Desert Danger

Desert Danger — page 5 — A few moments later they were all driving down the highway in Erika’s car toward a private airfield Ben quickly sent a text message to their grandma letting her know that they wouldn’t be home tonight Grandma took care of Ben and Zoe while their parents were working abroad as vets She knew all about WILD and was very proud of her brave grandchildren Zoe watched from the front seat as they passed the white barren fields Evergreen trees were lit briefly in the car’s headlights as they passed I wonder what kind of animal we’ll be helping this time she said You know the drill said Erika In the glove compartment you’ll find a clue from your uncle Zoe reached into the compartment and pulled out a glass eyeball Using a penlight she found inside she inspected the eyeball It had an orange and brown iris with a round black pupil

Desert Danger — page 6 — It reflects the light she said turning it in the beam So it’s probably a copy of a nocturnal animal’s eye Ben reached over from the back Zoe gave him the eye and the penlight And it’s big he said I bet it’s from a member of one of the wild cat species I agree said Zoe Let’s see what Uncle Stephen has to say Ben gave her the eyeball Zoe carefully placed it into a slot in the vehicle’s dashboard Immediately a small hologram of a man appeared in front of them He wore a white lab coat and had a hat sitting on top of his messy hair Greetings my nephew and niece said Uncle Stephen Your destination for this mission is Africa It’s definitely not a tiger then said Ben Africa is a king-sized clue to the animal you’ll be rescuing Uncle Stephen’s hologram said Call me as soon as you’ve figured out the answer The hologram disappeared

Desert Danger — page 7 — A king-sized clue repeated Zoe That has to mean The king of the beasts interrupted Ben Wow We’re rescuing a lion That’ll be exciting His eyes went wide And a little scary Your BUGs are under your seats Erika told them Go ahead and give your uncle a call with your answer Ben and Zoe never went on a mission without their BUGs the Brilliant Undercover Gizmos their uncle had invented They looked like handheld video games but had lots of wonderful

Desert Danger — page 8 — applications like satellite maps communicators and animal tracking devices Zoe took her BUG hit the call key for WILD HQ and turned on the speakerphone Good evening Ben and Zoe came their uncle’s voice Did you figure it out yet Yep said Zoe It’s a lion Well done said Uncle Stephen You’re headed to the Kalahari Desert in Namibia Awesome said Ben So what’s the mission this time Uncle Stephen Here at HQ we picked up a news report on a Namibian radio station Uncle Stephen said A lioness has been seen prowling around a local well for a few days That well is the only source of clean water for the locals and they won’t dare go near it because of the angry lioness Lionesses don’t usually live alone do they asked Zoe I don’t think this one is alone said Uncle Stephen There have been several reports of strange sounds coming up from the bottom of the well Did one of the lioness’s cubs fall down the well Ben asked

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