I really enjoyed this one. In fact, it was one of the very first scenarios that popped into my head while planning this entire thing! :D

Chapter 9

Vince kept shooting longing looks over at Howard, and it was going to give him a bloody panic attack! Each year was to be crammed into different buses. Howard was certainly not looking forward to being elbowed for the entirety of the three-hour-long bus ride it would take to get them to Wuthering Heights Zoo. He was already stressed by this prospect of unwanted touching as it was; he didn't need the kid looking over at him every five seconds with that face! Vince was of course going to be put on a separate bus, being in year 3. Howard just thanked god that there weren't that many students in his own year.

Pulled to attention by the sound of someone calling for everyone to pile up onto the buses, Howard was ushered forward by the throng of bodies and barely got through the bus door in one piece. He didn't know how Vince pulled it off, but somehow that sneaky little brat had managed to flee his own group undetected, because Howard felt small hands clasp onto his slacks. He didn't even have to turn around to know it was the kid. None of the surrounding teenagers seemed to notice or care that there was an outsider among them, because everyone crammed onto seats and the very floor of the bus without so much as a look in Howard and Vinces' direction. Howard was able to claim a seat near the back, on the left. He was just glad he'd gotten a window-seat, as he was soon joined by two other people.

Quickly pushing down the window so that he could breathe, Howard felt the first of what promised to be many elbow jabs in his side by the two girls next to him. He'd had to grab up Vince when they sat down so that they wouldn't squash the child. They were entirely enveloped in their own little world together, paying no mind to neither Howard nor their almost-victim. Vince seemed perfectly content settled on Howard's lap, leaning forward and observing his surroundings as though these teenagers were something fascinating rather than revolting, in Howard's mind, anyway.

Despite the many open windows, the bus quickly filled up with the body heat of the forty-odd people, and Howard wanted desperately to peel off his jacket, but found that such a feat would be impossible as he was boxed up on all sides. Feeling claustrophobic in his small cell, with its four walls made up of gossiping females, a window, a bus seat and a Vince, Howard resigned himself to sweating in silence. He was relieved to note that Vince was also silent, although not due to discomfort. No, Vince was quiet because he was listening and watching the goings on around him with rapt attention, his mouth slightly parted. The one and only time he spoke throughout the entire trip was to compliment one of the neighboring girls on her shoes. The girl, noticing Vince for the first time, gave him a strange look, but seemed to shrug off his presence quickly with a smile and a thanks, turning back to her conversation.


The Zoo was every bit as big as Howard had expected it to be. And he was glad it was, with how expensive the damn tickets were! £23.30 each, and that was only because they were students. Howard was left with only £10 in his wallet for food. Walking through the entrance, the students were to stay with the groups that they'd rode on the bus with, and were told to meet back at their buses by five o'clock sharp. To be late was to risk getting left behind. Only a few parents had shown up in total. Howard suspected the issue of prices to be the main cause. His group had only one parent, which was the reason the teens stayed together and didn't dart off to their own devices. This particular mom, a Mrs. Bennett, was quite scary with her sharp voice and sharper eyes, warning any who fancied thoughts of sneaking from the assigned group. Howard guessed she was the mother of the unfortunate girl who was currently attempting to become one with the ground.

Vince hid stealthily behind Howard while the woman spoke, and when she began to lead the group forward, Vince remained at his position, one hand clutching Howard's jacket so as not to loose track of him in the midst of the bumping and clashing bodies.


Turns out even a zoo as large and fascinating as this one could be made unbearable and hectic if you added in large groups of shouting and laughing students. Two hours in, Howard had been unable to view any exhibits simply because he couldn't see through the crowd. And any who straggled behind the group to get some relief from the din were shrieked at by Mrs. Bennett. And if Howard thought he was in a bad place, looking down at the dissapointed face of Vince as they passed by yet another enclosure that he couldn't even see the fence of, caused Howard to huff in frustration. The teenager looked up to observe a father hefting his child onto his shoulders to see above the passing throng. Howard wished he could do the same, but that would be like announcing to the world that Vince wasn't in the right group. Howard rubbed at the bridge of his nose, fighting off the slight headache that was building there.

An hour later and they were herded into a small restaurant with instructions to eat within the allotted time, and that Mrs. Bennett would be sitting next to the door so as to catch anyone trying to make a slick getaway. The teens in the group were looking mutinous, and Howard felt a bit better knowing that he and Vince weren't the only ones hating this whole 'assigned groups' schtick.

Howard was relieved that the ticket price seemed to be the only horrifically expensive thing in the zoo. For £5.41 he was able to buy himself and Vince some burgers and fries. He'd already sat Vince down at a booth in a far corner so he could order their food without Mrs. Bennett seeing the kid. Making his way to said table while juggling two drinks and a tray of food, Howard carefully settled it all down, and sat with a sigh across from Vince. Thankfully they were not joined by any others. The rest of the students seemed content with reenacting lunch period at their school by crowding around certain tables, sticking to their own cliques and leaving many tables open to loners and those just wanting some space.

Vince ate his meal startlingly fast, and spent the rest of the time watching Howard eat in silence, which made things quite weird. Vince's mood did seem a bit low, and Howard felt bad for not being able to do anything about it. If he knew where Vince's original group was, he'd probably make the child go with them. At least among others his own size he's be able to actually see some animals today.

"Bored?" Howard asked for lack of anything else to say. A nod and small smile was what he got in return. "Sorry." He said in response.

"Not your fault." Vince replied, picking at his bright blue nailpaint, already chipped horribly. "'F it weren't for that old bint we could be off havin' our own adventure."

Small blue flecks littered the table top, and Howard resisted the urge to wipe them off with a serviette, his mood darkening more and more with each passing minute.


Reading the time on his wristwatch, Howard saw that they had less than an hour to make it back to the entrance of the zoo. Mrs. Bennett must've realised this as well, as she began shepherding the students back toward the entrance of the Tundra World. Vince's mood had brightened considerably when they entered this expansive building. Howard was also impressed with the sheer size of the place. The entire thing was done up like the arctic. Fake snow peppered the area, and little icicles hung from the high ceiling. On second thought, given how cold the place was, maybe the ice was real. Howard could faintly see his own breath! He was glad now that he'd thought to wear his jacket.

He was dissapointed that they'd only made it into the front room before Mrs. Bennett was calling them back out again. Vince whinged incessantly behind him that they didn't even get to see any animals, and looking over his shoulder at the great hall that led further into the bowels of the Tundra World, Howard agreed silently.

Howard felt Vince pull on his jacket repeatedly, causing him to fall behind the group. He reached behind him and lightly batted at Vince's hands, causing the boy to let go with a loud huff. Great, the kid was going to throw a tantrum. Howard rubbed at his temples, trying to relieve the migraine that had been plaguing him since he'd fallen on his face two hours ago, accidentally tripped by another student. He was really in no mood for theatrics right now. He just wanted to get back home so he could take a nice long shower. Howard rubbed at his eyes. His migraine seemed to be spiking, causing the sun to shine far too brightly and the shouts of his group and groups nearby to drown out the small voice of Vince behind him, saying something.

Moving quickly to catch back up to the group before Mrs. Bitch saw that they'd fallen behind, Howard focused on the paved pathway as the crowd made its way back to the entrance of the zoo. As groups joined together and the crowd of students became a full-on mob, a fight broke out between two burly teens. They seemed to be only messing about, but in their horse-play they were pushing over a few smaller students. They were very close, and Howard turned around to pick Vince up, to keep him from getting trampled as teachers and parents shouted at the two airheads. Only, Howard ended up reaching out to thin air where he'd expected to find a small body.

Feeling discombobulated, Howard looked about him. Vince had worn a bright yellow shirt that day, so Howard scanned the area for the color, only spotting it once on a girl a few metres away. Strange, when had Vince stopped clutching onto his jacket? Howard hadn't noticed, and still felt the ghost of the sensation even now. With a thrill of panic, Howard remembered. The Tundra World! Bollocks! Piss-stained hairy hanging motherfucking bollocks! That little shit had gone and run off into the Tundra building, he just knew it! Oh, Howard was going to skin him alive when he got ahold of him. Skin him alive and fillet him!

Grimacing, Howard used the still rough-housing boys as due distraction to sneak through the crowd and by some miracle managed to sprint behind a gift cart without being spotted. He decided that moving further would be too risky, and so with a racing heart and mind, Howard waited a full twenty minutes until the last of the crowd had dispersed out of the zoo. Howard could distantly hear the sound of the buses starting up as he power-walked back toward the Tundra World. They were going to be stranded for sure. Howard would have to use his remaining money on one of the pay phones to call his mother for a ride.

Migraine blazing, Howard nearly saw red as he pushed open the large doors to the Tundra World. The walk back seemed to take much longer than the walk to the entrance, and Howard felt a pull in his stomach at realising that it was a forty-minute walk each way. The first traces of darkness were on the horizon as Howard entered the building. Goddammit. It was humongous! How he expected to find Vince in the ramaining twenty minutes they had before the zoo closed down Howard wasn't sure. He was sure of one thing, however; Vince Noir was going to regret walking off on his own without telling Howard, that was certain!


Over an hour later and Howard wasn't certain of anything anymore. He hadn't seen sight nor sound of another person since he stormed down the front hall of this villainously large building. Hell, it wasn't even a building. It was a world, through and through. The zoo was large to begin with, but their Tundra World was a feat in itself. Howard had been wandering down endless halls and through room after room, in circles, and had seen no sign of Vince or any other person. There were no food stands or carts of any kind to be manned in the back where Howard found himself. There was a map, though, that made Howard dizzy with how large a scope he had yet to cover in his search for his wayward child.

Howard was no longer steaming with fury; that had passed about thirty minutes ago. Now he just felt tired, and worried to death. And as the large lights above flicked off suddenly, very afraid. Maybe Vince wasn't even in the Tundra World. Maybe he really had been in the crowd and was just separated from Howard. Maybe he'd spotted his own group and had returned to them. Maybe he was back at his own home now having no idea of the conniption fit he was giving Howard.

Howard was going to die, here and now, at the ripe old age of seventeen. Cause of death could range between mauled by an escaped animal to butchered by a deranged zoo employee to sheer worry over some goddamn fucking little kid that might not even be there!

Sick of the silence, Howard began shouting as loudly as possible, calling out for help to any who might still be in the building. His voice echoed off the high walls around him, but all he got in return was the distant sound of penguins sqwaking. Well, appears he really was alone. All employees up at the front must've left for the night.

Cursing out loud every swear he knew, Howard headed toward the sound of the penguins. Surely if the child were in here, he'd be where the animals were. Howard hadn't reached the enclosures yet. He'd been frantically circling about the museum section of the Tundra World. Yeah, that's right, the sodding museum section. Seems the zoo wasn't big enough that they had to stick a bloody museum up in their building as well. Howard never wanted to be in a place this large ever again in his life. Not with the kid, anyway. This was just too much work.

Reaching the penguin exhibit, Howard saw no sign of the boy. Frustrated beyond anything he'd ever felt, Howard slumped onto a bench and pressed his pounding forehead against the pleasantly cold glass of the penguin enclosure, shutting his eyes.

It was in this silence that Howard heard, or imagined he heard, faint and distant sounds of singing. Standing up so abruptly he startled a nearby penguin, who screeched at him in alarm, Howard made his way toward the sound. He rounded a corner and came upon another exhibit. This one was quite expansive, and Howard walked the length of most of it before he came to a stop, listening once more for the singing that had ceased a few seconds before.

There! It started up again, faint talking this time, from nearby. Howard rushed forward along the glass walls of the enclosure, before stumbling to a halt at the sight before him. His blood frozen in his veins, Howard looked beyond the glass wall at a yellow-shirted little boy, standing in the exhibit itself. Standing not too far away from one very confused looking polar bear. Vince was talking quietly to it, and the bear sat up on it's perch on a snowy rock and looked down at the small child in interest.

"VINCE!"

Howard hadn't meant to erupt like that, and immediately regretted it as both Vince and the polar bear started in surprise and turned to look at him. Howard seemed to have lost control of his motor functions, as he immediately pressed both hands against the glass of the exhibit and look frantically up and down it as if this were the secret dance to opening a magic portal in the glass. Vince said something in Howard's direction, but it was so faint Howard couldn't make it out. Howard himself decided he couldn't trust his voice at the moment and settled for miming frantically at Vince to get over to him NOW. Vince looked away toward a door at the back of the exhibit, not far from where he stood, and Howard wanted to kick whichever employee apparently had left it unlocked right in the teeth.

Vince huffed dramatically, and made to turn around and make his way to the door. Only now the polar bear seemed fed up with this tiny person's intrusion into his home. With a mighty growl that even Howard heard, the polar bear stood up on its hind legs, made even taller by the rock it was still on. Vince froze up, and glanced back at Howard in fear. His confidence from only moments ago lost on him.

Not waiting around for the bear's next move, Howard ran as someone possessed to the end of the enclosure. Reaching a door marked 'employees only' he flung it open, the sound of it banging against the wall spiking his migraine once more, rendering his vision fuzzy. Racing down the narrow back hall, he skidded to a stop outside the first door to the left and opened it, launching himself inside.

Vince seemed to have been inching backward toward the door while Howard had been busy sprinting, still facing the polar bear, which was now off the rock and on all fours, staring the child down. Vince was speaking to it once more, apologising for Howard's outburst and stating that he was no threat. Howard's brow drew down and his eyes narrowed. This child truly was certifiably off his head. Howard must try never to forget that again, lest something like this occur a second time, heaven forbid.

The child was just out of arm's reach now, so Howard took a swift step forward and wrapped one arm around the boy's waist, hoisting him up. The bear gave another almighty growl at this motion and began walking toward them. Howard backed up quickly, bumped into the door, cursed a few times, then turned and opened it. Stepping through, he slammed the door behind him and ran, toting the kid, back down the hall as if the bear might open the door and give chase. Only when he was out the employee door and all the way back to the penguin exhibit did he set the kid on a bench and heave a deep breath.

Hands on his hips, Howard bore down on the child, looming over him, mouth open to shout, to reprimand, to question; but nothing came out, only more heavy breathing. So Howard closed his mouth, running a shaky hand over it and settled for pacing back and forth in silence. This went on for who-knows-how-long, the silent pacing; interrupted every now and then by another attempt at speaking made by Howard, who would stand in front of the kid and lean forward, as if the motion alone could convey everything that was desperately trying to claw its way out of Howard's throat.

"Howard-"

Vince had started to speak, but was quieted abruptly by Howard, who's hand shot up in the air to signal silence. Vince flinched at the sudden move, then seemed to wilt and slouch down in his seat. Howard continued pacing.

The truth of the matter was, it wasn't that Howard couldn't find the words to speak. That wasn't the problem. Oh, he had words. He had plenty of words. Too many, to shout and rant at the kid before him. It was the words themselves that made Howard's throat go dry and cause his body to shake as he trudged back and forth. Words about how he had been so worried about Vince. How long he'd searched. How truly tired he was and how just not cut out for this he felt. And how he never ever thought that such a sight as seeing Vince standing before a gigantic polar bear could made his knees go completely weak. How as he ran for that exhibit door Howard Moon had never been more uncertain nor more sure of himself and the role he had taken on as keeper of this little boy who watched him now in silence.

"J-Just what in the bloody hell did you think you were doing!?" Was what Howard settled on grating out between clenched teeth. He was still afraid of raising his voice too high, afraid that somehow the polar bear might escape it's habitat and come for them. So he settled for a harsh tone, just barely above normal level. Vince looked down at his hands, chipping blue everywhere, and settled his mouth in a tight line. Howard was glad that he seemed to be having an effect on the child. Now he didn't feel like a complete tit.

"What? One trip to the hospital not enough for you? You want to go back already? Are you so determined to make me carry you to a doctor yet again that you'd purposely get mauled by a bloody polar bear!?"

Okay now he was shouting. He couldn't help it. His legs were shaking so badly he felt he'd collapse if he didn't sit down. Adrenaline; it'd do that to you. But Howard couldn't sit down. No, he had to keep moving, back and forth. It was the only thing keeping him from completely flipping his shit.

Coming once more to a stop, Howard closed his eyes, and after breathing deeply for a few moments, said in a much calmer voice, "Why didn't you tell me where you were going, Vince? And why did you leave the group?"

Vince finally looked up at Howard and said, "I did tell you. I told you to come with me to see the animals, but you just kept on walkin'. So I thought you didn't wanna go."

Oh, that's right. Howard did vaguely recall hearing Vince over the throng, saying something, tugging on his jacket. Now Howard felt foolish. But not foolish enough to make him back down.

"Oh? And so you decide to just up and run off on your own? And get into the polar bear exhibit, no less? Vince, what did you think you were doing? Vince, that bear could've killed you! Do you-"

"No, it wouldn't! We were gettin' on just fine 'til you came along and shrieked like a pigeon at us." Vince now looked affronted, sitting up straight and crossing his arms at Howard.

Howard looked down at Vince with an angry expression. The boy must think that he's an idiot!

"You don't get on with a polar bear, Vince!"

"I did! We just clicked! We were talkin' all about the South Pole. That's where he says he came from. When he were just a little cub, they plucked him up and sent him to live here. He says it's alright, but he does miss his home-"

"What."

It wasn't a question. More of a statement. At that moment Howard's mind was comprised of nothing but empty white space and that one word in big flashing neon lights. But Vince took it as an invitation and launched into an explanation, face bright once more.

"Well, you see, I can talk to animals. It's a gift I learned from living with Bryan. He can do it too, and so he taught me. How else d'you think I was able to talk to Jahooli the leopard and the others? But don't tell no one, alright? I'm not a circus freak."

Maybe it was the adrenaline beginning to leave his veins. Or maybe it was the fact that they had just run out of a polar bear exhibit unscathed. Or perhaps it was the utterly serious look on Vince's face as he stressed the fact that he didn't want to be seen as a freak. Whatever the cause, Howard found himself throwing his head back and belting out a laugh that lasted much longer than he'd intended it to. He held his aching middle as he pitched forward and laughed deliriously.

Catching his breath finally, Howard looked down at Vince, and seeing the boy sitting there with his brows raised as if to ask if Howard were alright 'up there', Howard broke off into a fit of chuckling. Giving up all air of authority, Howard sat down with a sigh of relief onto the bench next to Vince.

"So you can speak to animals, can you?"

Howard smiled down at Vince, who nodded slowly with a look of suspicion in his eyes. Howard remembered his vow to humor the child through his delusions, and so resolved not to laugh in his face at how ridiculous and crazy he sounded. Circus freak? Fuck, Vince was reaching higher than that. Much higher.

Looking closely at the boy, he still seemed quite a bit on edge, and Howard felt satisfied that he not only had indeed made an impact on the kid, but that he seemed to be bracing himself for more, in case Howard wasn't done with his lecture. Maybe this keeper schtick wouldn't be so bad after all, if he could ingrain some form of obedience into the child. On second thought, maybe he had been a bit too harsh; Vince was shaking. Out of fear? Maybe the bear scared him more than he let on. Had Howard scared him? No wait, he was shivering.

Howard felt like a total ass for not noticing until just then, but Vince never brought a coat along. In fact, Howard hadn't seen his pink one since, well...since months ago, the day before he fell into Howard's sitting room through his window.

"Are you cold? You should've brought your coat." Howard said in a gentle tone as he scooted closer to the boy, whose arms were still crossed for warmth now than out of indignation.

"Don't have my coat no more." Was all the child offered back as he leaned into Howard's side, shivering even more as part of his body was warmed while the other side remained chilled. Howard once again cursed the temperature of this goddamn building. He wanted to badger Vince about his coat, but seeing the boy's eyes flutter closed, he decided against it.

Howard really wanted to get back to the entrance of this place. Out to the payphones he knew were at the front gates. So Howard unbuttoned his large red jacket and stood up, causing Vince to start awake and look up at him with a curious expression on his face.

"This cold's making my hip hurt. Why's it doing that?"

Howard just sighed and, after a few seconds of internal deliberation, sat back down again. He took ahold of the child and sat him again in his lap, this time facing him. He then buttoned his jacket back up, grateful that the thing was quite loose on him to begin with. This way they'd both keep warm while Howard made the long trek back to the front of the goddamn fucking Tundra World from hell. Vince held himself stiff in Howard's hold for a moment, then with a grateful noise leaned forward, resting his head on Howard's shoulder and wrapping his arms around the young man's middle. He really seemed out of it, and when Howard glanced at his watch he realised why. It was 9:19!

Grunting with his burden as he stood, Howard laced his fingers together under the boy to hold him up. Vince got the idea and wrapped his legs around Howard's waist, mumbling a "thank you" into Howard's shoulder as the teenager made his way back to where he remembered seeing the map.


Nearly an hour later and Howard was cursing loudly once more, waking Vince from the doze he'd fallen into.

'It fucking figures. Those bastards leave a cage door unlocked for any wandering child to walk through, and then go and lock up the entrance to the entire fucking building!'

Howard considered searching for a back exit to the place, but remembering just how large it was admitted defeat and looked about the front room for a place to settle down for the night. Vince was shivering still, so Howard made his way to a section of the room that held clothing and other such trinkets to buy. Sadly there were no coats. The wankers who ran this madhouse wouldn't think to put some of those up for sale, now would they! But he did see a few little snow hats on a rack. Little puffballs dangled on strings from each side, with a large puffball perched right on top. Picking a pink one from the rack, Howard scrounged around one-handed in his pocket, and then threw the rest of his money on the till with a sigh of defeat. Picking a corner that wasn't covered in fake snow, Howard slid down to the floor. He tore the pricetag off the hat, and pulled it over the kid's head. Vince stirred again at this and reached up to feel the hat. He held one of the puffs in his hand and smiled at it, letting it as well as his head drop back down onto Howard's chest.

Howard leant back, wedged into the corner, and let his own head drop against one wall as he shifted to get as comfortable as was possible. Exhaustion hit him like a brick as soon as he settled down, and Howard floated about on the edge of consciousness. Vince's snoring started up after a while, and Howard smiled in amusement as he too dropped off into a foggy sleep.

(any and all reviews are treasured! Feel free to send opinions, suggestions, critisizm and even flames, they really get me motivated to write faster!)