The sun was up, and Stanley’s heart was still beating. There were eight lizards in the hole with him. Each one had exactly eleven yellow spots.
The Warden had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and lines across her forehead and face which seemed exaggerated in the stark morning light. Her skin looked blotchy.
“Satan,” said Zero.
Stanley looked at him, unsure if Zero had even spoken or if he’d just imagined it.
“Why don’t you go see if you can take the suitcase from Zero,” the Warden suggested.
“Yeah, right,” said Mr. Sir.
“The lizards obviously aren’t hungry,” said the Warden. “Then you go get the suitcase,” said Mr. Sir.
They waited.
“Sa-tan lee,” said Zero.
• • •
Sometime later Stanley saw a tarantula crawl across the dirt, not too far from his hole. He had never seen a tarantula before, but there was no doubt what it was. He was momentarily fascinated by it, as its big hairy body moved slowly and steadily along.
“Look, a tarantula,” said Mr. Sir, also fascinated. “I’ve never seen one,” said the Warden. “Except in—”
Stanley suddenly felt a sharp sting on the side of his neck.
The lizard hadn’t bitten him, however. It was merely pushing off. It leapt off Stanley’s neck and pounced on the tarantula. The last
Stanley saw of it was one hairy leg sticking out of the lizard’s mouth.
“Not hungry, huh?” said Mr. Sir.
Stanley tried to return to the snow, but it was harder to get there when the sun was up.
As the sun rose, the lizards moved lower in the hole, keeping mainly in the shade. They were no longer on his head and shoulders but had moved down to his stomach, legs, and feet.
He couldn’t see any lizards on Zero, but believed there were two, between Zero’s knees, shaded from the sun by the suitcase.
“How are you doing?” Stanley asked quietly. He didn’t whisper, but his voice was dry and raspy.
“My legs are numb,” said Zero.
“I’m going to try to climb out of the hole,” Stanley said.
As he tried to pull himself up, using just his arms, he felt a claw dig into his ankle. He gently eased himself back down.
“Is your last name your first name backward?” Zero asked.
Stanley stared at him in amazement. Had he been working on that all night?
He heard the sound of approaching cars. Mr. Sir and the Warden heard it as well. “You think it’s them?” asked the Warden.
“It ain’t Girl Scouts selling cookies,” said Mr. Sir.
He heard cars come to a stop and the sound of doors opening and closing. Shortly afterward, he saw Mr. Pendanski approaching across the lake with two strangers. One was a tall man dressed in a business suit and cowboy hat, while the other was a short woman carrying a briefcase. She had to take three steps for every two of the man’s. “Stanley Yelnats?” she called out, moving ahead of the others.
“I suggest you don’t come any closer,” warned Mr. Sir.
“You can’t stop me,” she retorted, then paused to take a second look at him, noticing he was wearing only pajama pants. “We’ll get you out of there, Stanley,” she assured him. She appeared to be Hispanic, with straight black hair and dark eyes, and spoke with a slight Mexican accent, rolling her r’s.
“What in tarnation?” the tall man exclaimed as he caught up with her.
She turned to him sharply. “I’m telling you now, if any harm comes to him, we’ll be filing charges not only against Ms. Walker and Camp Green Lake but also the entire state of Texas. Child abuse. False imprisonment. Torture.”
The man, more than a head taller than her, looked over her as he addressed the Warden.
“How long have they been in there?”
“All night, as you can see from how we’re dressed. They snuck into my cabin while I was asleep and stole my suitcase. I chased them, and they ran out here and ended up in the lizards’ nest. I don’t know what they were thinking.”
“That’s not true!” Stanley said.
“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 wondered why the Warden lied about the suitcase. He wondered who it legally belonged to. That was one thing he wanted to ask his lawyer, if she really was his lawyer.
“It’s a miracle they’re still alive,” said the tall man.
“Yes, it is,” the Warden agreed, with just a trace of disappointment in her voice.
“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,” said the Warden. “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. “I had a court order!”
“It was not authenticated,” the Warden said.
“Authenticated? It was signed by the judge who sentenced him.” “I needed authentication from the Attorney General,” said the
Warden. “How do I know it’s legitimate? The boys in my custody have proven themselves dangerous to society. Am I supposed to just turn them loose any time someone hands me a piece of paper?”
“Yes,” said the woman. “If it’s a court order.”
“Stanley has been hospitalized for the last few days,” the Warden explained. “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 tried to climb out of his hole, using mostly his arms so as not to disturb the lizards too much. As he pulled himself upward, the lizards moved downward, keeping out of the sun’s direct rays. He swung his legs up and over, and the last of the lizards hopped off.
“Thank God!” exclaimed the Warden. She started toward him, then stopped.
A lizard crawled out of his pocket and down his leg.
Stanley was overcome by a rush of dizziness and almost fell over. He steadied himself, then reached down, took hold of Zero’s arm, and helped him slowly to his feet. Zero still held the suitcase.
The lizards, which had been hiding under it, scurried quickly into the hole.
Stanley and Zero staggered away.
The Warden rushed to them. She hugged Zero. “Thank God, you’re alive,” she said, as she tried to take the suitcase from him.
He jerked it free. “It belongs to Stanley,” he said.
“Don’t cause any more trouble,” the Warden 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—”
“It’s got his name on it,” said Zero.
Stanley’s lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look. “See,” Zero showed her. “Stanley Yelnats.”
Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.
The tall man looked over the heads of the others at the name on the suitcase. “You say he stole it from your cabin?”
The Warden stared at it in disbelief. “That’s im…imposs…It’s imposs…” She couldn’t even say it.
