Monster Blood For Breakfast!

by R. L. Stine

  The two MP’s squinted at us. Clem reached up and scratched his left horn. Benson laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

  Clem grinned at his partner. “What did the doctor say to the Invisible Man? Sorry, I can’t see you now.”

  They both laughed.

  “It isn’t a JOKE!” Sheena screamed.

  They didn’t seem to hear her.

  “It isn’t a joke,” Billy repeated. “We went into that restaurant down the hall, and my sister went invisible. I’m serious.”

  Their smiles faded. Beneath his horns, Clem had bright yellow eyes. He stared hard at Billy. “Where is your sister?”

  “I’m standing right here!”

  I heard Sheena, but the two Horror MP’s didn’t. Were they pretending they didn’t hear her? Or was this some kind of HorrorLand magic where only Billy and I could hear Sheena?

  “She’s standing right in front of you,” I told them. “Two other girls completely disappeared when we went into the café. We’re not making this up.”

  “Is this just a HorrorLand trick?” Billy asked. “You know. Something you do to scare us?”

  The two Horrors didn’t answer his question.

  “You said two girls disappeared?” Clem asked, narrowing his yellow eyes at Billy and me.

  “We saw them in the mirror,” I said. “But then —”

  “Mirror? What mirror?” Benson boomed.

  The two MP’s tensed. They stepped closer. I could see something had upset them.

  Benson planted his hands at his waist. “Where did this happen?” he asked.

  “I told you. In the little café. Around the corner,” Billy said.

  “Are you going to help me or not?” Sheena cried.

  Clem scratched his horn again. “Café?”

  “Take us there,” Benson ordered. “Show us this café with the mirror.”

  “And then you’ll help my sister?” Billy asked.

  “Sure, sure,” Clem muttered.

  Benson pushed the cap back on his head. “Just take us there,” he said.

  I led the way. It wasn’t a long walk, but it seemed like miles. I felt really bad for Sheena. I could hear her breathing hard. I knew how frightened she must feel.

  We ducked under a thick knot of fake spider webs. Down the hall, I heard evil laughter, then kids shrieking and laughing.

  HorrorLand is supposed to be about fun and laughing, I thought. Kids aren’t supposed to disappear and go invisible.

  Something had gone terribly wrong.

  I wondered if these two Horror Cops had any idea how to help us.

  We turned the corner and walked halfway down the hall. The two MP’s followed close behind us, eyes straight ahead.

  “Here,” Billy said, stopping. “The little café — it was right here. I remember …”

  My mouth suddenly felt dry. Again, I could hear the blood pulsing in my ears.

  The café had vanished.

  Nothing there but solid wall.

  “It HAS to be here!” Sheena wailed. “It HAS to!”

  Billy turned to me. “Did we go down the wrong hall?”

  I shook my head. “It was here. Right here.” I pounded the wallpaper with my fist. Nothing but solid wall behind it.

  Billy jogged down the hall, running his hand against the wall. I guess he was feeling for a door or something.

  After a few seconds, he returned, his eyes wide with fright.

  Clem scowled at Billy and me. “There’s never been a café here,” he said. “What kind of game are you kids playing?”

  “It’s NOT a game!” Sheena screamed. “The café was right here! Can’t you hear me?”

  I decided to try to reason with them. “Dudes, we’re not making this up,” I said. “There really was a café here. Two girls really did disappear. And Billy’s sister —”

  “She’s standing right here,” Billy told them.

  “Are you going to help us or not?” I demanded.

  The two MP’s moved to the wall. They started whispering to each other. All the while, they kept their eyes on us.

  Finally, Benson waved us forward. “Follow me, kids,” he said. “Sorry it took us so long. I think Sergeant Clem and I can help you. Come with us to the lab.”

  “Thank goodness!” Billy cried. He pumped his fist in the air. “Do you really think you can bring my sister back?”

  “Probably,” Benson muttered. He and his partner began walking fast. Billy and I had to run to keep up with them. We turned a corner and hurried down another long, dark hall.

  I heard Sheena running between Billy and me. “Are you sure we can trust them?” she asked.

  “Do we have a choice?” Billy replied.

  Benson led us to the end of the hall. He stopped in front of wide double doors. A sign on the wall read: DETECTION CHAMBER.

  Clem slid a green key card into a slot and the doors started to slide open. “In here,” he ordered, waving us through.

  I held back. “Why are we going in here?” I asked.

  “We need to detect the invisible girl,” Clem said. “If we can’t see or hear her, we can’t make her visible again.”

  It seemed to make sense. We followed them through the doorway.

  I let out a gasp as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. The huge room didn’t look like a lab. It looked like a horror-movie torture chamber!

  The first thing I saw was a tall chair with red and blue wires poking out of it — like an electric chair! Beside it stood a tall wooden frame with a blade across the top. A guillotine?

  A cone of light spilled over a long white table. Thick leather straps lay across the table. A cabinet beside it was loaded with shiny steel tools.

  Against the wall, dark machines hummed. A stack of metal cages — the size of dog crates — stood in the center of the room. A shrill hissing sound filled the air.

  I poked Billy in the side. “Let’s get out of here,” I said.

  I turned. The doors had already slid shut behind us.

  A chill shot down my back. “What is this place?” I shouted. “Why did you bring us here?”

  “To help you,” Clem said. He pulled out a low metal table. Like a doctor’s examining table. The table had red and black dials along one side.

  He began messing with wires underneath it.

  “We know how to help you with your problem,” Benson said. He stepped up close to Billy and me. He gazed at Billy for a long time. Then he turned to me.

  “We only want to help you,” Benson said. Behind him, Clem pushed a plug into a socket. The dials on the metal table lit up.

  “We know why you’re having problems,” Benson said softly. “You have something that doesn’t belong to you.”

  Whoa. I knew instantly what he was talking about.

  The room key card. The strange card I had hidden in my pocket.

  “Hand it to us right now,” Clem said. He stuck out his big hand. It was covered with red and purple warts. “Hand it to me, and your problems will be over. I swear.”

  Why didn’t I believe him?

  Because he was a terrible liar. He couldn’t keep a grin off his face.

  “Trust us,” Benson said. “We’re here to help you. We want every guest to have a great time here in HorrorLand.”

  Billy and I didn’t move.

  Clem tugged at one of his curly horns. Then he stuck out his warty hand again. “One of you has what we’re looking for. Hand it over now. Don’t make us take it from you.”

  No way I was going to let them take the key card!

  I wasn’t going to give it back until I knew why they wanted it so badly.

  No way. No way!

  But what could I do?

  My legs were shaking but I stood very still. I stared back at the two MP’s, trying to look tough.

  I could see Billy trembling beside me. He knew what the two Horrors wanted. But he didn’t say a word.

  Clem grabbed Billy by the shoulders. He was gentle, not rough. But he pushed B
illy to the metal table.

  “Sorry we have to do it this way,” he said. “It would be so much easier if you just hand it over.”

  “I … don’t know what you mean,” Billy stammered. “Really. I don’t have anything.”

  “Lie down on the table,” Clem said. “Now!”

  “Let him GO!” Sheena screamed.

  Again, the Horrors didn’t hear her.

  Clem had his big, warty hands under Billy’s armpits. He started to lift him onto the metal table.

  “What are you doing to me?” Billy cried.

  “Relax, kid,” Benson said. “We’re not going to hurt you. It’s an X-ray machine. That’s all.”

  “An X-ray machine?” Billy cried. “But —”

  “One of you has what we’re looking for,” Benson said. “The X-ray machine will find it. Just relax. This won’t even take a minute.”

  I watched Clem lift Billy onto the X-ray table.

  Wow, I thought. If they’re going to all this trouble, my key card must be something really special. My brain whirred. What could be so important about it?

  As Clem loomed over the table, Billy sprawled on his back, arms tight at his side. “Don’t move a muscle,” Clem ordered.

  Benson twirled some dials on the side of the table. He glanced at a video screen on the wall. I could see Billy’s bones on the X-ray screen. And I could see a pack of chewing gum in one of his pockets.

  “He doesn’t have it,” Benson told his partner.

  Clem gently lifted Billy off the table and set him down on the floor. “Thanks, kid,” Clem said. “Sorry if I scared you.”

  Billy shook his head. He brushed back his dark hair. He looked at me, but he didn’t say anything.

  Clem waved me to the table. “You’re next, pal.”

  My legs were shaky and my heart was thumping like crazy. But no way I’d let them know I was scared.

  “No problem,” I said.

  I didn’t wait for them. I climbed onto the table.

  I lay flat on my back and pressed my hands against the cool metal. I couldn’t see the video screen from here. But I knew the two MP’s were studying it.

  The room grew silent. I could hear the hum of the machines behind me and the pop and hiss of steam across the room.

  “This kid doesn’t have it, either,” Benson said finally. “Let him up.”

  Clem pulled me to my feet. I couldn’t keep a smile off my face as I stepped beside Billy. These dudes were pretty easy to fool.

  “Can we go now?” Billy asked.

  Clem raised a warty paw. “Not so fast,” he said. “Let’s talk about this mirror you think you saw.”

  I grabbed Billy’s arm and tugged. “Let’s go.”

  Our shoes clattered against the hard floor as we ran toward the double doors. I turned and saw the two MP’s take off, lumbering after us.

  “Hey!” Clem let out a cry as he stumbled over something and toppled to the floor. Benson fell over him and hit his head on the X-ray table as he went down.

  I heard Sheena laugh. “I tripped him!” she cried. “Now maybe he believes I’m here!”

  The two Horrors were scrambling to their feet. We didn’t have much time.

  I tried the handles on the double doors. The doors wouldn’t budge.

  “Sheena, quick —” I said. “Give me back the key card. Maybe it’ll work.”

  Yes, that’s how I fooled the X-ray machine. I slipped the key card to Sheena. She hid it in her fist, and it became invisible, too.

  Now it appeared to float toward me. I grabbed it and shoved it into a slot beside the doors.

  Great! The card worked again! The doors hummed loudly, then slid open with a whoosh.

  We burst out of the lab and took off running down the hall. I pushed open the back door of the hotel and leaped outside. Clouds covered the sky. The air felt cool and damp.

  Kids and families roamed over Zombie Plaza. “Come on!” I said, tugging Billy. “We’ve got to lose ourselves in the crowd.”

  “But — how?” Billy cried. “The two MP’s — they’re right behind us.”

  I glanced back. They were running full speed after us, shouting, “Stop those kids! Stop them!”

  I forced myself to run. We thudded past a mask store. Then a store called IT’S A HOWL. As we ran past, frightening howls poured out through the open door.

  No place to hide.

  “Stop those kids!” the Horrors shouted, close behind us.

  I turned — and almost bumped into a cart filled with shrunken heads.

  “They’re going to catch you,” Sheena said, close beside me. “Should I try to trip them again?”

  “No. Over there,” I said, pointing. I had an idea.

  We darted through groups of kids in the center of the plaza. Up ahead, I saw a long line of people waiting to get into the Haunted Theater.

  “Get in line! Hurry! Get in line!” I cried.

  We stepped into the back of the line. I hoped the MP’s wouldn’t look for two guys standing in line for the theater.

  Billy and I were both gasping for breath. The line started to move forward.

  “Look normal,” I said. “Don’t look back. Don’t look for those two Horrors.”

  “But — but —” Billy sputtered. He bumped my shoulder.

  I turned and saw Clem and Benson moving toward us. Their heads were lowered. Their eyes were locked on us.

  Okay, okay. So every plan isn’t brilliant. I never said I was perfect.

  The three of us took off running again. Across Zombie Plaza, I saw a narrow gray building with no windows. The letters on the sign above the entrance looked like dripping blood. It read: DR. TWISTED’S SCIENCE LAB.

  “Go,” I whispered. We darted in through the narrow door.

  Dark inside. Silent and empty. I blinked hard, waiting for my eyes to adjust.

  We were standing in a long, narrow room with black walls. Red and green glass tubes twisted over our heads. A spotlight poured dim light down on a narrow lab table, complete with bubbling beakers and glowing test tubes.

  A skeleton in a white lab coat hunched over one end of the table. He was pouring green gas from one beaker to another.

  “Welcome to my lab,” he said in a tinny recorded voice. “You’re just in time for my latest experiment. In fact, you ARE my latest experiment! Hahahaha!”

  “Whoa. We just escaped a lab like this,” Sheena said, still breathing hard.

  “Only that one was real,” I said. “This one is all fake.”

  We heard voices from outside. We ducked behind the table and dropped to our knees. I took a deep breath and held it.

  A few seconds later, I heard hard footsteps, then Clem’s voice. “Did they come in here?”

  “No. I told you. They ran into the theater,” Benson answered.

  They shuffled away. I realized I was still holding my breath. I let it out slowly, then climbed to my feet.

  I leaned on the lab table, trying to steady myself. “We lost them,” I muttered.

  “Welcome to my lab. You’re just in time for my latest experiment….” The skeleton’s speech began to roll again.

  “Now what?” Billy asked softly.

  “I just don’t get it,” Sheena said. “Why won’t the Horrors help us? Why don’t they believe us? We told them two girls are missing and that I’m invisible. And they didn’t seem to care at all. All they cared about was taking Matt’s key card away.”

  “Hey, check this out,” Billy said. He was staring at big glass jars on a low shelf. “Are those real animal heads in those jars?”

  “Nothing is real in here,” I said. “It’s all a joke.”

  “In fact, you ARE my latest experiment! Hahahaha!” the skeleton doctor repeated. Green gas floated from his beaker.

  “We have to get out of here,” I said.

  Billy picked up a box from the shelf. “Weird,” he whispered. “It says ‘TRY ME.’ ”

  I squinted at the big words on the green box with d
ripping red letters that spelled out MONSTER BLOOD.

  Billy started to pull up the lid.

  “NOOOOO!” I screamed. “DON’T OPEN IT!”

  My scream startled Billy. He dropped the box.

  It hit the floor hard, and the lid popped open.

  “Oh, no!” Billy and Sheena both cried out as the green goop bubbled up from the box.

  Making squishy sucking sounds, the Monster Blood spread across the floor at our feet. Then it started to grow, rising up quickly. Standing up as if alive!

  I jumped back in horror. My mind was spinning. How could there be Monster Blood in HorrorLand?

  Billy bent down and frantically tried to shove the green gunk back into the box. But it had spread too quickly. It plopped over his shoes and started to climb his leg.

  “Get it off me!” he screamed, kicking and thrashing his legs.

  “Just run!” I said. I tugged him by the arm. “It’s growing too fast! Let’s go!”

  “I … I can’t. It’s wrapping around my legs!” Billy cried.

  Billy reached down and tried to pull it off with both hands. But his hands stuck in the thick, bubbling slime. In seconds, they disappeared into the Monster Blood.

  “Help me! Get it off!” he wailed.

  And then I saw the outline of two hands shoot into the bubbling Monster Blood. Sheena’s hands! Trying to rescue her brother.

  “It’s too sticky. It won’t come off!” she said. She gasped as the thick green gel rolled around her arms.

  I couldn’t see Sheena. But I could see her hands grappling with the goo. And I could see her struggling to pull her arms free.

  I froze, staring in horror as the Monster Blood covered both of them, popping and bubbling.

  “It … it’s swallowing us!” Billy cried. “Matt! Help! It’s swallowing us both!”

  How could this happen? How could Monster Blood follow me here?

  I wanted to help my friends. But I knew if I grabbed the stuff, it would stick to me and pull me in, too.

  What could I do?

  My hands tensed at my sides. I watched them kicking and twisting their bodies, struggling against the fast-rising goo.

  The key card.