Hello, everybody! Here is Chapter 10! I can't believe I've written ten chapters already! And don't worry, we're nowhere near the end! There is lots more to come! As always, I hope you guys like this chapter, and please don't forget to review! It keeps me going, and lets me know if you guys are liking what's going on so far!

Chapter 10 – Tell Me!

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Man, she just fainted, I'm sure she'll be fine."

"This is nothing! Dude, this one time I broke my wrist in three places! Bones were sticking out-"

"Ugh! Stop!"

I could hear what sounded like a million voices talking at once. I had a hard time focusing on all of them. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and saw that I was lying in my cot. Seven faces stared down at me, all of them concerned.

"Kitty, are you alright?" Zero asked me, and I was surprised that he was talking. He rarely talked.

Armpit looked astonished. "You can talk?"

"Man, shut up," Squid said, nudging Armpit.

"Can you guys wait outside, please?" Zigzag asked, and the boys nodded in understanding, and walked out. Zigzag kneeled next to my cot and took my hand in his.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his blue eyes staring into mine.

I nodded, glad that he was there next to me.

"When you passed out, I was so worried," Zigzag said, concern in his eyes, "I wasn't sure what they had done to you in that cabin. And, I thought you were going to fall in that trench when you fainted."

I giggled at the last thought, but then my expression turned serious. "Well, when I got to the cabin, the warden told me to get her pincushion for her. Then, she grazed a pin along my wrist," I said, and Zigzag cringed, "Then, she took the pin and stabbed Mr. Sir in the face!"

Zigzag's eyes got as big as dinner plates. "She what?"

"Yup, just stabbed him. Mr. Sir fell on the floor!"

"Oh my God..."

I nodded. "She's one crazy bitch, I tell ya!"

Zigzag shook his head. "The warden's psycho. But, as long as she didn't hurt you..."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed me on the lips. "I'm glad you're okay."

I smiled. "I missed that."

"Same here. I would love to do it more often, though," he murmured and kissed me again, more intense this time. When we broke apart, he ran his hand through my hair, and stared into my eyes, happiness and contentment showing in his blue ones.

"I know, these past few days have been so hectic ever since X-Ray turned in that tube thing," I said.

Suddenly, I remembered what I had seen in the warden's cabin.

"Oh, my God!" I screamed, clutching Zigzag's t-shirt, and pulling him close to me.

He smirked. "Wow, Jenny..." he leaned in to kiss me, but I stopped him.

"No, Zigzag! I just remembered something!" I said, and disappointment clouded his face.

I felt bad about leading him on, so I apologized. "I'm sorry, Ziggy, later! I need to tell you something!"

"What?"

"I saw something in the warden's cabin! Old wanted posters and newspaper clippings!"

Zigzag shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"So?" I clutched his shirt tighter. "They were wanted posters for Kissin' Kate Barlow!"

A look of confusion crossed his face. "Who's that?"

"Some chick who was wanted for robbing the Chicago Pacific. She was also wanted for murder!"

I let go of Zigzag's t-shirt. "Do you know what this means?"

"What?"

"Kissin' Kate Barlow! K.B.! It was her tube that we found!"

"Wow..." Zigzag said in shock.

"Wow is right! And you know what else? I think that tube we found was a tube of lipstick! You know, her name is Kissin' Kate! It has got to be lipstick!" I said excitedly.

"Well, I guess the tube didn't belong to Keith Barrenger after all," Zigzag said seriously.

I smiled at him. "I don't know, Ziggy, maybe you should call him and double-check."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed my nose. "Ha ha, very funny."

"I need to tell Caveman about this," I muttered.

"Tell him later, you need to rest."

I sighed. "You're right. I'm exhausted. But, since you insist that I rest, I might as well get started on that apology letter to Brad."

A look of irritation flashed across Zigzag's face at the mention of Brad's name.

"I don't even know the guy, and I don't like him. How could he hurt you?" Zigzag said.

I shrugged. "I'm the one that overreacted, I shouldn't have shot that gas tank. I can't change the past, but I can hope that this letter makes a difference."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm proud of you."

I smiled at him and played with his hair. "Thank you."

I gestured towards the wooden crate next to my bed that held my things. "I think I have some paper and a pen in there. Can you hand it to me?"

Zigzag got me my things and put them on my cot. I thanked him and sat up, sitting Indian-style.

"I'm going to go outside and see what the rest of the guys are doing," Zigzag said, getting up and heading towards the tent entrance.

"Okay, Ziggy. See you later," I said, and waved to him. Zigzag walked out, and I turned my attention to the letter.

Dear Brad,

You probably don't want to hear from me, but I really wanted to write this letter to you. I want to apologize for the pain I've caused you. It was my fault – I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I'm sorry I hurt you, and I'm sorry for this whole mess. I hope that you will one day forgive me. I hope that you're feeling better. I'm sorry.

Jenny

I finished up the letter and put it under my pillow. I would send it tomorrow. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I lay back down onto my cot. Within minutes, I was asleep.

Zigzag

I found the boys in the Wreck Room. They were sitting in a circle in the centre of the Wreck Room, and X-Ray held a small piece of wood in his hand, a mischievous look on his face.

"What are you guys doin'?" I asked them, confused.

"We're playing a game. Want to play?" asked X-Ray.

I walked over to them, and stood outside of the circle. "What kind of game?"

X-Ray gestured around the circle with the piece of wood. "We pass the wood around the circle, and the person who gets the wood next has to smack the person on his right as hard as he can on the hand. If he screams or makes any noise, he has to hand over his shower tokens."

"What?" I said, appalled.

Squid turned around and faced me. "Join in, man! I've already got five of Armpit's shower tokens from next week!"

"Next week?" I asked, confused.

"Mr. Sir took away all my shower tokens from this week for the dial thing," Armpit said, cradling his hand.

"What happened to Kitty?" asked Caveman.

I told them what Jenny had told me, and they were shocked. I left out the posters, though.

"Ese, that woman is crazy!" Magnet said.

"Good thing Kitty wasn't hurt," Caveman commented.

"Man, Mr. Sir deserved it! Remember the time he wouldn't fill my canteen?" Squid said angrily, and the rest of the boys nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well, I hope something like this won't happen again," I said, retying the arms of my jumpsuit around my waist.

"Ziggy, you in?" asked X-Ray, waving the stick.

"Uh, no thanks. You guys have fun," I waved to them and walked out of the wreck room.

"Zig, come back!" Magnet yelled, but I ignored him. Those boys think of the most stupidest things! I walked back to the tent, and saw that Jenny was asleep. Good thing nothing happened to Jenny in that cabin. If someone had hurt her, I don't know what I would've done. I probably wouldn't be able to control my anger...

I climbed into my cot and turned to face Jenny. I fell asleep watching her sleeping peacefully, and dreamt that night of me punching the warden again and again, in the face.

Jenny

The next day when it was lunchtime, I got my lunch and sat next to Zigzag in the trench. We found a nice spot that was in the shade. I sighed, enjoying the shade. Who knew when we would get shade like this again during our regular work day.

"Today's going to be a good day. We've got ham instead of baloney," I commented, holding up my sandwich.

Zigzag laughed. "Don't you mean spam?"

I cringed. "Whatever. At least it's not baloney today."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "How is your side of the trench coming along, babe?"

I turned my head and pecked him on the lips. "Please! I don't want to think about it! I can't wait to get back to digging regular holes!"

"You know, I used to dig a lot of holes as a kid," Zigzag said, his blue eyes distant, "Who would've known that years later I would be diggin' them everyday."

I took a bite of my sandwich. "Where did you grow up, Ziggy?"

"Didn't I tell you?" he said.

I shook my head.

"Well, I grew up here in Texas, in Austin. I lived in the suburbs with my parents. They work all the time, and never really had much time for me. I was mostly by myself."

"What was it like in school?" I asked.

Zigzag rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I had a few friends, but they weren't exactly real friends. We didn't hang out outside of school or anything. When I was elementary school I started playing with fire. It sounds lame, but I was fascinated by it. When I got into high school, I stopped, but that day when I found that piece of styrofoam behind the portable, I decided to light it just for old time's sake. That's what got me in here. This was supposed to be my senior year, but I screwed it up."

I smiled at him. "Well, I think this year isn't so bad."

Zigzag returned my smile, and ran his hand over my cheek. "You're right. If I didn't set that fire, I wouldn't have been sent here, and I wouldn't have met you."

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Zigzag spoke up again. "What about you? I don't think you mentioned anything about what it was like for you growing up?"

I sighed. "Well, I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. My dad left when I was a baby – I don't even know what what he looks like, or what his name is," I said thoughtfully, "My mom left when I was eleven. My aunt and uncle took me in after that. They live here in Texas, in Irving. They're good people, but ever since the incident with Brad, they didn't want to see me anymore."

Zigzag put an arm around my shoulders. "Growing up without my mom made me really insecure," I continued, "I felt self conscious, and I had low self esteem. I tried to cover it up by being tough. I would get in a lot of trouble at school – talking back, and getting into fights with a lot of people. But I'm not that person, Ziggy. I just used the tough, bad girl exterior to cover up what was really going on."

"I really liked your bad girl ways. The way you stood up for yourself a bunch of times here at camp," Zigzag said, smiling.

I smiled at the thought. "Yeah, that was alright, I guess. Its always good to stand up for yourself. What's not good is picking fights and just being a bad person in general."

Zigzag nodded, and I turned my back to him. "This is what I got when I found out I was going to court for sentencing," I said, and lifted up my hair to show him the black X I had tattooed on the back of my neck. "I got it to remind me that I'm starting over. Crossing out my past. A new beginning."

I could feel Zigzag tracing my tattoo with his finger. "Jenny, I'm really, really glad I met you."

"Why?" I asked, letting go of my hair and turning around to face him.

"Because you filled this empty space I had had for a long time," he said, pulling me into his lap, "I didn't really know I was capable of caring for someone so much. I was always a loner, looking out for myself. I never really got attached to anyone."

"I feel the same way, Ziggy," I agreed, and I could feel a tear threatening to fall.

Zigzag pulled me in for a kiss, and I could feel sparks flying just like the first time we kissed. Our lips fit together perfectly – blending together in a mixture of passion and longing.

"Where are Ricky and Jenny?" Mr. Pendanski's voice coming from somewhere above interrupted us, and Zigzag groaned.

"We're eating our lunch!" I yelled.

"Alright, just checking!" he answered.

Zigzag and I finished our lunch in silence. "I'm going to tell Stanley about the posters," I spoke up, "He found the lipstick, he needs to know."

Zigzag nodded.

"I think he's sitting on the other side. You come too, okay?" I said.

"Okay, meet you there," he answered.

I walked through the tunnels to the other side of the trench where I was relieved to see Stanley eating his lunch alone. I was glad there wasn't anyone around – I wasn't sure how I was going to get rid of the other boys if they were there.

"Hey, Caveman," I said, sitting down, "I have some news for you!"

Stanley looked up at me. "What news?"

"I found out who the tube belongs to!"

His eyes lit up in surprise. "Really? Who?"

"In the warden's cabin there are old wanted posters and newspaper clippings. They are all about a woman named Kissin' Kate Barlow. She robbed the Chicago Pacific, and was also wanted for murder!"

Stanley's jaw dropped. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of this!"

"What? What?" I said excitedly.

"Thought of what?" said a voice, and I looked up and saw Zigzag walking over to us and sitting down.

Stanley looked at Zigzag uncertainly. "Nothing, nothing."

I patted Stanley's arm. "It's okay. Zigzag knows about the lipstick tube."

"You told him?" Stanley said, and I could tell he felt betrayed.

"I'm sorry I broke our promise, but I thought Ziggy could help us," I said apologetically.

"I haven't told anyone," Zigzag said, "And I want to help."

Stanley looked relieved. "Alright. I guess it's okay."

"Now, tell me!" I urged.

Stanley cleared his throat, and I leaned in, eager to hear what he had to say. "Kissin' Kate Barlow robbed my great-grandfather. She robbed him here, in this desert, and left him stranded!" Stanley said.

"And you didn't remember this earlier?" I cried.

"Keep it down, Kitty! What are the odds of finding this lipstick tube that belonged to the woman that robbed my great-grandfather?"

I nodded. No wonder Stanley hadn't thought of who the lipstick belonged to. What were the chances?

"We need to find out more information!" I exclaimed, waving my arms.

"But, how?" Stanley asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. We need to figure out a plan," I said thoughtfully.

"Jenny, let's not rush things. Everyone's all riled up about that lipstick tube, and if we start snoopin' for information around the camp now, the chances of us getting caught are much higher," Zigzag said.

I poked at the dirt in frustration. "You're right, Ziggy."

No matter how badly I wanted to start trying to solve the mystery, Zigzag had a point. We had to wait this out.

"Let's wait a while," Zigzag said.

"I agree with Zigzag," said Stanley, giving a nod in Zigzag's direction, "That's all we can do now."

Waiting. It was something I wasn't really good at.