Something I Don't Know

17: the buddy system is not a flawless system

I'm not entirely sure why I agreed to this.

First and foremost, it's cold, and considering it's a zoo, there's not a whole lot of indoor space, let alone indoor space with working heating. Second (and secondmost?), the place is kind of eerie, the vacant habitats and cobblestone walkways giving off the impression that it's abandoned. The only truly whole aspect of the new zoo at the moment is the sign in front of which Anik greets us. It reads, Brighter Atlanta Zoo.

He could have just named it "new," but no, it had to be "brighter."

Anik waves a hand at us when he sees Jamie and me approaching, and even from several feet away, that smile of his is still immaculate. Yeah. I really don't know why I agreed to this.

When we reach him, he extends a hand in my direction. I expect, you know, with him being the mayor and all, that he'd have some sort of security team along with him, but he's completely alone. "Grey," he greets, shaking my hand. By hell, even his handshake's perfect. Not firm enough to break my hand, but enough to say to anyone who shakes hands with him: I'm the man. He turns to Jamie, hand still extended. "And you must be Jamie."

Jamie grins toothily and shakes his hand perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Grey's told you about me?"

Anik makes eye contact with me, and winks. "Lots."

As Anik turns to lead us through the zoo's gates, I have this terrible urge to remind Jamie that this guy's weird, that he kidnapped me, that he shouldn't be as excited to be here as he's acting like he is. But when I glance at Jamie, he's skipping around, humming a little to himself, and after all the shitty stuff that's happened to him in the past twenty-four hours, I just can't bring myself to scold him.

Considering he's just fifteen and not even enrolled in school, he doesn't get to go out much. I figure I owe him this.

Anik, Jamie, and I walk past the visitor's center and gift shop, the three of us in step with each other, side by side. Though all the enclosures are empty (we walk past plaques that display info about the Asiatic Lion, Bengal Tiger, even some sort of panther thing—all the scary, big ass cats), around nearly every corner is a sign with Anik's face, welcoming people to the wonderful city of Atlanta. I'm not sure why, but the whole thing is kind of giving me the heebie-jeebies.

"And now we're coming up on the African savanna section—elephants, giraffes, zebras, and the like," Anik says as we cross a bridge that crosses a babbling brook. I look down, and think I catch the flash of a tail within the water, but it's gone before I can make much sense of it. "The whole zoo's organized by ecosystem. It's grand, isn't it?"

Grand. I would never describe a zoo as grand. Grand seems like a word reserved for palaces and fancy gowns and chocolate fondue. "Sure," I say, at the same time that Jamie replies exuberantly, "Of course!"

Anik shoots him a grateful smile. There's something else stranger in his expression that I can't read, but I get my answer soon enough when he asks, "Forgive me, Jamie—but that scar on your ear. It's strange. How did you get it?"

I jolt to attention. We walk past more empty enclosures, all cut off by iron bars and fences, the whole place still rather eerie, and only made more so by the clouds shrouding the sky above our heads.

Jamie brushes the scar in question. Not that it's much of a scar, anyway. More of a brand. Lobo's brand. His owner's brand. Bullet's brand. "I used to be a fighter," he says simply.

I choke on my own spit. "Jamie, you can't just—"

Anik, however, isn't fazed. It's almost like he expected it. "Oh? Illegally?"