Raids and Rescues

by Bryan Chick

  Within seconds, a new sasquatch pounced at Marlo, trying to stamp on him. As the kingfisher flew back into the heights, the sasquatch chased after him on all fours. Something fell from the ceiling—a net. Marlo tucked in his wings and squirted through an opening in the cords, and the net closed around the sasquatch, knocking it to its knees.

  Noah glanced around. Megan was clutching her chest; Ella had her hands pressed to her mouth; Richie had come out from under his cap and was gazing out with wide eyes. Prairie dogs were huddled behind Podgy. The Secret Council was frowning and shaking their heads.

  In a new corridor, a series of trap doors swung open, hordes of insects spilling like water into their dark depths. Marlo passed easily above the danger and turned down a new corridor.

  The Room of Reflections again fell into darkness, and from somewhere ahead came the low growl of several sasquatches. Noah realized Marlo was in the corridor leading back to the City of Species. The portal came into view, a sliver of light. Seconds passed. The growls shifted from the front of the room to the back as Marlo flew past his adversaries. A few seconds later, the kingfisher shot through the crevice between the two curtains.

  The virtual world exploded with light. Trees and buildings blurred past, and the room filled with the sounds of the city. As a building that Noah had never seen came into view, the kingfisher veered toward it, then down to the ground, where Zak and Mr. Darby appeared. Zak walked over to him and reached out his arm. There was a loud click!—the power button being pushed—and then both sound and sight in the three-dimensional world exploded with static—a noisy storm of black and white dots. As the scouts poked their fingers into their ears, Zak jumped up to the camera and hit a switch, instantly returning the glass walls in the Room of Reflections to normal.

  All eyes turned to Mr. Darby. The old man took a deep breath, pulled back his shoulders, and adjusted his jacket. Then he stared out at the group through his dark sunglasses and said, “It seems our nemesis has been back for a long time.”

  CHAPTER 6

  THE SCOUTS STEP UP

  Though Noah couldn’t hear what Mr. Darby was saying to Evie, it was obvious that they were disagreeing. On the other side of the Room of Reflections, the old man was leaning toward her, his long beard dancing in the open space between them as he talked. Evie stood with her arms crossed, a bend in one knee, her hip cocked out to the side.

  After seeing Marlo’s video, the Secret Council had collectively agreed it would be foolish to charge into the Secret Creepy Critters. Every corridor was a bottleneck—too narrow for an effective assault. Too many traps had been set, and too many sasquatches were standing guard. And of the millions of insects, how many might attack, if their allegiance was now to DeGraff? When there was mention of a covert action to rescue the four captives, everyone fell silent. Then Mr. Darby had asked for a private moment with Evie.

  The Secret Cityzens broke up into small groups to talk among themselves. Solana and Zak were hunched over the Teknikal’s cart, studying the camera that had recorded Marlo’s dangerous travels. The scouts were gathered around their animal friends. The prairie dogs were running around in circles, energized, it seemed, by the incredible view through the glass floor.

  Megan gave a subtle, sideways nod toward Evie and Mr. Darby. “What’s that all about?”

  “What do you think it’s about?” Ella said as she batted her ponytail off her shoulder with a flick of her wrist. “A second after a secret mission gets mentioned, Mr. Darby walks off with Invisigirl.”

  Noah turned his attention back to Solana and happened to see Zak reach one of his puny arms around his backside and pull the seat of his overalls out from the crack of his rear end.

  “So . . . ewww,” Ella said, and Noah realized she’d seen, too. She scrunched up her face and added, “That dude is too weird.”

  A few minutes later, Evie and Mr. Darby walked back over to the rest of the group. Everyone waited to hear what the Secret Society leader had to say.

  Mr. Darby cleared his throat and announced, “Evie has agreed to attempt to rescue our friends.”

  “By herself?” one of the council members asked.

  “She’ll take another Specter to help her carry the Descenders’ gear.” Mr. Darby had already shared the story of discovering the Descenders’ items outside of the Secret Creepy Critters.

  “When?”

  “Saturday night.”

  An older man with a bushy handlebar mustache said, “Pardon me, Mr. Darby, but isn’t that the same date planned for the rescue of Blizzard and Little Bighorn? Won’t Evie be needed there?”

  “Evie’s agreed to split up her team. One Specter will go with her, the other four will go with Solana and”—he looked over to the scouts—“our friends from the Outside, I am hoping.”

  Ella took a step back, and Richie grabbed for his heart.

  “Us!” Richie said. “Us? When did—”

  “My apologies, Richie,” Mr. Darby said. “I hadn’t meant for the topic to arise this way.”

  The man with the big mustache said, “They don’t know?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Know what?” Richie asked.

  Mr. Darby turned his entire body toward the scouts. “My primary reason for inviting you here today is ask you a question.” He paused and rubbed his chin. “Would you be willing to join us in the attempt to rescue Blizzard and Little Bighorn?”

  Richie gasped, but the other scouts hardly flinched.

  “Council has already spoken on the matter,” Mr. Darby went on, “and we feel the four of you are needed. Our two Gifteds have been shot, tranquilized, and imprisoned. There’s no telling what emotional state they’ll be in.

  “Despite their intelligence, Blizzard and Little Bighorn are still animals. The four of you can help calm them. They know you, they trust you. When I watch you with them, I see something beyond friendship—I see something close to family. They’ll feel your love, and it’ll keep them peaceful.”

  Mr. Darby was right. Noah thought of all the adventures he’d spent with Blizzard—the times they’d spent crosstraining, and even sleeping side-by-side in Arctic Town and the Forest of Flight. They’d risked their own lives to protect each other, Blizzard in the Dark Lands, Noah in his school gymnasium just days ago.

  Mr. Darby said, “They’re your special friends. Ours, too. Help us to help them.”

  Noah looked over at the other scouts. If they were caught breaking into the Waterford Zoo, their lives would never be the same. Megan met Noah’s eyes, and she nodded, her pigtails swinging on the sides of her head.

  “Excellent,” Mr. Darby said. “There is, of course, the matter of your parents.”

  “Sleepovers,” Megan said at once. “On Saturday. I’ll go to Ella’s, and Noah can stay at Richie’s. We’ll sneak out once our parents go to sleep.”

  “You’ll need to go in as ghosts,” Mr. Darby said. “Specters.”

  “But . . . how?” Noah said.

  “There are twelve pairs of portal pants in existence—two pairs for each Specter. Four will go on loan to you. Evie—how long will it take you to train the scouts to use your gear?”

  Evie looked out from beneath her bangs with one eye. “We can do the basics in two sessions. Three, tops. I can get them to ghost, but that’s about it.”

  “Of course,” Mr. Darby said. “I don’t expect them to mirage.”

  Megan looked over to Noah and mouthed, “Mirage?” Noah just shrugged.

  Mr. Darby’s smile broadened. “Excellent! Plan to meet Evie and her companions tomorrow in Butterfly Nets. In the meantime, Council will review the layout of the Waterford Zoo, and study Marlo’s video to come up with a safe passage into the Creepy Core. As for right now, I’m afraid the four of you need to get home. You’ve already been here—”

  “Wait!” Noah said. “I noticed something in the video that might be important. You guys saw Charlie Red, right?”

  Almost everyone nodded, frowning.

 
; “Did you see the doors—the ones next to the room he was in?” When no one responded, Noah added, “One of them was marked ‘Lower Level.’ It must be a staircase, and I bet it goes to the Croc Crater door, the one that’s kept locked.”

  “Hmmm . . .” Mr. Darby said. “I wonder if our old friend Charlie has the key.”

  Noah nodded. “He was swinging his key chain . . . in the video.”

  “Hold on,” Megan said. “We already have a key—the magic one! The one we use for the Clarksville Zoo!”

  Mr. Darby shook his head. “That key was designed to only work in the Outside. A safety mechanism imposed by Council.” To Noah, he said, “Thank you. We’ll review the video again for more clues.”

  Noah nodded once more, and the scouts and their animal companions were led across the Room of Reflections. Evie, Solana, and the Secret Council watched them go. After stepping onto the elevator, they swung around to face Mr. Darby.

  “You should know something,” Mr. Darby said. “Wearing the Specters’ gear isn’t like wearing anything in the world—yours or mine.”

  “How?” Richie asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

  Instead of answering Richie’s question, Mr. Darby said, “Thank you, all—thank you for your commitment to us, and to the animals you love.”

  Before Noah could respond, the glass doors of the elevator sealed shut and the scouts plummeted into the depths of the majestic library in the ever-changing world of the Secret Zoo.

  CHAPTER 7

  NOAH’S NOISY CLOSET

  Noah sat at his bedroom window, looking out at the night. Silhouettes of houses and treetops rose against a star-spotted sky. He couldn’t stop thinking about the video from Zak’s camera: the sasquatches, the throngs of insects, the dark corridors of the Secret Creepy Critters. He worried about Tank and the other Descenders in that wretched pit in the Creepy Core. He wondered about training with the Specters tomorrow—what it would be like to walk around as one of them, a ghost.

  Around midnight, he left the window and climbed into bed. He tossed and turned, and eventually began to settle. Just as he drifted toward sleep, a sudden noise jarred him awake—a heavy groan.

  He lifted his head and checked his bedroom door. It was still closed tight. In the moonlight, he could see the poster on the back of it. Indiana Jones seemed to look out at him, a coiled whip at his side and a wry grin on his face.

  Noah squinted at the line of light along the bottom of his door, expecting to see the silhouette of a foot. Was his mother awake? His father? Was Megan also having troubles sleeping? When nothing appeared, he laid his head back down and forced his eyes closed. The old frame of the house settled and shifted at night—it had for years—and this was surely what Noah had heard.

  A minute passed, and then Noah heard the groan again, louder this time. But his door was still closed and nothing showed in the light beneath it. Indy’s grin now seemed scornful, as if the adventurer couldn’t believe what a wimp Noah was being.

  As soon as Noah’s head returned to the pillow, the sound came again. This time he sat up, his senses at full attention. Nothing at the door; nothing at the window. He was alone.

  He waited, his fingers curled around the edge of the mattress. His eyes shifted to random points in his room: the desk, the bookshelf, the dresser, the closet.

  The closet.

  Could the noise be coming from there?

  Go to it, Noah heard the braver part of himself say in his head. Just look inside—there’s nothing there.

  He started to rise from the bed and fear stopped him short. What if someone was in his closet?

  Noah recalled the portal beneath Clarksville Elementary. If DeGraff could build a portal to the old cellar in Noah’s school, what was preventing him from building one to somewhere else—this room, even?

  His heart was no longer tapping against his chest—it was thumping. His palms, suddenly clammy, stuck to his bedsheets.

  The sound again, louder than ever. There was no doubt: the noise was coming from the closet.

  Noah stood, his knees popping. He took one step, then another. When he reached the doorway, he peered inside. There was nothing but the usual: clothes dangling from hangers, sweaters half folded on shelves, a jumble of shoes. As he stepped inside, a wave of cold air rolled over him. He shivered, then reached up and tugged the chain for the light.

  He listened for the sound. The night seemed quieter than ever. He began to hear the silence—a muffled drone in his ears.

  He squatted beside the heat vent and held his palm an inch away from it. Was the cold air coming from here? Noah wasn’t sure, but it seemed to be. Maybe the sounds had come from here, too. Maybe the furnace was having problems.

  Noah stood and abruptly walked out of the closet, angry at himself for allowing his imagination to run away. As if he didn’t have enough real problems to deal with. . . . He crawled back into bed and rolled onto his side.

  He lay there for the next half hour, his eyes shut and all his attention in his ears. The groan didn’t come again. It was as if whatever had made the sound knew Noah was listening for it and had decided to stay quiet.

  Something suddenly came to Noah’s mind, and he lay there trying to forget it. But the thought kept coming back . . . and back . . . and back.

  A groan sounded a little like a growl.

  CHAPTER 8

  GOING GHOST

  “Check these out,” Evie said. “They’re for the mission.”

  She reached into one of her nonmagical pockets, pulled out a small handful of tiny electrical pieces, and held them out for everyone to see. The scouts and all six of the Specters were standing in the Clarksville Zoo in Butterfly Nets, which was marked outside as “Closed for Construction!”

  Noah dipped his head and gazed into her hand. “They . . . they look like bugs, but I can hardly see them.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  The Specter threw the pieces into the air, and as they hit the ground, they bounced a few times and then started to crawl, emitting a soft, steady light.

  “Gift from Zak,” she said. “Flashmites. To lead us through the dark passages.”

  “Awesome!” Richie said.

  “Their power dies within a few minutes. And you don’t have to worry about picking them up because they’ll look like dead bugs.”

  Richie chased after one of the flashmites, its wide spray of light making the decals in his running shoes sparkle. He bent over, pinched the electronic bug between his fingers, and stood straight to study it. “Did Zak make it?”

  “He makes everything,” Evie answered.

  “Except his way to the shower,” Ella said, and she pinched her nose. When Richie shot her a scornful look, she added, “Sorry—didn’t mean to make fun of your bro, bro.”

  The Crossers watched the flashmites crawl around until their power drained away, then Evie swept them up and stuffed them into her pocket.

  “Okay,” Evie said, “let’s get started.” She looked at the other Specters. “Girls, we ready?”

  Noah glanced at the other Specters and saw them nod. Sara had a wild, punkish look with blond hair in a slender Mohawk that came to a four-inch point. Dark makeup circled her eyes and streaked toward her temples. Lee-Lee had big eyes with long, curved lashes and collar-length hair which curved to a point just below her chin. Kaleena had deep brown skin and long, braided hair. Jordynn had a bushy Afro that tapered near her neck. Elakshi had perfect olive skin and dark eyes.

  Evie reached into a backpack and took out a wad of clothes. Pants. She threw a pair to each of the scouts. Richie’s struck his face and then dangled around his neck like a scarf.

  “String waists,” Evie pointed out. “They should fit fine.”

  Noah held his by the waist and then whipped the legs forward like a wrinkled bedsheet. The camouflage pants had a bunch of pockets, including two large ones that zipped shut. Velvet patches were stitched to different places.

  “I’ve always considered velvet and
camouflage to be perfect complements,” Ella said as she stared down at what she’d been given. “It’s what all the girls are wearing this year.”

  “Should we put them on?” Richie asked.

  Evie said, “Unless you want to walk around all day with chameleons stuffed in your underwear.”

  Noah and Richie found a private spot to change and rejoined the group.

  Ella spun in a circle and asked the boys, “You like?” Her camouflage pants were pink, her favorite color.

  “How did you manage that?” Richie asked.

  Ella shrugged. “Jealous? Maybe you want to switch?”

  “We’ve always had a pink pair,” Evie said. “Call it lucky.”

  Ella turned a second time and stared down on the backs of her legs. “I call it fate.”

  “Okay, this is how they work,” Evie said, and she opened her left zipper. A line of chameleons crawled out and spread across her body. Parts of Evie began to blend into her surroundings, and after a few seconds, she completely vanished. “Takes about twenty chameleons to camo up,” she added, and when Noah heard the rip of a zipper, he realized she’d closed her pocket. “To send the chameleons back, open your right pocket.” A zipper sounded again, and then Evie began to appear like a figure rising out of the fog. By the time she was fully visible, all her chameleons were gone.

  “That’s it?” Richie said.

  Evie nodded and shrugged one shoulder.

  “Seriously? That’s the extent of your instruction?”

  “Look, kid, we got four Crossers down, and two Gifteds locked up in what basically amounts to a prison. Our operations go live in two days. You think we got time to read a few books about this?”

  Richie opened his mouth to say something and then closed it.