The Secret Zoo (17 page)

T
he scouts stood beside the curtain to Sector 15, ready to go home, a place Megan had not been for three long weeks. Mr. Darby, Tank, and the scouts' animal friends stood beside them.

Tank said, “About Megan…”

The scouts waited for more. When nothing came, Noah said, “Yeah?”

“I met with a few of the Descenders. We came up with a plan about—”

“The
who
?” Ella asked.

Tank shook off the question. “Never mind who they are
for now. Just know that I talked to them, and we have an idea to hide the reason Megan disappeared. We thought of something to tell your parents—your
world
—about Megan, about what happened to her. It would keep the secrets of the zoo safe.”

Noah was genuinely curious. “Let's hear it.”

Tank started talking, and for the next ten minutes, the scouts listened and nodded and asked questions. After hearing the plan, they agreed to try it. Noah thought it was a great idea; he just didn't know if they could pull it off.

Finally Noah turned to Mr. Darby and asked, “What about the sasquatches? How many got out?”

“It's difficult to say. We posted koalas in the trees. They spotted around fifty.”

“What will they do?” Megan asked. “The sasquatches, I mean.”

“Perhaps nothing,” Mr. Darby said. “But I fear that I'm thinking wishfully.”

“I feel terrible,” Richie said. “It's like—”

“Please don't! You rescued your friend. This was your duty. What's more, in rescuing Megan, I believe you rescued us.”

“Rescued you?” Ella said. “How?”

“The Megan Situation is over, and the division it created in the Secret Society will no longer exist. We'll be united again. We need unity to focus on our task,
which is protecting the Secret Zoo—its animals and its magic.”

“I wish we could help,” Noah said.

Mr. Darby raised one eyebrow. “Well, you can. We need Crossers—people that pass between the Outside and the Inside. We need good people. Adventurous people! Scouts would do nicely.”

“Action Scouts,” Tank said, and winked.

“Mr. Darby,” Ella said, “we're—we're only kids!”

“Only kids!” Mr. Darby barked. He laughed and patted her head. “Only kids! Look at all you've done! The Action Scouts are much more than kids, I assure you.”

Noah said, “I'm not sure if—”

Mr. Darby raised his palm. “Think about it. For now, go back to your homes and families.”

“Before we leave, I'd like to say good-bye to my friends.”

Noah ran to Blizzard, who waited behind Mr. Darby with solemn eyes and his ears pressed flat against his head. Noah wrapped his arms around him. “Good-bye, Bliz,” he said. “I'll miss you.”

Ella and Richie ran to either side of Blizzard and squeezed the giant polar bear, burying their cheeks in his furry sides. Blizzard rolled his head back and roared. His voice echoed off the city walls, and the birds in the tree branches erupted into mournful chirruping and cawing.

The scouts said good-bye to Little Bighorn and Marlo and Dodie and Tank.

Richie bent down to the group of prairie dogs that lay at his feet, and P-Dog sprang up. Richie scratched him behind the ears and said, “Listen, if you guys find the gorilla that stole my shoes, do me a favor and drop them in the mail.”

Petting Podgy's feathered head, Megan said, “Thanks for everything, little dude! Without you, I'd still be trapped in that cave.”

Noah looked at Podgy. “I can hardly believe we did it!” he said as he leaned forward to hug the big penguin. Then Podgy did a remarkable thing—he wrapped his flippers around Noah and hugged him back.

“Whoa, boy! Easy with those flippers,” Noah said. “Those are your ticket to the sky.”

Podgy flapped his flippers and Noah noticed that, for the first time, the penguin didn't look sad and bored. Light gleamed in his eyes.

“It wasn't his flippers that got him flying,” Mr. Darby said. “It was the strength of his spirit. That's a power you showed him.”

Noah smiled and gazed affectionately at Podgy, who was still flapping his flippers. “Good-bye, Podge. I'll see you around, huh? At Penguin Palace in the Clarksville City Zoo…or…” Noah glanced at the animals and
the trees and the streets of the City of Species. “Or elsewhere!”

As the scouts walked toward the doorway that led homeward, Mr. Darby called out, “You'll think about it, then? My proposition? A society as great as ours could use your help.”

The children's eyes met briefly, and Noah replied, “Keep in touch, Mr. Darby. You know how.”

“Indeed I do,” the old man said with a grin. “Indeed I do.”

The Action Scouts—complete again, with Megan back—waved good-bye to Mr. Darby, Tank, Blizzard, Podgy, Little Bighorn, and the other animals who had gathered to see them off: pandas, cheetahs, kangaroos, tigers, turtles, and countless others. They lined the streets, the buildings, and the trees.

Hot tears formed in Noah's eyes. The only thing that stopped them from falling was the awareness that he was leaving the magic and beauty of the Secret Zoo to take his sister to her rightful place in their family.

The scouts pushed through the velvet curtain and entered Sector 15. The curtain fell closed, leaving behind the City of Species with the animals and people the scouts had quickly grown to love.

A
s Noah and Megan rounded a long curve on Jenkins Street, their home came into view. Little more than fifty yards away, it sat on a slight hill. Two police cars were parked in the street in front of the house. A few people were out on their lawns and front porches, curious about the commotion at the Nowicki house.

“What time is it, Noah?” Megan asked.

He shrugged. “Nine o'clock, maybe.”

Noah realized his entire adventure in the Secret Zoo had spanned less than nine hours. That amount seemed impossibly short, but then Noah realized how quickly
everything had happened. Crossing Arctic Town, exploring the City of Species, escaping the heights of the Forest of Flight, talking to Mr. Darby in Hummingbird Hideout, rescuing Megan from the Dark Lands—every step of the way had taken less than an hour.

Their neighbor Mr. Peters was raking dead leaves off his front lawn. As they passed his house, Mr. Peters absently lifted his head and said, “Noah,” without pausing in his labors. When he detected who was walking next to Noah, he started to say her name until surprise stopped him short: “Meg—”

Megan just smiled and waved.

The rake slipped from Mr. Peters's grasp and was swallowed by the pile of leaves. His body stiffened, his jaw dropped, and for a second he looked as witless as a zombie. When his senses came back, he turned and ran into his house, calling out his wife's name again and again, his voice echoing off the houses and causing a commotion.

As the two scouts headed up the street, their neighbors took notice of them from the windows of their homes. They poured onto their front lawns, kicking through leaves in slippers and bare feet. Some were silent, and others cheered. They clutched their hearts and covered their gaping mouths. Mrs. Sanders fell to her knees and began to pray. Megan was home, and it was a miracle.

Noah and Megan smiled at their neighbors as they
passed. To Noah, the moment was as surreal as anything he'd experienced in the Secret Zoo. Noah was bringing his missing sister home, and the streets were erupting with joy, relief, and love.

As they neared the house, their mother and father peeked out their front door at the scene, spotted their children, and charged out of the house. The scouts ran to them, and they met on the sidewalk. Megan and her mother rushed into each other's arms, and Megan's mother burst into tears. She pressed her face against her daughter's and stroked her hair. Noah watched as Megan, too, began to cry—softly, at first, but then more easily, until she was sobbing. Noah understood their emotions. He knew where they came from. They issued forth from a place too complicated and deep and beyond explanation to be called anything but “the heart.”

As Noah's father dropped to his knees and partly wrapped himself in his son, tears poured from Noah's cheeks.

Noah's sister was alive. And she was home.

H
IGH
U
P IN
F
ORT
S
COUT

T
wo weeks had passed since Megan's return. Carrying a plate of sandwiches, Noah walked across his backyard, climbed the ladder to Fort Scout, and joined his sister and friends high in the tree. He set the plate down, and each of them snatched a sandwich. Already life was getting back to normal.

They ate in silence. Richie picked up the binoculars, walked to the window, and scanned the zoo.

“See anyone we know?” Ella asked.

“Nope. Not yet,” he said. “Wait a minute! Look at this guy.” He passed Noah the binoculars.

Noah looked through the lenses and smiled. Blizzard
lay on a block of ice in Arctic Town. He had stretched out his legs, crossed his paws, and rested his chin on top of them, as if they were a pillow. He was watching a group of curious children not much younger than Megan.

Noah passed the binoculars around. The scouts shared a laugh as they recalled their own visits to the zoo before their secret journey. They spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the fort, telling jokes, giggling, and talking. They discussed many things, but the topic repeatedly returned to the Secret Zoo and the future of the Action Scouts.

Afternoon turned into evening, and Fort Scout received a visitor. This visitor didn't climb the ladder to enter from below. Tiny and blue feathered, he swooped from the treetops and landed on Noah's shoulder.

“Marlo!” the scouts called out together.

This was the first time they'd seen him since they left the City of Species. Marlo tipped his head from side to side and blinked hastily. In his beak was a folded slip of paper.

“Is that for us?” Noah asked.

The malachite kingfisher dropped the paper in his lap. Noah stared down at it, not knowing what to do.

“Any chance you'll be opening that before Christmas?” Ella asked. “If not, I'm gonna go home and get a warmer jacket.”

Noah unfolded the paper and glanced at the signature.

“It's from Mr. Darby.”

“And?”

“It's too dark. I can't see what's—”

Ella snatched a penlight from Richie's pocket—a new one, since he'd lost his other in Rhinorama—and handed it to Noah.

“Here! Now you can read it.”

Noah switched on the light and shone it across the page. Marlo sidestepped toward Noah's neck and looked down, as if he were reading, too. Noah's eyes grew so big that they almost popped out of his face.

“What?” Megan questioned. “What does it say?”

Noah said nothing.

“C'mon,” Richie said. “What is it?”

Noah cleared his throat and said, “Mr. Darby wants to know if—”

He was interrupted by the sound of his mother calling them indoors.

“Coming, Mom!” Megan shouted back. She climbed to her feet and dusted off her jeans. “Let's talk inside.”

Noah looked at Marlo. “Can you come back tomorrow? Tell Mr. Darby I'll have an answer to his question by then.”

Marlo chirped twice and shot back into the trees.

“What question?” Ella asked.

Noah gazed at his friends and his sister and said, “Guys, we have a lot to talk about.”

Before he could finish, Mrs. Nowicki called a second time.

Noah said, “Mom's waiting. We'll talk inside.”

Ella and Megan jumped on the slide and coasted to the ground. Richie climbed down the ladder, and Noah slid down the rope. Together the four children dashed across the lawn to the back porch. Running made them giddy. They laughed and shouted and waved their arms in the air. Playfully Ella bumped Richie into the hedge and Megan tripped Noah. They pushed their way inside and slammed the door on the night.

Little did they know what a good thing that was. Because not only had they slammed the door on the night, but they'd also shut out something else. Someone was outside—hiding, watching, and waiting in the shadows. The inhabitants of the Secret Zoo knew this man as the Shadowist, but only a few believed he still existed. Mr. Darby and Tank were among those few.

A hundred years ago, the Shadowist had gone by another name. The name was DeGraff. A hundred years ago, he'd stood on Mr. Jackson's rain-drenched porch. A hundred years ago, he'd told a tale about a magical man named Bhanu. A hundred years ago, Mr. DeGraff had been responsible for creating the Secret Zoo.

BRYAN CHICK
originally had the idea for
The Secret Zoo
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.

This is Bryan Chick's first book. He lives with his wife and three children in Clarkston, Michigan.

www.thesecretzoo.com

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