While the scouts made their way to the front gates, two men stepped into Rhinorama. Because the lights hadn’t yet been restored, everything was perfectly dark.
They headed across the empty outdoor exhibit, their feet crunching the snow. They walked along a fake mountainside and arrived at Little Bighorn’s cave. One man scanned the zoo grounds, reassuring himself that they hadn’t been seen. He was tall and lanky, with a thatch of fire-engine red hair. Charlie Red. With a sweep of his arm, he invited the other man into the cave.
Draped in a black trench coat, the second man wore a fedora hat with a wide circular brim. As he ducked his head to enter the cave, he uttered a few words to Charlie.
“Nicely done, Mr. Red.”
His voice was so gravelly and hoarse that he hardly sounded human. Something seemed wrong with his vocal cords, or his tongue, or his lungs, or all three. He sounded as if his fleshy insides were rotting.
Charlie Red nodded. Then he stood by and watched as the Shadowist disappeared into the cave—the cave with a portal into the Secret Zoo.
Minutes after leaving Rhinorama, Charlie Red opened the door to the main power facility for the Clarksville City Zoo, a small building near the entrance. Once inside, he unclipped his walkie-talkie and raised it to his lips.
“I’m at the front power station. Confirming authorization to restore power.”
Mr. Darby’s voice came through the speaker. “Charles, we’re ready on this end. Please proceed.” As Charlie Red used his flashlight to find the proper switches, Mr. Darby added, “Excellent emergency plan, Charles. The prairie dogs, the chickadees—everything worked perfectly. Even Blizzard and Little Bighorn arrived in time. And hiding the zoo in darkness was just outstanding! I think we can be confident that our actions were not spotted by Outsiders. And we can be certain none of the sasquatches escaped.”
Charlie located the switches and turned them on. “Thank you, sir.”
“Tank and I are still working with the Constructors. Again, I applaud you. Everything worked according to your plan.”
The walkie-talkie went silent, and Charlie replaced it on his hip. He stepped outside and watched the lights blink on across the landscape. Under his breath, he said, “I know, old man. Everything is going exactly according to my plan.”
With that, Charlie Red closed the door and headed back to his post.