I flicked my forked tongue. Standing on my hind legs, I pressed my snout against the metal bars. “Yes, it’s me.”
The bear stood on his hind legs. “You’re a Komodo dragon!”
“You’re a grizzly bear.”
Austin surveyed his mammoth paws. “That’s what I was afraid of. I hoped it was a bad dream.”
“It’s not a dream. It’s a nightmare. Somehow we’ve become animals. I don’t know how it happened.”
“Gramps will look for us,” said Austin. “Maybe he’ll know what happened.”
“I hope he knows how to change us back. Meanwhile, we’ve got to get out of here.” I scanned the space behind him. “Where’s the door to this cage?”
“I’m afraid to find out. There are two bears back there.”
“You’re a bear too, dummy. Go look.”
Austin lumbered towards the back of the enclosure, staying as far away from the other bears as he could. He nosed around for a few minutes, then stood on his hind legs and patted at the wall. Nothing opened.
“There’s no door.” His voice was sad. “There’s no way out.”
I stretched my neck to see better. “There has to be. You got in, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure how.” Tears welled in his eyes. He looked like a big bad grizzly bear, but inside he was really only a scared little boy. I looked like a Komodo dragon, but I was just a scared kid, too.
The Austin bear sat down with his lower legs stretched out in front of him. He leaned his head against the bars. He hadn’t had any breakfast or lunch. He was probably really hungry. Before we tried to escape, I had to find food. I didn’t want him weak and fainting. I couldn’t carry a seven-hundred pound bear out of here.
“This could take time, Austin. Have you had anything to eat?”
He shook his furry head. “All they gave us was raw fish. I couldn’t eat it. You know I hate fish.”
This was awful. I had to feed my poor brother, fast.
“I’ll find you something to eat, Austin. Wait here.”
“Like I’m going anywhere,” mumbled Austin.
I crawled away and hid behind the hippo statue. Nearby was an ice-cream cart. No one was manning it. I hurried over and smacked the cart with my tail. The cart fell over on its side. The top came open. All the ice cream goodies fell out onto the pavement. Popsicles, nutty cones and ice cream bars rolled out. Orange pushups tumbled out of their boxes. I swallowed a bunch of ice cream, paper and all. I found a paper bag and pushed cones and pushups into it. Carrying the bag with my teeth, I hurried back to Austin.
Behind me, someone started to scream. “The Komodo is loose! The Komodo is loose!”
Austin clambered up onto his back paws. With a shake of my head, I hurled the ice cream at the bars. Some of the goodies flew into the cage, and some landed on the ledge. Austin stuck out a furry paw and pulled the ice cream towards him.
“Get out of here,” he yelled. “Don’t let them catch you!”
Zoo employees ran at me from all directions. Two held catch-poles with nooses. A uniformed guard drove up in a golf cart. He was holding a gun, too; one that probably fired real bullets. They wouldn’t take any chances. They didn’t know I was only an eighth-grade boy. They thought I was a Komodo dragon. If they thought I was going to hurt someone, they’d shoot me. The Komodo would be dead, and so would I. I took off, running as fast as my scaly legs would carry me.
They were fast, but I was faster. Komodos can run twelve miles an hour, and that’s more than most humans. I scurried down the main walkway and darted into the African compound. The zoo train waited in the station. The man who drove the train was cleaning the cars. I slid into the driver’s seat and pushed the key with my claw. The engine purred. The train rolled forward. The engineer shrieked and dropped his bag of trash. He bellowed, waving his fist in the air.
By the time the DART team arrived on the platform, the train was halfway around the track. I leaped off the train and landed in the field. Zebras, giraffes and kudus scattered. They ran straight into the path of the DART team. I followed the train track through the tunnel and out on the other side. Soon I was back on the main zoo walkway. The DART team was far behind.
Something smelled delicious. Another food stand was closing down. The man who ran it was cleaning the grill. Hamburgers and buns were piled on the counter; boxes of popcorn and bags of cotton candy, too. I hurried to the counter, pulled myself up and gobbled up hamburgers. The man screamed and fled. I shoved several burgers into a bag and clenched it between my teeth. If I hurried, maybe I could throw the bag to Austin before the DART team caught me.
It was too late. Several people in zoo uniforms were running toward me. I turned the corner and headed toward the parking lot. It was a big space with lots of room. I’d let them chase me for a while. Pretty soon they’d get tired. Then I could double back and give my brother some burgers.
“Don’t scare him. Let me try to lure him back with food.” It was Tim, the zookeeper for the Reptile House.
“Too late! He’s heading for the exit,” yelled somebody else. “Get the noose over his head. Put him out, now!”
A golf cart pulled up next to me. A rope fell over my head. Something soft was wrapped around my snout so I couldn’t open my mouth. I was lifted onto a wagon. I rolled past the grizzlies. A very large bear stood near the edge of the enclosure. I tried to throw him a bag of hamburgers, but it didn’t go far. My eyes grew heavier and heavier. Soon I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I was back in the Reptile House. I looked at my reflection in the glass. I was still a Komodo dragon. Austin was still a grizzly bear. He was still hungry, and that was the saddest thing of all.
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,