Enigma at the Greensboro Zoo (Ultimate Ending Book 4)
Page 4
"Brrrr," Jerry says.
There's a podium and computer in the center of the entranceway, where an employee would stand and direct people. You walk behind and look around. A formal looking notice is sitting next to the keyboard:
ZOO ANNOUNCEMENT.
There have been a lot of questions from zoo staff about Project Fusion. Please be advised that only biologists directly involved with the project are permitted in the lab. Anyone else will be terminated immediately.
-Warden Oxford
"Find anything?" Jerry asks.
You shake your head. No need to keep scaring him.
The two of you head farther down the hallway, where one entire wall is made of glass. Some sort of half-aquarium is inside, with rocks and water. Ahead of you is an employee door, broken off its hinges and part of the wall ripped loose.
"That looks bad," you admit.
Jerry just stares, wide-eyed.
Suddenly there's a rumbling sound. A tiny tremble in the ground, felt through the soles of your feet. Even the water in the aquarium is shaking.
"We need to leave," Jerry says.
"No. We need to secure the animals." The sound grows louder.
"We can't do that if we're dead!" He pulls out his pepper spray. "Hope this does the trick. Hit 'em with a blast when they come through the door."
You glance down at your own spray. Whatever it is, it's about to burst through the door.
Use the pepper spray ON PAGE 45
To flee, RUN BACK TO PAGE 22
To stand your ground and wait, GO TO PAGE 61
44
"We came here to do a job," you say, feeling determined. "We got this far, I'm not turning around just because some stupid bird stole the code."
Jerry looks like he wants to argue, but he decides that's a useless effort. "Fine. I'll cover you from down here."
The scaffolding is made up of three platforms connected by individual ladders. The entire thing shifts as you step onto the rung of the first ladder. Swallowing your fear, you keep going.
You take it slowly, one rung at a time, never looking down. After fifteen feet the ladder ends and you step onto the first platform. The next ladder is much of the same.
As you reach the second platform a strong wind howls through the woods. The wooden scaffolding sways back and forth like a tree, creaking loudly with a thousand different joints.
Gripping the ladder, you look up. The final platform is just ten more feet above, with the open window. Through the glass you can see the metal rafters with the dozens of birds perched inside.
The wind dies down for a moment, and your ears perk up. What is that sound? It's coming from the window above, and it sounds like... like growling. Like an animal. But birds don't growl. Is it just a trick of the wind?
"You okay up there?" Jerry calls.
It's definitely growling, low and throaty like a cat. The scaffolding sways some more as the wind picks up. The final ladder doesn't seem so safe anymore.
To play it safe, TURN BACK TO PAGE 40
To climb higher, GO TO PAGE 103
45
There's no time, and you can't take any chances. You rip the pepper spray from your belt and hold it out in front of you, aimed at the broken doorway. The rumble is nearly there.
At the first sign of movement Jerry unloads a spray. Your own cannister hisses as a stream of irritating liquid covers everything before you.
After a long moment you lower it to see what you've struck. Your jaw drops.
A dozen black-and-white shapes stand in front of you, no taller than your waist. You realize why the building is so cold. "Penguins," you say. "Just penguins!"
"Ohh," Jerry says.
But it's too late, and you've already done the damage. The penguins begin squawking and flapping their arms, alarmed and confused. They begin running in circles around you, a violent pattering of webbed feet.
You just pepper sprayed some harmless penguins.
"The Captain told us not to harm any of the animals," you say.
"Dude, it was self defense!" Jerry says.
"Against penguins?"
"We didn't know!"
Jerry continues to argue, but you know that this is going to be a PR nightmare. No matter what order you restore to the zoo, you'll forever be known as the Corporal who sprayed a group of penguins. They certainly don't promote those kinds of officers to Sergeant. You did your best, but because of your itchy finger this is...
THE END
46
The sound of their legs skittering across the ground is too much for you. Knowing it is a mistake, you pull the pepper spray free from your belt and let loose a stream of toxic liquid at the first one on the right.
"Take that you eight-legged monster!" you yell. The first spider unleashes a scream like a tea kettle and jumps backwards.
You move the spray to the next spider. Jerry is yelling, but you can't tell what he's saying. You start to sidestep as you sense the other spiders to your right closing in, but your foot catches on some of the glass and you fall sideways. You throw your hand up to stop your fall, but that only scrapes glass across your palm.
The pepper spray goes flying.
"Jerry!" you yell, seeing the two remaining spiders closing in. From this angle you can see every hair on their long legs, the liquid dripping from their fangs. "Jerry!"
Discover your fate ON PAGE 167
47
The screen to the Power Station keycode glows red, taunting you. Do you know the code, or will you have to look around somewhere else?
To enter code 1-3-2, GO TO PAGE 132
To explore the Bird Bastion, GO TO PAGE 67
To check out the Food Forest, GO TO PAGE 55
To examine to Monkey Manor, HEAD TO PAGE 51
48
49
"Oh thank goodness," Jerry says, exhaling. "It's just a hippo."
The hippopotamus looms over you.
"Jerry," you whisper, "this is bad. This is very bad."
"Why? I was expecting a crocodile or something."
You take a step back. "Jerry. Hippos are literally the most dangerous animal in Africa. More people are killed by charging hippos than lions!"
Jerry pauses. "That can't be right."
"Jerry!"
The hippo moans, a low sound like a tuba. Jerry gets the picture and begins backing away with you. Then, without warning, he turns and begins swimming, splashing loudly while waving his arms and legs. This agitates the hippo, and it begins to move forward.
You turn and dive into the water, stretching forward to swim in long strokes.
It's almost like riding a wave, with the huge animal behind you, pushing the water forward. You reach the bank of the lake within seconds, and quickly jump onto land.
A look over your shoulder proves that the hippo has made it onto land and is still charging.
Jerry is three steps ahead of you, veering to the left. "Jerry, this way!" you yell, seeing a structure up ahead. "Jerry!"
He doesn't hear you. And he's slowly veering farther away.
To follow Jerry, VEER OVER TO PAGE 36
To continue straight ahead, RUN TO PAGE 50
50
The Hippo is just too close; if you veer to the left to follow your partner then it will cut you off and trample you. It would be like a Golden Retriever running over an ant.
Your breath comes ragged as you squelch across the open field. The rain is falling harder now, enough that your clothes would be soaked--if they weren't already, you know, soaked. You hear the distant boom of thunder. Once, twice. Again and again.
That's when you realize it's not thunder, but the hippo's footsteps. It's still following you!
The building is still at least a hundred feet away. You're not sure if you'll make it. There's a lone tree up ahead with some low branches, within arm's reach. You're going to run right past it. You could probably swing up into safety. Though if you miss, or your hand slips...
The stompi
ng is right behind you.
To continue toward the building, GO TO PAGE 52
To jump into the tree, CLIMB TO PAGE 94
51
You follow the path away from the Power Station and toward the Monkey Manor. Everything seems really peaceful on this side of the zoo, as if it has remained untouched from whatever chaos has befallen the rest.
The smell of the Monkey Manor hits you long before you see the structure. It actually does look like a mansion: it's shaped like a four story house, with open windows and doors and a porch around the front. The windows have bars, though, and as you draw closer you can see that the entire thing is just a wooden facade for a massive cage behind. The porch has a wire mesh to keep the monkeys inside.
"It looks so real from a distance," Jerry says. "Especially in the dark."
"Yeah." There's a sign next to the path. "It says here there are 216 monkeys in the zoo."
"216? That's a lot..."
The animals must have heard you talking, because they begin hooting and grunting. Soon the entire Monkey Manor is awake, animals swinging from one window to the other.
"It looks like none of them have escaped," you say. "They're still contained inside."
"Good. Then they can't bother us. Let's go find the employee office and see if we can--"
SPLAT.
Something wet lands on the ground next to you, like a water balloon. Except it's dark like mud, and gives off a terrible smell.
"Is that..." Jerry mutters.
SPLAT. Another large ball of feces lands on the other side of you.
"Uh huh," you say. "They can't bother us, huh?"
Soon all of the monkeys have climbed onto the porch and are hurling excrement at you.
To go back to the Power Station, RUN TO PAGE 42
To ignore the monkeys, CONTINUE TO PAGE 57
If you have the BANANAS, TURN TO PAGE 81
52
You near the tree and continue on past it, sprinting wildly, out of control. After a few seconds you're not sure if that was a mistake or not.
"Awwrrooooo," the hippo roars. It's so loud! And so close.
It quickly becomes apparent that you aren't going to make it. The building is just too far, and in a few seconds the hippo is going to trample you. You're going to need to bust out a duck-and-roll move. You haven't practiced that move since the Academy, but hey, it should be mostly muscle memory, right?
Roll a die (or pick a number at random):
If you rolled a 1 or 6, DUCK TO PAGE 32
If you rolled a 2, 3, 4, or 5, ROLL TO PAGE 23
53
"What's wrong, Jerry," you tease. "Afraid of a little animal? It's probably something harmless, like a koala."
You're afraid too, but Jerry doesn't need to know that. He stands up straight. "Fine. Let's go."
You begin climbing the steps, pausing at the sign on the wall that has the scratch marks. "Pretty big claws to do that," Jerry says.
You shake your head. "I don't know. This almost looks like..."
"Like what?"
"Like it was caused by something else. Maybe a beak."
Jerry snorts. "When did you become a biologist?"
"I had a parakeet," you say defensively. "He used to make marks in the bottom of his cage with his beak."
"I still think it's claws," Jerry mutters.
You continue up the stairs and around the corner. They end at one giant room, which appears to span almost the entire length of the building. Glass enclosures cover the walls; some take up the entire wall to the ceiling, and others are no bigger than what you would put a household turtle in.
Your flashlight glances off something on the ground. Something shiny and reflective. Jerry gasps.
It's glass. Half of the enclosures have been shattered.
"I figured out what exhibit is up here," Jerry says. Something in his voice sounds troubling.
You look at where he's aiming his flashlight. A wall sign covered in fake spiderweb says: "ARACHNID AUDITORIUM."
Uh oh. See what happens by TURNING TO PAGE 58
54
The rain hasn't let up, and you're instantly soaked again. There's no sign of the hippo, but you don't want to stick around. There's a path into the woods to the right, at the edge of the clearing. You sprint toward it.
When you're a safe distance away Jerry stops and puts his hands on his knees, panting. "Oh. Dude. I..."
"Don't call me dude."
He holds up a hand. "You don't know what I've been through. I ran from the hippo, but I guess you led it away. I thought I was in the clear until a pack of giraffes came running through! They were spooked by something in the woods. Nearly trampled me."
You chuckle. "Giraffes? You got scared by giraffes?"
"Hey!" he says, offended. "They're scary when they're in a group. I'm lucky. You just had the hippo to worry about. How'd you get away from it, anyways?"
You grin and say, "Tell you about it later. Let's go get those tranquilizer rifles, once and for all."
Head to the Warden Hut ON PAGE 65
55
You backtrack away from the Power Station and follow the path toward the Food Forest. It's a food court area, with an indoor restaurant and outdoor seating covered by a long awning.
Inside the restaurant everything has been ransacked. Tables and chairs knocked over. Napkins blowing across the ground. A gallon-sized bottle of ketchup has broken open on the floor, being pecked at by three exotic looking birds. There's also a cardboard box with a stack of Greensboro Gryphons baseball caps inside. That's a strange thing to see, but it's nowhere near the strangest thing in the room.
Taking a wide berth around the birds--they look mean!--you enter the kitchen. It's just as bad, with the added chaos of cookware and utensils strewn across the ground.
"I'd hate to be the cleaning crew tomorrow morning," you mutter.
"No kidding." Jerry looks around. "So what are we looking for?"
"I don't know. Anything useful. We need to get into the Power Station."
Jerry points. "Which do you want to check first? The Pantry, or the Freezer?"
Check the Freezer ON PAGE 29
Investigate the Pantry ON PAGE 34
56
You grip the heavy stone in your hand, taking a few breaths to harden your courage. The booming sound of the animal's footsteps is like something out of Jurassic Park.
"On the count of three," you whisper. "One. Two."
"Three!"
You lean out from under the tree and heave the stone into the woods behind you. Not waiting to see what happened, you turn and sprint in the direction of the Warden's Hut.
It gives you a ten second head start. Between the heavy raindrops and the sound of your breathing you can't even hear the beast. For a few, precious moments you begin to think you'll escape.
"Rodriguez, look out!"
Jerry's warning forces you to duck. It's just in the nick of time. A paw with three ferocious claws cuts through the air above you, right where your head just was.
The beast shrieks in anger.
You run faster, zig-zagging along the path. Jerry is yelling behind you, but he's following, so he must be okay. All you two can do is keep running and hope you make it.
The path rounds a corner and a chain link fence appears. Hoping it's not locked, you sprint at the gate and throw your shoulder against it.
It flies open.
As soon as Jerry's through you close the gate and find the latch. You wait for the beast to appear but nothing happens.
"It must have stopped chasing us," Jerry says.
"Yeah. Did you get a good look at that thing? It had paws, like a cat."
Jerry frowns. "I don't think so. I'm certain it had feathers."
You shrug it off. It was dark, and you were both terrified. You turn around and smile. "Here's the Warden Hut."
Approach the Warden Hut ON PAGE 65
57
"We need to get into that employee office," you decid
e. "Pinch your nose and let's keep going."
Jerry looks like he wants to make a joke about smell, but he keeps his mouth shut.
You circle wide around the Monkey Manor to look for the employee office. All the while the apes are bouncing up and down, tossing more and more malodorous muck in your direction.
"There's the door." Jerry points. "Employees only. And right next to the porch."
He's right. The door is only a few feet from the wire meshing of the porch. Approaching is not an enticing prospect.
But you need to get inside.
"So... what do we do?" Jerry asks.
At the path intersection is a waist-high podium. Its screen glows green.
To try making a run for the door, SPRINT TO PAGE 74
To head back to the Power Station, GO TO PAGE 42
To check out the podium, TURN TO PAGE 64
58
The bird is moving impossibly fast. Just before it reaches you, right as it extends its talons, you throw yourself onto the disgusting floor.
The air behind rushes over you quickly, and for a moment you feel victorious. You glance up and see a brown hawk flying away from you. It flaps up toward the ceiling, circles twice, and then prepares to dive again.