Secrets and Shadows
Page 16
Noah neared the ivy-covered wall of the sector, which rose and disappeared behind the treetops and curling clusters of decks. Against the wall was a walkway. It began at the ground thirty feet to Noah’s left, and like a spiral staircase, slowly ascended as it followed the wall.
Noah realized he’d never be able to outrun the sasquatch—his only hope was to outmaneuver it. He turned right and ran beside the walkway, which was at least ten feet over his head.
A giraffe suddenly ran up beside him and matched his pace. Because of its thin, almost indiscernible legs, its massive body seemed to hover. Surprisingly fast and nimble, the giraffe drifted over to within an arm’s length of Noah and swiftly dropped its head in front of him.
Noah knew what the giraffe wanted him to do—he just didn’t know if he could do it. He sucked back a deep breath and readied himself. Then he reached out, grabbed onto the animal’s knobby horns, and dove into the air, swinging one leg across the giraffe’s tree-trunkish neck. The animal lifted its head and hoisted Noah twenty feet into the air. Bouncing around, Noah squeezed the horns and tightly wrapped his ankles in front of the giraffe.
He glanced back. The sasquatch was still slowly gaining ground.
“He’s catching up!” Noah hollered.
The giraffe veered a few feet toward the wall and dipped its head to the edge of the deck. The wooden rails blurred past. The animal clearly wanted Noah to jump to the walkway.
“Are you nuts?” Noah bellowed.
The giraffe twitched its big ears against his wrists.
Noah turned again to the blur of the walkway. It didn’t seem possible. But then he noticed the small ledge in front of the railing. Could he reach out with both hands, grab a post, and have his momentum swing his feet up to the ledge?
He glanced back. The sasquatch was within five feet. There wasn’t time to think. Noah threw his arms out to his side. His hands painfully bounced off the railing before his fingers closed on a post. His legs swept off the giraffe’s neck, arched into the air, and touched down on the ledge. He quickly stood and pitched himself over the rail, the wind gushing out of his lungs as he came down hard on the wood.
He lay on his back and stared above him. He started to breathe a sigh of relief, then stopped. Something had moved next to his head. He turned to see the sasquatch’s hands wrapped around two posts. The beast ripped away a section of the railing and hurled it upward. Then it jumped, and the top half of its body landed on the open floor.
Noah rolled to his hands and knees. As the sasquatch squirmed onto the deck, Noah was abruptly swept high into the air. A giraffe had charged in from behind him, jabbed its neck through Noah’s legs, and then raised its head, situating him on its body just as the other giraffe had done. Noah quickly grabbed its horns and wrapped his ankles together.
The giraffe followed the walkway, which inclined steeply as it veered away from the building wall. Noah stared down and realized they were at least thirty feet high. He saw the tops of shorter trees and their splotches of color. Through them, he spotted the Descenders battling the sasquatches. Sam was sweeping through the air, and Tameron was heaving his tail around, snapping branches. On the ground lay one sasquatch, unconscious or dead.
Noah looked back. The sasquatch was closing in on him once again. Five feet, four feet. It swiped its claws and just missed the giraffe’s spotted rump.
“Do something!” Noah called out.
The giraffe swerved to the side of the walkway and, without breaking its stride, leaned its head out to where a web of ivy dangled. Noah grabbed on and allowed himself to be pulled into the air. He swung about ten feet out, passed over another platform, and dropped down to it. He landed on his feet and took off running. Within seconds, the planks shook and a thud sounded behind him. He glanced back to see the sasquatch still giving chase.
The new deck was especially crowded with giraffes. They ran in all directions, occasionally bumping into one another. Noah avoided their long legs and shot beneath their bodies.
As he dodged one giraffe, he tripped on its legs and crashed into a spot where two decks intersected. He rolled onto his back, the sasquatch lunged at him, its mouth an open snarl, its claws ready to strike. But as the sasquatch’s arm came down, a giraffe charged in from the connecting walkway, swept its neck under the beast, and slung its massive body over the rail. The sasquatch swiped at the nothingness of the air and then plummeted at least forty feet to its certain death.
The giraffe lowered its head and softly nudged Noah’s side with its long, bony snout.
“Th-thanks,” Noah said.
The giraffe wriggled its ears and stared deeply into Noah’s eyes. Then it raised its head and backed away, making room for him to stand.
Noah hauled himself to his feet and said, “The other Crossers . . . I need to help.”
The giraffe stared back, silent as ever. Then it retreated a few more steps, allowing space for Noah to run.
Chapter 46
The Truth
As Noah returned to the Descenders, he saw the other scouts. He fell into the arms of his friends, who hugged him all at the same time.
“What happened to the sasquatch?” Richie asked.
“He’s gone” was all Noah said.
The scouts turned to the Descenders, who’d defeated the other sasquatches. The four teenagers looked completely surreal. Sam stepped close to Noah and stared at him.
“We’re descendants of the families that were murdered during the Sasquatch Rebellion.”
Though Noah had never heard of the Sasquatch Rebellion, he knew what Sam was referring to. When the scouts had first met Mr. Darby, the old man had mentioned an organized attack by the sasquatches on the Secret Society. The attack had killed hundreds and destroyed parts of the City of Species. The sasquatches that weren’t killed in the battle were captured and imprisoned in a single sector—a sector that then slowly eroded into the Dark Lands. Mr. Darby had described the attack as the Secret Zoo’s darkest moment.
Sam continued, “We’re part of the Secret Zoo’s army. The Secret Society trusts us to keep them safe from any threat, inside or out.”
Megan said, “But there are only four of you.”
Sam shook his head. “There are many more.”
“What? How many more?”
“Enough that we inhabit an entire sector. The Sector of Descent. We live and train there.”
Richie said, “But the others . . . we’ve never seen them.” He paused to consider something. “Or have we?”
“Look . . . they shouldn’t matter to you because it’s the four of us who are responsible for your training. Why? Because we’re Crossers. Our responsibility is the border of the Clarksville Zoo. The others safeguard the Inside— the City of Species and the other sectors.”
“But why not just tell us that? Why—?”
“I just told you—it’s our job to keep the Secret Society safe from any threat, inside or out.”
“But you need—”
“Enough! I need to get a hold of Darby and Red and have them scour this sector for sasquatches.” He turned to Hannah and said, “Get these kids out of here. If the cops are still in the Clarksville Zoo, hold them in the Grottoes until they’re gone.”
With a nod of her head and a pop of her gum, Hannah waved her hands at the scouts and started to walk off. Noah noticed that her boots had returned to normal. The scouts trailed her closely, each of them stunned and confused by the events that had just unfolded.
“You were right,” Richie whispered to Noah so that Hannah couldn’t hear. “About the Descenders.”
Noah nodded.
“What about the Grottoes?” Megan whispered. “Did you get a good look at them?”
“You could say that,” Noah answered. “What did they—”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
Silence. As they walked, Noah turned to the sector. He searched its bright, colorful heights and thought about the Secret Zoo. He wondered about the Descenders
and the way they had changed into something else. He imagined Kavita, her magic that the Great Pyramid still fed into the darkness of the world. He pondered the Grottoes and the wild way they joined the exhibits and other places across the Clarksville Zoo. He thought about the Shadowist, a strange being stalking this world.
Richie, apparently having the same thoughts as Noah, said, “This place is beyond amazing,”
“We haven’t seen anything yet,” Noah said.
“Huh?” Richie asked. “What do you mean?”
“Our adventure,” Noah answered. “It’s only begun.”
Noah ignored the curious stares of his friends. No one dared to speak. The scouts followed Hannah up the deck toward the gateway that would take them home.
For now.
Chapter 47
Charlie Makes a Decision
The scouts waited in the Grottoes for almost an hour until Hannah was able to confirm that the police had left. Then, after a guard locked visitors out of Giraffic Jam, the scouts crossed back fully to the Clarksville Zoo.
As the four friends walked to the exit of the zoo, keeping their heads down and their faces hidden, a man stepped out from his hiding place behind a concession stand. He had a mop of bright red hair, a splattering of freckles, and plump lips locked in a wicked snarl. Charlie Red. Watching the scouts from a distance, he shook his head and stood with his hands on his hips.
A staticky voice rose from the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt. “Charlie, they’re out now. And they’re headed this way.” It was a security guard at the front gate. “You want us to stop them?”
Charlie thought about this for a moment. Then he unclipped the walkie-talkie and held it to his mouth. “No. Let them go.”
“Roger.”
Charlie fastened the walkie-talkie back on his hip. Then he turned and walked to the back of the zoo, away from the front gates. It wasn’t time to stop the scouts.
Not yet.
About the Author
BRYAN CHICK is the author of The Secret Zoo. He originally had the idea for the series when he was a nine-year-old and wondered what would happen if zoo exhibits had secret doors that allowed children to go inside . . . and the animals to come outside. Bryan Chick lives with his wife and three children in Clarkston, Michigan.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Copyright
The Secret Zoo: Secrets and Shadows
Copyright © 2011 by Bryan Chick
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chick, Bryan.
The secret zoo : secrets and shadows / by Bryan Chick.
p. cm.
Summary: Noah and his friends in the Secret Society join forces with four teens known as the Descenders to try to protect the Secret Zoo hidden behind the Clarksville City Zoo from monstrous sasquatches and the evil Shadowist.
ISBN 978-0-06-198925-4 (trade bdg.)
[1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Zoos—Fiction. 3. Zoo animals— Fiction. 4. Sasquatch—Fiction. 5. Friendship—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Secrets and shadows.
PZ7.C4336Se 2011 [Fic]—dc22 2010017221
11 12 13 14 15 LP/RRDB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780062069580
Version 01112013
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