CHAPTER 1 POLAR PROBLEMS Zoe hit ENTER on the keyboard in front of her I finished before you did Zoe bragged to her twin brother Ben Zoe’s test score flashed up on the screen She read it aloud Animal print identification 49 out of 50 Congratulations WILD operative Zoe Woodward Ben finished his test a few seconds after Zoe You may have finished first he said pointing at his screen but I got all fifty questions correct Ben glanced at Zoe’s results So you couldn’t tell which print was from a moose’s hoof he asked That was a difficult question Zoe said All the prints looked the same so I had to guess
Ben grinned So did I he said Ben pushed his chair back and looked around at the WILD Education Center’s row of computer terminals Next to them was a huge reference area filled with books and manuals maps and charts This place is so cool he said In fact everything we’ve done here at WILD HQ has been awesome The climbing wall was the best Canoeing was my favorite said Zoe Ben and Zoe weren’t normal teenagers They were the youngest operatives in WILD a top-secret environmental organization The head of the organization was their uncle Dr Stephen Fisher He had invited them to spend summer vacation at WILD The headquarters were hidden deep underground in a remote island Lately they’d been doing a series of exercises to improve their physical and mental skills for future WILD missions They did endurance challenges tracking practices and several brain-bending puzzles and tests
I’ll be sad when we have to go back home Zoe said It’s pretty awesome here agreed Ben I wish we could stay longer Just then the door slid open The lanky figure of Uncle Stephen appeared He was wearing a white lab coat a straw hat and brightly striped shorts Zoe tried not to giggle at his weird outfit Good job Ben and Zoe their uncle said You’ve passed all your challenges with flying colors so far There’s just one last little test Ben and Zoe shot each other curious glances Their uncle smiled then tossed them a glass eye
Ben snatched it out of the air before Zoe could grab it They both knew what the eye meant They weren’t going home after all because Uncle Stephen had a new rescue mission for them They stared at the eyeball The glass eyes were always little clues about a specific animal that was endangered It’s dark said Ben The pupil is huge Looks like a teddy bear’s eye Zoe said
