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, 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
