The Secret Zoo (13 page)

H
ummingbirds continued to buzz around Mr. Darby; they landed on him as if he were a statue in a fountain. He closed the diary, set it aside, and said to the scouts, “The four men left for America the following week.”

“But what did Bhanu want?” Richie asked. “He said he wanted something. What was it?”

The old man looked into space and contemplated something. A minute later, he said, “I don't know how to say this without just saying it. I've told you of the Secret Society; now let me explain it. The Secret Society is a band of humans and animals that has existed
since the dawn of the first day. It is devoted to protecting animals, especially those that are threatened by humankind.”

“Those in danger of extinction?” Ella asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Darby said.

“Hold on!” Noah said. “This explains the dodo birds. You guys saved them from dying off. Right?”

“Yes,” Mr. Darby said. “Hundreds of years ago, a Dutch sailor—one of
us
—saw what was happening to the dodos. He rescued several and hid them in a secluded part of the island that the ship had landed on. Weeks later, he managed to escape with the birds. Thus he rescued the species.”

“But the Secret Zoo wasn't built until many years later,” Ella pointed out. “How did he protect the dodos for that long?”

“Though the Secret Society once operated in isolated groups, the members were very effective. The Earth has ways to conceal the truth, and the Secret Society found them. Caverns, forests, mountains, and deserts—each has a bounty of hiding places.

“The independent groups of the Secret Society grew larger and larger. Concerns about their geographic separation began to surface. Bhanu happened to be a member of the Secret Society, and what he wanted in exchange for helping Mr. Jackson was a place where everyone could
come together in an organized fashion. This place would also ensure the safety of the animals.”

“So Bhanu and his brothers built the Secret Zoo?” Noah asked.

“Yes, but not without help.”

“Help?”

“The help of Mr. Jackson. But more important than that, the help of his construction crews. Together, using magic and machines, they dug into the earth and opened the sky.”

Richie's mouth dropped, and Ella's eyes widened.

“I don't get it,” Noah said.

“Mr. Jackson's construction crews tunneled into the ground. As they did so, Bhanu and his brothers gave light and air and sky and stars to the caverns. Bhanu and his brothers put the elements of the world into the holes and tunnels.”

“But I saw Arctic Town,” Noah said. “That's no simple hole in the ground. It's enormous! I mean, look at how big this birdhouse is!”

“The brothers could expand space. They could take a hole and make it a thousand times its size.”

“But first they needed the hole!” Ella called out. “That's where the construction guys came in! The larger the hole, the larger the space the brothers could create!”

“Something like that,” Mr. Darby said. He scratched
his unkempt gray beard and added, “But it was more difficult than that.”

“How?” Noah asked.

Mr. Darby said, “Let's go for a walk. Some fresh air will help us. Besides,” the old man added with a smile, “we have urgent business to tend to.”

M
r. Darby led them through Hummingbird Hideout and across the Forest of Flight. They crossed a bridge over a river, and that led them to a small island in the middle of the water. On the island was a giant elevator made of glass—the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Attached to the outside of the floor and ceiling were the mechanics—gears, pulleys, cables, and other unnameable pieces. Mr. Darby, the scouts, Tank, and the animals were able to fit inside.

As the elevator ascended into the fog, Ella asked, “Is this thing…
magic
?”

“Not at all,” Mr. Darby replied. “This elevator was built about fifty years ago by a brilliant young team of engineers—kids not much older than you, in fact.”

Noah observed the view as they climbed through the monstrous tree limbs. “Where are they now?”

Tank answered this time. “Most of them are retired and live in Senior City.”

“Where's that?” Richie said.

“On the outskirts of the City of Species,” Tank said. His deep voice boomed and echoed off the elevator walls. “It's a little place—more like a town than a city. Most of us live here in the City of Species.”

“How many people are in the Secret Society?” Ella asked.

Tank looked at Mr. Darby and said, “How many are we now? A thousand?”

“Nine hundred and fifty-two, the last time I checked,” said Mr. Darby.

“Nine hundred and fifty-two!” Noah gasped. “And they all live here?”

“Most of them do,” Mr. Darby said. “Some are Crossers.”

“Crossers?” Noah asked.

“Those who cross between the Secret Zoo and the outside world. Some of them even have lives on the Outside.”

The elevator climbed through the fog and into the open space above, where the scouts saw a host of birds. Many
of them chased the glass box and flew circles around it. Some perched on the roof, hitching a ride into the heights of the Forest of Flight. To Noah it seemed that the birds were happy—happy that Mr. Darby had found the Action Scouts.

The elevator stopped beside an enormous branch. It shifted upward and crossed the branch as giant gears and pulleys worked the cables. It snapped into place between thick rails built between the tree limbs; they reminded Noah of rails he'd seen in subway stations. From there, the elevator rocketed ahead, breaking twigs and frightening birds into the air, and stopped at a narrow, dark hallway built into the wall of the Forest of Flight. The elevator door opened, the group exited, and at the end of the hallway, Mr. Darby flung open a velvet curtain, revealing the city.

With a sweep of his arms, the old man said, “Here we are! Back in the City of Species!”

The scouts ducked beneath a waterfall and hopped over a stream to reach the city streets, which were still packed with animals. A panda bear pranced up to Ella.

“Hey, big fella,” she said.

The panda playfully nudged its head against her and scampered off.

“See that, Richie?” Ella said. “You're not the only popular person around here.”

“Speaking of that,” Richie said as he pointed across the road, “look who's coming.”

A small band of prairie dogs charged across the street, headed straight for Richie. They scurried around his feet in circles and stared at his heels. Richie tiptoed through the jittery little herd, trying not to squash any of them.

Mr. Darby noticed the commotion and bellowed an encouraging laugh. “I see you have even more companions, yes?”

One of the prairie dogs, a chubby critter with a face as round and large as a softball, had taken a special liking to Richie. He bounced at his side, staring up at him.

“What's the deal with this one?” Richie asked.

“That's P-Dog,” Tank said.

“P-Dog?” Richie said. “Let me guess. The
p
stands for ‘Prairie.'”

“They all have names, right?” Ella asked. “Like the hummingbirds.”

“Yep,” Tank said. “That's P-Dog, and over there is Hot Dog, and…let me see…that's Chili Dog and Nibbles and Dog Tag.”

“Mr. Darby,” Richie said, “can all the animals at the City Zoo get to the Secret Zoo? You know, the way the prairie dogs did?”

“Absolutely.”

“But how is that possible?”

“Through a hundred years of magic and machines. We never stop building. We never stop imagining. And we never stop creating. Bhanu's magic is still alive in the Secret Zoo, and we never stop using it.”

Richie said, “The sectors…all the doorways with those velvet curtains…I don't see how—”

“Each sector has a habitat that's suitable for any number of species. All the cages in the City Zoo have a passage to at least one sector, and every sector has a passage to the City of Species. From what I've heard, Noah came through a sector via a passage from Penguin Palace. You and Ella came through a sector that's connected to Little Dogs of the Prairie.”

Ella said, “You mean all the exhibits at the zoo are connected to this place?”

“Yes. On top of that, many exhibits at the City Zoo even have secret access into the outside world.”

“That's how Blizzard got into the tunnel,” Richie said. “But why do they need access to the outside world?”

“They patrol.”

“They
what
?”

“They patrol. They protect the Secret Zoo and its perimeter.”

Noah said, “That explains the monkeys that Megan saw on the rooftops in our neighborhood.”

Richie said, “But what are they patrolling for?”

Mr. Darby looked at the sky and combed his fingers through his beard for several moments. Then he turned his eyes back to Richie.

“I think that conversation will be best saved for later.”

More and more animals gathered in the City of Species. They were pushing through the sector curtains and piling into the streets.

“What's going on?” Noah asked.

“You're about to see,” Mr. Darby said. The old man paused and added, “Now is the time to tell you what we know about Megan. But I must warn you that the story might be difficult to hear.”

“We can take it,” Ella assured him.

An ostrich stopped to peck at something in the street. Ella jumped to dodge its fat feathered rump.

Mr. Darby stopped walking and faced the scouts. “Some of us think Megan might be trapped—trapped in a secured area called the Dark Lands.”

“The Dark Lands?” Ella said.

“The Dark Lands are a bad place. They are filled with animals—wretched things called sasquatches. Some believe the sasquatches…” Mr. Darby paused as if he didn't want to speak his next words. “Some believe they have trapped Megan.”

The warmth drained from Noah's cheeks. He glanced at Ella. She looked strange, almost unreal, like a
mannequin that had been made up to look like Ella.

“Trapped?” he whispered.

“Yes. If she is indeed trapped in the Dark Lands, the only way to free her is by entering that murky region.” Mr. Darby paused and clasped his hands together. “And doing that would likely be…well, doing that would likely be the greatest trial the Secret Zoo has ever attempted.”

“A
re you certain?” Noah asked. “Are you certain she's in there?”

“No, Noah, I'm afraid not.” Mr. Darby straightened his beaded sunglasses. “I need to show you something. Follow me. As we walk, I'll tell you what we know.”

“Start with the sasquatches,” Ella said as they headed down the street. “What are they?”

“Creatures trapped between humankind and animal-kind. Part human and part ape, they embody the worst of man and the worst of animal. Sasquatches once existed in the outside world—your world.”

“Wait a minute! Are you talking about Bigfoot?”

“Sasquatches have been called many names.”

“But Bigfoot's not real,” Ella said. “He's a myth.”

“Bigfoot may be a myth, but the sasquatches are real, I assure you. They once existed in small numbers in the outside world. They remained hidden to protect their species and lived in vastly different regions of the earth—Antarctica, the Himalayas, even the jungles of South America. Sasquatches adapt easily to different climates, and they are good at survival. Over the course of history, however, their isolation caused their numbers to diminish, almost to the point of extinction. That is why eighty-seven years ago, the Secret Society began a two-year expedition to locate as many sasquatches as possible. We were able to track down nearly three dozen. We brought them here—that was no easy feat, mind you—to guard them from extinction.”

“What happened?” Richie asked. “I mean, things obviously turned bad.”

“‘What happened' is well documented in many texts lining the shelves in the Library of the Secret Society. I've read them all. With an aim toward brevity, I'll spare you most of the details now.”

Richie nodded, and the scouts silently waited for more.

“The sasquatches were unruly. Within days, they escaped into isolated parts of random sectors. We decided
to give the sasquatches the isolation they preferred. They are truly creatures of the shadows.”

Richie said, “That's why we never see them in our world—the Outside.”

“Yes…though I'm not sure they even exist in the Outside any longer. We monitor sasquatch activity, and we haven't had a real sighting in thirty years.”

“What happened after that?”

“For years, the sasquatches hid in the sectors. Just when many of us in the Secret Society thought they'd died off, they were spotted. Some considered this good news—we thought they might be ready to join our society. We were terribly wrong. One night, the sasquatches stormed the City of Species and attacked us. Hundreds of our members perished that night, animals and people alike. Countless buildings were destroyed. It was the Secret Zoo's darkest moment.”

“What did you do?” Ella asked.

“The inevitable. We fought back. We pushed them out of the city and drove them into a single sector.”

As Mr. Darby finished his sentence, the group came to a wall covered by velvet curtains. The old man touched the folds, sending a ripple across them.

“This is the sector. This, I'm afraid, is where we barricaded the sasquatches. This is the entrance to the Dark Lands.”

Noah inspected the curtains. Once upon a time, they had been white, but now they were stained yellow and dotted with ugly brown spots. Some of the fabric was matted; several patches were flimsy and almost thread-bare. The curtains seemed to be decaying, as if the badness of the Dark Lands were rotting them away. Noah peered behind the folds. The wall was made of ordinary bricks.

“Bricks hold them back?” Noah asked.

“The magic of the curtains is what binds the bricks and seals the Dark Lands.”

“But what about the other passage?” Richie asked. “The passage that leads to our world?”

“The sector used to open at the elephant exhibit, but we closed it off.”

“That doesn't make sense,” Noah said. “If the Dark Lands are sealed off, how did Megan get in?”

“Well, it's difficult for humans to travel between the City Zoo and the Secret Zoo. The portals between the sectors and the zoo exhibits are designed for animals, not humans. Our Crossers have had a dreadful time traveling back and forth. The night your sister disappeared, she was spotted in Creepy Critters. Do you know the Chamber of Lights?”

The scouts nodded.

“It's one of our new projects. The Chamber of Lights is
still under construction, and it's in an early testing phase. It's meant to be a quick gateway from the City Zoo to any sector of the Secret Zoo. At this point, it's not reliable. It's not even safe.

“Anyway, somehow Megan discovered the magic of the Chamber of Lights, and she used it to cross into the Secret Zoo. The frogs found three pages of her journal inside the chamber—the three pages that the animals secretly delivered to you. Though we believe Megan made it inside the Secret Zoo, we've never been able to locate her. This is precisely why many think she crossed into the Dark Lands. You see, if the Chamber of Lights isn't used correctly, any sector of the Secret Zoo could be at the other end of the crossing.”

“Why didn't you tell my family about this?” Noah asked. “You should have told us!”

“Many of us wanted to, but that would have meant exposing our secrets. It would have been too dangerous for us—too dangerous for the world.”

“Why the world?” Ella asked. “Tank said the same thing, and I—”

Mr. Darby interrupted her. “There is a man. A man who walks in the shadows, who literally draws breath from the shadows. Some claim he's a myth, a legend. But I believe he is trying to get into our Secret Zoo, trying to get near the source of our power and magic. And I believe
that if he gets to it…” Mr. Darby looked at the ground and stroked his scraggly beard. “I can't even think of it.”

“But what is he—?” Ella could barely contain herself.

Mr. Darby raised his hand sharply and said, “That's enough about him for now! It chills me to the bone even to think of him. Besides, he is a subject best left for another time—a time when there
is
more time.”

Noah brought the subject back to Megan. “But you only
think
Megan's inside the Dark Lands. You're not sure.”

“Yes. That's the main reason that the Secret Society hasn't gone in after her. If we bring down this wall, the sasquatches might escape—that is, if the sasquatches are even in there. More than eighty years have passed since we last saw them, and we're not sure whether they have survived. We are uncertain about so many things. Uncertainty is the reason that we've done nothing.”

“That's crazy!” Noah cried. “You can't just give up on Megan!”

“No one has given up. Since her disappearance, endless thoughts and discussions have been about Megan. Many members of our society will be relieved that the Gifteds found a way to involve the three of you.”

“The
who
?” Ella asked. “Gifteds—who are they?”

“Animals that seem, in some regards, almost human. Greater intelligence, awareness, compassion—higher
evolutionary characteristics, I suppose you could say. You've met a few already. Blizzard, Marlo, Little Bighorn—some of our brightest. In our world, they're natural leaders, often bridging the gap between us and the animals. It's hard to imagine where we'd be without them.”

Ella said, “But
all
the animals seem smart.”

Mr. Darby nodded. “Most are, yes. It so happens that some are more capable than others.”

“What changed them?” Richie asked. “The magic?”

“In part,” Mr. Darby said. “But some think they're advancing because we treat them as equals.”

Noah didn't care about the Gifteds. He cared about Megan, and he shifted the conversation back to her. “We need to get inside the Dark Lands! There may be only a slight chance that Megan's in there, but we need to find out for sure.”

“I believe you're right,” Mr. Darby said. “And now that the three of you are here, the members of the Secret Council have called an emergency meeting to plot a course of action. That's where all these animals are headed, and that's where we need to be.” Mr. Darby turned abruptly into a winding alley. As he passed between a tower and a giant moss-covered tree, he said, “Come! Follow me, Action Scouts. We don't want to be late.”

“Late for what?” Ella called as they raced after the old man.

Without looking back, Mr. Darby replied, “You'll see, Ella. You'll see.”

As they headed down the alley, they heard an indistinct rumble. With each step forward, the noise grew louder until it engulfed and overwhelmed them.