My mouth stayed closed while the the warden, Dr. P, and Mr. Sir tried to get answers from the boys. Most of their attention was on Caveman and Zero now. Zigzag and Squid announced that Zero was helping Caveman dig his hole and that definitely ruffled their feathers.
"You know why you're diggin' holes? 'Cause it's good for you. Teaches you a lesson," was Mr. Sir's explanation.
I thought they deserved to get yelled at, I'll admit it. But Dr. P was getting on my nerves when he kept calling Zero stupid. So I don't blame Zero for knocking the hell out of him with the shovel. I have no idea what he was thinking though when he ran. Did he know about some underground city out in the desert or was he just plain...stupid? Jeez, now look who's talking.
We had to continue digging after Zero ran off, but every once in awhile the boys would take a break and talk about what just happened. I wasn't worried about Zero. I figured he'd come back. Unless he found some underground city of course.
We finished up our holes, except for Caveman because he had to dig Zero's hole too, and went back to camp. After the guys took a shower, we headed toward the 'wreck' room. We stopped to stare at a bus pulling up. A guard and a kid with a sun visor on backwards stepped off.
Wow, I thought to myself, they got a replacement for Zero quickly.
Dinner time was when we got to meet him, when Dr. P led him over to our table. Instead of the usual jolly introduction, Dr. P just told us the kid was named Brian and to help him out if he needed it.
It didn't take long for X-Ray to think up a nickname for this kid. It seemed impossible for Twitch to sit still. When he was talking about cars his twitchiness seemed to get worse.
I was staring at Twitch while he was talking about the car he stole, when I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked to my left and saw Magnet sitting there listening to Twitch and peeling the crust off his bread. On the other side of him was Zigzag, glaring at me. I don't even think glaring is a good enough word. His body was turned toward me and his wide eyes were staring intently at me. It looked like he wanted to murder me.
Oh, great. What did I do now? I wondered, turning back to Twitch but not really listening.
Later that night I sat down on the floor next to Caveman's cot. He was lying down and facing away from the others, pretending to be asleep.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked him.
He opened his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Zero is going to be alright," I said. "I bet he's going to try and sneak back in the camp tonight. Unless he found that underground city."
Confusion flashed through Caveman's eyes briefly before they went back to that blank gaze he had all day. He took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to go after him tomorrow."
There was a silent pause except for the talk coming from the other boys. This was probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard coming from Stanley's mouth, and I've heard a lot of ridiculous things coming from him, including shoes falling from the sky. "What, you're going to run off too?" He gave a slight shrug. "Are you hearing yourself right now, Stanley?" I wouldn't have believed him if he didn't look so depressed, and, boy, did he look depressed.
"He could be hurt or suffering from thirst. I could save his life if I find him."
"What if he's dead?" I didn't mean for it to come out so harshly, but he was starting to irritate me with all this stupid talk. I was about to apologize, but Squid's voice floated over to us.
"They pick out the eyeballs first."
I sighed and rolled my eyes while Caveman rolled onto his stomache and buried his face in his pillow. "Squid," I said with exasperation as I stood up, "why do you have to be such a moron?"
"Can't you take a joke?" came his reply.
As I went to my cot, Zigzag passed me and stared wide-eyed down at me. Seriously, this guy was giving me the creeps. I hoped I would make it through the night alive. He was still staring when I pulled my blanket up over my shoulders. "Please, quit staring," I said just loud enough for Zig to hear me.
He didn't say anything at first, but finally he said, "Goodnight, Fuse."
I heard Squid chuckle in the cot next to me, but I ignored him. I was laying there wide awake, listening for approaching footsteps. I was positive Zigzag was going to kill me or do something of the sort. I didn't even know what I did!
The night wore on and as snores filled the tent, I felt myself getting sleepier. I was calmed down more and thought about what Caveman had said. There's no way he would do that, I thought to myself. No matter how sad he is about Zero, he would never do something that stupid.
Turns out, I was proved wrong the next day when he crashed Mr. Sir's truck in a hole and took off after Zero. The only thought that was running through my mind was, Please, let there be an underground city out there.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter was rushed but i really wanted to get it out of the way. Plus it was supposed to be posted last thurs. The next chapters are sure to be better. Since it's getting close to the end, if you have any requests or ideas that you want to happen between any of the dtent boys and fuse (or between any other campers and fuse) let me know and ill try to fit it in. Also im going to be taking down the poll next wk sumtime so if you havent voted for a song go do that now. R&R!