Undeath by Chocolate

Oran by D. Cardwell (Horror)

Always worried that the sky may fall in, Dave (@FoolsErrand on Wattpad) writes to keep his anxiety at bay. The superstorms and coronal mass ejection events of the 21st century have ensured that Dave, for better or worse, is never too far away from his keypad.

When not hunting for the last of the bumblebees, Dave is privileged to write with a disparate group of science fiction writers who have just released their 25th anthology. Dave continues to battle with the rigours of punctuation and is continually frustrated by the failure of Quantum Computing to make the comma obsolete.

Oran sat at the front of the school bus savouring a piece of his chocolate bar. A beat-up backpack nestled in the empty seat beside him. Oran watched as the scorched remains of another once vibrant town flashed by, he thought it was called Fairport. He had been there once for pizza and kart racing. He wouldn't be going there again, well not soon anyway. An elastic protective face mask tumbled over his head and landed at the feet of the driver in front of him who muttered angrily. Miss Lyons, their teacher, was quickly on her feet.

"Any more misbehaviour and we turn this bus around and go straight back to class," she threatened, but they all knew she would never cancel this trip. Truth was Miss Lyons was as eager as the class to go and see the exhibit. The noise became louder and louder as they approached what was left of the city zoo. Oran tuned them all out, lost in his thoughts about the deserted towns that slid by as the school bus carved its way through the desolation.

Another face mask. This time it found its target and struck Oran on the side of the head, the sneering laugh of Lloyd the new school bully distinct amongst the chuckles. Oran didn't react; he didn't want to give him the pleasure. Miss Lyons glanced up considering the solitary little boy, but Oran turned away he didn't need her help. The class hated him enough he didn't need to add teacher's pet to the list.

"Almost there", barked the bus driver as the bus crossed into one of the new construction zones. Row upon row of whitewashed concrete housing gleamed in the shiny body of the coach as it passed. Up ahead the familiar entrance to the zoo could be seen. Its trademark oversized flamingo that framed the entrance now looked a little tired and forlorn. Quietness settled over the bus. Each perhaps remembering the last time they had been there, before the outbreak, before the devastation. Happier times.

Even Oran felt it. He thought of his sister's birthday party. Oran had moaned the whole day about how he hated family trips out. He ended up throwing his piece of his sister's favourite chocolate cake into the elephant enclosure. That day, his dad had taken him to the gorillas and said that they were behaving much better than he was and how he must learn to control his temper. He was always doing stuff like that, he once overheard his mum say that he was broken inside but his dad always defended him, always promised it would get better. His family was gone now. He yearned to go back to that day. They all felt a sense of loss.

"Everyone, don't forget to bring your packed lunch with you and remember stay with the group at all times", instructed Miss Lyons as the students excitedly bustled off the bus. Waiting to greet them was Ranger Hyde. He would be their guide for the day.

He began with all the usual health and safety pleasantries. Nobody really paid any attention until the bit about infection, for that they all listened intently. They all watched as Ranger Hyde pointed to the firearms stores that would open in the unlikely event that the alarm should sound. The zoo had an incongruous appearance; parts were run down and deserted while other areas were modern and secure. It gave the place a rather uncomfortable mix of technology and decay. Oran looked around at the new entrance building. There was nothing old about it. It had all the trappings of a state of the art facility. Ranger Hyde finished his briefing and as no one had any questions, the tour began. Oran stared up at the surveillance cameras until Lloyd bumped him hard from behind. A few of the boys giggled.

The first part of the tour involved a trip to the Aqua Centre and the Reptile House. The eels made everyone squeal with delight as they swarmed through the muddy green water. They were one of the few fish to thrive in the toxic water of the rivers and streams. Even Oran raised a smile. There was little to see in the reptile house as the snakes and scorpions all remained frustratingly hidden, if they were even there at all. When the class became restless, Ranger Hyde directed the group to the sophisticated looking complex, purpose-built cages for the new exhibits. The Ranger seemed to take a lot of pride as he outlined the security features such as the electrified fence and the moat that surrounded it which he joked was full of the eels. Just as the group neared the walkway that could be raised and lowered over the moats inky abyss, Ranger Hyde veered towards an elaborate rope climbing frame and a cluster of dilapidated picnic tables.

"Lunchtime", he chirped.

"Alright class, we will be here for twenty minutes. Remember to leave no trace, litter can cost lives", Miss Lyons added cautiously. But, not for the first time, the group wasn't listening to her and had already settled down excitedly at the picnic tables.

Oran perched himself unobtrusively on the corner of one of the old wooden tables.

"This is gonna be gross, I can't believe we are going to see one", gushed Marco as he tucked into a plain bread roll.

"This place feels so different now", added a boy called Chris.

"Yeah...not like I remember, the lions and elephants. Now they were amazing." Annabelle smiled wistfully, gazing into the distance.

"Yeah...where are all the lions and elephants?" Wondered Chris aloud.

Ranger Hyde appeared by their table counting heads and asking whether everyone was alright.

"Ranger Hyde, sir, where are all the lions and elephants?" Chris repeated.

The Ranger stopped for a moment to consider his answer.

"Gone", he replied darkly. "The zoo was overrun early in the outbreak and well you can guess what happened..." he trailed off and an awkward silence followed.

"But that's in the past and today is the start of a new chapter for the zoo, you will never forget this visit! Better get eating you lot, we aren't hanging round here all day", the Ranger added as cheerily as he could before moving off.

"Hey Oran..." Marco sneered "You see what your dad did?"

Oran didn't respond, he had learnt to live with the accusing stares. He sighed deeply. He had tried so many times to explain that his dad was only trying to help him, fix him, but no one listened. They preferred to believe he was a monster meddling with the human brain rather than a father trying to help his son.

"My mum says when scientists try and play god this is what happens", Annabelle added neutrally.

"My mum died in the outbreak....then killed my brother," added Frankie, a frizzy brown haired little girl who rarely spoke.

The others shook their heads sympathetically; Annabelle placed an arm around her friend.

Oran spoke. "I lost my whole family....but it wasn't my dad's fault. It was all a terrible accident. They were just trying to make the world a better place is all."

"Better place", mocked Marco. "Look around you. Half the towns have been scorched, the drones patrol all the time and the zoo it doesn't even have any lions or elephants anymore".

The others nodded in agreement and Oran just bowed his head. He couldn't argue with that, after all Marco had a point. Oran sat on the picnic bench holding protectively his half eaten chocolate bar as his classmates spent the last couple of minutes of lunch clambering on the ropes. Marco and Lloyd leaned together in quiet conversation at the top of the climbing frame.