“The king of the beasts,” Sensei Dan said as the flickering image of a lion prowled across an artificial ecosystem within the holo zoo. “The males didn’t do much hunting. The females were in charge of that. The males were protectors of the pride.”

  “Are they really that big?” Owen asked. It was more than an overgrown housecat. The lion dwarfed even Sensei Dan. He imagined what those claws could do to a man. For just a moment the image of the slain ninja flashed in Owen’s mind. He pushed the thought away. The time for self pity passed. He had to focus on the future.

  “Oh, yeah.” Dan grinned. “One of nature’s perfect killing machines. All fury and rage when it came down to it.”

  “I used to have a stuffed one,” Amber said. “She lifted her scratchpad and took a quick picture of the prowling lion. “I always loved this place growing up.” She was wearing a long black wig and a pair of sunglasses that hid most of her face. He almost didn’t recognize her without her signature blonde bob. “Did you ever come here?”

  “Once.” Amber took Owen’s hand and they walked to the next enclosure. The holo zoo was founded and funded by SolCo as part of their world of the past initiative. They built several science and nature centers meant to represent pre-collapse biomes and the wildlife within. The zoo was usually busy on most days. Mid city families enjoyed the sights and took pictures with the holographic animals.

  “My mom and dad brought me when I was eight,” Owen said. “I didn’t know the animals were fake back then.” He tried to remember that day, but nothing appeared in his mind. He knew he was happy.

  “I thought they were real too.” Amber took a picture of some monkeys swinging from vines overhead. “I asked my dad to buy me a monkey and he said they were disease ridden mongrels. He bought me a stuffed lion to cheer me up.”

  “Do you come here a lot?” Owen tried to imagine Amber as a child. And he couldn’t help but see her father walking hand in hand with her as they watched the artificial animals.

  “Not really. But I like it here. No prying eyes. Just normal people being normal.” Amber waved at a little girl walking with her mom and dad. “It’s like I don’t have to be me when I’m here. Everyone’s looking at the animals. They’re the stars of the show.”

  Owen didn’t know what to expect when Amber invited him to the Holo Zoo. They weren’t supposed to meet in public places unless they were sitting a reasonable distance apart. Appearances were everything to a Callahan and the scandal of dating a low city transplant would be too much for Owen. He didn’t know how Amber would take it.

  “Holy shit, Owen!” Owen’s asshole clenched as Mandy spotted him. “The hell are you doing here?” She walked hand in hand with another woman Owen assumed was her wife. “This is Owen.”

  “This is Owen?” Mandy’s wife peered at him over a pair of red rimmed glasses. She shook his hand. “Rachel. Nice to meet you. Mandy couldn’t shut up about you the other night.”

  “Who is this?” Amber asked. Uncertainty tinged her voice. Or was it jealousy? Owen never had a woman feel possessive over him before. It made him feel warm inside.

  “This is Mandy,” Owen said. “We grew up in the care facility together. And that’s her wife, Rachel.”

  “Is this your girlfriend?” Mandy punched him in the shoulder. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone.”

  “I’m Vanessa,” Amber said. “Would you like to join us? We just got started.”

  “We shouldn’t interrupt,” Rachel said.

  “I insist,” Amber replied. She flashed Owen a quick smile. “It’ll be fun. Like a double date.”

  “If you insist.” Mandy nodded. She winked at Owen and he was sure she knew Vanessa wasn’t Vanessa.

  “Why’d you do that?” Owen whispered to Amber as they walked ahead.

  “I don’t get to talk to regular people often,” Amber said. “They seem fun.”

  “Gorillas!” Rachel pointed at a troop of gorillas lounging by a river bed. Adolescent gorillas splashed in the water while a massive silverback watched over them. Owen read the plaque that explained how they lived and how much an adult gorilla could lift. They were from Africa. He remembered a short lesson on Africa when he was younger.. The rest of the world stripped it of all precious metals before the collapse. He wasn’t sure if anyone lived there anymore.

  “I could take one,” Sensei Dan said as he eyed the gorilla. “Just one though.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Owen said.

  “About what?” Amber asked.

  “It says an adult silverback can lift up to eighteen hundred pounds.” Owen laughed. “That can’t be right.”

  “It’s right,” Rachel said. “I did a report on them in school. They have the strength of twenty men.” She flexed her bicep at Owen and he decided he liked her.

  “I could still take one,” Sensei Dan said.

  “Right,” Owen nodded at Rachel. “Mandy says you like Star Quest.” Amber squeezed his hand hard. “So do I.” She squeezed again and Owen laughed. “How’s the new season? I haven’t been keeping up.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “It’s pretty good. They just introduced the King of Nexus Prime and his horde of space vampires.” Rachel hissed at Owen and laughed. It sounded ridiculous, but Owen was a little upset he missed it. He missed a lot on his Hardknuckle journey. He wouldn’t change any of it. “I hear they’re bringing back Doc Brannigan.”

  “They are,” Amber said. Her cheeks flushed red and she raised her scratchpad to take a picture of the primates.

  “Are you a fan?” Rachel asked Amber.

  “Not really. I prefer reading.”

  “To each their own.” Rachel shrugged. “Are you sure we haven’t met somewhere? I swear I know you.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and squinted.

  “I don’t think so.” Amber pulled Owen toward a simulated snake feeding. “Maybe inviting them along was a mistake,” she whispered. She pushed her sunglasses up to cover her eyes.

  “You’re doing fine.”

  “We looking at snakes?” Mandy cupped her hands over her eyes and peered into the glass. A timer above the snake cage counted down to the release of a holographic mouse. In disgusting detail the snake struck and wrapped its body around the squirming and squealing creature to crush the life out of it. “Nasty. Why do you think they put up glass?” Mandy tapped the glass. “The snakes can’t bite us.”

  “It’s to protect the projectors,” Rachel said. “So, Owen, did you and Mandy date?”

  “Gross,” Mandy said. “He was like my little brother.”

  “Right,” Owen said. There was a time when he had hormone driven feelings toward Mandy, but those were long gone with that awkward period of his pre-Hardknuckle life. Prior to Amber he didn’t have the time to even think about dating. Survival took precedent over happiness. Amber was his first real relationship and if she noticed his inexperience she didn’t show it.

  Mandy and Rachel parted ways with Owen and Amber at the house of spiders. Owen remembered Mandy hating anything with more than four limbs. They were the only thing that could make her shiver. She’d hate the Hardknuckle Crab fist.

  “They were nice,” Amber said. She moved from spider cage to spider cage, tilting her head at the flickering arachnids within. “Sometimes I wish I were like them.”

  “What do you mean? Like the spiders?”

  “Like your friends. Normal. I think I would’ve liked it.”

  “No you wouldn’t,” Owen said sharply. “You’d hate every second of it.” Owen didn’t realize how much he hated it until he looked back. He’d do anything not to go back to living his low life.

  “I don’t think so.” Amber snapped a picture of a rearing tarantula. “There’s something romantic about living without wealth.”

  “There isn’t,” Owen said. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He shook his head and blinked hard. He tried not to be offended, but it was difficult when a member of the wealthiest family in City Seven was saying it. “Have you ever had a Health Organization approved value meal?” Owen glared at Amber. “Have you ever slept in a tube so small you can’t even sit up, and it’s hard to sleep because there are a hundred tubes around you? Do you know what it’s like to step over an ad line and get fines you can’t afford? Do you know what that’s like? Do you know what it’s like to be so desperate you’d sell your kidneys?” The words tumbled out of him. Words he didn’t even know were stuffed inside of him.

  “Owen, I didn’t—,” Amber stammered, and for the first time he saw her confidence falter.

  “Living like that isn’t fun.” He was getting louder. “It’s barely living!” he shouted. “It’s surviving.” His blood boiled and his adrenaline spiked. He felt his limbs going cold as his anger rose.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean it.” They were alone in the house of spiders and Amber’s eyes flicked toward the exit. “Just, calm down.”

  “Right.” Owen nodded. “You didn’t mean it.” He shook his head and plopped down on a steel bench shaped like a tarantula. “What are we doing?” Owen asked her. “Can we really pretend that we make any sense?” Owen hopped out of the chair and paced in front of a display of venomous arachnids. “You’re the princess of City Seven and I’m just a pet project.”

  “I hate when people call me that,” Amber said. She stowed her scratchpad and crossed her arms. “Is that what you think about me? Huh?” She stood shoved him. “Answer me!” Owen was silent and Amber scoffed. “You know I can always tell when someone recognizes me. Your friend Mandy did. A person’s eyes change when they see Amber Callahan.” She walked away from him, pausing in front of a wood standee of Oswald the Orb Weaver. The cartoon spider waved at them.

  “When we first met,” Amber said. “It was nice talking to someone that didn’t know who I was. You saw me like I was anyone else.” She offered him a small smile. “When we met at the gala your eyes were the same. You knew who I was and your eyes stayed exactly the same. I liked that about you.”

  “Amber—,” Owen started.

  “No!” she suddenly shouted. “You’re going to let me finish. Do you know how lonely it is being me? Everyone I meet wants something from me. All I am is a connection. I don’t know who my real friends are. I don’t think I have any real friends. I have co-stars, and an entourage, but if the money went away so would they.” She crossed her arms and looked at the floor. “Did you know I won a few gymnastics competitions when I was a teenager?”

  “No, I didn’t.” His fire was gone, replaced by the urge to comfort Amber. She might’ve had money, but money couldn’t save her from the loneliness of City Seven. A loneliness Owen understood all too well.

  “My mom said that was nice but gymnastics wouldn’t get me seen. She made me quit and forced me to take acting classes. I was really good, you know. And I’m a good actress too, and I do most of my own stunts. I was top of my class throughout all my school years and I had perfect attendance. But part of me thinks that the teachers and judges only scored me well because of who I am.” She wiped her cheek. “I’ll never know if I’ve accomplished anything on my own.”

  “Amber,” Owen said as he pulled her into a hug.

  “Don’t ever call me the princess of City Seven again.” She hugged him back. “And don’t ever let that look in your eyes change. I want you to see me. Not my family’s bank account. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “We’re going to change things together,” Amber said. “We’ll have a whole stable of fighters and take the league by storm. It’ll be real.”

  “But I have to win first.”

  “You have to win a lot.” Amber pushed him on the bench and sat on his lap. “Let’s commemorate our first fight.” She leaned in close and took a picture of them together. “You’re so handsome.” She took his hand and led him out of the hall of spiders into daylight. “Enough of our personal pity party. We still have quite a few exhibits to see and I’m not leaving until I see elephants.”

  Owen watched her more than the projected animals. He didn’t think about her money, or the name. She was right about that. The differences in their upbringings hung heavy, but that didn’t change that she wasn’t the princess of City Seven, she was just Amber. He could enjoy his time with her and forget about everything else. And then his scratchpad beeped.

  It was a message from Tuck. He wanted to meet the following day.