Читать книгу Curse of the Komodo - M.C. Berkhousen - Страница 9

Chapter Three—Frozen Rats

The next day was Saturday. Austin and I had been in the zoo since Friday morning. People must be missing us by now. What did our teachers think when zoo security didn’t find us? Did Gramps call our parents? Did he call the police? It didn’t matter. The police could look for us day and night, but they wouldn’t find us. Not while we were trapped in the bodies of animals.

My escape attempt had failed. I hadn’t rescued Austin, either. But at least he knew he wasn’t kept here alone. He knew I was here, and that I’d help him.

Austin was in danger. I was alone in my cage, but he was with two other bears. What if they tried to hurt him? He wouldn’t know how to protect himself. Austin got good grades at school, but didn’t know much about animals. It was up to me. He was my brother. I had to help him survive until we got out of here.

Tim opened the back door of the Komodo enclosure and stepped inside. The veterinarian was with him. They stayed by the door, watching me.

“How are you, old buddy?” Tim slid a rabbit across the concrete floor toward me.

I sniffed the rabbit. He must have nuked it in the microwave, because it was warm. It smelled disgusting. No way was I going to eat that thing. I crawled away and flopped down in the straw.

What was Austin having for dinner? Bears ate fish and berries. He hated fish. I hoped they gave him some berries. I wished they’d give me something else, too. I was hungry enough to eat vegetables. Cabbage, even. Anything but raw rabbit.

“He’s off his food,” said the veterinarian. He squatted down to stare at me, and I read his nametag. Bob Hartley, DVM, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

“He didn’t eat last night, either,” said Tim. “He usually likes rabbits.”

Doctor Hartley had a syringe with a long needle in his hand. Was he going to give me a shot?

“Hold him steady while I take a blood sample,” said Dr. Hartley.

I didn’t like the sound of that. I’d had shots before, but never with a needle that long.

"This won't hurt a bit, old buddy," said Tim. The vet took blood from my tail. I didn’t even feel it.

“This Komodo has red scales on the top of his head,” said the vet.

Tim frowned. “No, he doesn’t. He’s all gray.”

“Look.” The vet gently touched my head.

Tim bent over to have a closer look. “You’re right. He never had those red scales before. Maybe he got injured when we moved him onto the wagon.”

I studied my reflection in the glass. I couldn’t see the top of my head. All I could see was my ugly Komodo face and my scaly gray legs with claws.

Another man was staring at me through the outside window of the Komodo pen. It was Gramps! I was so glad to see him I almost yelled. Luckily, I closed my mouth just in time. If Tim and the vet heard me talking, they’d probably put me in an animal hospital and do experiments on me. Then I’d never get out.

Tim was still watching me. I put my head down and tried not to appear too excited. After a few minutes, Tim and the vet left. The front door of the Reptile House opened and Gramps entered the room.

I crawled up and pushed my snout against the glass. Gramps bent down and put his hand against the window.

He whispered, “Luke, is that you?”

“It’s me, Gramps!”

“I figured you were here.” Gramps rubbed his neck. He looked very tired. He’d probably been up all night waiting for zoo security to find us.

Before they left, Mom and Dad told us not to upset Gramps. They said he was old and couldn’t handle the stress. I hoped he wouldn’t have a heart attack from seeing his grandsons turned into zoo creatures.

“Gramps, did you see Austin? Is he all right? Did they feed him?”

“He’s in the bear cage, eating berries. What did they give you?”

“Frozen rats. Today they gave me a rabbit. The fur is still on it.”

“Yuk.” Gramps made a face. “I’ll bet you’ll never complain about my cooking again.”

“I’ll never complain about anything again.”

I swished my tail back and forth on the concrete floor. I was glad Tim was gone, because I needed to talk to Gramps. I had a lot of questions.

“What happened to us, Gramps?”

He shook his head and sighed. “It’s a long story. I’d better get a chair.”

He found a metal one nearby and pulled it close to the Komodo enclosure. He looked around to make sure no one else could hear us. Bending his head down to the glass, he whispered, “You were cursed, Luke.”

I flicked my forked tongue at him. “Cursed? What do you mean?”

Gramps scratched his head. He started to speak, and then stopped. He seemed to be having trouble finding the right words. After a minute, he went on.

“This curse has been in our family for years. No one has been changed in a long time, and I thought it had died out. Somehow you two activated it again.”

I shook my head and flicked my forked tongue. “What curse? You never said anything about that.”

“I don’t like to talk about it. I don’t want people to think I’m crazy.”

“You’re sitting on a chair talking to a Komodo dragon. If anybody sees you, they’ll definitely think you’re crazy.”

Gramps rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor. His face was sad.

I tapped my thick nails on the glass. “So what about this curse? Is it like turning into a werewolf or something?”

He sat up and peered at me over his half-glasses. “When the conditions are right, metamorphoses like this can take place at the sub-atomic level.”

“Speak English, Gramps. I don’t understand.”

He gestured with his arm back and forth across the room. “Everything is made of energy—people, animals, trees, even rocks. We are all part of one big energy field.” He made a circling motion with his hand. “The energy vibrates at various rates of speed. Thought energy vibrates very fast and transforms easily. The energy in living things vibrates pretty fast too. The energy in rocks is much slower, so you can’t see them change.”

I paced back and forth inside the glass enclosure, watching him. “I still don’t get it. How did we become animals?”

Gramps tried again to explain, speaking more slowly. “Remember when you two were fighting yesterday morning?”

I blinked. Was that only yesterday? It seemed like ages ago.

Gramps went on. “Austin said he’d rather have a Komodo dragon for a brother. You said you’d rather have a grizzly bear. Remember that? You wished each other to be different.”

I nodded. We’d yelled that at each other in the car on the way to school.

Gramps pointed to the sky. “The electromagnetic field is all around us. When the lightning struck, it altered the electromagnetic field. That caused the energy waves to scramble. The energy from your thoughts created what you both wanted.” He sat back, shaking his head. “That’s what the curse does. During a certain kind of storm, you get what you wish.”

It seemed too weird to be true. “I wished for a pepperoni pizza, too, Gramps. Why didn’t I get that wish?”

Gramps shrugged. “You and Austin were really angry. Anger carries a lot of energy. It’s partly my fault, too. I said you were both acting like you belonged in a zoo. So I added the force of my energy to yours.”

He bent down, looking at me closely. “Did you know you have red scales on top of your head? I wonder if that’s because you have red hair. When you’re a human, I mean.”

I flicked my forked tongue at him. “I don’t care about the red scales. What can we do now? How do we get out of this?”

“We have to wait until the conditions are right again.”

“You mean we can’t change back until there’s another storm? We could be here for weeks!”

“The weather is going to be bad again in a couple of days. We might be able to attract lightning to strike the water tower and alter the electromagnetic field again.”

“Is that all?”

“Not quite. You and Austin have to do your part, too. You have to be thinking the right thoughts when lightning strikes. Otherwise it might not work.”

“You mean we might not become boys again?” My words came out in a terrified shriek.

Gramps shook his head. “Calm down. That’s not what I said.”

He took a deep breath. “You have to wish to be your old self again. To be human. You have to want your brother to be his old self, just the way he was. He has to wish the same about you. You both have to give the thought all your energy.”

“We can do that. I know we can. Just be sure to tell Austin.” I flopped down in the straw. I was tired of pacing around my glass enclosure.

“I have to do my part, too,” said Gramps. “I have to say you belong at home, with me. That won’t be hard, because that is what I think.”

“I want Austin to be home and safe, Gramps. I want that more than anything.”

Gramps smiled. “Good.”

I would do anything to get Austin back home, even if it meant I had to stay here. More than anything, I wanted my brother to be safe.

I took a deep breath. “So now all we have to do is wait for lightning to strike, right?”

Gramps rubbed his chin. “There are a few other requirements, but we’ll talk about those later. First, I have to figure out how to attract lightning to the zoo without anyone getting hurt.”

“What about a lightning rod?”

“We’d have to position it at the top of the water tower to make the lightning hit. It has to be a strong enough strike to alter the electromagnetic field.”

He thought for a minute. “I can get a lightning rod, but somebody will have to take it up there. I can’t do it. It’s a long way up, and I’m too old.”

“I can’t do it either. I’m afraid of heights.”

“I know. Don’t worry, we’ll find someone.”

What if we didn’t? I was being a coward. If it was the only way to save my brother, I’d do it. I’d take the lightning rod up to the top of the water tower. The only problem was I was a Komodo dragon now. Komodos could climb partway up a tree to catch prey, but I didn’t think they could climb water towers. What we needed was a monkey.

Gramps stayed at the zoo all day, going back and forth between the Reptile House and the Grizzly Bear exhibit. At noon he went to the café for a hot dog and a cup of coffee. Then he came back to visit me again. He had a bag of food from the café. Glancing around, he made sure no one was within hearing range.

“I tried to get these hot dogs to Austin,” said Gramps. “But there were too many people around. I couldn’t take the chance. I’ll try again when I leave you.”

At four o’clock, the security guard came into the Reptile House.

“The zoo is closing in fifteen minutes, sir. Please start making your way back to the gate.” The security guard held the door open, waiting for Gramps to exit.

Gramps bent his head down to the cage. “Don’t worry, Luke. We’ll figure this out. Eat your rabbit. You have to stay strong.”

“Gramps, if you can’t get that food to Austin, hide it in the bushes. I’ll try to bring it to him later, when it’s dark.”

“Be careful, Luke. Don’t let them catch you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he left.

I nosed the rabbit. It looked like a stuffed animal I used to keep on my bed. It had the same kind of nose and puffy little tail. But this one smelled bad. There was no way I could eat it. I pushed it under some straw so I wouldn’t have to see it. I’d try to sneak out again later and find some real food. This time I’d have to be extra careful. If I got caught again, they’d probably put a padlock on my door.

A few minutes later, Tim came to check my water supply. He stood at the back of my enclosure and peered in at me.

“How’re you doing, buddy?” He looked toward the pile of straw in the corner. The rabbit’s back paws were sticking out from under the straw. It looked like the rabbit was trying to hide from me.

“You didn’t eat your rabbit,” said Tim. “How about some mice? Want some nice mice?”

I didn’t want any nice mice. I closed my eyes and ignored him. I wanted him to go away so I could think. Tim didn’t go away. He came closer and bent down, squinting at the top of my head.

“You must have been hurt out there yesterday. You’re not acting like yourself at all.”

I lifted my head and flicked my tongue. I wanted to tell Tim to bring me a double cheeseburger and some fries. I didn’t try to say it. I didn’t want him to faint at hearing a talking Komodo. So I put my head down again and closed my eyes. Soon Tim went away.

Outside, the sun was going down. I waited until it was completely dark, and then quietly slid out of my glass cage. There was a new lock on the back door of the Reptile House. The lock had a deadbolt. It was the same kind of sliding bolt we had on our doors at home. That lock might keep ordinary Komodos in, but not a kid who knew how to open it. I pulled myself up against the wall. Then I slid the bolt back with my right claw. Lowering myself to the floor, I crawled out into the cool night air.

Where was that bag of food Gramps brought? I checked the bushes, but couldn’t find it. I looked behind the Reptile House. No bag there, either.

The lights were still on in the restaurant kitchen. A cook came out and dumped leftovers into the trash can. I waited behind a hedge until she turned out the kitchen lights. After a few minutes she left the building. She headed down the path toward the employee parking lot.

I flicked my forked tongue to taste the air. I detected no humans, so I hurried over to the trash cans. I tipped them over one at a time and sorted through the trash with my claws. I gobbled up hot dogs, ketchup and chunks of cheeseburger. In the last trash can, I found a lot of food. There was a half-empty carton of milk, a half-eaten chicken sandwich and rinds of watermelon. I pushed all of this and several half-eaten hot dogs into a paper bag. Carrying the bag between my teeth, I crept toward the bear enclosure. I stayed close to the cages and away from the lights. When I reached the bear cage, I pushed myself up and looked in.

“Austin.” I kept my voice low. “Are you awake?”

A bear meandered to the side of the cage. “Luke, is that you?”

“Do you know any other talking Komodos?” I flung the bag onto the concrete ledge at the front of his enclosure. Austin reached his paw through the bars to grab it. He tore it open and stuffed his mouth with food.

“Thanks, Luke. They gave me raw fish today. I couldn’t eat it. If there’s anything I hate worse than tuna salad, it’s raw fish.”