakin' wall. The otter looked as wide as he was tall, half fat and half muscle. Simply big all over.
And up till now, he had been one of the remaining leaders of Prey society. If the Great Predator Army had him, things had gone from 'not good' to 'completely fucked'. Cody didn't even know at this point who was left in line to succeed him.
All this went through Cody's mind in an instant. About as long as it took Yolanda Denton to let out an unrestrained shriek of joy and run towards her daddy.
Cody had been correct: Yola had picked out a brand new GPA uniform. And it was conservative like Vera's, also as predicted. A simple black military uniform with a standard hat and armband, but very nicely tailored.
When the vice president saw her, Cody saw his wince all the way up in the tower. The man winced with his entire body.
Cody saw Yolanda stop in her tracks, seemingly trying to explain herself to him.
Then he hauled off and backhanded her into the dirt.
'You son of a bitch!!' Cody screamed in his mind.
He understood the man's anger. He understood it perfectly. To see your daughter willingly dressed in the garb of your greatest enemy cannot be a pleasant experience. But that was no excuse for a grown man hitting his child.
Vera and several classmates were already rushing to help Yola up. Cody could see how wide with heartbreak her eyes were. Jayden found where her glasses had fallen and cleaned them off with the edge of his shirt. She gave him a grateful nod as she put them back on.
The GPA soldier standing next to Mr. Denton gave him a shove and barked scornfully at him. He was too well-trained to swing back and deck his captive though.
Hydra Kensington, on the other hand, didn't give a shit.
Cody could not believe he was seeing this. Hydra actually managed to run in that clown costume of hers. She circled around, aligning herself directly behind the vice president, then charged.
With one big bunnyfoot clad in a leather boot, she literally kicked his ass.
Andrew Denton faceplanted. The man who had been carrying the entire nation for the past few weeks went sprawling, arms-flailing. He pushed himself up a second later, spitting sand out of his mouth.
Hydra stood behind him, radiating fury.
Cody couldn't make out what she said to him then, but from just the inflection, it was clear she was righteously pissed-off.
As the soldier helped Mr. Denton to his feet, Hydra (Chloe-Sophia joining her side), trotted over to Yolanda to give her a quick comforting hug. Yolanda looked rather stunned by everything that had just happened to her in the last few seconds.
Chloe continued to comfort Yola while Hydra turned back around to glare venomously at Mr. Denton. Vera said some things to him then also. He seemed defiant at first, then showed a small bit of shame. 'She's probably telling him the same thing I thought,' Cody guessed. 'Uniform or not, you don't ever hit your kid.'
Cody thought about what his own father would have done if it'd been him discovering Cody wearing the enemy's uniform. He knew Dad would never hit him; he'd promised many times. But he'd probably give Cody a look of disappointment that'd stay with him his entire life. One that would be far more painful and permanent than an impulsive, angry slap.
Now Yolanda was cautiously walking towards her father, rubbing her cheek from where he'd hit her. She was talking to him, quietly it seemed. The man ran his hands through his thick black hair several times, seemingly trying to get his composure back like this was a bad press conference he was trying to salvage. Yolanda talked with him a bit more, then he finally said something back. It must have been an apology of some sort, because Yolanda nodded to him and stepped closer for a short, tentative hug.
The large otter stood there looking torn and confused and helpless for quite a while, before shouting an angry question at the soldier beside him. The soldier answered, then gave the man's arm a tug and began leading him towards the bunkhouses. Yolanda didn't go with him. Instead, Vera led her away in the opposite direction. The vixen held the ottergirl's hand and spoke too softly for Cody to overhear. Hydra, Chloe and the other Preykids followed behind.
It took a moment for Cody to come back to himself.
He didn't know what to think about what he'd just seen, but his emotions didn't care about his thoughts and dozens of them banged in conflict against his heart. Seeing Yola's dad smack her like that... He'd wanted to leap down from the tower, run over and belt the sonofabitch himself. He had a newfound respect for Hydra. She wasn't just a diva it seemed, but a literal ass-kicker too. Cody found himself really hoping that Mr. Denton had just hit Yola out of shock. A momentary lapse in conscience. He hoped he and Yolanda would be able to reconcile. As much as Cody empathized with the man's outrage at seeing his daughter wearing that red armband, he couldn't imagine much worse than a father and child losing each other.
The chipmunk boy sunk to his knees and leaned against the side of the tower. He rested his head on his crossed arms. He had so much to think about. Beyond the miniature family drama he had just witnessed, there was the bigger picture to consider. His enemy had captured the Prey's top leader. Twice now. Cody didn't know if the country could hold together after that. He knew what a morale killer it would be. People would panic. And people consumed by fear are easily led.
Cody had not allowed himself to consider the possibility until now. But things had changed. He had to start thinking about what might happen if the Great Predator Army actually won.
*****
The camp was louder than usual as the rest of the Prey and Predkids left their classes. Word had obviously gotten around about the vice president's enforced visit. And judging by some of the inflections Cody overheard, Mr. Denton's slap was common knowledge too. Cody couldn't make out anyone's exact words, but body language came through clear. There was just as much disbelief, anger and worry on the ground as there was up in the observation tower.
Cody had tried to go back to reading, but the words on the page were alphabet soup. His mind was racing. Swirling. All sorts of clashing ideas, worries, rejected plans, nightmares, hopes, predictions. None of it useful. It was just his brain panicking in random directions over this new development.
Things might not be so bad. It was possible. For all Cody knew, the Prey might have a new, better leader already. Maybe the guy next in line would be one of the military commanders. Someone who'd order more strikes against the Preds until the GPA threat was finally wiped out. Maybe the Preys had even let the VP get captured as part of an overall plan. Maybe Mr. Denton had a tracer on him.
Or maybe Yolanda's Newbrain was activating right now and she was standing directly behind her father, ready to sink a razor into his neck.
There was no way to know.
At least, not yet. Not unless he did some recon.
Cody began to actually consider the possibility of leaving the tower.
His body vigorously applauded that idea. The observation platform was safe, but not cozy. His legs had been craving exercise after hours of just sitting. Not to mention it was dull as purgatory up here. It was only two P.M. and he already felt like he'd spent half a week up here.
If he did go down and scout around for information, would he be able to get back to the tower without being seen? Cody was mostly confident he could do some spying without being caught by the Preds. But if he fucked up, he'd lead them right back to his one hiding spot, and then it'd be permanently compromised.
No. As much as he wanted to know more about what was going on, the smarter strategy was to stay put. If he could just be patient and wait for that gate in the wiredome to open, he could get the hell out of here and find out what was going on from the outside.
He had plenty of food left, but his reading material was diminishing. Eventually he was going to find himself sitting on his ass with nothing to do but try to keep his brain from scaring itself to death.
The hot afternoon sun sent tiny waterfalls of sweat running through his fur. It was too hot to think clearly.
'Maybe I could just take a nap for a while,' Cody thought.
Part of him rejected that idea outright. Lowering his guard might get him killed. But his practical side told his G.I. Joe side to shut up. 'They should have found me by now. Period. If they were going to, they would have already done it. Taking some time to relax isn't going to change much. Either they'll suddenly get smarter or they won't. And I'll hear them coming even if they do find me. They'll have to climb up the side just like I did. I'll sure as hell feel everything vibrating if they try that.'
He smiled at the sudden mental image of a GPA Pred climbing up over the side of the observation platform, and him planting a perfectly-timed chipmunk foot kick to the face to send the guy plummeting down to the unforgiving concrete below.
Cody gave the hard, slightly warped floorboards a feel. 'Plus, I'm not likely gonna get any good sleep on this stuff. Probly just a catnap. I'll be awake again soon enough.'
It was hard to go against his gut like this, but his rational side was making nothing but good points.
Cody slid himself down to the floor and tucked his arm under his head. He skootched backwards until he was tucked somewhat comfortably into a corner.
He allowed himself to close his eyes. For a while he focused all his attention on his ears. Listening for anything. He heard bird noises. Airy bits of faraway conversation. The breeze running its fingers through the pine tree limbs...
Cody felt himself relaxing. There was a bit more shade in his corner. Just enough to turn the sunshine from a low burning irritation to a cozy warmth. Cody listened to his breathing.
As he let his tension recede, he felt a clutch of sadness. Now that he wasn't thinking anymore about escape maneuvers and enemy plots, his heart had time to remind him of all the pain it was going through. How alone he felt. How every hour of missing his Dad hurt worse than the previous one. Cody almost wanted to give up on the nap and go back to worrying about what the Preds were doing, because at least that was a distraction from his emotions.
But... part of him wanted to feel them. It was wearying having them poke at him from the background all the time. He wanted to just give in now and let them have their say. He was safe here. As safe as he was likely to get. No one else was around.
Cody felt the first tears arrive. He let them bring more.
He allowed his inner self to make its voice heard. It was the voice of a far younger chipmunk. A little boy who felt lost and alone. And scared. Terrified. Worse than terrified. There wasn't words for this kind of fear. Dread, maybe. The endless, unstoppable fear that he'd never feel his father's fur again. He'd never get to help Aunt Cherise cook in her kitchen again. He'd never hear their voices ever, ever, ever again. Because he was just a little boy trapped in a prison made by monsters. And they were going to eat him. He'd evaded them so far, but it was impossible to keep it up forever. Eventually they'd find him, and they would eat him. Tear the flesh from his skeleton and EAT him.
'Dad, help me,' Cody thought. 'I need you so bad. I can't do this anymore. I'm so scared all the time, no matter how much I try to force myself not to be. It's always there in the pit of my stomach. I just want to see you again. I'll do anything. Please, Dad. I don't know what to do.'
Cody cried as quietly as it was possible for a boy to cry. He let his thoughts plead and ramble until they started falling apart, becoming meaningless. Sleep swirled in. Fuzziness descended over his thoughts.
As the birds chirped and the trees rustled and the sun kept him warm, Cody fell fast into darkness. It was a relief.
*****
Cody awoke, many hours later, to the sound of muffled music.
He peeled his eyes open. He stretched the arm he'd been using for a pillow and groaned at the stiff, piercing pain in his elbow. His whole hand was numb too. It felt like a rubber glove full of oatmeal.
Dragging himself up into a sitting position felt like someone was hammering nails into his nerves. Napping on a wood floor was not an experience he wanted to recreate ever again. He felt like he'd been dropped out of a plane.
He reached back for the edge of the wall and pulled himself up to find where that music was coming from. It wasn't the classical stuff the GPA played every morning to wake them, and it wasn't even coming from the loudspeakers.
Grunting, he turned himself around to scan the camp. Judging by the pink, dark sky, he'd slept through dinner. A lot of kids and GPAs were wandering around, doing evening activities. Some were jogging as a group. A lot of them were on the athletic field. The grassy rectangle had been split up into a volleyball game on one side and some kind of loosely-ruled ball game on the other. Some football/dodgeball hybrid. Maybe it was a Pred thing. That was where the music was coming from. A group in the stands were gathered around a booming radio.
Nearly everywhere he looked, wherever he saw a group of kids there were orange uniforms mixed in with the blue. Or blue mixed with orange. The little gatherings of Preds or Prey were all still pretty segregated, but everyone seemed to be allowing a few from the other side to mingle experimentally.
Normally a sight like this would fill Cody with rage. But he felt different now. After the emotions he'd gone through just prior to his nap, he was in a more contemplative, somber mood.
He watched the Preds and Prey talking together, playing together, laughing together. Asking questions of one another. Getting to know what it was like on the other side of the Fence.
And for the first time, Cody began to think, 'It might be nice if it were all true.'
He knew it wasn't, of course. Of course. There was a reason the war had been going on for so long. There was a reason the Fences stayed up. To ignore those reasons was to ignore all of history. But...
For the first time he thought he could at least understand the GPA's motives. At least, what they claimed their motives were. It'd be nice if the war could end. It was a nice fantasy to imagine everyone giving up on revenge and just forgiving each other. There was a part of him that kinda wanted that too.
There was also, not surprisingly, another part of him that was jumping up and down and throwing a tantrum at him for daring to entertain such seditious thoughts. But that voice was just a squeak. Beyond it, the bigger emotion he felt was sadness.
He closed his eyes. "No," he said sorrowfully.
It wasn't a matter of wanting the Great Predator Army's fantasy to be true. Because it wasn't true. And nothing could make it become true. Ever. Cody knew this.
Even if he could admit to himself that maybe, assuming they weren't all liars, the GPA had truly good intentions, in the end it wouldn't matter. Good intentions couldn't change biology. Wanting everyone in the world to give up violence and hatred wouldn't make it magically come true like in a fairy tale.
Maybe in this one camp, sealed away under a dome, in these perfect laboratory conditions, Preds and Prey could get along okay. But 'in here' was different from 'out there'. The experiment could not be recreated on a large scale. Cody knew this.
Eyes closed, he sighed. He realized sleep was tickling at his brain again and he stood up to shake it off. No sense in falling back asleep now. Besides, he was hungry again.
'Besides, I gotta piss like a mid-flight refueling jet.'
Not seeing any other way, Cody simply pulled his shorts down, got as close to the edge as he dared, and watered the trees. 'Hope I don't kill any flowers.' Actually, his real worry was that someone with a sensitive enough nose might smell his piss and locate him. He tried to direct his stream as far away from the tower as he possibly could.
Then he sat himself down and rustled around in his shirtbag. Rationing bedamned, he was thirsty as hell and needed a second drink. He downed half a bottle of warm water without hardly realizing it. For his main course he dined on little square crackers with cheese-stuff squirted between them. Plus another granola bar. He was surprised he wasn't sick of them by now. For dessert, a few more fruit gummies and another water.
He checked through the cracks again. Still no one approaching the tower. It was like he'd been completely forgotten.
He wondered where they'd taken the vice president. He wondered if he and Yolanda had eaten dinner together.
He wondered if Kenny was worried about him.
Cody felt drained, numbed and purposeless.
He picked up his book and began reading again.
*****
By the time the sky had begun to darken, Cody knew 100% that he couldn't force himself to spend the night out here.
There were a variety of reasons. Number one was sheer boredom. He felt like he was going insane. It felt like he was dreaming with his eyes open. Weird, half-formed thoughts had been swimming around in circles inside his mind for hours now. He'd finished his book, and it was very good, and when he thought about starting on the next one, he just couldn't bring himself to. It seemed like an impossible amount of work to crawl over, pick it up, and drag his eyes across any more lines of text. Since then he'd been sitting with his back to the wall, just thinking strange, alien thoughts and hoping over and over again that he'd wake up to find this was all a dream.
Snatches of song lyrics. Bits of things Vera had said. Lists of books he'd owned and movies he'd seen. What random things smelled like. These were the kind of thoughts Cody's disintegrating brain was farting out at him.
Plus there were the mosquitoes. They hadn't been bad the previous nights (Maybe the wiredome kept most of them out), but for some reason they loved it up here. Their bites from earlier in the day had begun to itch. Cody had spent a few hours scratching furiously until he finally gave up. He'd sat still until the compulsive itch faded to a throb.
There was also the fact that he just couldn't stand being up here anymore. The wooden planks he'd been sitting on all day had turned his legs into twitching slabs of ache. There was no longer any position he could sit in that wouldn't become unbearably uncomfortable within fifteen minutes. And considering how he'd felt after his nap, he didn't think he could survive trying to sleep up here again.
He stood up, moaning as little splinters of agony tingled him all over. He patted one of the roof supports. "Tower, you served your purpose and I thank you a lot," he said, "but I really fucking hate your guts right now. Sorry."
He knew he'd face punishment for breaking the vending machines and the Newbrain chair. And for hurting poor Rick. He knew the Preds might torture him. But honestly, could it really feel worse than how stiff and cramped and itchy and sweaty and knotted-up he felt now? The very thought of slipping between his sheets into his nice soft bunk damn near tented Cody's pants.
He looked at the trapdoor hatch in the floor. He stared at it, making sure he was really okay with making this decision.
Going back down meant being caught. Was he really okay with that? Could he honestly say that he couldn't stand one more hour up here? Twenty minutes? Five minutes?
In purest honesty, all Cody cared about was not breaking his neck on the climb down.
"Fine," he said to himself as he pulled the hatch open.
He left his books and remaining food behind. Just in case he'd end up needing them again somehow.
*****
Cody took his descent slowly. As carefully as he'd ever done anything in his life. His arms and legs still felt like marionette limbs; stiff but floppy. Bending his knees was not fun.
Once his sneakers touched ground, he let out a loud sigh of relief and hugged the timbers.
'Thanks for not letting me fall. I guess I don't hate you. I just don't wanna spend another...' What'd it been? Eleven hours? Cody had no way of knowing. It was dark out; that was the extent of his knowledge.
As he trudged back through camp, he made a guess that it wasn't quite bedtime yet. A few kids were still running around or walking together. He thought he saw Frank and that Predkid for a second, but it turned out to be just another couple. Pred and Prey. Cody didn't even have the energy to feel disgust.
He passed the athletic field where the music was still going strong. A small cluster of kids were playing cards behind the bleachers. No one looked up at him as he walked by.
Cody really, really hoped he wouldn't run into Rick out here. He was in no condition to explain or apologize. He hoped he wouldn't run into any GPAs, actually. He hoped he could just slip unobtrusively back to the bunkhouse and slither into bed. Maybe get a cold drink of water from the bathroom first.
And it seemed like maybe the good fairy was looking out for him tonight, because he ended up getting his wish. No one paid any attention to the haggard-looking chipmunk as he made his way back to bunkhouse 3. The boy who walked like a limping sixty-year-old. The boy whose eyes reflected only tiredness and defeat.
He paused on the steps leading up to the door. The night was calm and still, but he could hear voices inside. Loud, casual chatting.
'Maybe I could just sleep out here? Avoid the noise?' he thought.
He shook his head. 'No. Bed.' No amount of giggles or blather could keep him from sleep right now.
Cody pulled open the bunkhouse door and blinked at the bright light inside.
He'd almost expected a moment like in a Western where the bad guy walks into a saloon. Sudden silence, punctuated by shocked gasps from the patrons. But for the most part, no one was much interested in him. The bunkhouse was maybe a third full; kids sitting around on their beds chatting or reading. Most looked up briefly when he walked in, but few gave him more than a couple seconds' worth of attention.
One of the first things Cody noticed was the yellow tape plastered all around the vending machines. The glass had been cleared away and so had all the food. 'Looks like no one's getting any midnight snacks tonight. Sorry guys.'
Cody walked slow on tired legs, making a beeline straight for his bunk. If he had stayed on course, things might have turned out differently. But he wanted a drink of water so bad. He looked towards the bathroom, wanting to run the tap for a while to get it as cold as possible, then just cup his hands underneath and slurp that heavenly stuff up. Maybe even rub some on his bug bites. Things might have turned out differently if he'd just gone to bed. If he hadn't glanced to the left.
If he hadn't seen Walter.
The bobcat boy was sitting on a bunk surrounded by a harem of Preygirls. Two bunnies, a skunk and a chinchilla. They were fawning over him. Giggling. Playing with his hair. Treating him like their fascinating little pet Pred. Walter looked flustered, but he sure as hell wasn't shooing them away.
Cody stopped moving when he saw this.
He stared.
Slowly, his slack expression began to tighten.
Then, with barely any thought at all, he broke into a run.
A second later, the girls scattered like bowling pins as Cody's fist slammed into the side of Walter's face.
Cody heard screaming. He heard people scrambling out of their bunks. He heard the 'THUD THUD THUD' of the rain of punches he was bringing down on Walter's head and chest. He heard himself scream, in a hoarse and vicious voice he didn't recognize, "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!!!"
And through it all, Cody found himself just as much a spectator to this little scene of drama as any of the other kids who had gathered around to watch. Some of the girls who'd been sitting with Walter were tugging at Cody's arms and shirt to pull him off. But he didn't feel them. Walter was wriggling like a suffocating fish at the bottom of a boat. But Cody didn't feel that either.
Cody felt like he was floating in a fog somewhere at the back of his mind while someone else operated all his systems. Rage had taken him over before, but this time he hadn't even felt it happen. It had just swept him aside like he was of no consequence whatsoever. It flicked Cody out of the way and sat down in the driver's seat like it had always belonged there. It threw up a steel shield to keep Cody out, then started moving levers to manipulate his arms and legs.
Cody didn't even feel anger. Yes, he felt it around him. Like he was floating in an air pocket deep inside a lava flow. But none of it seemed to touch him. He felt nothing but nothingness. He watched himself destroying Walter's face with merciless blow after merciless blow, and he felt completely numb inside. Even the sight of blood didn't do anything to him.
Then all of a sudden, gravity decided to pull a prank on him. Cody was flying straight up in the air. 'How is this possible?' he thought.
He soon found out why. Tina the lioness had yanked him straight up and off Walter with just one hand. She spun the chipmunk around, face to face, and she was so pissed off she was nearly steaming.
But she trembled a little, just for a second, when she looked in Cody's eyes and realized they were as dead as a corpse's.
"You, are coming with me," she snarled slowly as she regained her menace.
"Okay," said Cody.
Quick, echoing strides carried his limp self down the aisle of the bunkhouse towards the door. Cody felt like he was drifting slowly up from a dream. The sounds of shock and horror coming from behind him painted a picture of just how badly he had mangled poor Walter.
Cody heard two other adult voices talking rapidly. It sounded like they were gonna go carry the bobcat off to get him patched up.
Surreally, Cody found himself hoping Walter would be okay.
*****