The Secret Zoo (16 page)

T
he sasquatch pulled Noah into the depths of the water. Noah kicked and pulled, but it didn't help. With such an insignificant amount of light, he could barely see. Seaweed tangled around his arms and legs and stroked his neck with its slime. He needed air more than he'd ever needed anything in his life. He was dizzy and nauseated, and his heart was pounding.

The sasquatch was staring at him. Noah could see that its eyes were open and gleaming, only inches from his face. The beast was enjoying watching Noah struggle for his life. For the sasquatch, this was fun.

As Noah prepared for the worst, he caught a faint view of something swimming above. It looked like a silhouette moving against deeper shadows. As it neared, Noah made out its oval body and long flippers. It was Podgy!

Podgy circled the sasquatch's head. He circled twice, three times. The beast's eyes followed the rotation, confused. Noah made out a thick cord of seaweed in Podgy's bill. As the penguin swam, he looped the seaweed around the beast's neck. The fourth time, he tightened the cord. The sasquatch let go of Noah and swiped at Podgy, missing him completely. In the darkness, the animals struggled, bumping into Noah and thrashing him about.

Podgy chomped down on both ends of the seaweed and swam up the way he'd come, tightening the weed like a noose. The weight of the sasquatch stalled the penguin, and Podgy found himself treading water, pumping his flippers but going nowhere. Choking, the sasquatch reached to free its throat. Podgy dropped the seaweed, darted between the sasquatch's legs, snagged Noah by his shirt collar, and bolted to the surface. They squirted out of the pond and slid onto the muddy shore.

Ella and Richie spotted their friends and rushed to their aid.

“Noah!” Ella cried out. “Are you okay?”

Noah coughed and spit up water uncontrollably.

Within seconds, the sasquatch appeared near the middle
of the pond and headed for shore. It swam through the deep water until it could stand. Then it broke into a run with its arms waving and its claws extended. Ella screamed.

The scouts heard pounding footsteps and looked through the trees. Little Bighorn was charging with his spike lowered. The children dived to the side, and the rhino blasted past, nearly squashing Noah. When the sasquatch saw Little Bighorn, its wicked snarl went limp. An instant later, the rhino's spike speared the beast. The sasquatch flew backward and splashed into the water. Dead, the beast floated on its stomach with its long-haired arms spread out at its sides. Repulsed, Noah looked away.

Ella crawled to Noah. “Are you okay?”

Noah nodded, but he continued to cough up water.

“Listen!” Richie said. He jumped up and stared into the distance. “I hear Mr. Darby.”

Over the battle sounds, the scouts heard Mr. Darby's voice, distant but clear. He was ordering everyone to fall back to the city, because sasquatches were escaping from their sector.

“No!” Ella said, shaking her head in disbelief. “This is our fault!”

Blizzard and the prairie dogs joined the scouts. They'd won their battle. The sasquatches that weren't
dead or unconscious were running away.

Gasping for breath, Tank said, “We gotta get outta here! There are too many of them! No one expected this!”

Noah managed to stand up. Panting, he wiped his mouth and said, “Go…without me. I'll…catch up.”

“Noah, no!” Ella yelled. “You heard Mr. Darby! There's no chance—”

Noah leaned his palms against his knees and struggled to pull more air into his lungs. Then he said, “Tell Mr. Darby to drop the boulders. I'll make my way out somehow, but not without Megan.”

Tank was about to say something, but Ella cut in. “Noah, please! I can't lose another friend!”

“You won't,” Noah said. “You'll be getting back the one you lost.”

Ella was quiet. Noah saw that she finally understood that he intended to leave this place with Megan…or not at all. He stepped forward and took the hands of his two friends.

“Go,” he said. “I promise, when this is all done, we'll be eating lunch together in Fort Scout—all four of us.”

The scouts hugged. For a moment, Noah forgot where he was. He forgot the danger, the fear, and the pain. All that existed was the love he shared with his best friends.

“Come back with Megan,” Ella said.

“I will,” Noah promised. He faced their brawny friend
and said, “Tank, you gotta get these guys outta here.”

Tank held Noah's gaze. Then the massive man gave him a quick nod and switched his attention to the others. “Let's go, gang!”

Everyone but Blizzard turned and ran. Blizzard padded toward Noah, but Noah held up his hand to stop him.

“Go, Blizzard. My friends need you.”

Blizzard hesitated; he blinked a few times. Then he turned and headed after the others. Noah stood and watched them all go, treasuring the image of his friends. He couldn't help wondering if this was the last time he'd see them.

When they disappeared into the foggy night, Noah shifted his thoughts. He sloshed through the mud and advanced deeper into the Dark Lands.

Alone.

L
ightning cracked. Thunder boomed. A chilly wind blew down from the hillside. Noah marched on.

All around him, animals from the Secret Zoo were rushing toward the exit of the sector, trying to get out quickly so Mr. Darby could seal the wall again. Time and again, Noah caught sight of sasquatches. Each time, he ducked into the underbrush and lay in silence until they passed.

“How did all this happen?” Noah grumbled.

He neared the hillside and the caves, and he contemplated how many sasquatches might be there. He wondered if they were waiting for him.

“What the—!”

Something cold and flat had stroked his leg. He jolted sideways and clunked his head on a tree branch. When he collected himself and looked down, he saw none other than Podgy. As usual, the penguin looked casual, cool, and unconcerned.

Noah whispered, “I thought you were with everyone else. What happened?”

Podgy waddled up to Noah and flapped his flippers. Clearly he wasn't going to leave Noah alone in this dreadful land.

“You shouldn't have come back,” Noah said. He considered this for a moment and then added, “But I'm glad you did.”

Together the boy and the penguin headed for the hillside, keeping a watchful eye on the sasquatches as they raced toward the City of Species. One minute, the beasts lurched forward like apes on their four limbs, and the next, they ran like humans on their back legs. The creatures seemed confused about their bodies, as if they weren't sure how they worked best.

Noah and Podgy neared the mountainside, and each time the electric sky pulsed, Noah discerned more details of the terrain. When they started to climb, he thought he saw a scrap of color in front of one of the caves. He stopped walking and peered at the spot. Nothing. He hoped the
light wasn't playing tricks on his eyes in this desolate land, and he caught up with Podgy. As they ascended along a rough path, sheer rock rose to their left.

Five minutes later, Noah whispered, “Podgy! Look!”

Fifty feet above them, at the edge of a rock wall, was the dark entrance to the cave that had grabbed Noah's attention. Wedged in the rock was a stick with a red flag tied to the end.

“It's Megan.”

“P
odgy,” he said, “we've got to get up to that cave. Megan's in there! I'm sure of it.”

The flag was waving back and forth. Noah squinted, but he couldn't make out any details in the darkness. Podgy stared at his friend with a blank expression. The boy leaned forward and grabbed the penguin's flippers.

“Podge,” he said, “I need you to get us up there. I need you…to fly!”

Podgy flinched as if he couldn't believe what Noah was saying.

“You can do it, Podge! I saw your buddy out on the ice.
He flew! And I know you can, too. You just have to want to! You just have to believe you can do it!”

Podgy backed away.

“It's not that high! What? Fifty feet, maybe.”

Podgy stared up at the cave and back at Noah.

“C'mon! You gotta try! Megan's up there, and time is running out. Climbing would take forever!”

Podgy glanced from the cave to Noah and back again.

“We've already practiced this. In the water, remember? I rode on your back, and it was easy! How is this different, huh? You just flap your flippers, right?”

Podgy took a step toward the cave. The light in his black eyes sparkled.

“We'll do it like this. You take off running, and I'll follow you. When you start to go up, I'll jump on your back, and…
whooooosh
!” Noah swept his hands up in the air.

Podgy thought about it. A moment later, he took off running, waddling back and forth as fast as he could.

Noah chased him. “All right, Podge!”

The big penguin leaned forward and picked up speed. His flat feet slapped the mud. He stuck out his flippers and flapped them up and down.

“Go, Podgy!” Noah screamed.

Rabbits, monkeys, and squirrels were still passing them on their way to the safety of the city. Above them, electric clouds spit out lightning and thunder. Noah and Podgy
remained focused on their task: getting sky beneath the wings of a penguin!

Podgy's strides grew longer and fuller. Then…he jumped! The instant he left the ground, Noah wrapped his arms around him. The penguin dipped…and bobbed…and he climbed into the air. Two feet, three feet, four feet—up, up, up!

Then he began to wobble like a small airplane in a turbulent sky.

“Keep steady!” Noah hollered.

His advice didn't help. When Podgy reached seven feet above the ground, he lost control, veered to the side, and crashed—straight into a gang of sasquatches! The beasts tumbled like giant bowling pins. Everyone slammed to the ground and started to roll down the mountain. When they came to a stop, they were covered in mud.

Noah and Podgy untangled themselves and jumped to their feet. So did their enemies. For a moment, the creatures stood on their four limbs like apes. Then they charged, heaving their weight back and forth and sloshing their knuckles in the mud.

Podgy and Noah took off through the trees. The sasquatches chased them, grunting, panting, and kicking mud everywhere. Other gangs realized what was happening. From every direction on the mountainside, they ran toward Noah and Podgy. This time, Podgy had no
choice. He flapped his flippers, preparing to fly.

“We gotta do this!” Noah yelled.

As the sasquatches closed in on them, Podgy's strides grew longer and stronger. The beasts were so close that Noah could smell them. They had a putrid odor—a cross between muck and sewage.

“Go!” Noah screamed. His voice quivered with fear.
“Nooowww!”

Podgy jumped into his strides and rose into the air. Noah leaped on his back, clung to his neck, and felt his shoes leave the ground.

Podgy went up…up…and up! Six feet, seven feet, eight feet! Noah looked down and saw the sasquatches' long arms swiping at his heels.

“Yes!” Noah yelled. “Keep going!”

All at once, the sasquatches crashed into one another. They stumbled and fell like cartoon characters. Noah saw the soles of their feet as they rolled. He cupped one hand to his mouth and cried, “You're gonna have to grow wings if you wanna catch the Action Scouts!”

Podgy sailed into the stormy sky. Once he was above the trees, he skirted the top branches as if he'd been flying his whole life. Then he flew higher. Noah guessed that they were sixty feet off the ground. From this height, he had a good view of everything in the Dark Lands.

“The cave!” Noah said. “Right there! Do you see it?”

Podgy dipped down and headed toward the mountain. He skimmed the treetops so closely that Noah felt the twigs skip off his toes. As Podgy flew toward the cave, Noah peered inside, but it was too dark to see anything.

“Careful, Podge!” Noah warned.

Podgy straightened out, aimed for the entrance, and prepared to touch down. Though a natural in the air, he was a tyro at landing. The penguin slammed to the ground. He and Noah swallowed dirt and dust as they reeled and tumbled into the cave. Eventually they rolled to a stop.

The cave was pitch black. Noah couldn't see Podgy. The only light came from the dim, stormy sky outside the entrance. He peered out and was able to discern the dark silhouette of the flag.

“Megan!” Noah screamed. He jumped to his feet and ran forward. “Megan! I can't believe we finally—”

Near the entrance, someone ripped the flag off the stick and stepped into the light. Noah slid to a halt and stared. It wasn't his sister. It was a sasquatch—the most monstrous beast he'd seen yet.

T
he sasquatch crept forward. Its long, knotted tufts of hair swung from its arms and knees, and its apelike grunts rumbled inside the walls of the cave. As Noah's eyes adjusted to the new darkness, he could make out the creature's claws. Long and swollen, they looked infected. Noah backpedaled, searching for any idea of what to do next. The only way out seemed to be the way they'd come in.

Something jabbed at his back. He shrieked, certain that it was the claw of another sasquatch, and spun around. There was Podgy; Noah had stepped into his bill.
Together Podgy and Noah retreated farther into the cave to keep space between the sasquatch and themselves.

Noah focused on the flag in the sasquatch's hand with the letters
A
and
S.
There was no doubt—it was Megan's distress flag.

A soft voice came from the back of the cave: “Noah? Noah, is that you?”

Someone was standing in the shadows.

“Megan?”

“It's me!”

They ran into each other's arms. Noah went limp with relief, and for a second, he worried that he might collapse. He pulled his head back for a look at his sister and fought to raise her image from the darkness. She looked thin and tired. She'd managed to keep her glasses, and her pigtails—still in place—were matted and dirty.

“I saw it all,” Megan said. “I saw the wall explode. I saw the animals charge in. And somehow I knew it was you. I had my flag and I used it, but that awful thing saw me. It took my flag and lured you in here—you and…” Megan glanced at Podgy and changed her thought. “Was that penguin just flying?”

“Yeah.”

“When did he learn to do that?”

“About two minutes ago, I guess.”

“What?”

“Never mind that now. We gotta get outta here.”

Swaying back and forth, the sasquatch moved closer. It was hunched over to keep its head from dragging along the ceiling of the cave. The ugly beast dropped the flag and stepped on it.

“What now, Podgy?” Noah asked.

Podgy glanced at his friend, nodded his head, and suddenly charged forward—directly at the sasquatch. When he reached the creature, he ducked and darted through its legs. The beast swiped at Podgy, lost its balance, and nearly toppled over. Podgy whirled around and dashed back between its hairy limbs. The sasquatch lashed out once more and just missed the elusive penguin. In disgust, it rolled back its head and let out an apelike roar that boomed and echoed against the walls of the cave.

“Is your friend
trying
to get us killed?” Megan asked.

Noah paused for a moment. Then he said, “He's trying to save us.”

“What? How?”

“He's distracting him. Knocking him off-balance.”

“For what?”

Noah turned to Megan and smiled. “Wanna go for a ride on a penguin?”

“Excuse me?”

“I think he wants to carry us out of here—both at the same time.”

“Can he do that?”

“We'll find out.”

Podgy waddled back toward Noah and Megan, ran a full circle around them, and charged the sasquatch again.

“He's ready,” Noah said. “Are you?”

“No!” Fear rippled her voice. “Not at all.”

Noah gave his sister a peck on the cheek. “I never thought I'd say this, but I've missed you.”

He turned around, faced the sasquatch, and took a deep breath. A second later, he charged, screaming,
“Rrraaahhh!”

Megan raced behind him, shrieking and pumping her arms at her sides.

Stunned, the sasquatch stepped back. Then, as if it remembered how big and ominous it was, the beast stepped forward, raised its meaty hands, and showed its dreadful claws. Podgy ducked again, posturing to shoot between its legs. Seeing this, the sasquatch leaned down to grab him, but this time, the penguin pounced on its head and hopped over it. The sasquatch spun around to grab the bird, but missed again. Podgy had distracted the creature long enough for Megan and Noah to escape through its legs and head for the opening of the cave.

“Run, Podgy!” Noah screamed.

Podgy was already racing for the exit faster than Noah had ever seen him move. The sasquatch dropped onto its
knuckles like an ape and chased him. At the mouth of the cave, the scouts braced themselves.

“I don't think this is gonna work!” Megan shrieked.

“There's no time to think!” Noah shouted.

A moment later, Podgy blasted out of the cave into the stormy sky. Noah leaped onto his back and grabbed his neck. When he expected to feel Megan land behind him, he instead felt nothing. He looked over his shoulder. The wretched sasquatch had clasped Megan by the ankle and was dangling her over the cliff. The beast had nabbed her in mid-jump.

“Podgy!” Noah yelled. “That thing's got my sister!”

Podgy flew in a wide arc and navigated along the mountainside. As he passed the cave, he whacked the sasquatch's head with his flipper. The sasquatch floundered on the cliff, flailing its arms. Then it lost its grip on Megan's ankle, and both of them fell over the edge, plummeting toward the murky ground below.

Podgy dived so suddenly that Noah nearly toppled off his back. The penguin swooped beside Megan, and at just the right moment, Noah reached out and snagged his sister by the wrist.

The dive-and-catch was a spectacular feat, but Megan's additional weight was too much for Podgy to bear. The penguin lost control and crashed into the top of a tall, full tree. The threesome fell through the branches,
bouncing off the large ones and crashing through the thin ones, until they landed with a series of thuds at the base of the trunk. Twigs and leaves showered down on them.

“Everyone okay?” Megan asked.

“Yeah,” Noah said. “Podgy, you okay?”

Podgy stood up and shook his body the way a wet dog does.

Noah looked around. He realized that they must have been a sensational sight in the air, because sasquatches were approaching from every direction, dodging trees and leaping over bushes. Within seconds, the scouts were surrounded by a small gang of them. They were grunting, snorting, and looking anxious to rip limbs from bodies. A lightning bolt split the sky, and the yellow of their eyes glowed.

The beasts scrambled to clear a pathway for a single sasquatch to come forward. The newcomer walked with a limp and had a swollen bald patch on the side of its head. It looked as if it had just been smacked with a large stick—or maybe something of equal size and shape, like a penguin's flipper.

“Not good,” Noah said.

The scouts and Podgy backed against the tree.

“Sorry, Megan,” Noah said. “I thought—I thought I could get you out of here.”

Megan scanned the dark landscape for an escape. “It's not over yet,” she said.

“There's no way out,” Noah said. “Not unless you come up with a miracle.”

“I think it's coming our way.”

Their miracle was charging toward them from behind the sasquatches. Storming through the muddy forest were Ella, Richie, Tank, Blizzard, Little Bighorn, Dodie, Marlo, P-Dog, and a bunch of other prairie dogs. Ella was riding on Little Bighorn, and Richie was on Blizzard. They plowed into the sasquatches and sent them flying. Some landed in the trees unconscious, draped over the branches like laundry that was hung out to dry. Panic-stricken, the remaining creatures scattered. Blizzard growled. Little Bighorn snorted. The prairie dogs yipped like mad.

“Guys!” Noah shouted. “What are you doing back here?”

Tank said, “Marlo spotted Podgy soaring through the air like a little blimp. We knew something was up when you flew into that cave.”

Megan ran to greet Ella and Richie, shouting, “I didn't know if I'd ever see you—”

Tank scooped Megan up and slung her on top of Little Bighorn behind Ella.

“Maybe we should save the hugs and kisses for later,” he boomed. “What do you say?”

“Good idea,” Ella said. She swatted the rhino's side and called, “C'mon, Little Bighorn! Let's ride!”

Noah turned to Tank. “Thanks for—”

Before he could finish, Tank lifted him by his pants and tossed him on top of Blizzard.

“No time for chitchat, kid. Any second now, Mr. Darby's gonna close up shop, if you know what I'm saying. I asked him to keep the wall down for ten more minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” Noah said.

“Less than that now.”

Noah adjusted himself behind Richie and said, “You heard him, Bliz! Let's get outta here!”

As Blizzard raced off, Noah glanced over his shoulder. The prairie dogs were scurrying behind them as fast as their short legs could run. In the sky, Dodie and Marlo were joined by Podgy, their newfangled flying friend. Tank was on his way to the exit when a sasquatch—a huge one with a chunk of hair missing from the side of its swollen face—grabbed him from behind. Tank swung around and knocked it out with a single punch.

“Sometimes,” Noah muttered, “things end on a high note.”

The motley herd of animals raced across the Dark Lands, back to the City of Species. Noah thought of bringing Megan home, and a hundred emotions washed over him. He was so overcome by love, joy, and relief that he started
to cheer and wave his arms. The other scouts looked at him with big smiles. They, too, yelled and pumped their fists. That moment assured them that nothing would ever divide their friendship—no enchanted lands, no beastly creatures, and not even time. Real friendship was stronger than anything else in the world.

They charged ahead and reached the exit. The instant they barreled through, the elephants dropped the boulders. The moment the boulders slammed the street, a troop of monkeys sprang into action, sliding the velvet curtains down from the branches to seal off the Dark Lands.

Once again, the City of Species was safe under the magic that had issued from the fingertips of three mystical brothers from a distant land.