Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

My Angel, My Only

Chapter Twenty One ll IT'S RAINING!

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As the sun rose, the lizards moved lower in the hole, keeping mainly in the shade. They were no longer on Stanley's head and shoulders, but had moved down to his stomachs, legs and feet.

As Zero glanced down at his body, he saw no lizards on him. But he could feel two of them between his knees, shading from the sun.

"How are you doing?" Stanley asked quietly. His voice sounded raspy.

Zero looked longingly at the jar of water on the surface of the hole, but didn't look too high up, as the sun's rays would hit him.

"My legs are numb," he said quietly. He had figured out what the second word spelt, but there was something about the letters that made him think more. It seemed so similar to the first word.

Stanley Yelnats.

"I'm going to try to climb out of the hole," Stanley said. Zero nodded. He watched Stanley make an effort to climb up, but the lizards did not encourage him. To help time pass by, Zero started to recite the alphabet (silently in his mind) backwards.

As he reached 'U' he glanced down at the 'Stanley Yelnats' again.

Backwards...

Zero stopped suddenly and looked closely at the words.

Y -- e -- l -- n -- a -- t -- s....... S -- t -- a -- n -- l -- e -- y.

Zero looked at Stanley, who was easing himself down into a sitting position.

"Is your last name your first name spelt backwards?" Zero asked him, staring at Stanley.

He looked surprised. He slowly nodded. Then he stared at Zero in amazement.

Both boys' heads jerked up as they heard the sound of cars approaching.

"You think it's them?" the Warden asked.

"It ain't Girl Scouts selling cookies," Mr. Sir replied.

---

Zero heard the cars come to a stop, then the sound of car doors opening and closing.

He looked around and could hardly see any lizards.

"Stanley Yelnats?"

Zero became alert and tried to look out of the hole. He thought he could see a short woman striding across towards them.

"Don't came any nearer! Danger ahead!" Mr. Sir said frantically, jumping forward and waving his arms like a maniac.

"You can't stop me," the woman snapped, "We'll get you out of there, Stanley, don't you worry."

"What in the tarnation!" a tall man exclaimed. Stanley and Zero glanced at each other and tried not to laugh.

They had no idea who these people were. And it was funny, in a way. The two didn't even seem to remember that they were sitting right in the middle of a lizards' nest. It was like they were just out, chilling.

The stout woman turned to the tarnation man, "I'm telling you right now, if any harm comes to him, we will be filing charges not only against Ms. Walker and Camp Green Lake, but the entire state of Texas as well. Child abuse. False imprisonment. Torture."

The man was more than a head taller than her, and was able to look directly over her as he spoke to the Warden.

"How long have they been in there?"

"All night, as you can see by the way we're dressed. They snuck into my cabin while I was asleep, and stole my suitcase. I chased after them, and they ran out here and fell into the lizards' nest. I don't know what they were thinking."

Zero wondered how the Warden could make up such terrific lies.

"That's not true!" Stanley exclaimed, glancing up.

"Stanley, as your attorney, I advise you not to say anything," said the woman, "Until you and I have had a chance to talk in private."

Stanley kept his mouth shut. Zero was still wondering what was happening.

"It's a miracle they're still alive," the tall man commented, peering down into the hole. Zero stared up at him.

"Yes, it is," the Warden said, sounding disappointed.

"And they better come out of this alive," Stanley's lawyer warned, "This wouldn't have happened if you'd released him to me yesterday."

"It wouldn't have happened if he wasn't a thief," the Warden retaliated, "I told him he would be set free today, and I guess he decided he'd try to take some of my valuables with him. He's been delirious for the last week."

"Why didn't you release him when she came to you yesterday?" the tall man asked.

"She didn't have proper authorization," said the Warden.

Zero was becoming dizzy.

"I had a court order!"

"It was not authenticated."

"Authenticated? It was signed by the judge who sentenced him!"

"I needed authentication from the Attorney General," the Warden snapped, "How do I know it's legitimate? The boys in my custody have proven themselves dangerous to the society. Am I supposed to just turn them loose any time someone hands me a piece of paper?"

"Yes," Stanley's lawyer said stubbornly, "If it's a court order."

"Stanley has been hospitalized for the last few days," the Warden explained. Zero, with his mouth hanging open, glanced at Stanley, who seemed outraged.

"He's been suffering from hallucinations and delirium. Ranting and raving. He was in no condition to leave. The fact that he was trying to steal from me on the day before his release proves--"

Stanley pulled himself out of the hole, blinded with the shock that the Warden was saying such things about him that he hadn't thought about the lizards. The lizards hopped off of his legs as he swung his legs and arms onto the surface.

"Thank God!" exclaimed the Warden.

Zero looked up as Stanley helped him to his feet. He pulled Zero out of the hole, who was still holding onto the suitcase tightly. The lizards all disappeared into the hole, reclining in their shade.

Zero and Stanley staggered towards the woman and the tall man.

The Warden rushed to them. Before he knew it, her arms were tightly wrapped around Zero, trying to take the suitcase from him, "Thank God you're alive."

Zero jerked it free defiantly, glaring up at the Warden.

"It belongs to Stanley," he said firmly.

"Don't cause any more trouble," she warned, "You stole it from my cabin, and you've been caught red-handed. If I press charges, Stanley might have to return to prison. Now I'm willing, in view of all the circumstances, to --"

Zero hadn't the slightest idea what she was on about. But she was lying, and that was enough for him.

"It's got his name on it," he almost yelled.

The Warden stared at him as the woman pushed past the tall man to have a look at the suitcase.

"See?" Zero said defiantly, pointing at the two words, "Stan--ley Yel--nats."

Stanley looked as well, and Zero saw the shock and astonishment on his face. It was almost comical.

"You say you stole it from your cabin?" the tall man demanded of the Warden.

"That's im... poss... It's imposs..." she couldn't even say it.

Zero smiled. He knew he had won the battle.

---

The group walked back to the camp compound.

Stanley was in a daze. He seemed as if he had no idea what was happening, which wasn't at all unusual to Zero. He himself had not a clue what was going on.

The Warden was as dazed as Stanley.

"You can't even read," she said to Zero.

That's what you think.

Zero didn't say anything.

The tall man turned out to be the Texas State Attorney, and Stanley's lawyer was called Ms. Morengo.

Mr. Sir went to get Stanley's belongings, and Mr. Pendanski had been told to get the boys something to eat and drink.

Zero felt a pit of sadness in his stomach. Stanley was leaving Camp Green Lake.

He'd be all alone again. He didn't feel like he could live by himself, not after having made such a good friend and been on such an adventure.

Zero sighed. Whenever things looked up for him -- he'd always be down in the hole again.

Mr. Pendanski returned with two cartons of orange juice and bagels. Zero drank the juice slowly, trying to digest what was happening.

"Wait!" the Warden exclaimed so suddenly that Zero almost choked on his juice, "I didn't say they stole the suitcase. It's his suitcase, obviously, but he put my things in it!"

Her lies are getting worse by the minute, Zero thought silently, sipping his juice.

"That isn't what you said earlier," Ms. Morengo said stubbornly.

"What's in the suitcase?" the Warden asked Stanley, "Tell us what's in it, then we'll open it and see!"

Stanley didn't do anything.

"Stanley, as your lawyer, I advise you not to open your suitcase."

"He has to open it! I have the right to check the personal property of any of the detainees! How do I know there aren't drugs of weapons in there? He stole a car too! I've got witnesses!"

Zero looked at the Warden warily. She was nearly hysterical. He wondered what was in the suitcase.

"He is no longer under your jurisdiction."

"He has not been officially released. Open the suitcase, Stanley!"

"Do not open it."

Stanley still did nothing. He stared blankly into space. Zero felt like laughing. It was like watching a tennis match.

He tuned out. The next thing he knew, Ms. Morengo was hurrying Stanley away.

"C'mon Stanley, we have a lot to talk about."

Stanley had stood up, but he wasn't moving. He turned around and looked at Zero. Mr. Pendanski, the Warden and Mr. Sir were surrounding him. Zero glanced at them warily.

Zero gave him the thumbs-up.

"I can't leave Hector," Stanley said.

"I suggest we go," Ms. Morengo said urgently.

"I'll be okay," Zero said, trying not to show his bitter doubt of his words. His dark eyes rove from Mr. Pendanski, to the Warden, to Mr. Sir.

"Yeah, we'll take good care of Zero," Mr. Pendanski said, laying his hand heavily on Zero's shoulder.

Zero's eyes widened and he stiffened up.

"There's nothing I can do for your friend," Ms. Morengo said gently, "You are released pursuant to an order from the judge."

"They'll kill him," Stanley said determinedly.

"Come on Stanley, your parents are waiting."

Stanley still did not move. Zero looked at him gratefully.

"May I look at Hector Zeroni's file?" Ms. Morengo finally asked. Zero wondered how she knew his name.

"Certainly," the A.G. said, he turned to the Warden, "Ms. Walker, go get Hector Zeroni's file."

The Warden said or did nothing. Her eyes were on the suitcase in Stanley's hands.

"Well?"

"Get me the file of Hector Zeroni," she finally said to no one in particular.

Mr. Pendanski stared at the Warden and his eyes widened.

"Get it!" the Warden snapped.

Stanley gave Zero the thumbs-up. Zero smiled back. He was still lost on what was happening; all he knew was that it was something good.

The door to the Wreck Room opened, and both Stanley and Zero looked over.

Squid walked out dazedly, almost as if by accident, then he caught sight of Stanley and Zero and almost stacked it.

He gasped, "THEY'RE ALIVE!"

And he stumbled back in, shouting repeatedly, "They're alive! They're alive!"

Zero and Stanley glanced at each other, then smiled.

With Squid leading, D-tent and some other boys came charging out onto the porch, yelling.

"Caveman!"

"Yo, wassup Zero?!"

"Wassup man!"

Squid ran forward and Stanley grinned, while they gave each other a quick hug.

"Zero!" Squid turned to Zero and wrapped an arm around him.

Zero smiled, and hugged him back. Before he knew it, Magnet was in front of him and gave him a high five.

It was all a bit of a blur; lots of half-hugs and high-fives and thumps on the back.

"We thought you guys were buzzard food," Zigzag said, still looking shocked.

"Well, I'm not. I'm going home," Stanley said proudly.

"Goin' home?" Magnet echoed, looking disappointed.

"Man, you stink. Dude, whatcha bin eatin', man?" Armpit teased, giving Stanley a friendly shove.

Zero grinned.

"You stink like onions!" Magnet exclaimed while everyone else laughed.

The laughter and noise died down when Mr. Pendanksi came back out of the office.

"Well, uh," he suddenly hitched on a cheerful smile, "There seems to be no file of Hector Zeroni."

Zero stared at him and wondered why he was grinning like an idiot.

"What?" the AG said, looking less than displeased.

"Is that so?" Ms. Morengo said, her eyebrows raised.

"What kind of camp are you running here?" the AG asked the Warden critically.

The Warden seemed to be yielding the question. She kept her arms firmly crossed and said with the air of someone producing their last shot, "A nice one. If the state would give us some money, then maybe we'd have some-- decent filing."

The AG had taken out his cell phone, "I'm ordering an investigation of this facility."

"Hey lady," Armpit suddenly said, speaking to Ms. Morengo, "You got a pen and paper I can borrow?"

Ms. Morengo looked a little flustered, "Nope, I don't. But it looks like he does."

"Me?" Mr. Sir mouthed in a horrified way, while pointing at himself.

"Yeah, you got a pen?"

Mr. Sir hesitated for a second. Then he sidled closer and handed a pen, "Yeah... here's a pen."

Ms. Morengo took the pen and said impatiently, "You got paper?"

"...Here," Mr. Sir handed the clipboard which he had been hiding behind, and lifted his jacket to hide his face.

A tall man that had come with Ms. Morengo and the AG slowly took off his glasses, comprehension dawning on his face as he looked at Mr. Sir.

"Here you go," Ms. Morengo handed the items to Armpit.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Armpit began to write while D-tent crowded around him, looking. Zero craned his neck up to look and saw some numbers.

"Call my mum."

"What?" Stanley said, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"Tell her I said I was sorry. Tell her Theodore, said he was sorry."

Squid and Magnet, both smiling proudly, patted him on the back. X-Ray clapped a hand on Armpit's back.

"I will, man. I definitely will," Stanley promised. Armpit smiled and they gave each other a bone-crushing hug.

"Marion Sevillo," the sunglasses guy said, looking smug.

"Ooh crap," Mr. Sir muttered, his eyes widening with fear.

The sunglasses guy had marched over and pushed him against the wall, and was now searching him.

"It's been a long time since El Paso," he found Mr. Sir's pistol, "You're violating your parole, carrying this weapon."

The Warden looked frantic and shocked, "Well, I had no knowledge of that!"

Zero watched with interest and put his hands in his pockets.

"Oh yeah," Mr. Sir scoffed, still against the wall, "Just like you didn't know Pendanksi was no doctor neither."

"What?"

The boys began to laugh and Zero grinned. What right did Pendanski have in calling him stupid when he was just a lousy imposter?

"Sit down, Marion. You're under arrest. Again."

"Marion? Hey I didn't know that was a man's name," Zigzag said with a grin.

There was even more laughter.

"...It ain't," Mr. Sir mumbled.

"Ooooh."

The AG switched off his phone, "Okay, this facility is now under our jurisdiction."

"What?" the Warden said, hardly able to believe it.

"Boys, put these bozos right there. Let them see the other side of the criminal justice system."

"YEAH!" D-tent and all the other guys began to clap and cheer.

"Don't push me, I'm a lady!" the Warden yelled, outraged as they tried to lead her to sit down on the bench.

"Come on, Hector, you're coming with us. Let's go," Ms. Morengo said.

Zero didn't dare to believe what he had heard and looked at Stanley for reassurance. Stanley smiled and ruffled his hair, and together they took a step off the porch.

Suddenly, there was a low rumbling and a streak lightning halved the sky.

"What's that?" X-Ray asked, frowning.

One by one, everyone looked up, looks of awe on their faces. Slowly, they began to walk off the porch and hold out their hands as the soft patter of rain steadily grew louder and heavier.

"IT'S RAINING!"

"OH MY LORD!"

"YES!"

They began jumping up and down, cheering and screaming. They took off their hats and bandannas and swept their hands through their wet hair, crying out in happiness.

Zero stood there in the rain, letting it soak him. He was completely bewildered but still held a wide grin on his face. His curls drooped down in his eyes and his orange jumpsuit stuck to him. Stanley and Squid, who were running around cheering, came up behind me for a brief hug as they ran past.

Magnet and Zigzag were dancing around in a circle, their eyes squeezed shut as they shouted nonsense. Armpit and X-Ray were having a sort of wrestle in the newly-created mud. Squid picked up Zero and swung him around on his back in a circle, and both yelled.

Ms. Morengo ran off the porch to her white BMW, shielding herself from the rain, "Hector! Stanley! Come on!"

Zero did a sort of side-skip towards the car. He felt his soaking cap slap against him as he moved.

Stanley was about to run over when he met X-Ray, who put his hand on his shoulder.

"You be careful out there in the real world, a'ight?" he said, sounding a bit breathless as he had been busy cheering and dancing in the rain as well, "Coz not everyone's as friendly as us."

"Alright, boz. Hold up for me, I'm gonna miss you man," Stanley said with a grin. X-Ray, grinning, pulled him into a brief hug before he shoved him away. Stanley backed away, still facing the D-tent boys and squinting his eyes as the rain pounded on him.

"Alright guys, be good, keep your heads up!" he yelled through the rain.

"We'll miss you!"

"Alright Stanley-boy!"

"BYE!"

Zero watched as Stanley finally ran over to him. He had his hand on the lid of the trunk and was about to slam it shut when the Warden ran over to them.

"Stanley, won't you just open it?" she pleaded desperately, "Just let me see what's inside of it. Please."

Zero continued to watch as Stanley slammed the trunk shut and said sarcastically, "Excuse me?"

The Warden looked as if she had been slapped in the face and Stanley turned to high-five the grinning Zero. They climbed into the backseat of the car and looked out of the open window, where the crowd of boys were still roaring and going wild.

"D-tent!" Stanley yelled, pointing at the boys who were near the car.

"See you again!" X-Ray yelled back.

"See you!" Magnet and Squid chimed in, pointing right back at Stanley.

Armpit made a roaring noise as the rain slapped him. Zero laughed.

The car began to drive away and Zero and Stanley looked back and waved. They looked out the back window and saw Twitch chasing after them, but was stopped by Squid.

The rain continued to pound down into the empty lake.

One day, Camp Green Lake is going to become a Girl Scout camp.

Tough luck, Mr. Sir.

----------

A/N: Aww... I love that part of the movie. Especially the music they play. It's a real tear jerker. Or maybe I just cry easily. Lol. I actually watched and re-watched that part of the movie to get EVERY SINGLE MINISCULE detail. I wrote it all down, and I hope I didn't miss anything. :) I also turned on the subtitles. Hehe. Well, it's almost the end! Like seriously. One chapter 'till the epilogue... AHHH! It was really fun writing this.

Zero: HI EVEWYONE! (waves and pokes at readers) PWEATHE REVIEW! And eat cwookieth!

Yup, cookies are tasty. XD

Zero: (smiles adorably) One pwuth one ith two!

:O Even I didn't know that. (plots against smart three-year-olds)

Zero: Ahem. If woo are waitin' fwor MTHQ twoo updwate--

(robotic voice) The Inspection Of CGL

Zero: --then woo will havta wait fwor a wong twime. Thwe'th weewy buthy with thchool.

Amen to that. I didn't go to school because it's so FUH-REAKIN hot and we have this huge sport day. Devoted entirely to playing sport against three other schools for an ENTIRE DAY. No way am I going. Okay, well cya!

Zero: (waves goodbye) BWYEBWYE!

--MSQ.