Enigma at the Greensboro Zoo (Ultimate Ending Book 4)
Page 11
Whether from memory or instinct, you select Charcoal.
A celebratory fanfare of horns blares out of a speaker in the podium. The screen flashes green.
Correct. Chewing on charcoal allows red colobus monkeys to eat potentially harmful foods, such as mango leaves and almonds, which contain toxins.
"Hey, nice job!" Jerry pats you on the back.
A small gold coin rolls out. You pick it up and examine it beneath your flashlight. "Observation Tower," you read, the letters printed around the outside of the coin.
"That's the tower at the center of the zoo," Jerry says.
"Maybe some other time," you say. "This doesn't help us get inside the Monkey Manor."
The monkeys hoot and cry, jumping up and down behind the bars.
YOU NOW HAVE THE TOWER TOKEN!
You don't have many options. TURN TO PAGE 42
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You step out into the cool evening air just as another distant screech cuts through the rain. You and Jerry turn to follow the noise.
It's coming from the north. The forest directly ahead of you blocks most of the view, except for the Observation Tower standing over everything, a 300 foot tall needle above the treetops.
From the forest to the left you see a dark silhouette flapping into the sky. Its flight seems haphazard, abnormal. It screeches again and you get the distinct impression it's wounded. It reaches the top of the Observation Tower and lands.
"Looks like it found a good spot to build a nest," you say.
"That's definitely too high for us." Jerry nods to himself. "We'll just have to wait for the animal control specialists to get here to deal with that."
You stare at your partner. "We finally got our hands on some real weapons, and you want to call it quits?"
"No! I just don't think we should be going after that thing. You read the Zoo Announcement. It's dangerous."
"So what do you propose we do instead?"
He scratches the back of his neck. "We could stalk back to the entrance, sedating all the animals we see along the way. That's what we came here to do, right?"
You stare up at the Observation Tower and the dark figure perched there. Is it better to try and land one big prize, or a bunch of smaller ones?
To go to the Observation Tower, HEAD TO PAGE 113
To round up the other animals, GO TO PAGE 161
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"That's easy. Everyone knows the most dangerous type of bear is the Grizzly." You press that answer on the screen and it flashes green with a fanfare of horns.
A gold coin rolls out into a tray. It says "Observation Tower" around the outside.
"Nice job dude," Jerry says.
You pocket the coin and turn away. "Don't call me dude. Now let's head back to the tower before it's too late!
It's tower time. GO TO PAGE 154
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The jeep engine hums softly as you idle outside the Warden Hut. "Okay. So we have the tranquilizer rifles. Now what?"
Jerry looks in the glove compartment. There's a printed piece of paper inside. He clears his throat and reads:
ZOO ANNOUNCEMENT
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, under any circumstances, approach Project Fusion within 50 feet. It moves extremely fast and without warning, so anything closer than that is too dangerous. Keep a wide range, guys. I mean it. Be safe.
-Warden Oxford
"Huh," Jerry says. "Looks like we shouldn't try to contain it after all."
You throw up your hands. "Are you kidding me, Jerry? All this time you've been whining about needing these tranquilizers, and now that we have them you want to give up?"
"I didn't say that! I just don't think we should go after Project Fusion. Even Warden Oxford says it's dangerous!" He shakes his head. "Instead, I think we should use these tranquilizers to round up the other animals in the park. Project Fusion is just one animal. It's a better use of our time to contain as many animals as possible."
Huh. You hadn't thought about that.
"You know I'm right," Jerry says. "Forget Project Fusion and let's focus on everything else. When we were on the roof I think I saw an elephant by the entrance!"
The Observation Tower looms in the distance, with the dark shape on the roof. What do you do?
To go to the Observation Tower, DRIVE TO PAGE 129
To round up the other animals, GO TO PAGE 142
149
POP.
The dart hisses through the air, pink feathers the only thing keeping it visible. You hold your breath as it arcs toward the Tower, toward the beast you were sent to subdue.
And falls short by twenty feet, clattering into the side of the tower.
"No!" Jerry cries, throwing down his rifle. "I thought I could reach it! I was certain!"
The shot disturbed the animal. It shifts as if turning to look down at you, though you can't make out any part of its body.
It screeches, a terrifying sound of fury.
Now what? TURN TO PAGE 139
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You rush down the tower just as a line of black, windowless vans comes roaring into the clearing. One by one they halt at the base of the Observation Tower. You and Jerry share a look.
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 points up to the tower. "There was just an animal there. A special animal. What happened to it?"
You beam. "Jerry here hit it with a tranquilizer dart. It's out cold, sleeping on the roof."
Jerry places the barrel of the rifle on the ground to lean on it, smiling awkwardly.
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.
"It's true? You've subdued Project--err, you've taken back control of my zoo?"
"It's okay," you say. "We know it's Project Fusion. We've seen the Zoo Announcements."
He squints suspiciously. "Then you saw the ones explaining just how dangerous it was? How you were to not get close, no matter what?"
You stand up straighter. "Yes, sir. But we knew we had to get close in order to get a good shot, regardless of the danger. And it worked."
For a moment he looks like he's going to explode. You brace yourself.
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Warden Oxford breaks out into a big smile and sticks out his hand. "I'd like to shake the hand of the officer who has more guts than my zoo employees! Bunch of cowards, all of them. But not you. Oh no."
You shake his hand, then nod to Jerry. "He's the one who made the shot. I just stood there."
Oxford rushes over to clap Jerry on the shoulder. "Have you ever been on a safari, my boy?" He jumps into a story of the last time he was in Africa.
Captain Beckett looks at you, hands clasped behind his back. Judging you.
"Captain, I know we didn't get the entire zoo under control, but we did our best. We've secured half the park, and based on all the Zoo Announcements it was clear this was the most important--"
"Corporal Rodriguez," he interrupts, "you need to quit while you're ahead."
"Sir?"
He finally breaks into a big smile. "You've done a phenomenal job here. Much better than I expected, no offense. I didn't think anyone could get this place under control, not even my best officer."
"You think I'm you're best officer?"
"I know you are! And this only proves it. Especially in victory, giving Jerry all of the credit. A good officer deflects
all praise and accepts all responsibility."
You give one final glance back toward the top of the tower, wondering what the animal was. Maybe someday you'll find out. "Thank you, sir."
He wraps an arm around your shoulder and leads you away. "Now, about that Lieutenant promotion. I'm going to draw up the paperwork tomorrow. I want you to start immediately. If you're up for it, of course."
"Sir. After tonight, I'm up for anything!"
THE END
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You take a quick look around the roof. There's not much there, just some air conditioning units and a lip around the edge. "Come on up Jerry," you whisper down.
He seems reluctant, but obeys. You pull him up the final few steps.
Another screech in the distance makes you jump, and you very nearly fall off the roof. You and Jerry turn to follow the noise.
It's coming from the north. Up on the roof you have a wonderful view of the park, with the tops of buildings sticking out above the trees in all directions. The Observation Tower stands over everything, a 300 foot tall needle.
From the forest to the left you see a dark silhouette flapping into the sky. Its flight seems haphazard, abnormal. It screeches again and you get the distinct impression it's wounded. It reaches the top of the Observation Tower and lands.
"Looks like it found a good spot to build a nest," you say.
"That's definitely too high for us." Jerry nods to himself. "We'll just have to wait for the animal control specialists to get here to deal with that."
"We'll see." You look around. "Looks like there's a vent over there. I bet we can get inside through that."
Investigate the vent ON PAGE 155
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You nod to Jerry, an unspoken signal among long-time partners. Both of you count to three in your heads.
POP POP.
Two darts whiz toward the hyenas. And two hyenas stumble backwards, teeter for a moment, and then slump to the ground.
You don't waste time celebrating. While the remaining two hyenas look at their sleeping comrades, you and Jerry quickly reload your tranquilizer rifles. You raise your rifle to your shoulder and squeeze the trigger.
The third hyena lays down on the grass and closes its eyes.
Jerry's shot comes a moment later, pacifying the fourth hyena. All of them sit along the side of the road in a line, like sleeping babies in a nursery.
"That was lucky," you say.
Jerry stands proudly. "Nothing lucky about it. At least not for me. You, on the other hand..."
You laugh, but cut off as you glance at your gun. "I'm out of darts."
"I've still got one," Jerry says. "I guess we'd better make it count."
The Observation Tower looms above. "Come on. We're almost to the base of the Tower."
Approach the Tower ON PAGE 156
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You step inside the lobby of the tower. It's not very large. There's a door to the elevator in front of you, and a stairwell on the side.
Jerry approaches the elevator and presses the button. Nothing happens.
"Guess we're taking the stairs, huh?"
You have a strange sense of foreboding as you climb the tower's many steps. It feels like you're marching to war, even though Jerry is the only one with a tranquilizer rifle now. He's silent too, so he must be feeling the same thing.
After what feels like an hour, but was probably just ten minutes, you reach the observation deck. It's an open balcony that runs 360 degrees around the tower. From there you should have a good view of the Project Fusion animal on the roof.
You remain in the doorway. "Ready to head out there?"
"Let me catch my breath first."
"You're not scared, are you Jerry?"
He looks at you with shock. "Dude, of course I'm scared. I'm terrified."
For once you don't tell him not to call you that.
Head out to the deck ON PAGE 100
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The vent comes away easily, revealing a ladder. "Well look at that. Easy."
Jerry says nothing.
You climb down the ladder into a large, dark room. You get the sense that the blackness is hiding something, but can't tell what. Your feet hit the ground at the bottom and you feel around the wall with your hands. They touch something that feels like a light switch. Saying a quick prayer, you flip it.
The lights overhead come on, suddenly blinding you. Jerry is halfway down the ladder and yelps.
"Sorry!"
As he finishes his descent you realize you're in a garage. And sure enough, there's a big jeep in the center of the room. Not only that, but the jeep has a gun rack mounted on the side, with two long guns...
"Tranquilizer rifles!"
You run to the side and hold one of the guns in your hand. It looks like any normal rifle except for the fuzzy dart in the chamber. There's a bandoleer with five more darts on it, and you throw it over your shoulder.
Jerry has a big smile on his face as he approaches. "Finally, some real firepower."
You put the rifle back and hop into the jeep. The keys are in the ignition. Jerry opens the garage door and you drive out into the forest, finally feeling like you're prepared for whatever may come.
You've got the tranquilizers! Now figure out what to do ON PAGE 148
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The path opens up to a clearing, with the huge Observation Tower ahead. You stop to gaze up at it. It's like a big water tower, but with an observation deck at the top. Above that is the roof, where the Project Fusion beast has made its home.
"So... now what?" Jerry asks.
It's tough to tell from so far away, but it appears that the animal is leaning over the edge of the roof. You watch for a long moment and then nod. "You can see part of it. Just above the observation deck."
Jerry cranes his head. "Yeah, I think you're right."
"Can you hit it from here?"
A long silence stretches.
"Maybe," he finally says. "I think so. Yeah."
You snort. "Well which is it?"
"Maybe a fifty-fifty shot."
You look at the door at the base of the Tower. "We could always climb inside. Get closer."
"Yeah, maybe. I wish I had more darts..."
But you don't have more darts. So you're going to have to decide.
To trust Jerry's aim and shoot, GO TO PAGE 127
To try getting closer, ADVANCE TO PAGE 134
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"Plastic sounds like the right answer," you say. "Unless you've got a better guess."
"Nope. I have no idea."
You select Plastic. A horn inside the podium beeps, and the screen flashes red.
The correct answer was Charcoal. Chewing on charcoal allows red colobus monkeys to eat potentially harmful foods, such as mango leaves and almonds, which contain toxins.
"How were we supposed to know that?" Jerry complains. "That's not fair at all."
You shrug. "Maybe we'll get another chance later. Either way, it doesn't help us get inside this Monkey Manor."
The monkeys hoot and cry, jumping up and down behind the bars.
There's nothing to do but TURN TO PAGE 42
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POP.
The dart hisses through the air, pink feathers the only thing keeping it visible. You hold your breath as it arcs toward the Tower, toward the beast you were sent to subdue.
And strikes the animal.
"Yes!" Jerry cries, hoisting his rifle in the air in victory. "I knew I could hit it!"
But then the pink blur starts drifting back toward the ground. You and Jerry barely jump out of the way as it strikes the ground, needle-first.
You run over to examine the dart. There's dirt around the tip of the needle, but nothing else. It appears to still be full of sedative.
"It bounced off," you whisper. "It didn't stick!"
The shot has disturbed the animal. It shifts as if turning to look down at you, though you can't make out any part of its body.
It screeches
, a terrifying sound of fury.
Now what? TURN TO PAGE 139
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Something stops you. You reach up and grab the barrel of the rifle and lower it.
"Rodriguez?"
"We have this token," you say, fishing it out of your pocket.
"Don't even think about suggesting what I think you're about to suggest."
You look up at the dark shape on the roof. "Jerry, there's something about the animal. I think... I think it's wounded."
"Well yeah. It looked wounded when it flew up here. But wounded animals are the most dangerous kind!"
You grip his arm insistently. "Jerry, I'm telling you. I don't think it's dangerous."
He shakes his head. "No. No way. This is madness, Rodriguez. I'm not letting you..."
Before he can finish you're walking across the roof.
"Rodriguez," he hisses, trying to yell and remain quiet at the same time. "Rodriguez!"
The token fits in a coin slot on the gate. "Cover me from there!" you whisper back.
Jerry grumbles something but raises the rifle, watching.
The gate opens. The stairs beckon you up into the sky.
I hope you know what you're doing. Climb to the roof ON PAGE 84