Chapter 4

Chapter 4 WELCOME TO THE ZOO! COME FOR THE PANDAS. STAY FOREVER..... Jodi knew she was taking a big risk. The creepy house on stilts was obviously not the kind of place she wanted to be. But as she splashed through the shallow water, she wasn't thinking about the hut. She was thinking about what she had seen behind the hut. "Jodi!" her brother hissed. He was quickly catching up to her, and the others were close behind him. "What are you doing?" "I'm helping," she said. "I'm helping them." Jodi stepped onto dry land, just a short distance from the swamp hut. There were fences there. Cages. They were built from the same spruce and oak as the hut. And they held just about every animal Jodi had ever seen in Minecraft.

"Whoa," said Po. "Check out all the animals." He peered between the bars of the nearest cage. "Is that a panda? I forgot Minecraft even had pandas." "THEY ONLY SPAWN IN JUNGLES," Morgan said. He leaned in closer. "It sort of looks like a jungle biome inside the cage, doesn't it? There's bamboo growing in there." He frowned. "That shouldn't happen in a swamp." "And there," said Harper, pointing at another cage. "The turtle's cage is full of sand and water. It looks like a small beach." "Someone is recreating the home biome of each animal," Theo said. "There's even an aquarium over there. IT'S FULL OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF FISH." "That panda is just a baby," Jodi said. "It looks so sad!" "That's just your imagination," said Theo. "It can't be sad. It isn't a real panda." Before Jodi could disagree, the panda sneezed. A glob of slime landed nearby. "Okay, that was somehow both adorable and disgusting at the same time," said Po. Harper grinned, and she picked up the slimeball. "You never know," she said. "This might come in handy."

"Harper!" said Po, looking grossed out—as much as an avatar in a wolf-sheep skin could. "I hope you know how to craft a sink, because you need to wash your hands. Like, right away!" "A little slime never hurt anybody," said Harper, and she waved her blocky hands in Po's face. While Po squealed and laughed, Morgan appeared lost in thought. After a long moment, he said, "It's a zoo. But who would make this, and why?" "IT'S NOT A ZOO," said Jodi. "It's a prison! And whoever built it is obviously the same person who was trapping animals in a pit." She hopped in anger. "It isn't right. It isn't fair. And I'm going to set them all free."

"Now, hold on a minute," said Morgan. But Jodi didn't listen. She flung open a gate. A goat stepped out, leaving the gravelly, mountainous landscape of its cage. "BE FREE!" said Jodi. "Get out of here. Hurry!" The goat bleated once, then hurried past them into the swamp. Jodi didn't stop there. She ran down the line of cages, throwing open one door after another. "JODI, STOP!" said Morgan. "We need to talk about this." Just then, an eerie giggle rang out. Jodi froze, confused. The sound was coming from the cage that

she had just opened. Inside it, a colorful bird sat atop a log. "Dude," said Po. "DID THAT PARROT JUST LAUGH AT US?" Jodi saw the worry on her brother's face. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?" "Well…parrots make different sounds depending on what other mobs are nearby," Morgan explained. "They hiss when a creeper is close. They groan when a zombie's around. And that giggle…it sounded like…" "Like what?" asked Jodi. Morgan answered: "LIKE A WITCH." Jodi turned to look at the nearby hut. A menacing figure loomed in its open doorway. It wore a pointed hat and a dark cloak. And it was watching them with bright green eyes.

It was a witch. It laughed—a wicked, haunting cackle that sent a chill through Jodi's avatar. And then it attacked. Po was the first one to be hit. He didn't even have time to draw his sword. A potion struck him square in the back. He flashed red and fell to his knees. Just one hit, and he was out of the fight. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" cried Harper, and she fired an arrow. It struck the wood hut with a thunk. "Where did the witch go?" said Theo, and he gripped his sword. "It was right there a second ago." "Behind you!" yelled Morgan. But his warning came too late. The witch leapt from the shadows, hurling potions at Theo and Harper. As they fell to