Match in the Gas Tank || Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz

53 Snake Pit

The entrance was risky, which was why the teens were gathered at a busted fence. On the other side were some trees and beyond that was the laughter of children. It was no surprise to any of them since the zoo was a popular spot. It was also great for the day's activities, as the volume of visitors would be vital to the teens' self-appointed mission.

They weren't in a rush, enjoying the calm before the storm that was them about to enter the zoo. Some of the guys were entertaining themselves by talking about girls or shoving each other. Kyler showed up with beer and passed it out as Hawk began going over the plan.

"Alright, we've got one shot at this. Quick, in and out, and we'll be good," he said, looking at the others to ensure they were listening. He turned to Kyler and pointedly asked, "You know what you gotta do?"

"Oh yeah," Kyler smirked and sipped his beer.

Hawk then turned to Evie, smirking. "Then I think we've got everything we need."

As he went to sip his beer, Evie noticed someone approaching from the hill. She glared as the sense of pride she felt for her boyfriend drained from her body, replaced with vitriol and bitterness. It felt awful but she couldn't stop it. Whenever she laid eyes on Robby Keene, everything else took a backseat.

"You weren't invited," she spat at him.

He stared at her blankly before shooting a glance at Kyler. "Actually, I was."

Evie wanted to smack Kyler, wondering where he got the bright idea to invite Keene on their little mission. However, there was no space for her to think about it because of her disdain for the other teen. All that was on her mind was how to get rid of him.

Hawk spoke beside her, "Yeah, well, he doesn't call the shots around here."

"That's you, right?" Robby asked, tone challenging. With his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket, he acted cool and calm.

Hawk nodded hotly, amped up. "Yeah, so you can get out of here."

"Or I could just go tell security that you're all out here breaking in."

Hawk took a step toward Robby, but Evie grabbed his sleeve. "He's not worth it." She stepped past him and went to stand in front of Robby, staring him down. "You wanna be one of us so bad, don't you?"

He shrugged. "Never said that."

"Never had to," she told him. She shoved her can into Kyler's hand, too angry to drink. In the corner of her eye, she saw him look a little confused, then started drinking it after her. She wanted to roll her eyes but kept them trained on Keene instead. "Fine, but it won't be easy for you, lost puppy."

He glared at her, keeping a hardened expression on his face, but she saw the slight shift in his eyes. The bit of confusion and hurt at her words couldn't be as easily hidden in his eyes. He didn't say anything and she grinned in his face before turning to the others.

"Let's go," she said and walked to the fence. She started pulling it back when one of the guys grabbed it and held it for her. She glared at him and he looked away from her. "I had it."

Then she crawled through the fence without another word, not wanting to draw attention to their group. The last thing they needed after Keene showed up was to get caught.

~

Getting to the reptile house wasn't hard. If anything, it was too easy. The group of teenagers blended into the crowd of zoo guests seamlessly, appearing as though it was a regular day of the week for them. No one asked why they were there, everyone minded their own business, which was how it should be. They wandered around and looked at some of the animals behind glass panels to seem inconspicuous, but the entire time they had their eyes on the real target: the door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY in big red letters.