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“I have to ask you to be very, very quiet as we enter the next chamber,” she said in a soft voice. “The Ravensburg Caverns are home to many creatures, including troglophiles, trogloxenes, and troglobites. Who can guess what those are?”
    For a moment Bobby looked like he wanted to say something—but one look at Mrs. Hallett’s face convinced him to keep his mouth shut.
    â€œNo, they aren’t dinosaurs,” Mrs. Hallett said, wagging her finger at Bobby—even though he hadn’t said a word. She was the only one who laughed at her joke. “A troglophile is an animal that usually lives in a cave, but can leave the cave from time to time if it wants.Troglophiles can include beetles, millipedes, centipedes, and other creepy-crawly creatures. They prefer dimly lit areas and will rarely venture into bright light. Then, of course, there are trogloxenes—animals who live in the cave, but have to leave it to find food. And a troglobite —”
    A thin smile snaked across Mrs. Hallett’s face. “Well, we’ll talk about those a little later. The next room of the caverns is home to hundreds of trogloxenes. Or, as they’re more commonly known in this case— bats. ”
    Some of the girls squealed, but Mrs. Hallett silenced them with a stern look and a finger to her lips. “They’re sleeping right now . . . or, at least, they should be. So if you’re quiet as we pass through their chamber, they shouldn’t bother us. I hope!”
    Kristi turned to Olivia and rolled her eyes—but to her surprise, Olivia seemed pale. “You okay?” Kristi whispered.
    â€œAsk her something for me?” Olivia said in a rush.
    But it was too late. Mrs. Hallett was already walking into the next chamber and the seventh graders were following. The lights seemed even dimmer here, or perhaps the impossibly high cave ceilings somehow suckedup most of their brightness. There was still enough light, however, for Kristi to see them: bats, hundreds of them, thousands of them, hanging above their heads, from every ledge and rocky outcropping in the chamber. Wrapped in their wings, the bats’ bodies swayed as they slept, rocked by an invisible current of air.
    Why? wondered Kristi. How? How is there a breeze in here, underground? Where could it be coming from?
    Every so often one of the bats stretched in its sleep, unfurling those leathery wings before wrapping itself up again and falling back into a fitful doze. Kristi had the sense that they slept lightly, very lightly, and that it wouldn’t take much commotion to wake them. To imagine it was awful—the rushing wings beating over their heads as panicked, angry bats fled the cave, flying low with fangs bared and talons tangled in the kids’ hair and hoodies.
    Luckily, her classmates seemed to sense that too, and everyone was silent as they moved—faster than usual—through the bats’ chamber.
    On the other side, Kristi breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned to Olivia. “What did you want me to do?”
    â€œCan you ask her about moths?” said Olivia.
    â€œHuh? Ask her what about moths?” Kristi replied.
    â€œYou know. If there are moths in the cave,” Olivia said impatiently. “Those troglo-whatevers she wouldn’t tell us about. Maybe they’re a kind of horrible moth like that thing that was in my grab bag.”
    â€œOhhhh,” Kristi said, nodding. No wonder Olivia looked so pale. Kristi had never really understood her best friend’s phobia of moths, but she knew what it was like to be so terrified of something that it was hard to even talk about it. So she didn’t hesitate to raise her hand.
    â€œYes, girl in the red sweater?” Mrs. Hallett said.
    â€œI was wondering if any moths live in the Ravensburg Caverns,” Kristi said.
    â€œMoths?” Mrs. Hallett said. “Oh, probably. Near the entrance of the caves, like