Chapter 8
Below the Knickknack and Snack Shack

The scouts stepped out into a new tunnel that looked very much like the other. Stone walls rose more than ten feet above them, and the ceiling was arched. Velvet curtains dangled in front of dark passageways. Up ahead, the tunnel swung left and disappeared. A few dim lights were set in the walls. Insects skittered across the floor, and dusty cobwebs clung to corners. The eerie underground passage reminded Noah of something beneath an ancient city.

“The Grottoes,” Tank said. “East-northeast side of the zoo.”

An earthy, musty smell hung about, and the stale air was difficult to breathe. Noah stroked his fingertips across the walls; they were damp and cool and gritty.

“East-northeast’s been here a long time,” Tank said. He’d turned around and was now walking backward in order to face the scouts. “It’s an original section—no going amiss here.”

As they walked past the curtains, Richie read the engrav-ings on the gold plates out loud: “‘The Secret Koala Kastle’ . . . ‘Metr-APE-olis’ . . . ‘The Secret Chinchillavilla’ . . .”

Tank said, “All the ones marked ‘secret’ go to sectors in the Secret Zoo. All the others go to places in the Clarksville Zoo—mostly exhibits, but a few ordinary sites, too.”

Noah remembered his sneaky visit to the Grottoes and how he’d ended up in Flamingo Fountain. He knew a thing or two about the “ordinary sites” Tank was referring to. They were hardly ordinary when you emerged in them on the back of an emperor penguin.

The walls around a curtain marked “The Secret Elephant Event” began to rumble. The ceiling rained dirt and powdery pieces of mortar. The ground shook, and insects scattered. Richie, who’d been standing in front of the curtain, jumped out of the way, ducking behind Ella. From where Noah stood, it looked like Ella’s head had suddenly sprouted the pom-pom on Richie’s cap.

Tank laughed. “Don’t sweat it, Richie. The elephants are just goofing around. Happens all the time. They won’t come into the Grottoes unless they need to.”

The rumble softened and then faded out altogether as the elephant charged off into the reaches of the sector.

Tank dropped down beside a curtain marked “The Knickknack and Snack Shack.” “Right here,” he said as he pointed to the ground.

The scouts crouched low around the big man.

“Here’s one of the sasquatch prints I saw.”

The impressions in a soft spot in the ground detailed a foot—one that could crush a full-grown watermelon. Richie gasped.

“You got to be kidding me!” Ella said. “You sure it wasn’t King Kong strolling around down here?”

“This was a sasquatch,” he said. “Medium sized.”

“Medium sized!” Richie squeaked. His lips curled into new shapes as he searched for something more to say. In the end, he managed only to squeak, “Medium sized!” a second time.

Tank rose and pulled back the curtain to the Knickknack and Snack Shack. “Follow me.”

The scouts did. When the curtain touched Noah, he felt its magic course through him like a weak jolt of electricity. Beyond the gateway, the tunnel continued straight about fifteen feet and ended at a steep flight of blocky steps. Tank headed toward it, a few dim lights in the walls showing the way. Halfway up the stairs, he turned to the scouts, held his finger to the tip of his nose, and emitted a near-silent “Shhhhhh. . . .”

“How come?” Richie whispered.

Tank lifted his finger toward the ceiling.

The scouts craned their necks. They listened. Faint footsteps came from above. And a muffled voice. Noah heard something else as well: a muted ding!, like that of a cash register.

“The Knickknack and Snack Shack,” Megan whispered.

“Up there,” Tank mouthed.

Noah had totally forgotten where they really were. Right above them was the Clarksville City Zoo, bustling with activity.

With a sideways nod of his head, Tank gestured for the scouts to continue up the steps. At the top of the staircase was a long hatch door. Tank and the scouts crawled up and hunkered in beneath it. In the shadowy recess, it was almost too dark to see. Tank’s big eyes seemed to hover in space like the eyes of a comic strip character startled by the dark. The Crossers were huddled so close that Noah could hear his friends breathing.

“Ugh,” Ella softly groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Tank whispered.

“I smell someone’s breath. Or armpit. Either way, I think I’m going to barf.”

“Sorry,” Richie whispered. “I had onion rings for lunch. Anyone got a mint?”

“One mint?” Ella said. “You’d have more luck putting out a forest fire with a wet wipe.”

As their eyes began to adjust, Noah saw Tank’s arm reach out and pluck Richie’s penlight from his shirt pocket. He turned it on and shined it along the far end of the hatch.

“See that?” Tank whispered.

Several strong hinges were fastened to the edge of the hatch. Along one was a tuft of mangy hair.

“Sasquatch left that,” Tank whispered. “Got its fur pinched in it.”

The scouts stared at the tuft of hair, silent.

Above them the cash register dinged again. Then footsteps moved across the hatch.

“Just past this door you can see the east side of the perimeter wall. Fort Scout is clear as day.”

Noah thought about this. Then he said, “You think the sasquatches will try to escape here?”

Tank shrugged. “Maybe. Makes sense, don’t you think? It’s the least-guarded spot in the whole Clarksville Zoo.”

In a whisper, Megan said, “But maybe this sasquatch just wandered off. Got lost in the Grottoes before eventually making its way back.”

“Could be,” Tank said. “But we’ve seen the sasquatches are smarter than that, haven’t we?”

Noah thought of the Dark Lands—how the sasquatches had kept Megan prisoner for weeks knowing the Secret Society would eventually come after her, presenting them a way to escape. Tank was right. The sasquatches might be as smart as humans.

Maybe even smarter.

“C’mon,” Tank said as he squeezed by the scouts on his way down the steps. “I got a few more things to show you before we’re done for the day.”

For the next forty-five minutes, Tank escorted the scouts through the Grottoes, explaining them as they went. By the gateway to the Secret Rhinorama, they heard the muffled sound of a stampede beating through the walls. At the portal to the Secret Penguin Palace, they stroked their hands along a sheet of ice that had formed over the bricks. By an entrance to the Secret Butterfly Nets, they walked through a cloud of butterflies. Near the portal to the Secret Forest of Flight, they kicked though a kaleidoscopic spill of feathers.

Finally, Tank led them to a velvet curtain marked “Zoo Security.” To get through, they had to cram themselves into a small room. There was enough light to see that in front of them was a pair of folding doors that opened outward. Noah realized they were in a closet.

Ella said, “You sure we’re not about to step into Narnia.”

Tank chuckled. “Narnia’s make-believe, girl.” Then he pushed through.

They walked into a place that Noah immediately realized was the small security building at the front of the Clarksville Zoo. The building had a wall with long tinted windows that looked out at the main gates. Another wall had dozens of black-and-white security monitors mounted to it. At a desk in front of this wall sat a man with fire-bright red hair. With his back to Tank and the scouts, he was thumbing through a magazine and bobbing his head as an iPod poured music into his ears. When Tank tapped him on the shoulder, he spun around, revealing a frightened, freckled face. Charlie Red, one of the scouts’ biggest enemies.

Charlie jumped from his chair. “Tank—you want to give me a heart attack!”

Tank bellowed laughter and clapped Charlie on the shoulder. “Sorry, man,” he said. “Just thought we’d drop by.”

“Next time, call first,” Charlie said. His gaze wandered off to the scouts, and he said, “Oh, you brought company.”

“Yes, indeed,” Tank said. “Just showing our little friends the ropes.”

Charlie considered this. Without taking his eyes off the scouts, he said, “And you think that’s a good idea?”

“Mr. D does,” Tank said. “And that’s pretty much all that matters.” He turned to the scouts and said, “C’mon, gang. Time to go home.” Then he headed for the nearby exit.

Charlie leaned toward the scouts, stuck his chest out, and scowled at them as they passed. Richie cowered to one side. But Ella crossed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and shoved her face right back at him.

Outside, Tank said, “We’ll send a message with Marlo to set up the next crosstraining. We’ll spend some more time in the Grottoes.”

Noah thought of all they had seen today. “What more is there?” he asked.

Tank winked and said, “Oh . . . there’s so much more. Why don’t we keep it a surprise.”

With that, the big man turned and walked back into the security building. The scouts looked at one another and realized the place for words was gone. They turned, headed through the main gates, and made their way home.