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
