forward until his probing hands rattled the grill of another vent opening.
He pounded on the grating until it came loose and clattered to the deck. In his enthusiasm to be free from the ductwork, he very nearly followed it in a swan dive. But he managed to maneuver his legs through the opening so he could drop to the cabin below.
He landed hard and rolled, panting and choking on dust. A familiar animal chattering met his ears.
The dim glow of moonlight through the porthole illuminated the compartment. Ben looked around breathlessly. In the cage bolted to the wall, Cleopatra darted and chirped, unnerved by the chaos. Somehow, he had managed to blunder into exactly the cabin he’d been trying to reach in the first place!
Heart pounding, he barreled through the heart of the zoo, navigating the maze of excited animals awakened by Klaus’s bellowing. He threw open the main hatch and burst onto the deck, where he collided with Griffin, nearly bowling him over.
“Ben — you’re okay!”
“Cleo!” Savannah made a run for the door, but Ben held her back.
“I’m not okay! None of us are! Klaus is on the loose!” Gulping air, Ben wheezed out the story of how he’d fallen from the ceiling onto the sleeping security guard.
“Wait a minute!” Griffin interrupted.
“Klaus
followed you into the duct?” He put his finger to his lips and listened. The shouts and threats were much less frequent now, replaced by the reverberating sound of pounding against metal.
“He’s … stuck?” Logan concluded in amazement.
“I barely fit up there myself!” Ben put in breathlessly.
“Let’s get Cleo!” exclaimed Savannah.
The sudden presence of six intruders waving flashlights in the dark zoo boat put the animals’ agitation level over the top. Furry bodies bounced off the sides of their small enclosures. The hen flapped its wings; the beaver splashed what was left of its water. Feral noises filled the air.
At the sight of Savannah, Cleopatra tried to blast clear through the bars of her cage.
“I’m here, sweetie. Everything’s okay …” the girl soothed in a flowery tone that borelittle resemblance to her urgency the moment before.
While Savannah spoke, Griffin went to work on the cage with the wire cutters. He squeezed with all his might, but the metal resisted. An instant of panic — had they gone through all this only to fail at freeing the monkey?
There was a snap as the bar gave way. Relieved, he cut through the others until Savannah could draw her beloved capuchin out of the enclosure into an ecstatic embrace.
Yet even in this joyful reunion, Cleopatra did not calm down. The furry head jerked around relentlessly, scanning the exhibit for some unseen danger.
Savannah was mystified. “I thought she’d be okay once we sprang her, but she’s even more rattled than before.”
“Maybe she’s freaked out by all the yelling,” Pitch suggested.
Savannah shook her head. “I think she’s trying to tell me something.”
An otherworldly screech cut the air.
16
A murky shadow swooped down on Cleopatra. Terrified, the monkey buried her face in Savannah’s chest. In a flash of sharp claws, the attacker swiped at the capuchin’s back, not missing by much. The team felt rather than saw two powerful wing beats as the creature disappeared into the blackness.
“What was that?” breathed Logan in awe.
To Ben, the incident was all too familiar. “The monster that ate Melissa’s webcam!”
Flashlight beams panned the compartment from top to bottom.
“Where did it go?” squeaked Melissa.
“Who cares?” Pitch was impatient. “We’ve got Cleo. Let’s blow this Popsicle stand!”
“Not yet,” said Savannah in an angry tone. “I’ve got a feeling about this ‘monster.’ ”
She marched into the exhibit’s main compartment and shone her torch on the owl cage. It was empty, the door wide.
“That jerk, Mr. Nasty,” she seethed. “That low-down, animal-abusing criminal. As if it wasn’t bad
He pounded on the grating until it came loose and clattered to the deck. In his enthusiasm to be free from the ductwork, he very nearly followed it in a swan dive. But he managed to maneuver his legs through the opening so he could drop to the cabin below.
He landed hard and rolled, panting and choking on dust. A familiar animal chattering met his ears.
The dim glow of moonlight through the porthole illuminated the compartment. Ben looked around breathlessly. In the cage bolted to the wall, Cleopatra darted and chirped, unnerved by the chaos. Somehow, he had managed to blunder into exactly the cabin he’d been trying to reach in the first place!
Heart pounding, he barreled through the heart of the zoo, navigating the maze of excited animals awakened by Klaus’s bellowing. He threw open the main hatch and burst onto the deck, where he collided with Griffin, nearly bowling him over.
“Ben — you’re okay!”
“Cleo!” Savannah made a run for the door, but Ben held her back.
“I’m not okay! None of us are! Klaus is on the loose!” Gulping air, Ben wheezed out the story of how he’d fallen from the ceiling onto the sleeping security guard.
“Wait a minute!” Griffin interrupted.
“Klaus
followed you into the duct?” He put his finger to his lips and listened. The shouts and threats were much less frequent now, replaced by the reverberating sound of pounding against metal.
“He’s … stuck?” Logan concluded in amazement.
“I barely fit up there myself!” Ben put in breathlessly.
“Let’s get Cleo!” exclaimed Savannah.
The sudden presence of six intruders waving flashlights in the dark zoo boat put the animals’ agitation level over the top. Furry bodies bounced off the sides of their small enclosures. The hen flapped its wings; the beaver splashed what was left of its water. Feral noises filled the air.
At the sight of Savannah, Cleopatra tried to blast clear through the bars of her cage.
“I’m here, sweetie. Everything’s okay …” the girl soothed in a flowery tone that borelittle resemblance to her urgency the moment before.
While Savannah spoke, Griffin went to work on the cage with the wire cutters. He squeezed with all his might, but the metal resisted. An instant of panic — had they gone through all this only to fail at freeing the monkey?
There was a snap as the bar gave way. Relieved, he cut through the others until Savannah could draw her beloved capuchin out of the enclosure into an ecstatic embrace.
Yet even in this joyful reunion, Cleopatra did not calm down. The furry head jerked around relentlessly, scanning the exhibit for some unseen danger.
Savannah was mystified. “I thought she’d be okay once we sprang her, but she’s even more rattled than before.”
“Maybe she’s freaked out by all the yelling,” Pitch suggested.
Savannah shook her head. “I think she’s trying to tell me something.”
An otherworldly screech cut the air.
16
A murky shadow swooped down on Cleopatra. Terrified, the monkey buried her face in Savannah’s chest. In a flash of sharp claws, the attacker swiped at the capuchin’s back, not missing by much. The team felt rather than saw two powerful wing beats as the creature disappeared into the blackness.
“What was that?” breathed Logan in awe.
To Ben, the incident was all too familiar. “The monster that ate Melissa’s webcam!”
Flashlight beams panned the compartment from top to bottom.
“Where did it go?” squeaked Melissa.
“Who cares?” Pitch was impatient. “We’ve got Cleo. Let’s blow this Popsicle stand!”
“Not yet,” said Savannah in an angry tone. “I’ve got a feeling about this ‘monster.’ ”
She marched into the exhibit’s main compartment and shone her torch on the owl cage. It was empty, the door wide.
“That jerk, Mr. Nasty,” she seethed. “That low-down, animal-abusing criminal. As if it wasn’t bad
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