Kingdom Keepers II(50)

angelface13: hey, guys, right behind u.





Finn spun around, looking for her.

angelface13:2 your left.





Finn glanced in that direction.

Finn saw her first: a paler green shape amid the dark green of the undergrowth. She was on the stilts and ten feet into the jungle, all but invisible thanks to the twisting vine of leaves that disguised her. It was only when she made a slight motion that he was able to spot her. The boys moved closer to the jungle so they could talk to Charlene in a whisper.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the enclosure as Maybeck asked,” she said. “There’s been a lot of activity, a lot of coming and going through those doors at the rear. The workers have paid particular attention to that big bat near the red flag on the far left. Twice they’ve carried him through to the back and then returned him out front. I don’t know if that’s the one that was in the pillowcase, but…it might be.”

Finn and Maybeck weren’t where they could see well into the enclosure. Maybeck walked steadily closer to the viewing station, leaving Finn behind. He positioned himself with a decent view of the enclosure, then turned toward Finn, and both shrugged and nodded, as if to say: It’s certainly big enough to be the same one.

Finn said, “We need to get back there and find out what’s in those cages.”

“No way!” Maybeck protested.

Charlene asked, “Still no sign of Willa and Philby?”

“No,” Finn answered with a heavy heart.

“I think I have an idea,” Charlene said. “A way to find out what’s going on back there.”

Finn, surprised by Charlene’s offer, turned toward the jungle to face her—though because of the way she blended in, he found it difficult to see her. Maybeck’s attention remained fully focused on the enclosure. He and Charlene were opposites: Maybeck tended to react too quickly to situations and liked to work as a loner; Charlene rarely contributed in discussions, and when she did participate, enjoyed working as part of a team.

“What are you thinking?” Finn asked.

“I’m going to need a diversion,” Charlene whispered. “Something big. Something everyone will watch. And by everyone, I mean every last bird and caterpillar, and especially the people and bats”





36


INGENIOUS, FINN THOUGHT as he moved through the swinging doors and into the forward viewing booth. There were three levels of viewing offered at the bat enclosure, three open-air rooms constructed of dark wood that led the Park guest closer to the risk of contact with the flying rodents. The first viewing room offered glass windows; the middle room, screens; and the final room—more of a long booth—nothing but well-spaced vertical wooden bars to keep the large bats at bay. The bars were clearly wide enough for Finn to poke his head through, yet too narrow for the extended wings of the large African bats.

Finn kept his cap pulled down snugly, hoping to avoid being recognized; that was the kind of distraction he could do without. The viewing room was staffed by a college-age girl in a ranger’s uniform. Presently, she was answering the questions of two young boys who had too much energy for such a small space. Their mother seemed unwilling to contain them, which served Finn’s purpose well. He slipped the case off his father’s BlackBerry and stepped close to the open-air viewing windows, hoisting the phone to take a picture. He pressed up to the bars, a warm breeze striking him, and caught a fleeting and exasperated glance from the ranger, who was finding her patience taxed by the two boys.

Finn purposely fumbled with the phone and case, allowing the case to slip out of his hands and fall through the bars, down into the enclosure. He pocketed the phone.

“My case!” he shouted. He jumped up onto the sill and began to squeeze himself through the bars.

Finn was relatively slight of build. He actually got partway through the bars before the ranger’s strong hand grasped him by the upper arm.

“GET OUT OF THERE!!” the girl screamed at the top of her lungs, pulling on him. “YOU CAN’T GO IN THERE!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”

The effect was exactly what Charlene had hoped for: every human eye was drawn to Finn; some of the bats were spooked by the ranger’s admonishments. For a few precious seconds, the ranger pulled and Finn resisted.

“My case!” he hollered.

“GET DOWN FROM THERE!”

Finn stole one quick glance. Maybeck helped Charlene, on stilts, through the jungle door and into the enclosure. Charlene’s ivy-clad costume pushed up against the rocks at the far end of the enclosure, and within seconds a miracle occurred: she disappeared. DeVine’s costume fit into the environment so well that her form appeared as ivy growing up the rocks. There was no mistaking this whatsoever for a girl on stilts. The change was extraordinary.