Monster Blood IV (8 page)

“Dogface—wait!” Kermit pleaded.

The three kids ran as fast as they could, zigzagging across streets and
yards, following the barking, frightened dog.

As they neared the school, Evan glanced back. And saw that the Monster Blood
creatures were following them. Dozens of them, bouncing and rolling over the
front yards.

They were growling and snapping at everything in their path. One of them
exploded, sending a spray of slime over someone’s front yard.

“They’re all following us!” Evan cried breathlessly.

Kermit and Andy turned back. “Oh, wow!” Kermit muttered. “It’s like a
parade
!”

“Hey—what’s
that
?” Evan heard a woman shout. “What are you kids
doing?”

“Hey—get off my grass!” He heard a man’s angry cry.

He heard startled voices. And saw people bursting out of their houses. Two
kids jumped off their bikes and stared. A man on a ladder cried out in surprise
and nearly toppled to the ground.

“Dogface—please
stop
!” Kermit wailed.

But the big dog galloped across the street, heading to the playground behind
the school. Just past the sidewalk, he stopped and began rubbing his back against a wide tree
trunk.

The hairy blobs on the dog’s back bounced and scraped against the rough tree
bark. But they held on tight.

With another howl, Dogface took off, running wildly across the softball
field, kicking up dust in the infield, bucking his head, shaking his whole body.

And then the big dog slumped to the ground.

The three kids gasped as Dogface toppled onto his side.

The two blobs had their mouths buried in the dog’s thick fur.

Dogface kicked out once with all four legs.

And then didn’t move.

“They killed him! They
killed
him!” Kermit screamed.

“No!” Evan cried. “He’s still breathing!”

Sprawled on his side, the big dog’s chest heaved. The ugly creatures gulped
hard, bobbing on top of the dog’s thick fur.

Evan and Andy dove for the dog. Evan grabbed one of the drinking creatures in
both hands. He twisted it hard—then tugged it off.

The blob opened its wet mouth in an angry roar. It snapped its blue jaws at
Evan.

Evan raised it up and heaved it into the sea of bobbing blue creatures that
swarmed over the playground.

Then he turned to Andy. She struggled to pull off the remaining blob.

She gave a hard pull. “Yuck! This hair is so gross!” she wailed. Her hands
slid off, and she stumbled back.

Dogface uttered a weak groan. The dog’s big eyes rolled crazily in his head.

Evan grabbed the hairy blob. He twisted it hard, the way he twisted the first
one. He pulled up with all his strength.

The creature lifted off Dogface with a loud
POP.
It snarled furiously
and snapped its jaws over Evan’s wrist.

“OWWW!” Evan howled in pain.

He turned and heaved the ugly creature as high and far as he could. It
bounced off a tree limb, then fell into the crowd of bobbing Monster Blood
creatures.

Dogface climbed quickly to his feet. He shook himself hard. He seemed to be
okay.

Kermit squatted down to hug him.

Evan gazed over the playground. Monster Blood creatures swarmed over the
softball field, over the volleyball courts, over the whole block!

People came out of houses and came running to the playground. Evan heard the
wail of a siren—and saw a black-and-white police cruiser turn the corner. It
squealed to a halt, and two dark-uniformed officers came scrambling out.

Andy bumped up against Evan. “Bad news,” she said, frowning. “I don’t think
we can keep this a secret anymore.”

Evan shook his head. He knew Andy was making a joke. But this was no time to
be funny.

He had been in trouble before. He had the whole town chasing him last year,
when Monster Blood had turned him into a giant.

And now, Monster Blood had gotten him in major trouble once again. How could
he ever explain this? What could the police do against these horrible,
frightening creatures?

POP!
A fat blob exploded into two.

Across the playground, people pushed closer to get a better view.

The creatures were roaring now, roaring like angry tigers. They bit at each
other and chewed the ground.

The two police officers were struggling to force their way through the angry,
bouncing creatures. One of the officers had a phone to his ear. Probably calling
for more officers, Evan thought.

Behind him, he heard a weak cry.

Evan spun around—and gasped. Hairy blobs had leaped onto Kermit. One sat on
top of Kermit’s blond hair. Two more had climbed to his shoulders. Another
perched on his back.

“Help…” Kermit choked out. He thrashed his arms and tried to squirm out
from under the creatures.

But they spread out over him, digging their mouths into his skin.

“Ohhhh.” Kermit uttered a groan and fell to his knees.

And several more creatures leaped onto him. They made wet sucking noises as
they covered his body. Kermit disappeared beneath them.

“YAAAIIII!”

Evan heard another shrill cry. He turned to see Andy covered in hairy
creatures too. She swung her fists furiously, trying to bat them away.

She ducked and squirmed and shook herself.

But they spread over her shoulders, down her arms. One of them leaped up and
grabbed on to her hair. It spread itself wetly over her face.

Evan dove for Kermit. He slipped and landed hard on his knees. He grabbed at
a blob on Kermit’s shoulder and tugged it.

It came off with a wet
POP.

Evan grabbed for another one.

But before he could pull it off, he felt a cold, wet slap on the back of his
neck.

Then he felt a heavy, wet blob thump onto his head. Cold slime ran down
Evan’s face.

He reached up. Tried to grab the evil thing.

Too late.

Two more blobs leaped onto him and attached themselves to his back.

“Can’t… breathe…” Evan gasped.

The weight of the creatures pushed him down.

Down…

Facedown in the wet grass.

He dug his elbows into the ground. Tried to push up. Tried to struggle to his
knees.

I’ve got to get up,
he told himself.
I can’t let them cover me like a
blanket.

Like a smothering blanket…

But the creatures were too heavy. There were too many of them on him.

He let out a whimper of pain as he felt mouths biting at him. Drinking…

Choking off his air. Smothering him…

I’m doomed, Evan realized.

This time, the Monster Blood got me. This time, the Monster Blood wins.

The creatures covered Evan. Darkness swept over him.

He struggled to breathe.

He wondered if Kermit and Andy were being smothered beside him.

He sucked in a mouthful of air. A cold, wet blob pressed over his face. Evan
couldn’t let the air out.

He heard a rush, a buzz in his ears.

The sound of my own blood, he thought. My own blood pulsing through my veins.

He suddenly felt lighter.

I’m fading, he thought.

He let out the mouthful of air.

Hey—the creature moved away from my face! Evan realized.

What’s going on?

He raised his head—and saw an amazing sight.

Kermit and Andy were climbing to their feet. The blobs had moved away from
them. They had moved away—to fight the other blobs.

They’re all fighting each other! Evan saw.

Furious growls rose over the playground as the creatures bit each other,
tugged at hair, at slimy blue flesh, dug their pointy teeth into each other.

With a groan, Evan climbed to his knees. He shook off his dizziness and gazed
at the incredible scene.

“They’re
swallowing
each other!” Andy gasped. “They turned so mean,
they’re going after
each other
!”

She’s right, Evan realized. They’re getting meaner and meaner. So mean,
they’re destroying each other!

Kermit picked up his glasses from the ground. He wiped off some blades of
grass, then slid them over his face. “I don’t believe it!” he cried, watching
the creatures devour each other.

In minutes, the blobs had eaten each other. They had completely vanished.

The grass was covered with slime and wet tufts of black hair.

The last blob left rolled over and died, its blue flesh ripped to shreds. But
nothing else remained of the hundreds of creatures.

Not a trace.

Evan stood up shakily. He dusted himself off. Squinting into the sunlight, he
looked around.

Groups of neighborhood people talked excitedly. They shook their heads and
shrugged their shoulders as they talked, trying to make sense of the whole thing.

I could make sense of it for them, Evan thought. But they’d never believe me.

He turned to Kermit and Andy. “Are you okay?”

They nodded. Andy pulled a chunk of slime from her dark hair.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kermit said.

But before Evan could move, a shadow fell over him.

He turned and stared up at the two grim-faced police officers. “You again,”
one of them accused, narrowing his dark eyes at Evan.

“I… I…” Evan stammered.

“I think you three kids are in big trouble,” the other officer said softly.

“Trouble?” Evan choked out. “Why? What did we do?”

The officers gazed around the playground.

“What did we do?” Kermit repeated shrilly. “We didn’t do anything wrong. We
didn’t commit any crime.”

“There’s nothing here,” Andy added. “Look around. There’s nothing here to
blame us for.”

“Well…” The officers hesitated.

One of them picked up a slimy wad of black hair from the grass. “How about
littering?” he asked his partner. “I think we can charge them with littering.”

“Let’s forget about it,” the other officer muttered. He turned to the three
kids. “Go on. Go home. Let’s forget any of this ever happened.”

I hope I can, Evan thought as he turned and started jogging away with the
others.

I hope I can forget about it.

“That was a close one,” Kermit said softly as they jogged across the street.

“Yeah. A close one,” Andy repeated.

“I just feel bad I never got to look at one of those guys under a
microscope,” Kermit said.

“Yuck,” Andy murmured. Her whole body shivered. “I keep thinking about that
disgusting hair on their bodies. It felt so wet and slimy when it brushed
against your skin.”

“What a waste of good hair-growing formula!” Kermit grumbled.

“Let’s stop talking about it,” Evan suggested. “That policeman is right. We
should try to forget the whole thing.”

They didn’t say a word for the rest of the way back. Evan started to feel
better as Kermit’s house came into view.

Maybe this horrible adventure is over, he told himself.

But his heart sank, and a heavy feeling of dread swept over him when he saw
Aunt Dee waiting for them on the front stoop.

“Evan, you are responsible,” she said sternly, narrowing her eyes angrily at him. “I want a full explanation.”

“Well…” Evan didn’t know where to begin.

“I shouldn’t have opened the can of Monster Blood,” Kermit told her.

“That’s what started it,” Evan said. “Then the blue creatures started
exploding, and—”

“Stop right now!” Aunt Dee ordered, raising her hand in a halt sign. “I don’t
want to hear about your silly blue creatures. If you want to waste your time on
fantasy games, that’s your business.”

She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at Evan angrily. “I want to
know what happened to my pot of hot sauce!”

“Huh?” Evan gasped.

The whole town was nearly overrun by gross, water-sucking monsters. And all
she cares about is her precious hot sauce!

“I’m waiting,” Aunt Dee said sternly, tapping her foot.

“Well…” Evan started.

What can I tell her? he asked himself, thinking hard. What can I say?

“Evan took your hot sauce,” Kermit chimed in. “He ate it, Mom. Evan loves
your hot sauce. He ate the whole pot himself.”

I don’t believe this! Evan groaned to himself. After all we’ve been through,
the little rat just got me in trouble again!

But to Evan’s surprise, he found Aunt Dee smiling at him. “Evan, I’m so
flattered,” she said. “I didn’t know you liked it so much. I’ll make you a big
pot of it
every time
you come for a visit!”

“Uh… great,” Evan replied weakly.

“Go get my stew pot. Then come inside for lunch,” she instructed them. She
disappeared into the house.

Evan led the way around to the back. He scowled at Kermit. “I can’t believe
you told your mom that.”

Kermit shrugged. “It was the only thing I could think of.”

Evan gazed around the backyard. The flower garden was dead and dry. Big
patches of grass lay brown and flat.

The stew pot sat on its side in the middle of the yard.

Evan started toward it—but stopped with a startled cry as a figure
staggered out from behind the garage.

A hulking creature with glowing red eyes!

“Whoa!” Evan exclaimed.

Kermit and Andy huddled close to him as the creature lumbered into view.

As it stepped into the bright sunlight, Evan saw that it wasn’t a creature at
all. The three of them were staring at a man in a white work suit.

The work suit looked like the kind of space suit worn by astronauts. It
covered the man from head to foot. The man’s face was completely covered too. He
peered out at them through bright red goggles.

“Who—who
are
you?” Evan managed to choke out.

The man stopped halfway across the yard. He stared out at them, his eyes dark
behind the red goggles. Finally, he lifted a gloved hand and pulled back his
hood.