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against his window. He jumped out of bed, flicked on the lights, and opened the window. Someone was standing in his yard.
    â€œRichie!”
    â€œWho’s out there?”
    â€œRichie, it’s me!”
    â€œElla?”
    â€œWe’ve got a big problem! It’s Noah! I think he’s going in!”
    â€œInto the zoo?”
    â€œNo, the bathroom .” She tossed up one more clump of earth. It missed Richie but sailed through the window and landed in the middle of his pillow. “Of course, the zoo!”
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œRight now!”
    Richie thought about this for a moment. Then he said, “What are we gonna do?”
    â€œThe only thing we can do,” Ella said. “Go in after him.”
    â€œSeriously?”
    â€œDead serious!” Ella slid backward, saying, “Meet me in my front yard! Give me two minutes so I can get dressed!”
    Richie didn’t move. He stood in silence, stunned.
    â€œRichie?”
    He took a breath. “Two minutes,” he said at last. “Gotchya.”
    Ella took off across the lawns. Her open jacket trailed behind her like a short cape. Richie remained still for another moment.
    â€œI can’t believe this is happening,” he muttered.
    He started to close the window and stopped. Something was moving on the lawn next door. Richie peered into the darkness, but he saw nothing.
    â€œHello?” he called out of the window.
    The wind murmured, but that was it.
    â€œWho’s there?”
    No answer.
    He was certain that he’d seen something. A man. A man with a strange hat.
    â€œForget it,” he said at last.
    He closed the window, jumped into his clothes, and prepared for the next event—whatever that might turn out to be.

CHAPTER 15
T HE K EY
    F ifty feet from the zoo gate, Noah stopped pedaling. He coasted silently to the entrance, dismounted, and ducked behind the bushes. Beside the gate was a glass booth. Inside, a light and a small TV were on, but the guard wasn’t there. Noah crouched down and ran toward the gate, pulling his bike beside him.
    He plucked the gold key out of his pocket and poked it in the slot. It didn’t fit. He turned it over and tried again. No luck.
    â€œC’mon, you stupid thing.”
    He heard a cough. Inside, a guard was coming towardhim. Noah tried to force the key in. Even the tip didn’t fit.
    â€œC’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” he muttered. “Don’t do this!”
    Another cough—this time, much closer. Noah heard the man’s feet shuffling.
    â€œFit, you stupid—”
    Then something magical happened. The key transformed. Its ridges melted, and its bumpy edge became smooth. Noah stared at the flat key in his hand, confused.
    â€œWha—?”
    Noah could hear the guard’s footsteps. He was closing on Noah, reaching the end of a path that ran between a pair of long hedges. In a panic, Noah stabbed the key at the slot. This time, it slipped in and the lock opened with a soft click. When he pulled the key out, the sharp ridges were back.
    â€œNo way!” he mumbled.
    Seconds before the guard rounded the hedge, Noah grabbed his bike, slipped through the gate, and coasted into the shadows.
    He was inside. At least part of the way.

CHAPTER 16
E LLA AND R ICHIE H AVE A G REAT F ALL
    â€œL et me get this straight,” Richie said. He and Ella were standing beside an oak tree near the zoo wall in their neighbor’s backyard. They were looking at a branch that ran across the top of the wall. “That branch is at least twenty feet high. You want to climb up there, walk across it, leap onto the wall, and then jump into the zoo?”
    â€œGood plan, don’t ya think?”
    â€œI guess that depends on what kinds of animals are in there.”
    â€œProbably a bunch of peacocks,” Ella assured him. She suddenly noticed something about Richie. He waswearing leather boots instead of his normal running