فصل 24

Monster Blood 2 - Chapter 24

The hamster sniffed the wheel. Its pink nose twitched. It uttered a low grunt.

Then it raised itself back onto its hind legs. The hamster’s massive shadow fell over the room.

With another disgusting grunt, it picked the sculpture up in its front paws and raised it to its face.

“No!” Evan cried. “Cuddles—no!”

The metal clanged as Cuddles bit into the wheel. Evan saw deep tooth marks in the aluminum. Cuddles bit down again. Then, seeing that he couldn’t chew the wheel up, he pulled it apart, holding the sculpture in his paws and twisting it furiously with his teeth.

Then he tossed the mangled wheel away. It slammed into a window, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

“Back to the drawing board,” Andy muttered to Evan.

Evan shook his head glumly. That plan was a bust, he told himself. Now what?

He didn’t have time to think about it.

He heard shrill cries and shrieks of terror.

“Put him down! Cuddles—put him down!” Mr. Murphy was screaming.

Evan turned and saw that the giant hamster had picked up a kid.

Conan!

Cuddles held Conan in both paws and was raising him toward his gaping mouth.

“Drop! Drop!” Mr. Murphy was shouting.

Conan thrashed his arms and legs. “Help me! Ohhh, hellllp me!” he shrieked. He started to cry. Gasping sobs. Tears rolled down his red cheeks.

“Helllllp! Mommmmmy! Mommmmmy! Hellllp me!”

Normally Evan would have enjoyed watching Conan cry like a baby. But this was too serious. Cuddles could chew Conan in half! Evan realized.

He grabbed Andy. “Where’s the Monster Blood?”

“Huh? In my locker. I hid it under a bunch of stuff in my locker. Why?” “I need it,” Evan said. “Come on. I have another idea.”

“I hope it’s better than the last one,” Andy muttered.

They hurried to the door, then glanced back.

Cuddles was playing with Conan, tossing him from paw to paw, licking him with his huge, pink tongue. Conan was wailing his head off.

Evan led the way to Andy’s locker. “I’m going to eat some Monster Blood,” he told her, thinking out loud. “I’ll eat a lot. I’ll grow bigger than Cuddles.” “I get it,” Andy said, running beside him. “You’ll turn yourself into a giant. You’ll make yourself as big as Cuddles.” “No,” Evan replied. “Bigger. Much bigger. I’ll make myself so big that Cuddles will look hamster size. Then I’ll stuff him in the supply closet and lock the door.” “It’s a stupid plan,” Andy said.

“I know,” Evan agreed.

“But it’s worth a try,” Andy added.

Evan swallowed hard and didn’t reply. He was staring across the hall at Andy’s locker.

“Oh, no!” Andy cried out when she saw what Evan was gaping at.

The locker door bulged as if about to burst open. And green goo poured out from the sides and the bottom.

“The Monster Blood—it outgrew my locker!” Andy cried.

Evan ran up to it and grabbed the door handle. He started to tug. “Is it locked?” “No,” Andy replied, hanging back.

Evan tugged. He tugged harder. With a loud groan, he tugged with both hands. “It won’t open!” he cried.

“Let me try it,” Andy said.

But before she could step forward, the locker door burst open with a loud whoooosh.

Sticky, green gunk splashed over Evan.

He didn’t have a chance to cry out.

It poured over him like a tall, cresting ocean wave.

An ocean wave of Monster Blood.

It’s burying me! Evan realized.

The huge, sticky glob splashed out of the locker, plopped over him, smothering him, choking him.

It’s sucking me in! I can’t move!

I can’t move!