Day Zero

Flash shrugged.

“My sister and I…we spent a lot of time on computers.”

“Doing what?”

He didn’t answer right away. Then, “Learning.”

From the tone of his voice, Elle had a feeling there was a lot more to the story than he was willing to talk about.

“You were in juvenile hall,” Elle said. “Were you a hacker?”

Flash looked up sharply, a mysterious light coming to his eyes.

“Maybe,” he replied. “Maybe we were.”

He refused to pursue the conversation, plunged deep into his own fear of losing his sister to the Klan. Elle lapsed into silence again. She didn’t feel like talking anymore.

As they moved through the city, Elle became more uptight. Every creak, every echo was suspicious. They were deep into Klan territory.

“Where are we going?” Georgia whispered, falling into step with Elle. “Elle? Please talk to us.”

Elle felt a twinge of guilt, keeping them in the dark like this. She wasn’t used to negotiating social situations, and her conversational skills were…lacking. She turned to Georgia and said, “The Pits are right in the heart of Klan territory. Like, the dead center. We just follow this road—” she pointed to a street sign that said Sunset Boulevard, “—and take it to North Highland Avenue.”

“Street names don’t mean anything to me,” Jay muttered.

“Well, they better,” Elle replied. “Pay attention to your surroundings. You never know when you might get lost.” She turned to Georgia. “So to answer your question, we’re about a mile and a half away.”

Elle was hoping that once they actually saw the Pits, they would abandon their plan to rescue Pix. Because the Pits, to Elle at least, represented hell itself.

The time dragged by. Moving quietly and slowly, it seemed to take an eternity to reach their destination. As they drew closer to the Pits, signs of Klan inhabitation became obvious. Buildings had been painted with the Klan symbol; a blood red X. Each point of the X looked like an arrow. It symbolized death and destruction.

It symbolized a new era of neo-civilization. A barbaric society.

Windows were painted with the X. Old billboards were covered with giant red X symbols. The boulevard widened and the street had been painted with big, red letters:

Below the words, blood stained the road. Elle turned to the others. Jay and Georgia looked terrified.

“You still want to go through with this?” Elle asked.

They didn’t answer. She took that as a yes.

They continued. They traveled under a freeway overpass. The bottom of the road and the support beams for the highway were covered in graffiti. Bright, vulgar phrases and warnings were painted along the walls and ceiling. Grotesque artwork snarled at them.

“Don’t look,” Elle warned. “It’s bad.”

But it was too late. Jay, Georgia and Flash were staring at the graffiti, mesmerized. Elle hurried on, reaching the end of the tu

Elle dropped to a crouch behind a wall of foliage. There was a huge park up ahead. Barbed wire wound haphazardly around the outside of the park, dotted with sharp, pointed stakes. It was archaic. A sign sat on a protruding piece of concrete, once prominent in the never-ceasing flow of Los Angeles traffic. The words were difficult to make out.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Georgia hissed.

“Welcome to the Pits,” Elle whispered.

They had reached the Pits:

The Hollywood Bowl.

Chapter Seven

The Hollywood Bowl belonged to the Klan. From their vantage point near the off ramp, Elle and the kids could see the tip of the half dome that enclosed the world-famous stage. The seats around the stage were filled with hundreds of Klan members. They were screaming and yelling, throwing trash and bottles and crude comments. A huge bonfire lit the scene, tossing distorted, leaping shadows across the stage.

“The big stage is where they pit the toughest fighters against each other,” Elle explained.

“What about the Pits?” Georgia whispered, horrified. “Where are those?”

“Behind the Bowl,” Elle replied. “Come on. Follow me, and this time, do exactly what I tell you. The Klan has a lot more security than you’d think.”

Gang members roved the border of the park, patrolling, looking for people that dared trespass on their territory.

Elle stopped dead in her tracks. Georgia bumped into her back, pushing her forward. Elle barely regained her balance. She shot Georgia a harsh glare, gesturing ahead. Two Klan members were coming their way. They were loud, stomping along, talking in slurred voices. Clearly drunk.

Elle slid into a bush and the kids followed.

“…Come on, Elena,” the first of the two Klan members said. A male. “We’re missing it.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

“I’ve got a lot riding on this fight. Hurry up.”

“I’m hurrying…”

They passed slowly, but as soon as they were out of sight, Elle crawled out of the cover of the bush and looked around. Evening was setting in, masking the park in shadows. Torches were being lit, giving the area a tribal appearance.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Georgia muttered.

It should, Elle thought.

Jay and Flash said nothing, but Elle noticed Jay’s hand on the thirteen-year old boy’s forearm. Jay sensed her stare and Elle looked away, embarrassed.

I’m just not used to people, she thought. There’s nothing to feel weird about.

They came around the back of the park. It was quieter here, and the reason was obvious. Huge, animalistic ke

Just beyond the cages, huge, muddy pits had been dug into the ground.

They were the small fighting arenas — the Pits.

“Who are these prisoners?” Georgia commented, frowning. “Gladiators?”

“Basically,” Elle replied.

“Bunch of maniacs, if you ask me.” Georgia took a deep breath — apparently she was more rattled by the sight than she wanted to admit. “Remind me never to visit Hollywood again.”

Elle fought the urge to turn back, to run away. This place brought back memories. Very bad memories.

Why am I here? Why am I doing this?

Again, she had no answer. It just felt like the right thing to do, she guessed.

“The Pits are just beyond where they keep the prisoners,” Elle whispered.

“Where will Pix be?” Flash asked.

“I don’t know. She could be in any of the cages.”

“How are we going to find her without being seen?”

“I’m working on it.”

Elle studied the area. The cages were lined up in two rows parallel to each other. Klan guards roamed between the cages, keeping watch. They carried long, pointed stakes. Occasionally one of them would shove the stake through the cyclone fencing and harass the prisoners, keeping them subdued.

“This is going to have to be insanely fast,” Elle said. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

“I’m not sure we can pull this off,” Jay replied, hesitant.

“Hey, you’re the ones who wanted to come here,” Elle pointed out.

“I know. But this… we don’t stand a chance.”

Elle sighed. Hadn’t she tried to tell him this before they came?

“Well, I’m here now, and I’m not leaving until I do some damage,” Elle snorted. “You can leave if you want to.”

Weird how the tables had turned. Seeing this place had reminded Elle how much she hated the Klan — how much she wished somebody would take them down.