Chapter 23
The Beginning of the End

Megan lay in bed tossing, getting tangled in the sheets. Every ten minutes or so, she’d peer at her bedside clock. Now it was almost one o’clock in the morning, two days after the Punchy incident. She kept thinking about the Grottoes, the Gifteds, and what had happened in the Secret Polliwog Bog. She kept seeing the clump of fur that Tank had shown them beneath the Knickknack and Snack Shack. How soon before the sasquatches attacked her neighborhood? Could they be stopped?

She wrestled out of bed and donned her glasses, hoping to rid herself of the images in her head. At the window, she looked out. The sky was starry and bright, the streets calm and quiet. A dusting of snow covered the grass. She peered out for the tarsiers and failed to spot them in the distant trees. Deciding that she needed a glass of orange juice, she crept out of her room and tiptoed down the hall, glancing through the half-open bedroom doors as she went. Everyone was asleep.

She walked down the stairs, crossed the kitchen, and went to the fridge, where she took out the juice and poured a glass. Sipping it, she gazed out the window at Fort Scout. Even in the bright night, it was impossible to see the Descender inside it.

She wondered who was posted in Fort Scout. Maybe she could sneak across the backyard and peek in. Maybe it would ease her mind and help her sleep. It would just take a minute.

“Forget it,” she told herself. “Dumb idea.”

She gulped the last of her juice and turned from the sink, intending to go upstairs. Instead she found herself walking to the back door, where she put on her jacket, her fleece headband, and her gloves. Without another thought, she slipped through the creaking door and eased it shut.

The wind stung her cheeks and swirled the powdery snow. She dashed across the yard and clambered up the ladder to Fort Scout. Pushing through the door, she discovered three Secret Cityzens: Sam, Marlo, and Podgy. Podgy was standing at the back of the fort, and Sam was kneeling beside the window, squinting into binoculars. Marlo, perched on the sill, spotted Megan and chirped.

Sam dropped the binoculars against his leg and stared at Megan. “You’re joking, right?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

“And what? You thought you’d rest better out here in the freezing cold?”

Megan crossed the fort and knelt by Sam. Marlo jumped to her shoulder, chirped twice, then fluttered his wings. Podgy waddled over.

Looking at Podgy, Megan said, “I can honestly say that I never expected to sit in this tree fort with a penguin. Never, ever.” Ideas and emotions swirled inside her like beads in the bowl of a kaleidoscope.

“You guys hear about the change of plans?” Sam asked as he hoisted his binoculars again and stared through them.

“Change of plans?” Megan repeated.

“Yeah. The Gifted in the Grottoes—gone for now.”

“Seriously?”

“Too dangerous. What happened with Punchy a few nights ago—the Secret Council was tripping out.”

“What about your best Gifteds? Can’t you guys keep a few in?”

Sam slowly swung his binoculars over to a new spot. “Council has it under review. For now, it’s just us and the usual animals—the ones that we’ve trained to do this.”

Megan opened her mouth to say more and then closed it again. She stared at the floor and considered this. Was this a good thing? Or did it put her world in more danger?

“What about the other Descenders?” she finally asked. “You guys said there’s a whole bunch besides you four.”

Sam shook his head. “That’s under review, too. Right now, they’re wrapped up in their own business, guarding the city gateways. We can’t take them off post.”

Megan stayed quiet and considered this. Was it better to keep more guard on the City of Species or her neighborhood? She didn’t know.

Podgy, perhaps sensing Megan’s concern, waddled closer to her. Megan hugged him briefly with one arm and allowed a smile onto her lips.

After some time, Megan asked, “Have you seen anything weird?”

“Not yet,” Sam said. “But the night’s young.”

For about ten minutes, the two of them chatted about things. They discussed the patrols, the tarsiers, and the Grottoes. As they talked, Marlo swung his beak back and forth between them, as if following the conversation. Just as Megan was about to ask a question about Mr. Darby, Sam raised his hand, stopping her. He fixed his stare on the floor and touched two fingertips to his ear. His body froze, and his eyes shifted nervously. Someone was talking into his headset.

“How many?” he asked.

Podgy began to rock back and forth. Marlo paced along Megan’s shoulder, his tiny talons pricking her jacket. Megan studied Sam and tried to read the emotions on his face.

“Roger,” he said. “Out.”

“What is it?” Megan asked.

Sam dropped his fingers from his earpiece and faced her. Marlo jumped back to the windowsill, where he hopped around, chirping wildly. Podgy rushed to the open door and stared out at the zoo.

“Sam, what’s wrong?”

“Sasquatches,” he managed to say. “Charlie spotted them. They’re roaming inside Creepy Critters. And at least one is out—loose in the zoo.”

Megan gasped and stared out at the Clarksville Zoo. She spotted the distant dark rooftop of Creepy Critters. Somewhere inside it, sasquatches were tramping down the halls.

The binoculars slipped from Sam’s grasp and clunked on the wood planks. The Descender shook the confusion from his head and jumped into action.

“Marlo,” he said. “Get Ella, then Richie. Make sure they know it’s an emergency.”

The kingfisher sprang off the windowsill into the night sky.

“Megan, I need you to get inside and wake up your brother. Make sure—”

But before Sam could finish, Podgy had leaped to the frame of the open window and hurled himself into the air. Stroking his flippers, he sank like a rock. Then, just when he seemed certain to slam down, he flew in a straight line, inches off the ground. Across the yard he went, his round belly swirling the powdery snow. He reached the house and swept up along the wall to Noah’s second-story room, landing in a wide flower box on the window ledge.

“Forget that,” Sam told Megan. “Podgy’s already on it.” He shot her a glance and seemed to detect her apprehension. “Megan, I need you to be sharp. Are you sharp?”

“I . . . I think so,” said Megan.

“Don’t think,” Sam shouted. “Know! We need you right now—we need all the scouts!”

“But what about the Descenders guarding the gateways?” Megan asked. “Can we—”

“They got their hands full. The sasquatches . . . right now they’re hitting the City of Species.”

Megan’s head spun. High in a tree fort filled with unimaginable guests, she suddenly felt certain she was witnessing the beginning of the end.