Traps and Specters (11 page)

At PizZOOria they pushed through the unlocked doors to find Tank sitting at one of the cafeteria's many long benches, his fist buried in a tub of popcorn. On the tabletop beside him was a tiny, bright blue bird—Marlo. The kingfisher was pecking at a pile of popcorn Tank had given him. Behind Tank was a portable whiteboard. As the scouts dropped their stuff and approached the bench, Tank shoved a fistful of popcorn into his smile.

“Hungry?” Ella asked.

As Tank munched, he said, “When you're as big as me, you're
always
hungry.”

“Makes sense. But how do you explain this?” She jerked her thumb toward Richie, who was greedily reaching for some popcorn. “This guy weighs less than his own clothes.”

Tank laughed and offered the tub to Richie, who plunged his hand into it.

“He burns all his calories worrying about stuff,” Tank said with a wink toward Richie.

Megan said, “Okay … what's on the agenda tonight?”

“Some training—an emergency session, I guess you could call it, because of the DeGraff sighting. And we're going to follow it with a test.”

“Great,” Ella said. “Like we don't get enough of those in school.”

“It's more of a challenge—and don't worry, it's not going to kill you. At least it shouldn't, anyway.” Richie's eyes widened as Tank rose from the bench. “But that's not until later. Right now, I got a whole bunch of things to review—Mr. D wants to make sure you're up to snuff. With DeGraff on the loose, we can't afford mistakes. So take a seat. And here”—he slid the tub of popcorn across the table—“help yourselves.”

The big man went to the whiteboard, grabbed a marker, and for the next three hours, the five of them reviewed the Grottoes, the tunnel system beneath the Clarksville Zoo. Tank had them repeatedly come up to the whiteboard to draw pictures of particular sections. He wanted to be certain they'd memorized the passages—how they interconnected and led to different areas.

Around 11:00, Tank set down the marker, announced it was time, and donned his jacket, which was so thickly padded that it made him look a bit like a small cloud. After the scouts dressed, Marlo sprang to his usual spot on Noah's shoulder and the group stepped outside and walked to ZOOasis, a big outdoor garden surrounded by a wide web of concrete paths. Flamingo Fountain sat at its core. Mostly devoid of flowers this time of year, the garden was still alive with evergreen bushes and trees. Marble benches were scattered along the grassy paths, and when the group reached ZOOasis, they saw Mr. Darby sitting on one.

“Welcome!” Mr. Darby said as the scouts approached. Noah found it strange that the old man was wearing his sunglasses in the dark. “The four of you have come prepared for a physical challenge, yes?”

A bit unsure, the scouts nodded anyway.

“Excellent.” The old man peered beyond the four children and said, “All of you, if you'll come out, please.”

From around a group of shadowy bushes, the Descenders appeared—Tameron, Solana, Sam, and Hannah. They were wearing the clothes that carried their powers: leather jackets, hats, boots, and gloves. Tameron had his enormous backpack slung over his shoulders. As they neared the scouts, Sam peered out from beneath his long bangs; Tameron, from under the tilted brim of his cap. Hannah worked her jaw over her chewing gum, and Solana stood with her hands on her hips.

Ella said, “Looks like our opponents just arrived.”

Hannah loudly popped her gum and winked at Ella.

Richie said, “So we're facing off against teenagers who can fly, throw quills, smash out walls, and leap tall buildings in a single bound.”

Mr. Darby turned to Tank. “Richie has a point, Mr. Pangbourne. Should we award our scouts something to compensate for the Descenders' remarkable skills?”

“Seems fair enough.”

“Very well. Your animal friends—Blizzard, Podgy, Little Bighorn, any that you know personally—they may assist you.” Mr. Darby turned to the kingfisher sitting on Noah's shoulder. “Marlo, will you please make sure the scouts' companions know of this?”

Marlo chirped, sprang into the air, and dashed out of sight.

“Now then …” Mr. Darby looked toward Tank. “Can you please explain our challenge, Mr. Pangbourne?”

“You guys ever hear of a game called Capture the Flag?” Tank asked.

The scouts nodded. They'd played Capture the Flag countless times.

“Well, this is the flag....” Tank slipped a small piece of velvet from his jacket and tossed it toward the scouts. Noah snagged it. It was so thin that it was practically threadbare. “All you need to do is capture it,” Tank finished.

Noah said, “It tingles.”

“Unspent magic. It used to be part of a curtain.” He held out his open palm. “I'll take that back now.”

As Noah handed the flag over, Mr. Darby said, “The game is a way for us to see how you compare to the Descenders—how far you've come as Crossers over the past year. With the sighting of DeGraff, the Secret Society is evaluating all its defenses.”

“Where does the game take place?” Noah asked.

“Wherever the flag goes. Here probably. And in the Secret Zoo.”

“But what if someone sees us running around?”

Mr. Darby said, “They won't if you keep to the shadows.”

“Speaking of the shadows,” Richie said. “Who's on patrol?”

“Substitutes. And of course the Specters are helping now as well.”

“The rules are simple,” Tank said, bringing the conversation back. “Get the flag and bring it to ZOOasis. Return it …” His gaze stopped on a large marble vase at the edge of a flowerbed. He hoisted it, dumped its soil, and set it in the middle of the path. “Right here,” he finished. “You can steal the flag from your opponent at any point. And any use of the Grottoes or the gateways is fair game. Same with the animals—leverage them if you can. And know that most of our furry fellows are going to be trying to keep the flag away from all eight of you guys.”

“Huh?” Noah said. “Why?”

Tank ignored the question and, to the scouts, said, “Remember all the things we just talked about in PizZOOria—the Grottoes and the ways they connect the zoos. Remember the shortcuts.”

Noah tried to ask another question, but Tank tossed the flag into the air and yelled, “Go!”

A chickadee swooped down, snatched the flag, and flew toward Metr-APE-olis. The Descenders immediately ran across the grass after it, disappearing behind a row of bushes.

The scouts simply stood there, a bit shocked.

“Usually the flag doesn't come to you,” Tank pointed out.

The four friends traded nervous glances and then took off. Just like that, the game was on.

CHAPTER 15

T
he scouts squeezed through a hedge and dodged a concession stand. At least fifty yards divided them from the Descenders. As the teenagers turned a corner of Metr-APE-olis, the scouts lost sight of them.

“We'll never catch these guys!” Richie said.

“We don't need to catch them!” said Ella. “We just need to get the flag!”

The scouts rounded Metr-APE-olis just in time to see the chickadee drop the flag over Little Dogs of the Prairie. Before it could hit the hillside, a prairie dog jumped to its haunches, chomped into it, then dove into a tunnel and disappeared.

“Did you see that?” Ella said.

“That's what Tank was talking about,” said Megan. “The animals … they're trying to keep the flag away from us.”

The Descenders rushed down the stairs leading to the concrete tunnels that ran beneath the sandy hillside. Set into the tunnels were clear, plastic domes that let kids stand up and gaze out across the exhibit. As the Descenders' heads poked up, the prairie dogs quickly piled across one another on the clear caps. Once enough weight covered a dome, it began to turn, slowly at first, then more and more rapidly, flinging prairie dogs across the plain. Within seconds, all the domes stopped, their empty spaces revealing how the Descenders had disappeared into the Grottoes the same way Ella and Richie had when they first discovered the Secret Zoo.

“C'mon!” Noah said as they reached the exhibit. “Let's go!”

He led his friends to the bottom of the steps, where they crawled into different tunnels, as the Descenders had done. Noah rose, his head partly filling the dome above him. Across the hillside, he watched the other scouts' heads rise above ground like giant gophers'. The prairie dogs immediately went to work, piling onto the domes. Within seconds, the clear cap around Noah's head dropped a few inches with a loud click, and his floor began to turn. It gained more and more speed, and then dropped several feet into the dark earth. When it stopped, Noah crawled into a new tunnel, and the platform he'd been on sprang back into the air, sealing the hole above. The other scouts soon joined him.

“Let's go!” Ella said.

They crawled in a line down the dimly lit passage. The tunnel, filled with prairie dogs, branched off in dozens of directions. At the end of the main passage, a swaying velvet curtain revealed the direction the Descenders had gone.

“They're headed to Little Dogs of the Secret Prairie!” Noah said. “And that's where the flag's going! C'mon!”

“Wait!” Megan said. “Let's split up! Ella and I—we'll take a different sector and try to head off the flag at the City of Species!”

Noah nodded. “You're going to have to be quick.” He scanned the plates above the tunnels with velvet curtains and read off the names: “The Secret Ostrich Island,” “The Secret Kangaroo Kampground,” “The Secret Elephant Event.” “Take Kangaroo Kampground,” he advised. “You can use the tents to quickly portal across the sector. Plus it opens in the City of Species right beside Little Dogs of the Secret Prairie.”

“Good idea,” Ella said. “You'd make Tank proud.” The girls crawled into the Secret Kangaroo Kampground and were gone.

Noah said, “Richie—we've got to hurry!”

Together, the boys rushed forward and chased after the Descenders into the Secret Zoo.

CHAPTER 16