Rounding the loop, Jack heard a loud roar and looked over his shoulder as the roller coaster rocketed down the track with everyone on the train screaming at the top of their lungs as though they were plummeting to their deaths into the Grand Canyon.
“Think they’re having fun?” Nora said, glancing at the steel trestle track that wrapped around the park.
“Doesn’t sound like it,” Jack replied.
The chairlift suddenly came to a stop.
“Please don’t tell me we’ve broken down,” Nora said.
“Hope not.” Jack saw a tall stanchion with a ladder attached about forty feet ahead and half the height as their suspended chair, which gave them an excellent view of the man standing on a round rostrum on the top of the pole.
“What’s he doing?” Nora asked.
“I don’t know but he’s drawn quite the crowd.”
Two hundred or more spectators were seated on the bleachers outside a fortified fifteen-foot high wire-mesh fence and were staring up at the man. Next to the man was a long boom with a cable that stretched down to the ground where three men stood around a large wire cage.
The man on the rostrum held a control box and pushed a button. The cage slowly rose off the ground on the cable.
“What do you think is in there?” Jack asked.
“Oh, I don’t believe this,” Nora said.
“What?”
“Take a look.”
Even though they were fifty feet below, the four amphibians were enormous, each as big as an armored tank.
“Tell me those aren’t real,” Jack said.
“Seeing is believing. Those are Wuhnan Toads.”
The albino toads reminded Jack of Jabba the Hutt because they were so rotund and had gigantic mouths large enough to gobble up a dairy cow.
The cage finally reached the end of the cable and hovered beneath the boom. The man on the rostrum operated the control box and the boom swung around so that the cage was hovering over the giant toads.
“What is that?” Jack said. “A beaver? But its tail looks like a—”
“It’s a bamboo rat,” Nora interjected. “They don’t come any bigger than that.”
“But what’s he going to do with it?”
Nora didn’t have to answer because at that moment the man pushed a button and the bottom of the cage opened like a trapdoor, dumping out the large furry animal.
The toads saw the plummeting fat morsel and scrambled like a bunch of infielders converging on the same fly ball, two of them shooting out their tongues and getting tongue-tied.
One toad actually clambered onto the back of another toad, catching the rat in its mouth, which quickly enraged the others. The toads attacked each other like a tag team of Sumo wrestlers while the spectators in the bleachers cheered like a bloodthirsty crowd in an arena, watching gladiators fight brutally to the death.
Jack watched in amazement. “I bet PETA would have a field day if they saw that.”
“I don’t think rules apply here,” Nora said.
The pulley engaged above their heads and the chairlift resumed moving.
Jack glanced down beyond his dangling feet and saw the sprawling branches of a massive tree with a crown spread of 100 feet. “Jesus, even the trees are incredible.”
He spotted an electric golf cart coming out of an entrance behind a facade on the border of a garden area and nudged Nora. “Could be our way in,” he said.
“Worth considering,” Nora agreed.
28
LAUGHING FRUIT
Song drove the utility cart while Mason rode up front, shouting to the people blocking their path to move out of their way, though they had no idea what he was saying as they didn’t understand English.
“You must learn to be patient,” Song said.
Mason quickly caught on and stopped ranting like a loon. “Wish I had a copy of Chinese for Dummies. Sure would make my life a lot easier,” Mason said, though he was doubtful a tutorial would help him better understand the fast-speaking language.
Song drove off the main walkway to avoid the park visitors and turned down a narrow lane that took them to the service entrance of Yeren Temple cordoned off by six-foot tall chain-link fencing with slats. Mason climbed off the cart and followed Song to the back door where she swiped her keycard down the reader. The deadbolt latch disengaged and the heavy metal door opened onto a narrow corridor that ran behind the main exhibits.
They went down the hall to a short flight of stairs that took them up to a landing where they could look through a window undetected and see inside the observation area.
Mason could hear the park visitors packed shoulder-to-shoulder, clamoring on the other side of the glass, everyone moving in a painfully slow procession to get a decent look at the majestic Yeren in its museum-like habitat and the rambunctious Xing-Xings running wild inside their glass-faced enclosure.
The Yibimins were in separate exhibits so that the lefties and the righties could be segregated and wouldn’t try killing each other, which would have been a gory sight to behold and might have made a popular attraction, watching two one-armed apes beating each other to death.
Mason gazed down and spotted Lennie hunkered in the back of his exhibit. It was difficult to tell if the giant Chinese ape-man was afraid of all the people pressing up against the glass—especially those pounding rudely to get his attention—or if he was in a deep depression from being confined and put on display. If Mason had his way, he would have liked nothing better than to go down and free the big brute but that wasn’t his call.
“We can come back later?” Song said. She gave Mason an empathetic look, as she shared the same sentiment with many of the creatures she cared for.
“Sure, let’s go.” Mason went with Song back down the stairs and outside to the utility cart. They drove off and soon found themselves caught in a slow-moving tide of park visitors. A large congregation was gathered around the colossal Jinmenju tree.
Mason could hear ruckus laughter. “What’s everyone laughing at?”
“It’s not the people. It is from the tree.”
“You’re telling me the tree’s making that noise?”
“Actually, it is the fruit hanging from the branches.”
“Pull up closer and stop,” Mason said. When they were close enough, Mason stood on the passenger seat so he could see over everyone’s heads and get a good view of the tree. He gazed at the hanging fruit on the branches expecting to see something that resembled mangos or coconuts. Instead he saw what looked like human heads and they were all laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s creepy!”
“They say,” Song said, “if the fruit laughs too hard, it will fall to the ground.”
“You expect me to believe—” Mason paused when he heard a familiar horselaugh. Then came the sound of something crashing down through the branches and a thud on the ground.
Mason watched in horror when a large piece of red fruit rolled down the slope and came to a stop.
It looked just like Ramsey’s head and it was still laughing.
29
FU LION PAVILION
Gabe had a slight headache and felt queasy after riding the gut wrenching roller coaster, Cobra Fury. He knew Caroline wasn’t feeling any better but at least the coloring was returning to her face. Tommy and Amy acted as though the terrifying ride had been no big deal and even tried convincing Gabe and Caroline to go again.
As there was still so much to see and they still wanted to spend some time at Splash Down, Gabe convinced the cousins that once they left the water park, they could tackle Cobra Fury again, even though he had no intention of doing so.
Their next exhibit was Fu Lion Pavilion. As they moved up in the long line, Gabe noticed the two giant statues out front of the building. “What’s the significance of the lions?” he asked.
“Those are Fu Lions,” Tommy pointed out. “In Eastern culture they represent Buddha. Somewhat like your cross represents Jesus Christ.”
> “What does Fu mean?” Caroline asked.
“Fu means blessing,” Tommy said. “Fu Lions represent prosperity.”
At first glance, the two statues looked like identical bookends but as the line moved up the steps and Gabe got closer, he noticed there were a few differences in the way the Fu Lions had been sculptured even though they both looked fierce and wore armor bands on their forelegs and had manes of steel balls. “They’re not exactly the same; why’s that?”
“That is because the Fu Lion on the right is the male and the other one is the female,” Tommy said. “What we refer to as Yin and Yang. You’ll notice that the male’s right front paw is resting on a globe, which represents life, as it is the man’s job to protect the world. The female’s left paw is resting on her cub and it is her job to protect her family.”
“They are sometimes called the Chinese Guardian Lions,” Amy piped in, “and can be found outside important buildings in all of China, even in front of restaurants.”
“Wow,” Caroline said. “You guys should be tour guides.”
“Everyone in Hangshong takes pride in our culture,” Tommy said.
Gabe had to admit he was surprised by Tommy’s enthusiasm and his knowledge of his historical past, as it was often that new generations did not embrace their heritage and let the old customs slip away into obscurity. “Don’t say any more,” Gabe said. “Save some for the tour.”
They filed inside the building along with the other park visitors. Gabe saw displays with paintings and blown-up black and white photographs of the Hangshong people from ancient times. He stayed close behind Caroline and edged by the rows of manikins dressed like kung fu fighting monks and warriors wearing headgear and suits of armor.
Most of the plaques below the exhibits were in Chinese with only a few with a brief description in English at the bottom, which Gabe found disheartening as he was interested in learning as much about the tour as possible.
A roar boomed inside the massive room, echoed by another roar.
“Oh my God!” Caroline gasped.
Gabe heard over a hundred people react the same way, muttering in Chinese.
Contained in a behemoth cage were two enormous Fu Lions—the spitting image of the statues on the front steps. Their armor clanked as they stomped about, baring their stone-like teeth with each sneering growl.
Gabe gawked at Tommy and Amy. “I thought you were kidding. You mean these things are real?”
The cousins were just as surprised.
30
YEREN TEMPLE
After being stuck in the slow-moving line for almost forty-five minutes, Nora and Jack were finally inside Yeren Temple. The cavernous hall was filled with scores of chattering visitors following the roped-off walkway in front of the animal enclosures.
“I don’t believe it,” Jack said when they came to the first habitat and he saw the six creatures behind the large plate glass window. “I might be wrong but I think those are the same apes I saw in McCabe’s laboratory bunker.”
“Really? You think these Xing-Xings are the same ones?” Nora asked.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
“You do know these are only infants,” Nora said as they watched the baboon-sized primates loping about their enclosure, pounding on their chests, and redecorating their habitat by ripping out the artificial foliage. “If their DNA code is correct, they should grow to six feet tall and weigh two hundred pounds. They’ll be much lankier and their fur should turn a dull black.”
“And be just as crazy.”
They moved at a snail pace to the next two exhibits.
“Looks like more of McCabe’s freaks,” Jack said, looking at the one-armed apes.
“No, believe it or not, that’s how they are supposed to look. They’re Yibimins. I doubt that McCabe had anything to do with their creation. These are probably the work of Luan.”
There was a glass partition between the two troops of apes: the lefties on one side, the righties on the other side. Every so often, a Yibimin would glare at another primate in the next enclosure and they would throw their bodies up against the thick tempered glass and screech with ferocity in an attempt to attack one another.
“Oh my God, Jack,” Nora said when they moved along to the next habitat. “There he is.” She was almost brought to tears when she saw Lennie sitting in the corner, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging down. Many of the people around her were trying to get the giant Yeren’s attention by smacking their palms on the glass. Nora was tempted to yell for them to stop but instead, she stood there docile, hoping that Lennie would happen to gaze up and see her.
“He looks like a kid on his first day at the orphanage,” Jack said. “It’s enough to make—” and then his voice choked up.
When Nora could no longer hold back the tears, she felt Jack pull her close. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll get him out of there.”
31
THE BIRDHOUSE
From afar, the structure looked like a typical bird feeder with holes drilled in the walls to allow avian access but as they entered the lower level deck, Gabe realized the circular portals were actually made of lightly tinted glass. As the interior was brightly illuminated, he could see inside and did not have to cup his hands around his face to shield the sunlight. “What in the world are those?” he asked, watching half a dozen owls hopping around the straw covered floor as each bird had only one foot.
“Those are Qizhongs,” Tommy said, either having done his research before coming to the park or having read the sign in Chinese posted by the round window.
“Aren’t they supposed to be bad luck?” Amy said. “Something to do with plagues.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“What’s with their tails?” Caroline asked. “They’re coiled like a pig’s.”
“I have to say,” Gabe said, “whoever dreamed these things up had one twisted imagination.”
The next exhibit proved to be even weirder.
“This is totally insane,” Caroline said and laughed when she looked through the next window.
Gabe peered in and saw ten or more red birds and an equal amount of black birds, each one jumping about on a single foot like the owls in the other exhibit. Each bird had only one eye and looked like it had been cleaved down the center from its beak down to its tail feathers, rendering only half a fowl. “They look like a cruel joke,” he said.
“They’re ManMan Ducks,” Tommy said. “Watch what they do.” Just as he said that, a red bird and a black bird joined together like a matching set, flapped their wings in unison, and flew about the small aviary like a single two-colored bird.
“That is wild!” Gabe said.
Gabe and Caroline followed the cousins upstairs with the other visitors to the second level of The Birdhouse.
The first exhibit took up more than half of the top floor and was home to a dozen or more winged creatures. They were as big as cormorants with long bronze beaks and seahorse-like heads. Their segmented bodies had random black and red plates extending down from their long necks to the tip of their serpentine tails.
The strangest thing about them was their wings, which looked like the skin had rotted away leaving large gaps between the blue-colored bones but then there were plumes of green feathers on the outer edge of each wing.
“What the heck are those?” Gabe said, almost wanting to laugh.
“Those are called Zhenniao.” Tommy said.
“It’s a wonder they can even fly,” Caroline said, watching two of the aerodynamically handicapped birds take flight and soar about the room without any problem.
“See those green feathers?” Tommy said. “Legend says that Zhenniaos feed on venomous snakes, which transfers to the feathers and makes them poisonous. If you put a feather in someone’s drink, they will die.”
“That sounds a little morbid,” Caroline said.
Gabe heard excited voices from the group of visitors peering into the windows of the next exhibit,
which made him anxious to see what was next.
Even though the lights were not on in the next room, Gabe saw bright flashes zigzagging in the darkness. At first he thought they were streaks of artificially created lightning but then Tommy said they were Sky Serpents.
“They don’t have wings,” Caroline noted. “It’s like the snakes are suspended in thin air. How is that possible?”
“Heck if I know,” Gabe said, wondering the same thing.
“Well, what do you say, we go find a place and change into our trunks and check out Splash Down?” Tommy said. “Unless you want to go on Cobra Fury?”
“Let’s do the water park,” Gabe said, figuring the tamer the better.
32
SURPRISE APPEARANCE
“Do you want to take the lead on this or should I?” Mack said to Anna as they entered the main lobby of Chang Empire Building.
“Knock yourself out,” Anna replied.
They walked up to the reception counter, and as a courtesy, Mack presented his business card to the young woman instead of displaying his badge. He gave her a moment to digest the information on the card before saying, “We would like to speak with Henry Chang.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, we don’t.”
“I am sorry. Mr. Chang is a very busy man and can not see you,” the young woman said.
“How about you schedule us in,” Mack said.
“I will have to check with Mr. Wu.”
“You don’t understand,” Anna said, a little prickly from the woman’s attitude. “We’re following up on an active investigation on a Dr. Haun Zhang.”
The receptionist picked up her phone. “One moment. Let me call Mr. Wu.”
Mack and Anna stepped away so the receptionist couldn’t overhear them speaking. “Do you get the feeling we’re getting the brush-off?” Mack said.
“Big time. And who’s this Mr. Wu?”
“Probably some flunky liaison.”
Cryptid Kingdom (Cryptid Zoo Book 6) Page 9