Keeya’s rollerblades snapped shut with a resolute clap, the straps so tight that they felt at one with her feet.

“Keeya, I’ve been calling for you! What are you doing out here?” her Mom scolded her from atop the steps outside their house.

Keeya hunched her back as if shielding her from her Mom’s suffocating concern. She leveled her rollerblades and rolled them back and forth on the weed-infested sidewalk.

“Keeya?” her Mom warned.

Keeya slowly looked around and up at her Mom, who was mostly belly, thanks to her due date being so close.

“I’m going to school, Mom. They haven’t canceled it yet, despite the border moving closer,” Keeya said, her brow furrowing with frustration.

If I were one of them, the border wouldn’t be an issue at all, she thought bitterly to herself. She got up almost too quickly and jerked her backpack on to cover her regaining balance.

She blew out a hot breath and tried for a reassuring smile.

Her Mom didn’t look too impressed or reassured.

“Text me as soon as you get there,” Her Mom finally said.

Keeya waved goodbye.

“See you soon, Mom,” Keeya called out, so happy to be leaving the house after being stuck inside all weekend.

“Love you!” she added after a few strokes of her blades. She turned around, watching her mom wave back and yelling something she couldn’t quite make out. Keeya chose to ignore it and just shouted, “Okay.” It probably wasn’t important anyway.

“Little brother, please come soon,” Keeya pleaded to the heavens. With a new baby in the house, her Mom couldn’t watch Keeya 24-7.

Her wheels took a beating from the cracks and debris littering the sidewalk. She could have used the road. No one lived on this street anymore, but there were still the occasional survey vans and patrol cars to worry about.

Six years ago, the world changed forever when a new invasive species of snakes spread over the earth. Well, at least they looked like snakes, but with glowing red eyes that killed with just one bite. Their numbers seemed infinite, and no one could kill them, no one but the mysterious group of magical kids.

Keeya’s heart skipped a bit when she realized she would be going so close to the border. Maybe she would see some magical kids, or Zoo Keepers, as some started calling them. She looked up at the rooftops of the houses for any signs but quickly had to focus, so she didn’t fall.  

At her usual turn, she noticed a roadblock cutting off the rest of her street. A guard post sat in the middle of the road; its occupant’s face lit up from the glow of an iPad.

Keeya skated closer to a sign that said “Border Patrol: Temporary Fence Line,” followed by many warnings about what would happen should someone cross.

The new border

“Oh! Oh! You’re here! Finally!” The guard said, making Keeya jump.

A puggy man wiggled out of the guard post; a huge, relieved smile spread across his red face. He removed his cap and scratched the back of his head, scruffing up his curly brown hair.

“We got a big haul yesterday, and I was told a new team would be arriving to take care of them,” he said cheerily, putting his cap back on. He wasn’t looking at Keeya but at a large, abandoned grocery store that had been boarded up.

“I swear I can hear them hissing from here. I had to distract myself with some old movies, ya know? Er, don’t’ tell your boss I said that,” He added.

Keeya strained her ears but couldn’t hear any hissing.

“So, where is the rest of your team,” he asked, finally taking a good look at her. He frowned slightly at the sight of her rollerblades and backpack.

“Wait, aren’t you one of them? A magical kid.”

Keeya groaned.  

“No, I’m not. Not yet,” Keeya mumbled and dashed off. Away from the guard and the building full of hissing creatures and to Keeya, it felt like all of them were staring down and mocking her lack of magic.