“Got one! Where do I dump it?” Kermit called excitedly.
Evan spotted a bucket at the side of the garage. He ran across the grass toward it, waving to Kermit to follow him.
Kermit saw the bucket too. He began to lower the net into it. “In you go!” he cried.
But they both heard a ripping sound.
The creature hurtled out from the net — and bounced away.
“He — he chewed through the net!” Kermit exclaimed. He tossed the net aside.
Evan picked up the bucket and chased after the bouncing creature. “Just pick them up and toss them in,” he cried. “If we can keep them from drinking, they won’t multiply.”
Andy dove for one. It slipped out of her hands. “We need gloves,” she suggested. “We could hold them better if—”
“We don’t have time to find gloves!” Evan cried. “If we don’t catch them fast, there will be a hundred of them!”
“But what if they grab on to you?” Andy cried. “What if they start sucking your skin?”
Evan didn’t know how to answer that question. He swallowed hard. “Just be careful,” he told her.
Hearing low grunts, he raised his eyes to Aunt Dee’s flower garden. “Oh, noooo!” he moaned.
“Mom’s flowers!” Kermit cried.
Three or four of the creatures were sucking the water from the flowers. The blobs were already huge, ready to explode. A wide path of flowers lay dead and wilted behind them.
Kermit’s mother took such pride in her flower garden; she struggled to keep it blooming all through the winter. And now it’s a mess, Evan saw.
And she’s going to blame me.
“Get them!” he shouted. “Get them out of the flowers!”
But he heard a muffled scream. And spun around.
“Help me… help…” Andy struggled as a big blue blob wrapped around her face.
It pulsed and throbbed.
She hit it with both fists. Pounded it.
She dropped to her knees, struggling to remove it.
Evan froze in horror as the creature grunted and growled, spreading wetly over Andy’s face.
“Help…” she moaned. “Can’t breathe… can’t breathe…”
17
Evan gasped in horror as Andy struggled with the blue creature. She pounded it with her fists. Pulled at its slippery skin. Shoved it with her open palms.
Evan took a deep breath. Ran over to her. And grasped the creature in both hands.
It’s so slippery and cold! he thought.
He dug his fingers into its wet flesh, tightening his grip.
Then he heaved up with all his strength.
The creature lifted off Andy’s face with a loud POP. Evan lost his balance and nearly fell.
The blob slipped out of his hands, bounced over the grass, and landed in a large puddle near the driveway.
“Ohhhhhh, sick!” Andy moaned. She wiped thick slime off her face. Still on her knees, her whole body trembled.
Evan raised his eyes to the blob. Facedown, it gulped the puddle noisily. Its shimmery blue body bulged bigger, bigger…
Until it exploded — sending a wave of water and slime over Evan and Andy. Evan staggered back as the cold gunk washed over him.
Wiping it off his eyes, he helped Andy to her feet.
“The flowers!” Kermit cried. “They’ve ruined them all!”
Evan turned to the garden. In time to see two more inflated blue blobs explode into four.
The four new blobs bounced up and down furiously, gnashing their pointed teeth.
“The new ones have teeth!” Andy declared. “Each time they explode, they get meaner!”
“I’ve had enough of this!” Evan exclaimed. He grabbed a shovel on the ground beside the flower garden. “Kermit, Andy — hurry! Get big trash bags!”
Kermit darted into the garage. A few seconds later, he came out carrying two plastic trash bags. He handed one to Andy. They swung them open and ran to catch up with Evan.
“Let’s get these guys!” Evan declared.
He lowered the shovel blade to the ground and scooped up a blue blob.
Andy held out her trash bag. Evan dropped the creature into the bag. It plopped in heavily. Andy gripped the top of the bag and held on.
Working feverishly, Evan scooped up another one and dropped it into Andy’s bag.
Another explosion sent a wave of slime flying. Evan ducked under it — and caught two blue blobs on his shovel blade. With a groan, he swung the blade hard into Kermit’s trash bag.
In minutes, the two trash bags bulged.
“Only a few left,” Evan said, catching his breath. Despite the cool night air, sweat poured down his forehead.
Beside the garage, two creatures gulped water hungrily from a puddle on the grass. Another creature bounced over the wilted flower garden, uttering low, angry growls.
“These guys are trying to get out,” Kermit complained. He had hoisted his bag over his slender shoulder.
The bag throbbed. Inside it, the creatures grunted and growled.
“What are we going to do with these bags?” Andy demanded. “These blue things are alive! We can’t just throw them in trash cans.”
“They wouldn’t fit, anyway,” Kermit said.
Evan wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “Let’s get them all collected first,” he sighed. “Then we can decide what to do.”
It took several minutes to round up the final three. They kept bouncing away and sliding off the shovel.
Finally, all of the grunting, growling creatures were caught. Evan helped Kermit and Andy tie up the bulging trash bags.
“Now what?” Andy demanded.
Evan blinked as a bright yellow light flashed on.
Another light.
The lawn shimmered green, nearly as bright as day. The colors all came into focus.
Evan spun toward the house. The porch light had been turned on. And all the lights around the yard.
“It’s Mom!” Kermit gasped. “We’re caught!”
18
Evan could see Aunt Dee in the kitchen, moving to the back door. “Quick — don’t let her see! Hide the trash bags!” he cried.
“But where?” Kermit demanded.
“Just hide them!” Evan ordered.
Kermit and Andy grabbed up their bulging trash bags. Kermit led the way around the side of the house. “We’ll drag them to the basement,” he said. “I’ll lock them in a storage closet or something. We can figure out what to do with them in the morning.”
The back door swung open, and Aunt Dee stepped out onto the back stoop. She tightened her bathrobe belt and squinted around the yard.
“My garden!” she shrieked in horror, raising her hands to her face.
And then her eyes stopped on Evan.
“Huh?” she gasped. “Evan — what on earth are you doing out at this time of night?”
“Well…”
Evan’s mind raced. He knew there was no way he could come up with a good explanation.
“My flowers—!” Aunt Dee cried.
“I… uh… I heard someone out here,” Evan started. “But…”
I’m a terrible liar, he told himself. I’d better not even try to make up a story.
“Get in the house — this instant!” his aunt growled. “I’m going to have a long talk with your parents when they get back. I’m very disappointed in you, Evan. Very disappointed.”
“Sorry,” Evan gulped. He obediently slunk into the house.
Aunt Dee was talking angrily, scolding him, asking him what he was doing outside.
But he didn’t hear her. He was thinking about the two bulging, throbbing bags of blue Monster Blood creatures in the basement.
We’ll get rid of them in the morning, he told himself. Then everything will be okay. Right?
Right?
Right. He answered his own question.
Aunt Dee scolded Evan for a few minutes more. Kermit was already tucked into bed when Evan finally entered the darkened bedroom.
Evan stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “Did you lock up the bags somewhere?” he whispered.