Two huge tigers with blue fur were lying on a platform behind the thick glass of the observation window.
“That’s right,” Christine said. “Maltese tigers actually, from the Fujian Province of China.”
“Big deal. So you dyed them,” Shane said.
Even though Shane could be a pain in the ass, Nick was glad to see that he was in true form and no longer seemed upset about his father.
“No, they weren’t dyed. One has the allele gene, which has the unusual trait to cause an abnormality in the pigmentation; in this case, the color blue. The other tiger is a clone and is an exact replica, right down to each hair fiber.”
Nick had to admit they looked identical. It was like one tiger was lying next to a mirror image of itself. “How much do they weigh?” he asked.
“They each weigh exactly the same: nine hundred and sixty-three pounds. That makes them the second largest big cats in the world.”
“Holy cow,” a woman said.
“If you think they’re impressive, take a look at our mngwa, which is Tanzanian for ‘giant cat.’” Christine said. She stepped away from the tigers and directed everyone’s attention to the other enclosure.
Nick remembered when they had first entered the dome and saw the plaque on the pedestal of the covered statue that had the same name, though at the time he had no idea what it meant.
Two black panthers were pacing inside the glass enclosure. Each one was as tall as a mule.
“These look bigger than the tigers,” Nick said.
“That’s right,” Christine confirmed. “These bioengineered animals are male and female and we hope will become a mated pair. The male is slightly larger and weighs just under twelve hundred pounds, the female, a thousand.”
“Making them the largest in the cat family,” Nick concluded.
“Exactly,” Christine said. “Now, if you will all follow me, we have a bit of a climb ahead of us.” She walked over to the bottom step of the spiral staircase and began to go up.
Nick counted one hundred seventy-seven steps by the time they reached a catwalk that ran along the top of the wall encompassing a circular area half the size of a football field above two separate open-air habitats.
“Please hold onto your children’s hands and no hanging over the railing,” Christine instructed. “As you can see, it’s quite a drop to the bottom.”
“Oh my God, Nick. Look at the size of that thing!” Meg said.
“Jesus, is that a bear?”
Christine must have heard Nick because she then said, “That’s right. You are looking at Bergman’s bear, named after the Swedish zoologist Sten Berman who claimed to have tracked one down in Russia. This particular animal stands sixteen feet tall and weighs over four thousand pounds.”
Nick had seen pictures of adult grizzlies and polar bears and thought they were huge but Bergman’s bear put them all to shame and made them look like cubs in comparison. He could feel the platform vibrate as it lumbered about its enclosure. It stood on its hind legs and scratched its back against the concrete wall, brushing off small pieces of cement. He wondered if there was any threat of the wall crumbling. Surely someone was monitoring the bear’s activity. He’d have to make a special note in his report.
The bear gazed up and saw everyone staring down. It opened its maw and let out a thunderous roar, the same sound they had heard earlier.
Even from where he stood, almost seventy feet above the bear, Nick swore he could feel the heat of its breath on his face.
He turned and saw that some of the group were already following Christine as she walked around the observation deck toward the other habitat, which was overgrown with fifty-foot tall eucalyptus trees, high grass, and yuccas.
Christine waited until everyone was situated before saying, “Here we have the giant ground sloth, also called Megatherium.”
It took a second or two before Nick saw the mammoth creature through the tree branches. It was bigger than Bergman’s bear and much stockier. A five-foot long tongue wrapped around a low-hanging branch and stripped off the leaves.
“This creature is believed to have lived in the Early Pliocene period. It weighs a whopping four tons and stands over twenty feet tall. As you can see, it has massive claws. They are so long that it can’t put its soles flat on the ground and must walk on the sides of its feet.”
“Those claws look like they could do some serious damage,” Meg said.
Nick had to agree. Each claw was curved and had to be at least two feet long.
“Some paleontologists believe the ground sloth was carnivorous and may have even hunted saber-toothed tigers.”
“Yeah, right,” Shane said disbelievingly.
Carnivorous or not, Nick couldn’t help worrying what kept the gargantuan creature from digging its way out or clawing through the cement, thoughts that continued to nag him even after the tour ended and they’d left the building.
20
FEEDING TIME
Tilly O’Brien sat in the driver’s seat of the Cushman while Cam Morgan lifted another bin of freshly butchered meat onto the flatbed. He pushed the container up against the other food bins then came around and scooted onto the front passenger seat.
“We’re good to go,” Cam said.
Tilly pressed down on the accelerator and the electric cart took off, humming down the long tunnel at 5 miles an hour.
The beams of the small headlights were only good for a short distance, which was adequate whenever they were in the vicinity of the yellow globe lights staggered throughout the tunnels, though some places were pitch black in the dark maze.
Another Cushman exited an adjacent tunnel and came right at them, the driver blinding them with a powerful spotlight, forcing Cam and Tilly to shield their eyes.
Tilly swerved and almost crashed against the sidewall.
“Beecher, knock off the shit or I’m going to kick your ass!” Cam yelled at the man in the other vehicle as it narrowly missed them as it went by.
“Got to catch me first!”
Cam turned in his seat to issue another tirade but Beecher had already vanished down the tunnel.
“One of these days his pranks are going to get someone hurt,” Tilly said.
“Killed is more like it. Hopefully one day he’ll be the brunt of his own joke. Who are we feeding first?”
“The bipeds,” Tilly said.
“Shouldn’t we be bringing a goat for the chupacabras?”
“Dr. McCabe sent me an e-mail asking that we don’t feed them tonight.”
“I don’t think he likes the little bloodsuckers much,” Cam said. “I’ve seen the way he treats them. There’s something about that guy.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve never really liked him.” Tilly pulled into a small parking area and turned off the Cushman.
Cam climbed out and walked around to the back while Tilly grabbed the pushcart parked by the wall and brought it over.
They dragged eight bins off the flatbed and stacked them on the cart.
Cam pushed the loaded cart over to the elevator marked: BIPED HABITAT EMPLOYEES ONLY. He tapped the up button and the doors opened. They got inside and rode up to the main floor.
When the elevator stopped, they stepped out into a curved corridor that ran around the back walls of each habitat.
“You know it’d go faster if we split up,” Cam said. Standard procedure dictated that two zookeepers worked together at all times during feeding times to ensure each one’s safety.
“You know the rules,” Tilly said.
“Let’s start with the yeren and work our way around then.”
“Okay.”
Cam pushed the cart down the corridor and stopped at the first door.
He grabbed the keycard hanging from a lanyard around his neck and swiped the reader on the wall. The lock disengaged and he opened the door. An overhead light automatically came on in a small room slightly bigger than a broom closet.
Tilly stepped inside first a
nd flipped on a few breakers, turning on four flat screen monitors on the wall. Each image on the screens was a different angle of the yeren’s jungle enclosure.
The giant ape-like creature was nowhere to be seen.
“I have to say for being such a big guy, he sure knows how to make himself scarce,” Cam said, carrying in a bin full of bunched bananas and guava fruit.
“Are you set?” Tilly asked.
“Open it,” Cam replied.
Tilly ran her keycard down the lock release and pushed the door open.
Cam immediately stepped through the doorway and spilled the mixed fruit onto the ground. He wasn’t too worried, as the yeren never exhibited any violent behavior and was more of a gentle giant.
But his training taught him never to take chances so he stepped quickly back into the room. Tilly immediately closed the door and set the lock.
They moved on to the bigfoot habitat. One monitor showed a bigfoot halfway across the enclosure, sleeping on a pile of pine needles. The image of the second bigfoot was on another screen, sitting by the berry bush.
“What do you think?” Tilly asked.
“This might be a good time,” Cam said, figuring the bigfoot squatting on the ground was probably twenty feet away from the door, giving him more than enough time to open the door and throw out some meat and fruit before it tried to rush at him.
As soon as Tilly opened the door, Cam took a single step out and tossed the shanks of meat and raw fruit out onto the ground. He stepped back and Tilly shut the door.
They proceeded to the yeti habitat.
Cam stood by the door with a container of meat. “You know, at first I had trouble telling them apart.”
“Not anymore,” Tilly said.
Cam looked up at the monitors. He saw the pristine-white yeti sitting in the fake snow—Burt Owen’s animatronic.
The other yeti—the bioengineered one—was standing at the mouth of the cave with bloodstains on its fur.
“Ready?” Tilly asked.
“Go!”
Tilly opened the door wide enough so Cam could chuck out the meat then slammed it closed.
They left the room and proceeded down the corridor, bypassing the chupacabras’ habitat and stopping at the bili apes’ enclosure.
Cam grabbed a bin off the pushcart. Tilly held the door for him as he stepped inside the staging room.
Tilly turned on the monitors.
The four apes were sitting on the tractor tires, facing each other, like a congregation of conspiring thugs.
Tilly looked at Cam. “You want to come back, maybe then they’ll be asleep?”
“No, let’s just get this over with.” Cam knew Tilly dreaded whenever they had to feed the massive apes, as they were unpredictable brutes, which was why none of the other zookeepers would get near the creatures.
“In and out.” Tilly poised herself by the door. “Ready?”
“Go!”
Tilly slid her keycard and swung the door open.
Cam stepped out with the bin of meat and slipped on a slimy puddle of urine. He fell back against the door causing it to slam shut.
He immediately scrambled to his feet, his hands and clothes reeking of primate piss. He shot a glance over at the tractor tires.
The bili apes were gone.
“Shit!” Cam turned and slammed his fist on the door. “Tilly! Open the damn door.”
He could hear the bili apes stampeding toward him.
The door remained closed.
“Damn it, Tilly.” He glanced over his shoulder.
The muscular apes charged through the fake jungle setting, howling and baring their teeth like a bunch of lunatic escapees from an insane asylum.
In seconds they would be upon him, grabbing his arms and legs, ripping them clear out of the sockets, disemboweling him with their bare hands as they chewed off his face and ate his penis and ripped off his balls.
Suddenly, the door opened and Cam dove into the room onto the floor.
Tilly pulled the door closed.
The apes crashed into the barrier. Cam thought for sure the door was going to come off its hinges but it was thick-gauged steel and held. The monstrous primates screeched and slammed their fists on the door and surrounding wall.
Tilly dropped to her knees and looked at Cam. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“Jesus, Tilly, didn’t you hear me calling you?”
“I couldn’t open the door.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was some kind of malfunction. My keycard wouldn’t work. I had to override the lock with the emergency release.”
“Shit, that’s not good.”
21
BIG MISTAKE
Gabe had become sleepy watching TV and had just dozed off when Shane plopped on the side of his bed and startled him awake.
“Get up, Gabe. We’re going out!”
Gabe sat up and gazed about the room. “What time is it?”
“Hell, I don’t know,” Shane said, jumping up and pacing the floor. “Let’s go and explore.”
Gabe glanced over at the clock radio on the nightstand. “Shane, it’s two in the morning.”
“So?”
“I don’t think they want us roaming around out there without supervision.”
“What, now you’re a kindergartener?” Shane took a moment and gave Gabe the royal stare down. “Or maybe you’re chicken? Need to get mommy’s permission?”
“Shut up, and stop being a jerk!” Gabe didn’t like it when Shane made wisecracks about his parents, especially his mom. Even though he was always going over and hanging out with Shane, Gabe never considered him a close friend, as he was too bossy and obnoxious. It was just an excuse to get out of the house.
“Fine, stay, you little pansy.” Shane put on his sweatshirt, pulled the hood up over his head, and started for the door.
Gabe was feeling wide-awake after their little altercation and knew there was no way he was going sleep. Maybe it would be fun sneaking out, just as long as they didn’t get caught. “Okay, I’m coming.”
“Well, will you looky here. Gabe just found his balls.”
“Yeah, and you’re still an ass.”
“Touché brother.”
Gabe put on his hooded sweatshirt too; that way he could keep his face from being seen by any surveillance cameras. He’d seen a few of the security guards walking the premises, some of them looking tough enough to maybe have been cops or servicemen in the military.
The last thing he wanted was to embarrass his dad in front of his work buddies, but then he figured the worst that could happen was they’d get a warning and be escorted back to the hotel.
No harm, no foul.
They snuck out of their room and tiptoed down the hallway.
“We’ll take the stairs,” Shane said.
Gabe followed Shane to the fire door. They quietly entered the stairwell and crept down the cement steps all the way to the ground floor.
“What if there’s an alarm?” Gabe asked, as Shane put both hands on the push bar on the exit door.
“Only one way to find out.” Shane shoved the door open.
No alarm sounded; at least, none that they could hear.
When they stepped outside it was dark and Gabe expected to see a night sky full of stars. Instead, he saw the massive underbelly structure of the dome roof looming 25 stories above their heads.
They cut around the backside of the hotel.
Gabe noticed a sign that the pool was closed. He could hear weird birdcalls coming from the Aviary. Bergman’s bear’s bestial roar boomed from the far side of the cavernous stadium.
The grounds reminded Gabe of pictures he’d seen of Central Park in the evening as they kept to the shadows to avoid being spotted by anyone out patrolling the premises.
There were lampposts illuminating the pathways and decorative outdoor lighting positioned around the plants and shrubs surrounding the nearby buildings.
“Where are we goi
ng?” Gabe whispered, scurrying after Shane.
“You’ll see. Come on!” Shane dashed off and Gabe followed closely behind as they bolted down the walkway and sprinted up the hill.
“What are we doing here?” Gabe asked when they passed by the Sea Monster Cove sign.
“I’m going to prove to you the sea serpent is fake. A million dollars it’s one of Burt Owen’s animatronics.”
“Like you got a million dollars.”
“You know what I mean,” Shane said, strutting off.
Gabe followed him over to the bleachers and they quietly stepped down each row until they reached concrete steps that stretched almost to the water’s edge. The surface was inky black except for a luminous shimmer from a single light on the bank. A sleepless sauropod let out a wonk inside the cave.
Water slopped up against the concrete wall.
“It’s swimming around down there,” Gabe said, watching the water ripple.
“Probably just some pumps,” Shane scoffed.
“You saw it when it jumped out of the water,” Gabe said, thinking back when they had witnessed the cadborosaurus leap out of the cove to catch the fish Christine had released down the chute. “Tell me that wasn’t real?”
“Hey, I’m telling you it’s a mechanical sea serpent on a track like the Jaws shark that attacks that ride at Universal Studios. Let’s get closer and I’ll prove it.”
“You really think that’s a good idea?”
But before Shane could answer, the sea monster’s head burst out of the water like an exploding geyser, drenching Gabe and Shane. It raised its long neck and stared down at the two teenagers.
“Run!” Shane screamed.
Gabe scrambled right behind Shane.
The sea serpent let out a strange bellow and lunged across the water, its mouth gaping open. It snapped its teeth, narrowly missing Gabe as he scampered up the concrete steps. He was too scared to look back.
They reached the lower row of the bleachers and kept climbing.
Gabe heard a loud splash. He turned around and saw that the sea serpent had submerged. “Think it’s fake now?” he yelled at Shane as they made it to the platform.
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