Secrets and Shadows by Bryan Chick

Author:Bryan Chick [Chick, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062069580
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-02-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The Grottoes

“Megan!” Noah called out as he stood by the front door. “I’m going over to Richie’s! I’ll be back by supper!”

From somewhere inside the Nowicki house came Megan’s response: “We just got home from school!” It was Wednesday, the day after the incredible incident at Butterfly Nets.

“Yeah . . . so?”

A pause, then Megan’s voice. “Whatever. See you later.”

Noah tore out the front door and grabbed his bicycle from the garage. At the street, he turned in the opposite direction. He had no intention of visiting his friend—he was headed for Butterfly Nets for a better look at the Secret Zoo passage that Tank and Tameron had taken. His parents wouldn’t be getting home from work for more than an hour, so he had enough time to do this.

He sped down the street, swerving past kids who were still walking home from school. He turned onto the sidewalk beside Walkers Boulevard and soon pulled into the parking lot of the Clarksville Zoo. He left his bike and headed inside, waving his zoo membership card like a badge to the attendant at the booth.

He hurried across the zoo and slipped into Butterfly Nets, which was no longer “closed for construction.” He walked beside the waterfalls and trees, and beneath the gabled glass roof. Butterflies darted all around. He smiled at an elderly couple, then crossed the narrow bridge to the clearing where Tameron had held crosstraining.

He stood at the railing along the edge of the open space and peered through the trees until he spotted the tigers’ faint paw prints. The markings faded away toward the back of a tall rock formation. Noah moved around for a better angle to see behind the rock, but couldn’t find one.

He could think of only one way to get a full look.

Noah glanced over both shoulders. The elderly couple had wandered off and now had their backs to him. He took a deep breath and considered his next move.

“Don’t do this,” he told himself. “Just go home.”

After glancing around a second time, he closed out his thoughts, then slipped through the horizontal bars. He hunkered low and stepped softly forward, twisting his body to avoid branches.

Somewhere, a door creaked. Noah stopped and peered out through the bushes and trees. Not far off, a family of five had just entered the building. Three young kids were jumping around excitedly, pointing at butterflies. They were headed down the visitor path in Noah’s general direction.

A wave of panic washed over Noah. He hunkered lower than ever and hurried on. He reached the rock formation, which sat several feet away from an outside wall. The rock reached into the glassy heights, a waterfall splashing noisily down its front side. Butterflies were perched along it, warming in the sunlight. On the ground in the near-private space between the rock and the wall, a flight of stairs led into the dark earth. Here, the paw prints ended. Were the Grottoes at the end of the stairs? More than a dozen butterflies flew out of the dark ground and scattered into the air.

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