by Bryan Chick
“Unbelievable . . .” Megan muttered.
“What’s up with the velvet?” Ella asked Mr. Darby. “You grow it on a magic farm or something?”
“Patience,” said Mr. Darby. “You will learn about it in your crosstraining. And ultimately . . . ultimately, you will see.”
The Constructors proceeded to a second aquarium, then a third, a fourth, a fifth, each man performing a different task. Once they’d restored a full section of the wall, they hoisted their gear and wheeled the cart to a new area.
The apes continued to gather the animals, and a half hour later the truck was loaded. The floor of Creepy Critters looked strange in its new emptiness. Everyone congregated at the rear of the truck, and Tank pulled the trailer door closed.
“Okay,” he said. “Me and the apes . . . we’ll take care of biz from here.”
Richie stepped forward. “Thanks, Tank. Thanks for being there again.”
“No problem, little man.” Tank extended his knuckles to Richie. “Give me one of these.”
Richie softly punched his small fist against Tank’s huge one. Then, with a smile, he shook out his hand and mouthed, Owww!
To the other scouts, Tank said, “And you guys?”
The three friends stepped forward and took turns tapping their fists against Tank’s.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Tank winked. To the Descenders, he said, “I’ll see you guys back inside.” He turned and whistled at the driver. The truck pulled out, spewing a final cloud of smoke into Creepy Critters. Tank led the apes across the yard, where they walked along the slow-moving vehicle. As it turned, moonlight struck its side and revealed what was written across it in bold letters: “DANGER! LIVE ANIMALS!”
Richie said, “I bet that sign has never been more true.”
“I think not,” Mr. Darby said with a smile. “And on that note, I also think it’s time for our scouts to return home before someone’s found missing from bed.”
“Yeah,” said Noah. “I should probably close my window before my parents wake up and wonder where the draft is coming from.”
Sam walked over to Noah. He started to say something and stopped. His eyes shifted nervously. At last, he said, “That was good. In the tunnel, with the curtain . . .” His mouth hung open while he searched for more words. “Just know you did good.”
Noah’s heart warmed. It was the first time a Descender had congratulated him on anything.
Hannah and Solana stepped up to Megan and Ella. Hannah said, “Nice job with that sasquatch. If you hadn’t jumped on that thing . . .”
“Not a problem,” Ella said. “We girls have to look out for each other, right?”
Hannah winked and popped a bubble.
With their good-byes complete, Mr. Darby said, “Blizzard and Little Bighorn, will the two of you kindly see that the scouts get safely to the front gates? We’ll have Charlie keep the lights down until you return.”
The two animals lumbered over, and the scouts climbed onto their backs, the boys on Blizzard and the girls on Little Bighorn. As Noah situated himself in his normal front seat, he looked down at Podgy.
“Podge, I have to be honest. Those centipedes not only grossed me out, they scared me to death.”
Podgy tipped his bill beneath one flipper, a gesture of agreement.
“Centipedes?” Richie asked. “What are you—” His face shifted. “Hey! Speaking of centipedes . . . I got a really good joke!”
“What?” Noah gasped.
“A joke . . . I got a joke about centipedes!”
Ella shot Richie a look. “If you even think of telling one of your dumb jokes right now . . .”
“What?” Richie said. “You want me to save it for later?”
Noah laughed and tapped the side of Blizzard’s neck. “C’mon, Bliz, let’s get out of here.”
Blizzard growled. Together, the two animals charged down the hall in the magical glow of the flashlight fish. They reached the Creepy Core and headed on to the exit. They barreled through the busted doors and jumped down to the ground. Side by side, they stormed through the darkness, their paws and hooves stamping impressions into the snow.
The scouts leaned forward and felt the cold breeze. Adrenaline coursed through them as another Secret Zoo adventure came to an end. As they neared the front gates, Noah raised his fist and cheered.
The other scouts followed his lead.
Chapter 45
The Two Men
While the scouts made their way to the front gates, two men stepped into Rhinorama. Because the lights hadn’t yet been restored, everything was perfectly dark.
They headed across the empty outdoor exhibit, their feet crunching the snow. They walked along a fake mountainside and arrived at Little Bighorn’s cave. One man scanned the zoo grounds, reassuring himself that they hadn’t been seen. He was tall and lanky, with a thatch of fire-engine red hair. Charlie Red. With a sweep of his arm, he invited the other man into the cave.
Draped in a black trench coat, the second man wore a fedora hat with a wide circular brim. As he ducked his head to enter the cave, he uttered a few words to Charlie.
“Nicely done, Mr. Red.”
His voice was so gravelly and hoarse that he hardly sounded human. Something seemed wrong with his vocal cords, or his tongue, or his lungs, or all three. He sounded as if his fleshy insides were rotting.
Charlie Red nodded. Then he stood by and watched as the Shadowist disappeared into the cave—the cave with a portal into the Secret Zoo.
Minutes after leaving Rhinorama, Charlie Red opened the door to the main power facility for the Clarksville City Zoo, a small building near the entrance. Once inside, he unclipped his walkie-talkie and raised it to his lips.
“I’m at the front power station. Confirming authorization to restore power.”
Mr. Darby’s voice came through the speaker. “Charles, we’re ready on this end. Please proceed.” As Charlie Red used his flashlight to find the proper switches, Mr. Darby added, “Excellent emergency plan, Charles. The prairie dogs, the chickadees—everything worked perfectly. Even Blizzard and Little Bighorn arrived in time. And hiding the zoo in darkness was just outstanding! I think we can be confident that our actions were not spotted by Outsiders. And we can be certain none of the sasquatches escaped.”
Charlie located the switches and turned them on. “Thank you, sir.”
“Tank and I are still working with the Constructors. Again, I applaud you. Everything worked according to your plan.”
The walkie-talkie went silent, and Charlie replaced it on his hip. He stepped outside and watched the lights blink on across the landscape. Under his breath, he said, “I know, old man. Everything is going exactly according to my plan.”
With that, Charlie Red closed the door and headed back to his post.
About the Author
BRYAN CHICK is the author of the Secret Zoo series. 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.
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Credits
Jacket art © 2011 Justin Gerard
Jacket design by Paul Zakris
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
The Secret Zoo: Riddles and Danger
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 nonexclusive, nontransferable right to
access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, 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.
Riddles and danger / by Bryan Chick.
p. cm. — (The secret zoo)
“Greenwillow Books.”
Summary: Having discovered a magical society beneath the exhibits at the Clarksville City Zoo where animals and humans live harmoniously together as equals, Noah and his friends must protect the secret zoo at all costs.
ISBN 978-0-06-198927-8 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition © SEPTEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062093424
[1. Zoos—Fiction. 2. Zoo animals—Fiction.
3. Secret societies—Fiction. 4. Human-animal relationships—Fiction.
5. Magic—Fiction. 6. Friendship—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.C4336Ri 2011 [Fic]—dc22 2011005930
12 13 14 15 16 LP/RRDB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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