Dogface lowered his head and licked up a few tastes.
Blue Monster Blood creatures bounced closer. A few began hungrily drinking up the spilled hot sauce.
Evan waited and watched, his fingers crossed so hard, they hurt.
No. No.
The hot sauce didn’t bother the hairy blue blobs a bit.
But Dogface raised his head from the ground. Behind his thick fur, his black eyes rolled crazily. The big dog opened his jaws in a long howl of pain.
And as he howled, a growling blue blob leaped onto the dog’s back.
Stunned and in pain, Dogface shook himself hard. But the creature clung to the fur on his back.
“No! Get away!” Evan shrieked as another blob leaped onto Kermit’s dog.
With another howl, the big dog took off. His big paws pounded the grass. He shook himself as he ran, trying to throw off the two creatures.
Kermit stood openmouthed in shock.
“The blobs are drinking up all the hot sauce!” Andy declared. “And now they’re biting and snapping at each other! It’s turning them even meaner!”
“Come on!” Evan cried, running after the dog. “We’ve got to save Dogface! Those creatures will kill him!”
Evan took a deep breath and started running full speed, following the howling dog. Kermit and Andy ran right behind him.
“Dogface — whoa!” Kermit called. “Dogface — stop! Stop!”
But, as always, the dog ignored Kermit.
Shaking his back, he ran in crazy zigzags.
Through backyards. And then across a street. And onto the sidewalk.
The dog barked and howled in protest. But the two blobs hung on, appearing to enjoy the ride.
“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.
26
“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.