Subject Zero (Book 1)

Chapter 24: Contact

Wednesday, December 5, 1984
5:05p.m.
Cabin, Bluebell Forest

Third Person's POV
Jesper walked in through the front door. He saw LeAnna getting ready to leave for another search party.

"Hey, kiddo. Did you go to one of your friends' house early? You told me not to get up for you, so I'm just curious, plus you've been away all day," LeAnna asked after she saw him.

Jesper nodded his head in response. "Norman's house... Are you going to gather up people for another search party?"

"Yep... Are you holding up okay? It's been over a week since Klaus disappeared, so... How're Norman and the others taking it?"

"Umm... Yeah, I'm okay. Everyone's, uh... Everyone's fine. ...Can I talk to you about something?" Jesper asked her, standing by the small dining table.

LeAnna turned to him and nodded her head, "Yeah. You need anything?"

    "...Well, um, you know how I haven't been around a whole lot since Klaus went missing? And how you gave me that journal from Isabella?"

She had an intrigued expression on her face. "Hmm... Yeah, I still need to talk to you about why you haven't been around much."

"I have a reason," Jesper sounded serious. "But I need you to come with me to Norman's house. There's something you need to see."

The Snicket Household

Alio, Anne, Rei, and Zero were in the basement once again.

Anne was sitting on the couch, adjusting the radio frequencies. Alio and Rei were in the fort, and Zero was holding her torn up stuffed animal Miyo as she sat next to Anne on the couch.

Norman ran downstairs. "Here, Zero, I got a bag of cereal for you... We really need to stop feeding you a bunch of junk food and leftovers."

Zero took the bag of cereal and immediately started eating some of it, and Norman sat down next to her. A moment later, Naomi walked down the stairs, closing the door behind her.

"What'd you dorks make me come down here for?" asked Naomi as she leaned on the railing. "Our Mom and Dad just left to gather up people for the search party, by the way."

     "Okay, good. Just stay here, we're waiting for Jesper."

     "Y'know, I still think this is a bad idea," Alio commented as he handed Rei a toy car.

Right after he said those words, the door leading from outdoors and into the basement opened, and Jesper walked in, followed by LeAnna.

"So, you said I needed to see something?" LeAnna asked as Jesper closed the door behind her. When she looked at the kids, she noticed a new face: Zero. She saw the tattoo on her neck: 000. "...Huh." Her brows rose a bit.

Zero looked over at Norman, confused.

"Don't worry, Zero. She won't hurt you, right?" Norman said to her, reassuring her that everything's okay.

     "Yeah, you're okay," Jesper said. He then turns back to LeAnna and explains, "But, yeah, uhh... This is the reason I haven't been at home much. Anne found her and Zero was staying at Anne's at first, but then we brought her here because... we went looking for Klaus."