The Door in the Alley

by Adrienne Kress

  The man carried Sebastian over to the doors and through them. Sebastian didn’t even struggle; he was paralyzed with fear. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark as he was swept quickly down the main hallway, past empty terrarium after empty terrarium, each filled with decaying tree branches, or browning grass, or old bits of newspaper from several years ago. The fluorescent lights down the hall flickered, creating an eerie stop-motion effect as they made their way down to the end of the hall, where a second man was pacing back and forth in front of the largest terrarium in the exhibit. The man stopped and stared in utter confusion as they approached, and Sebastian was certain he was staring back exactly the same way, stunned at what he was seeing. The man’s jaw was apparently wired shut, with bits of wire poking out through pale and cracked lips, and one even through the flesh of his cheek. The effect was completely horrific, but Sebastian in his pragmatic way could think only one thing: how does he eat?

  “Just showing the kid what happens when you disobey grown-ups,” said the melted man, and the wired-jaw man gave a nod and moved to the side, revealing the terrarium behind him.

  Sebastian stared wide-eyed. There, sitting in the center of the glass enclosure, was Catherine. But she was hardly visible; only the top of her blunt red bob, forehead, and eyes could be seen. The rest of her body was hidden by a large Burmese python that had coiled its bright-yellow-and-brown-spotted body all the way around her and was now staring at them with unblinking eyes. It looked like a strange statue. How still and steady both of them were sitting. But it filled Sebastian with such a rush of horror and fear that he yelled out “Catherine!” before he could think.

  “What was that?” asked the melted man, once more turning Sebastian to face him.

  “Uh…,” said Sebastian, desperately trying to come up with an excuse for why he had just blurted out her name like that. But his mind let him down for maybe the first time in his life, and he just sort of stared at the man with a sad expression on his face.

  “Who are you?” demanded the man.

  “I’m no one,” replied Sebastian. “Just a boy wanting to see the snakes.”

  “How do you know her name?” asked the man.

  Once again Sebastian found he had nothing to say.

  “Are you alone?” asked the man.

  “Yes,” said Sebastian.

  “I don’t believe you.” The melted man turned to the wired-jaw man and said, “Search outside! I’ll join you once I deal with him.” The man nodded and walked by Sebastian, pulling out an old-fashioned-looking gun at his hip.

  “Meanwhile,” the man continued, “I think I’ll let you take some time to consider whether or not telling me the truth is a good idea.” The man carried Sebastian down the hall to a small door, pulled a key out of his pocket, and unlocked it. He threw Sebastian inside the room and slammed the door behind him.

  Sebastian ran to the latch and tried it, but obviously it was locked. He felt panic rise inside him and tried to slow his breathing to calm himself down. Evie! He really hoped she had found a better hiding spot.

  A strange muffled sound came from behind him and Sebastian turned. He realized then where he was. He was on the inside of the terrarium he had just been looking into. Staring at him were two sets of eyes: one human, the other python. The muffled sound was Catherine; she was trying to say something to him. Sebastian didn’t know what to do. He knew how strong pythons were, and that they were able to crush a human easily. He couldn’t exactly pry the python off her. Also he wasn’t exactly that keen on getting too close to that snake mouth, thank you very much. They might not have fangs, but once a python got ahold of you with its teeth, it wasn’t letting go until it was digesting you.

  “What can I do? How can I help you?” asked Sebastian, desperate to do something.

  Catherine tried to speak again. Then she sighed hard. She moved her body about within the python and the snake looked at her, almost, it seemed, with curiosity. Then it appeared to relax its body somewhat and Catherine was able to pull one of her arms out of the coil and push the top of the snake down.

  “Finally!” she said. She looked at the snake. “I need you to pay closer attention, okay?”

  The snake stared at her and Sebastian could swear it almost looked ashamed. Then it flicked its long tongue out of its mouth and quickly touched the tip of Catherine’s nose. “Oh, don’t try to be all cute now,” replied Catherine. The snake did it again. “Yes, yes, I forgive you.” The snake stopped its flicking and returned to looking at Sebastian.

  “What I was trying to say,” Catherine said, turning her attention to him as well, “is who the heck are you?”

  Something had happened, Evie was sure of it. He’d been caught. That was all there was to it. Stupid, stupid Evie, thinking Sebastian would be safer than she would be. And now she’d just thrown him into the lion’s den. Or…Reptile Realm…or whatever. Well, no more letting others take the risk. Now she not only had to save Catherine but Sebastian as well, and she was going to do it. She took a quick look around and then crawled out from the dirt and bushes and stood, brushing herself off. With a nod to reassure herself of her bravery, Evie marched her way over to the front doors of the Reptile Realm.

  Just as the wired-jaw man came barging out of them.

  He stopped.

  Evie stopped.

  They stared at each other. It seemed he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

  “Hi,” said Evie.

  The man stared at her.

  “I, uh, I just wanted to visit the…reptiles….” Even though the last time she’d tested her theory about whether an adult would recognize a kid it had totally backfired, Evie felt compelled to try it out again. Or it was more like she couldn’t think of anything else to do.

  The wired-jaw man raised his gun and aimed it at her.

  Okay, so adults really did remember what kids looked like. Good to know.

  Evie had no idea if he intended to shoot her, but before he could make any such decision, the melted man appeared at his side, and he too took a moment to stop and stare.

  “You,” he said.

  “Yes, me,” replied Evie. Once again she found herself playing dumb to stall for time.

  “That boy,” he said, “he’s a friend of yours.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Uh.” She had no answer. Think of a clever lie, Evie, quick!

  The melted man took a step toward her. “I think it might be time to lock you up with them and find out exactly what’s going on here. Why you just happen to be every place we are. Such a coincidence.”

  Locked up. Well, that was good. At least they were still alive. That was very good. The man took another step toward her.

  There was only one thing left to do.

  Time to run.

  Evie spun on her heel and sped in the opposite direction of the Reptile Realm. She turned to look, and sure enough, the two men were racing after her. She noticed the wired-jaw man had actually put his gun away. That was interesting. They clearly wanted to keep her alive. For now.

  Oh, good.

  She ran and ran and took a sharp right turn, trying to throw them off, and found herself in front of what had once been the bear pit enclosure. It was far below her, around thirty feet down. Some straw, dirt, and muddy water and large rocks were all that were left inside. Next to the pit was the fenced-in flat green space for the llamas. It stretched across to the other path on the far side, where the petting zoo was located. The fence right where Evie was standing, though, was too tall to climb. Evie considered continuing running along the path when she noticed that the low wall that encircled the pit preventing onlookers from falling into it curved inward away from the path. It would take her off the path and past the tall fence to the open llama field.

  Evie glanced back. The men had turned the corner and were nearing her fast, so she climbed up onto the low wall. This was going to be all about not looking down into the pit. The bears might have all been transferred somew
here else, but falling into any pit would very likely result in a broken limb or two at the least. And in the case of this pit, it would leave her broken and trapped—easy prey for two scary men.

  Small step by small step she began to inch her way along the wall as the men approached. She needed to get to the part where the wall turned away from the main path so that they couldn’t just pluck her off the ledge and take her. They were almost there. Fine, she thought, fine. I’ll just…I’ll run.

  And Evie ran, her arms outstretched to maintain balance. She turned her head slightly, and out of the corner of her eye she could see the wired-jaw man getting close, reaching his hand toward her. She picked up her speed, teetering dangerously on the wall. There was the curve! She ran faster. And faster. Wired-jaw man kept reaching, and Evie held her breath and leapt, flying for a moment as if she were jumping over a hurdle. His hand swept under her and through the air, and Evie landed back on the curving wall, sure-footed as a cat, now heading away from the path and toward the llama pasture.

  She felt some relief, but as she glanced behind her she saw the wired-jaw man climb up onto the wall himself. The melted man was nowhere to be seen, and she realized he had probably opted to take the long route, through and around the park to the other side, where the llama pasture was open to the public. The thought distracted her, and she tripped. She flailed her arms about and she fell hard, hitting the side of her face on the wall, her hands on either side of it, but both her legs dangling precariously into the pit. She lay there for a moment, the pain in her cheek and knee throbbing, and then slowly pushed herself up to standing again.

  As she rose to her feet and started to run again, feeling a bit wobbly, she was suddenly struck with a plan. It was dangerous and risky, but it might just work.

  Evie slowed her pace a little. She needed the man to catch up with her, just a bit, just enough. She looked over her shoulder and saw him gaining ground. Look scared, look worried, she thought. Which wasn’t too hard to do, really.

  Seeing her supposed fear, the wired-jaw man sped up, and she slowed down just a tiny bit more. She judged the distance between them and then turned to look where she was going. It was now a guessing game, and it was very important that she guess right. She listened intently as the sound of his footsteps got louder and louder. They coincided nicely with her heartbeat getting louder and louder. Just wait, she told herself. Just be patient….Louder and louder, faster and faster and…

  Then, suddenly, Evie stopped. She crouched down, holding on tightly to each side of the wall. She kept her head tucked under and stared between her knees as the wired-jaw man tried to skid to a stop and barreled into her. He was heavy, and she tipped to one side but she held on as tightly as she could, keeping her center of gravity low. She heard a guttural strained grunt and then a kind of cry from somewhere deep in his throat. Evie turned and watched as the man fell into the bear pit, landing on a mushy pile of straw.

  Evie stood up and looked into the pit. One down, but the melted man was still somewhere rushing to the llama pasture. And the wired-jaw man was already looking for a way out. He was trying to crawl up a series of boulders stacked on top of each other at the far end of the enclosure.

  That definitely got her running again. Faster and faster, the field approaching in the distance. Her breath was short now, her muscles ached. But finally, finally, she made it to the field and jumped off the wall onto the wet grass. For a moment she enjoyed the relief, but she realized she still had a serious problem on her hands.

  Not only was she being chased, but Sebastian, and maybe Catherine, too, was still in danger, locked up inside the Reptile Realm.

  Locked up.

  Evie remembered that the melted man had a key to the Reptile Realm. She saw him put it in his jacket pocket when they were spying. But how on earth was she going to get at it?

  She felt trapped. Maybe she could go back? With the wired-jaw man climbing out of the bear pit with a gun still somewhere on his person, she didn’t want to risk it. But she couldn’t really go forward either, not with the melted man ready to greet her at the other end of the pasture. So she stood there for a moment.

  She needed to escape. She needed to rescue.

  And, oh.

  Llamas.

  “I’m Sebastian,” said Sebastian. It was a literal answer to Catherine’s question, and he knew she wanted more, but he just didn’t know where to start. All he really wanted to do was ask her about the key and Alistair and what had happened to the Filipendulous Five, but it didn’t seem quite the moment for all that. Not yet.

  “Okay. Sebastian. I suppose it’s nice to meet you.” Though Catherine didn’t sound too sure.

  “Nice to meet you too.” It was only polite to reply in kind.

  “Well, Sebastian, why are you here exactly?” asked Catherine.

  “In the terrarium?” he asked.

  “At the zoo,” clarified Catherine. “Why are you here?” Catherine was looking at him with suspicion, and Sebastian was taken aback by that. He was, after all, only trying to help. Then again, he supposed, it wasn’t like Catherine knew that.

  “Oh, um, well, I’m here with Evie Drake,” he said.

  Catherine’s eyes widened. “Drake?”

  “Yes. She’s Alistair Drake’s granddaughter.” Catherine and the snake both stared at him, not moving, not blinking. It was unnerving. So Sebastian continued to talk. “She got a letter from him saying he was in danger and that she needed to protect a key. How I come into the story is a bit complicated, but basically I’m helping her find you. So you can help her. Hopefully. Maybe.”

  More unblinking from the snake and the explorer.

  “You were supposed to give a lecture last night,” continued Sebastian, “and the old caretaker told us you were here and that you were summoned five days ago and we figured something was wrong. And we were right. And I have to say I’m really confused about what’s going on right now. Are you in trouble or not?” He stopped talking and considered. Yes. That was it. That was all he wanted to say. If they could stare at him unblinking, he could stare back. No matter how watery his eyes got.

  Fortunately Catherine only took a brief moment before replying. “Well, that’s not good,” she said slowly. “I don’t know where Alistair is or what dangerous situation he might be in, but if he wants us to protect the key…and all week these men have been trying to scare me into revealing its location…” She stopped and looked at him sharply. “Maybe you’re part of their plan.”

  “I’m not, I swear,” he said, feeling insulted but also really excited that Catherine seemed to know where the key was.

  “Well…,” she said in a tone that suggested she didn’t altogether believe him, “I will never reveal what I know. They threw me in here with Penelope, thinking that would scare me, that she’d try to attack me, but she’s just a darling and we’ve always got on. She became protective and I’ve been pretty much sitting here ever since. They can’t kill me because they need information, and any time they come into the terrarium, Penelope lashes out at them. I just wish they’d come a little closer and let her bite them. Anyway, we’ve been at a bit of an impasse, shall we say.” She reached up with her free arm and scratched the top of the python’s head. The snake leaned back and looked at Catherine upside down, and she moved her hand to scratch under its chin. “Now you’re telling me Alistair is in danger….” Catherine looked off for a moment as if she was thinking. “Well…I suppose it’s all beginning to make sense.”

  “We have to protect the key,” said Sebastian.

  “We have to rescue ourselves first,” Catherine corrected him with a sad smile.

  “Maybe Evie can do it,” he said.

  “Maybe.”

  Sebastian felt himself deflate, and he sat lower, picking up a piece of straw on the floor and playing with it mindlessly. “Except,” he said, “except I saw those men go out to find her. With guns.”

  “Oh,” said Catherine.

  He almost felt like cryin
g, which never really happened. But he was so worried for Evie. He looked at Catherine, who looked neither worried nor not worried; she just kind of looked. “She’s in serious danger,” he said.

  —

  The llama gave Evie a friendly shoulder bop with its head and she gave it a scratch behind its ears. She felt another bop in the small of her back and turned to see another llama making a similar request. Evie couldn’t help but laugh, surrounded by so many tall, long-necked, fuzzy white creatures all wanting scratches and affection. They were generally a very friendly bunch, but Evie was hoping she was remembering her animal biology course from school correctly. She had read that llamas were quite territorial when it came to other males, though they liked females well enough. She had to hope that that went for human males as well.

  She was standing near the low fence next to the path on the far side of the pasture, quite some distance away from the bear pit, but, as far as she could work out, near the melted man, who had yet to arrive. She was a sitting duck. Or a standing human. Or an honorary llama. Or whatever. Just waiting. Hoping.

  Her plan had to work or she was done for.

  Fortunately she didn’t have to wait long. The melted man turned the corner and ran toward the pasture. He was running fast but came to a sudden stop about fifteen feet away when he saw her in the middle of the herd of llamas.

  “What is this?” he asked with a laugh.

  “These are llamas,” replied Evie.

  He shook his head and hopped over the fence easily. Evie stayed put despite the fact that her heart was beating fast and her fight-or-flight response was definitely leaning more toward flight. Once again, as with the wired-jaw man on the wall, she was using herself as bait.

  She decided she really didn’t enjoy using herself as bait.

  As the melted man approached, the llamas turned and looked at him. The largest one, the male, completely white except for one brown patch on the top of his head, wandered over in front of Evie and stood between her and the man. It stared off into the distance and chewed in the man’s general direction.