EPILOGUE

HILLCREST INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

NAIROBI, KENYA

"Touch me one more time."

"Yeah? That a dare, luv?"

"D--- right it's a dare. C'mon, white boy—try it."

"Whatchya gonna do, huh? You gonna fight me, eh?"

"Fight you? Naw; I'mma beat yo' b---h-a-- all the way back to London."

"You li'l c***! I'll teach you a lesson!"

D'kala N'chaba narrowed his eyes as he rounded the corner. Shouts, hoots, and hollers echoed rang through the hallway as the other members of the student body gathered around to watch Ryker Madison, a wrestler and rugby player, throw hands with Kia Sosoto, a straight-A transfer student and gymnast—who also happened to be D'kala's best friend.

"Oi! Stay still, b---h!" Ryker snapped, trying to land a hit on the slippery Kia.

"You're actually trying to hitting a girl, Ryker?" a student named Pradesh called.

"Don't be a jerk, Ryke!" another student, Jessica, put in.

"SHUT UP!" Ryker shouted at them, turning away from Kia for a split-second—

—and that was all it took.

A wide grin came to Kia's face as she tore into Ryker's with her claw-like fingernails, making him cry out in pain. She leapt into the air and landed a roundhouse kick on his head, knocking him back into the lockers before unleashing a flurry of kung-fu strikes on his face, chest, and stomach. Ryker couldn't even raise a hand to protect himself, and in a few seconds, he was slumping to the floor, bloodied and barely conscious.

"HA! Told you not to test me, boy!" Kia spat, her eyes alight with triumph.

Then she let out a shout of anger as two other boys grabbed her arms, wrestling her away from Ryker. "Hey! Lemme go!" she yowled as they shoved her up against the lockers on the opposite side of the hall.

"Not a chance, p---y!" one of the boys, Duke Donner, sneered.

"Yeah!" the other boy, Vaea Laumoli, agreed. "You mess with Ryker, you mess with us!" He reared back, his left hand clenched into a fist.

A fist that was grabbed from behind, halting the impending blow.

"And if you mess with her," D'kala snarled, squeezing Vaea's wrist tightly, "you mess with me."

Vaea paled. Both he and Duke quickly stepped away from Kia as D'kala released Vaea's wrist. "Hey, easy, DK," the Samoan boy said nervously, holding up his hands in feigned innocence. "We weren't gonna—"

"I do not care," D'kala interrupted in a growl, "for your excuses." His lip curled, baring his teeth in warning. "Leave. NOW."

Vaea and Duke nodded and ran over to Ryker, helping him to his feet and hurrying away.

D'kala glared after them for a moment before shaking his head and sighing, trying to shrug off the fury that bubbled just beneath the surface. He turned to Kia and asked, "Are you alright, Kia?"

Kia scoffed and smoothed out her clothes. "I'm fine, DK," she replied breezily, tossing her hair and turning toward the lockers. "I had it under control."

"You were pinned against the lockers by two boys twice your size," D'kala pointed out as Kia began rummaging through her locker.

Kia put on her backpack, turned around, and smirked. "Like I said: under control."

D'kala rolled his eyes as the pair began walking toward the school's entrance. "You just cannot wait to get out of here, can you?"

"Nope," Kia confirmed. "I'm ready to bounce. This place is legit the worst."

D'kala raised an eyebrow. "How do you know the 'Zoo Phoenix Academy' will be any better?"

Kia gave D'kala a mischievous smile. "Call it a hunch."

D'kala laughed. "You know you do not have to come inside here, right?" he reminded her, gesturing to Hillcrest School as they exited the building. "You could have waited for me outside like always."

"Yeah, right! Where's the fun in that?"

"Fun?" D'kala paused and put his hands on his hips, giving Kia a disapproving look. "Kia. Please do not tell me you went in there trying to start a fight."

"Weeeeeeeeell... Ryker was bein' kind of an a--hole to you yesterday, so I thought, y'know... why not?"

"Kia..."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Kia let out a groan. "You're so lame sometimes, DK."

"I'm 'lame' because I do not go around picking fights anymore?"

"Yes! You were way more fun when you got triggered all the time."

"You do not mean that."

Kia laughed. "Nah, I don't. Still, tho'... you could stand up for yourself every now and then. I mean, don't wild out like you used to, but... fire back, y'know?"

"I have learned a different way of handling things. In case you did not notice, I defused that fight back there with ease."

"Uh, yah. Only 'cuz V and Duke've seen you when you're really angry." Kia hesitated before glancing at D'kala and adding, "But thanks, tho'. I appreciate you steppin' in."

"I thought you had it 'under control'," D'kala teased.

"Oh, I did. But sometimes sidekicks need a little action too, y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"'Sidekicks'? You wound me."

"No cap? Get a band-aid."

-

"Are they ready, Guardian?"

Guardian narrowed his eyes, watching the two Felinians from the shadows. "You know my answer to that question," he growled. "They're children. They don't even have real powers like Martinez. They are NOT ready. We can't bring them in—not yet."

"I'm afraid we don't have a choice anymore, Guardian," the person on the other end of Guardian's call responded in a cool tone. "The Pacts will soon be broken beyond repair. It's only a matter of time before the critical point is reached. We need them now, whether they're ready or not."

"They can't be what you need them to be!" Guardian argued. "Even Zillion is having his struggles, and he's the tertiary protective Peacekeeper! He has real powers and real experience! What hope could these two have of taking on threats like the ones we face?"

"It's not about what hope they have, Guardian. It's about how much."

Guardian exhaled through his nose, his dark expression somehow growing darker. "You'd better hope they meet—no, EXCEED your expectations, Zechariah."

"I have no doubt that they will," Zechariah replied evenly. "They'll make a change in Safe Haven, Guardian—you'll see."

Guardian sighed. "Very well. I defer to you as always... Chief Peacekeeper."

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*Hmmm... who is Guardian? And what connection does he have to Zechariah? So many questions...

I'll explain the next two stories in a note at the beginning of each.

End of "P R E V I O U S L Y : On ZooPhobia".