Belly Up

Buck Grassley accuses Mr. and Mrs. Fitzroy of being “covert members of the Animal Liberation Front [...] [c]aught red-handed plotting another attack” (244). One of the security guards spots Teddy, and his parents urge him to run. He flees from the administration building and tries to hide among the vast crowd of mourners at Henry’s funeral, but Buck and the guards pursue him. Teddy hurries to the crane transporting Henry’s coffin, and one of the guards accidentally tasers the crane operator. Teddy scrambles into the safety of the crane’s cab. The coffin falls, and Henry’s corpse bursts from the impact, showering everyone besides Teddy within 100 feet with the hippo’s rotting remains. As Teddy uses the confusion to make his escape, he and Summer make eye contact. Her expression makes him think she set him up.

Teddy stops running a mile away from FunJungle. Alone and scared, the boy “never felt so helpless in [his] life” (254). Summer’s supposed betrayal is all the more bitter because he struggles to think of anyone else who would help him solve Henry’s murder and clear his parents’ names. He realizes Doc may be the only person he can trust and hurries back to the park.