Enigma at the Greensboro Zoo (Ultimate Ending Book 4)

by David Kristoph

  He puts a hand on his chest in mock pain. "You insult me, Rodriguez." He pulls a card out of his pocket. "After all, wouldn't you say it's awfully useful to have one of these?"

  It's a plain rectangle of plastic, like a credit card. Indented into it are the words:

  WARDEN HUT CODE: 122

  "I take back everything I've ever said about you," you say. "And you did save me from those lions. Okay. I should have listened to you when we first got here. Let's go get those tranquilizer rifles."

  Head to the Warden Hut ON PAGE 65

  74

  "On the count of three we run for the door," you say. It's only a hundred feet or so.

  "What if it's locked?"

  "We'll worry about that when we get there." You take a deep breath. "One. Two..."

  "Three!"

  You sprint forward. The monkeys go nuts, jumping up and down and shrieking with excitement. Balls of dung begin landing all around you. It's like a World War One military bombardment. Except, you know. With poop.

  One glob hits you on the knee. Jerry must have been hit too because he cries out, disgusted. The smell is growing worse as you near. You're almost there!

  It's tough to see in the darkness, and your foot slips on something foul. Your legs fly out from under you and the ground slams into your back.

  "Ughhh," you groan.

  Jerry appears over you. "Come on! You can't stay here!" He grabs your hand and pulls you up right as a ball of filth hits the side of his head. "Eww..."

  You run the rest of the way, throwing yourself against the wall. The door opens. You slip inside and slam it behind you.

  "That was fun," you say sarcastically. Your uniform is coated in brown.

  Abruptly, a speaker in the ceiling crackles to life. "Animal smell detected. Breach assumed. Initiating lockdown."

  The door makes a strange clicking sound.

  What just happened? GO TO PAGE 76

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  The path winds through the woods. A soft patter fills the air as it begins to rain, though you are mostly covered by the trees. You reach a fork in the road. Straight ahead is the Warden Hut, and to the right is the Safari Zone.

  "Glad you're not leading us around in circles," Jerry says.

  Before you can tease him back, there's a booming noise ahead. Both of you freeze, tensing. The only sound is the patter of the rain all around you.

  "What was that?" Jerry whispers.

  "It sounded like a truck," you respond. It was huge. That couldn't have been anything other than heavy machinery.

  Another boom, this time close enough to feel in your feet. You take a step back when a screech cuts the air.

  AHHCAWWWWW!

  It's a combination between a siren and a shriek, like nothing you've ever heard. It came from directly ahead of you, in the direction of the Warden Hut.

  And it's coming closer.

  "Look," Jerry stammers, "I don't think we should be out here. I don't like being out in the rain. You can catch a chill. My wife always says..."

  He's mumbling, terrified. You grab his arm. "We need those tranquilizer darts."

  He whips his head back and forth. "You still want to go forward? Past that?"

  "Why not? I bet if we sprint we can make it to the Warden Hut in time."

  You think of what Captain Beckett told you. If you take care of this, the promotion is as good as yours. But the path to the Warden Hut will surely take you right past the beast...

  To take a chance for the Warden Hut, GO TO PAGE 102

  To go around to the other path, SLIDE TO PAGE 30

  76

  Jerry jiggles the door handle. "It's locked!"

  "How is that possible?"

  "Lockdown complete," the speaker hisses. "Animals contained."

  "We're not animals!"

  You say, "We sure smell like them."

  "How could they have a system like this?" Jerry tries the door handle again. "Oh, come on!"

  You search around the office but it's no use. The security system appears to be on the backup power grid, and with the normal power still out the computer in the office won't turn on. You find the keycode to get into the Bird Bastion but by then it just doesn't matter.

  You're falling asleep when the door suddenly opens. A large man wearing a biohazard suit stands in the doorway. The side of his suit says, "Animal Control" on it.

  "What is that smell?" he says through his mask. He sounds like Darth Vader.

  You've been in the park all night and accomplished almost nothing. Worse, you're covered in filth when you meet Captain Beckett at the park entrance. He's so furious with you that he promises to tell the entire police station that they found you locked in a room covered in animal excrement. You'll never live it down.

  And that promotion is as good as gone. Maybe you'll find a way to earn it in the future, but it'll be a long time before Captain Beckett forgives you. And so you have reached...

  THE END

  77

  The office is rather plain, with two desks and computer terminals and stacks of papers all around. There's a dry erase board on one wall with animal feeding schedules written in red, green, and blue marker.

  One piece of paper on the desk looks more official than the others, so you pick it up. "Hey, this is from the Warden," you say.

  ZOO ANNOUNCEMENT

  Unfortunately, due to competing demands, all research on the zoo's Gorilla Spider project must cease immediately. If you have any further questions please contact me directly. And as a reminder: discussing such projects with other zoo employees is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. This rule will be enforced by termination, if necessary.

  -Warden Oxford

  "Gorilla Spider?" Jerry shakes his head. "See what I mean about the tranq rifles?"

  You nod. "Yeah, yeah. You were right."

  Jerry leans back. "Hold on, let me get my phone out. I want to record you saying that, for evidence."

  "Shut up." You push around some other items on the desk. "Hey, look at this." It's a small card with a single sentence imprinted into the face:

  BEAR ABODE CODE: 135

  "Bear Abode," you say. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

  "So you are afraid of something?" Jerry asks. "Well at least I've made one discovery tonight."

  You exit the office and see the red EXIT sign ahead. It leads to another winding path through the woods.

  Follow the path ON PAGE 11

  78

  A line of black, windowless vans comes roaring around the corner. One at a time they halt in front of you in the clearing by the Visitor's Center. You and Jerry share a look.

  "Duuude," he says.

  You begin to tell him not to call you that when the door to the first van opens. You immediately recognize the two bars on the man's uniform. Indicating the rank of Captain.

  You scramble forward and salute. "Captain Beckett, sir!"

  Jerry is still standing there, holding the tranquilizer rifle. Only when you clear your throat does he jump next to you and mimic the salute.

  Captain Beckett eyes the two of you. He's a bull of a man, sixty years old with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His uniform is tight and orderly, his face chiseled with discipline.

  "Sir," you begin, "a status update. We have--"

  He silences you with a hand and stares past you. "Corporal," he says quietly, "you didn't kill that animal, did you?"

  79

  You turn around and see the zebra on the ground some distance away. You look back at the Captain and smile. "Of course not, sir. He's sedated. When we arrived at the zoo we followed Warden Oxford's instructions from an email: we restored power to the park and then retrieved the tranquilizer darts. We were driving around sedating as many animals as we could when you arrived."

  Another man hops out of the passenger side of the first van. He looks like Teddy Roosevelt come alive: tan safari uniform, round spectacles, and reddish mustache. He looks around at the animals on the ground and beams.

&n
bsp; "Well done! Absolutely well done. I'm glad someone listened to orders. Dave ran scared at the first sign of trouble." He turns to the Captain. "You sent two fine officers, Beckett."

  Captain Beckett gives a hint of a smile. "I suppose I did."

  "Tell me," Oxford continues, "did you happen to see anything... unusual while you were here?"

  "You mean Project Fusion?" Jerry blurts.

  Oxford leans back. "I'm not sure you are supposed to know what that is, officer... Holman." He squints at the name tag. "And how did you come by this information?"

  "It was mentioned on a bunch of your Zoo Announcements," you interject. "And as a matter of fact, we did come across it. It tore apart the Bird Bastion and knocked a bunch of trees down."

  "What is it?" Jerry asks. "Officer Rodriguez and I have been debating it the entire night. She thinks it has paws like a cat, but I'm positive it has a beak, like a bird. Plus, it can fly."

  This seems to make Warden Oxford very uncomfortable. He looks at the two of you for a long while, as if deciding what to tell you.

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  "And where did you last see Project Fusion?" Warden Oxford finally asks.

  "It flew to the top of the Observation Tower," you say. "We were going to pursue it but the Zoo Announcement in the jeep said it was dangerous and should be avoided.

  "Unfortunately the nature of the animal is classified," he finally says. He pulls out a radio and says, "Bring in the birds. It's on the Observation Tower again."

  Jerry looks like he's about to argue some more, but then a steady THUMP THUMP THUMP cuts the air. Moments later two military-style helicopters burst into view, shooting over you and flying deeper into the park. You turn around with everyone else and watch them split apart, coming around the top of the Observation Tower in a pincer maneuver.

  The beast shrieks, long and wrathful.

  "It would have been especially impressive if you had brought that beast to heel," Oxford sighs. "But oh well. You did marvelous anyways." And with that Oxford climbs back in the van and drives away, disappearing down the road leading to the Observation Tower.

  Captain Beckett looks at you and Officer Holman as if not sure what to make of the whole thing.

  "You heard him, sir," you say. "We did marvelous. I think we deserve some rest and relaxation... and maybe a promotion, as well?"

  "He also said it would have been more impressive if you'd brought down that thing. We'll talk about this in the morning. Report to the station at 08:00." He gives you one final look of appraisal and strides away.

  "Well. We're alive, huh?" Jerry says as the two of you head back to the police car. "Better than I expected, all things considered."

  "Yeah, I suppose so." The sound of the Project Fusion beast--whatever it is--disturbs the night again. Oh, it would have been impressive to take it down! But you've ended up on top and done your best, which you've reached a satisfying version of...

  THE END

  81

  It seems obvious once you realize it. "Jerry, give me those bananas."

  He looks hurt. "No! I was going to eat them."

  "I paid for them."

  "Yeah, but..."

  "JERRY, hand them over."

  Sighing, Jerry pulls the bananas from his pocket and thrusts them in your direction. You take them and return your gaze to the building.

  The monkeys must have realized what you have. A hushed silence falls over them as they stare at you. Their dark eyes glow in the moonlight as they await your move.

  You walk toward the Employees Only door on the side of the Monkey Manor. They follow along behind the wire mesh of the porch, watching quietly. None of them are throwing anything anymore. You hold out one of the bananas in front of you so they can see it. The entire thing feels like a hostage exchange.

  Right before reaching the door, you toss the banana through a hole in the mesh. The apes pounce on it.

  Jerry has already opened the door to the employee office. You follow inside and close it behind. That wasn't so hard.

  Investigate the office ON PAGE 16

  82

  You sit in the tree for a few minutes, periodically attempting to hail Jerry on the radio. There's no sound other than your own voice and the patter of rain on the leaves.

  "Jerry, you're making me awfully lonely. And worried. I'd feel a lot better if you showed up again."

  "Officer Holman, come in. If you've broken a leg I'm not helping to drag you home. You can just limp, no matter how many hippos chase us."

  "Jerry, your birthday is next month, and I'm not getting you anything. Not if you don't stop screwing around. Jerry!"

  Eventually you give up. Either Jerry's lost his radio or something worse has happened. You try not to think about the latter.

  The hippo has been gone for a while. It's probably safe. The rain has even begun to let up, at least as best as you can tell from up in the tree.

  Something to the right catches your eye. At first you thought it was the moon, but it's much lower than that. It's a shiny sphere floating in the air! What on earth could that be? It's like an enormous firefly.

  Could this be Project Fusion? Mutant fireflies?

  It comes close, drifting through the branches. It's nearly within reach. You extend your hand...

  83

  Your fingers float through the air toward the shiny, round orb. It's nearly there.

  You try touching the object, but something stops you. And the orb abruptly disappears! "What the..."

  The orb reappears and there's an incredibly loud noise:

  HOOOOOOONK.

  It's like a huge kazoo, ridiculously loud. And it startles you so much that you jerk backwards and slip from the branch. "Ahhh!"

  You hit a few branches on the way down, fingers scrambling around for purchase. There's none to be had and you slam into the ground. The force knocks the wind from you.

  Groaning in the mud, you turn to look up from where you just came. That's when you realize the orb was actually the eyeball of an animal. A very tall animal.

  A giraffe!

  It lowers its neck to inspect you, the shiny orb coming close to your face. It doesn't seem to know what to make of you. Then it raises straight up and gallops off on long, stilt-like legs.

  Chuckling to yourself, you push up to your knees. Now you're glad Jerry is nowhere to be found, because if he saw that you'd never hear the end of it.

  Once you catch your breath you lean down into the radio on your shoulder. "Alright Jerry, I'm going to head back to the Warden Hut. Something embarrassing just happened and you missed it, so I hope you're not just playing hide and seek." You give a little laugh. It's funny, in a cartoonish sort of way.

  Until you hear a growl behind you.

  Uh oh. Turn around ON PAGE 108

  84

  You take the steps on anxious feet. From here the walls of the stairwell block your view of the beast, so you have no idea what it's doing. Hopefully Jerry will tranquilize it if it does anything dangerous.

  Hopefully.

  You're near the top of the stairs when your head clears the roof. You raise it slowly, peering out over the flat area.

  The animal is near the edge to the left, about ten feet away. It's still just a dark silhouette, but you can make out more distinct features: a thick body, four legs... and a long tail. The tail is the closest part to you, and it's nothing like a bird's. It has fur, like a cat.

  Before you can do anything else, a voice calls out. "Hey? Hey! Who's there?"

  It startles you so much that you fall backwards onto the other side of the stairs, landing on the flat roof. With a crackle of electricity all of the lights around the perimeter of the roof cut on, bathing the whole scene with white light. For a moment you're blinded, and when vision returns the animal looks over you like a giant.

  It's head is unmistakably that of an eagle, with a yellow beak and white feathers behind intense eyes. And the spread wings are a bird's as well, though massive, at least twenty feet long. But
the rest of the body doesn't make sense. The torso is covered with beige fur, with the muscular haunches of a cat. Its hind legs are also cat-like, with thick paws resting on the ground. And the tail you saw earlier.

  85

  86

  "What..." you stammer, terrified. "What are you?"

  The beast opens its beak and screams with fury. For a moment you know this is about to be the end.

  Until a man steps up next to it, ducking under the wing. "It's a gryphon."

  You're so shocked you don't know what question to ask first. "A what?"

  The man with the zoo uniform pats the gryphon's chest. "Mythological creature. Half lion, half eagle. Beautiful, isn't she?" He points to the top of the stairs. "You triggered the motion sensors, which turn on all the lights. That's why we stayed away from it. You're lucky she only got spooked for a minute. If I weren't here..."

  The gryphon cocks its head at you as if curious. It almost sounds like it's purring.

  A voice down below reminds you that you're not alone. "Rodriguez? Rodriguez! Are you okay? What's going on?"

  Wary of the huge gryphon, you get to your feet. "It's okay Jerry. Come on up. But do it slowly, so you don't scare it."

  "Scare what?"

  He's speechless as he climbs the stairs and sees the animal. While he gets used to it, you ask the zoo employee, "What's your name?"