CHAPTER 17
BRAVE HEARTS
When Larryboy reached the Larrycave, he found that Archie already had the Larryplane ready to fly. Larryboy leaped into the cockpit and raced toward the heart of Bumblyburg.
Finding his first target was easy. He simply had to look for a living pile of garbage five stories high. Gunkzilla had just stepped on a parked car and was trying to shake it loose from the bottom of his foot. The Larryplane swooped right by the head of the trashy monster, like a pesky fly. The creature tried to swat the plane, but he wasn’t quick enough. Larryboy brought the plane around for a second pass and fired four plungers, two from each wing.
The four plungers were magnetized, so they zipped straight for the metal belly of Gunkzilla.
THONK! THONK! THONK! THONK!
“ROWRRRR!” (That’s monster for “Oooo, that tickles!”)
With the plungers connected to the belly of the beast, Larryboy circled Gunkzilla. Once. Twice. Three times. Every time he circled the monster, the tether lines attached to the plungers wrapped around the large arms of Gunkzilla, tying him up like a bundle of … well … trash.
The monster couldn’t budge.
“That’ll hold him for a little while. Now it’s time to pay a visit to Awful Alvin,” Larryboy told Archie over his radio.
“My radar has tracked Alvin’s movements,” Archie said over the communicator. “He’s hiding in the Bumbly Mountains, fourth cave from the left.”
Larryboy knew the exact cave. The Not Welcome mat in front of the cave was a dead giveaway.
“So this is the Trash Reenergizer,” said Larryboy, stepping into the brightly lit cave where Alvin was hiding. In one corner was a huge machine, which looked like it had been built out of junk from the local garbage dump. On top of the contraption was a giant satellite dish, which soaked up fear and powered the machine. (It also brought in five hundred television stations, including the All-Fish-Slapping Network.)
Awful Alvin whirled around. “Rats! What are you doing here, Larryboy?”
“I’m shutting you down, Awful Alvin.”
“That’s what you think.” An evil gleam glittered in his oniony eyes. Alvin turned to his trusty sidekick and said, “There’s one thing this superhero didn’t plan on, isn’t there, Lampy?”
“And what’s that?” asked Larryboy.
“This!”
Awful Alvin pulled a huge switch on the wall. A garbage can, hanging upside down above Larryboy’s head, suddenly dropped from the ceiling before our hero could even react. The can slammed down over Larryboy, trapping him inside.
“You’ve seen how my Trash Reenergizer can turn ordinary garbage into living monsters,” Awful Alvin said with a twisted grin. “What you didn’t know is that I can reverse the process. I can also turn living things … into trash!”
With a diabolical laugh, Alvin yanked another humongous lever. Sparks showered down from the ceiling. Bolts of electricity danced alongside the garbage can. Smoke filled the cave.
Then Awful Alvin slowly raised the garbage can.
Larryboy was gone. In his place was a tiny mound of bubblegum wrappers, apple cores, and burned popcorn. Trash. That was all that was left of Larryboy.
CHAPTER 18
CHICKEN!
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Vicki screamed.
She and Phil Winklesteen ran into the cave at the exact moment that Awful Alvin changed Larryboy into a pile of trash. Vicki couldn’t believe her eyes.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” That was Awful Alvin’s scream. (If you put your ear close to the page, you can tell the difference.)
Why was Alvin screaming? Well, because Phil and Vicki had collected a dozen chickens. And those chickens were standing in the mouth of the cave like gunslingers at a showdown in an old-time Western. “BWAKKK! BWAKKK! BWAKKK!” (Those were the chickens clucking, in case you hadn’t already guessed.)
Awful Alvin had been terrified of chickens ever since he was five years old, when a chicken mistook his oniony head for an egg. The chicken sat on his head for two days, and he hasn’t been the same since. “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Awful Alvin screamed a second time.
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” So did Vicki.
Then total chaos ensued. Awful Alvin picked up Lampy and sprinted out of the cave, screaming like a maniac. The chickens, sensing his fear, went after him like something out of the classic movie, Attack from Planet Chicken!
Unfortunately, as Alvin fled from the cave, he dashed right across the pile of trash that had once been Larryboy. He kicked pieces of Larryboy in all directions.
“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Phil screamed, running for a broom and dustpan. He wanted to sweep up all of the pieces of Larryboy before they got mixed up with other trash.
Meanwhile, as Alvin dashed out of the cave with Lampy, followed by the chickens, he grabbed Vicki and took her prisoner. But Phil never noticed any of this because he was too busy sweeping up Larryboy.
“Larryboy! Speak to me!” Phil said to the trash.
“Hi, Phil. Thanks for bringing the chickens. It worked like a charm.”
It was Larryboy’s voice. Phil couldn’t believe it. He looked closely at the pile of trash that he had just swept up. What he didn’t see was Larryboy climbing out of the garbage can hanging upside down behind him.
“You can talk?” asked a shocked Phil, thinking that the little pieces of trash could speak.
“Of course I can talk. What were you expecting?”
“Don’t worry, Larryboy! We’ll figure out a way to put you back together.”
Phil held the trash close to his face to see if he recognized Larryboy somewhere in the garbage.
“Nice garbage,” Larryboy observed, looking over Phil’s shoulder.
“These are pieces of Larryboy,” Phil moaned, casting a glance over his shoulder. Then he did a double take. “AHHHHHHHHH!” That was Phil screaming, in case you hadn’t already guessed.
“But how … ?” Phil asked. “We saw—you were changed into trash!”
“Aw, that,” said Larryboy. “Alvin’s machine never changed me into garbage. His machine is powered by fear, but it didn’t work on me, because I wouldn’t let fear control me. Instead, I used my supersuction ears to hang onto the inside of the garbage can. When Alvin lifted the can back up, I was lifted up with it.
“I scraped some trash from the bottom of the can onto the ground—to confuse him,” our hero added. “That’s why he thought it was me. Pretty nifty, eh?” Larryboy glanced around. “Where’s Vicki?”
Phil and Larryboy did a quick check of the room. Then they ran out of the cave and looked down the hill.
“AHHHHHHHHH!” This time, both Phil and Larryboy screamed at the same time. They could see, far down the hill, Alvin running away with Vicki as his prisoner, Lampy in tow.
“We’ve got to save her!” Phil shouted.
“I’ve got an idea,” Larryboy said. “Would you grab that garbage can?”
“Sure thing!”
While Phil went to get the garbage can, Larryboy vanished into the bushes. Within seconds, he reemerged as Larry the Janitor.
“What happened to Larryboy?” asked a very confused Phil Winklesteen, when he came back with the garbage can.
“Larryboy asked me to take care of this personally,” said Larry. “Have no fear.” Then the brave janitor turned the can on its side and climbed into it. “Give me a little push, would you, Phil?”
Phil gave Larry a shove, and the silver garbage can went rolling and bouncing down the slope. Awful Alvin saw the garbage can coming, but he never stood a chance. The can hit a rock, bounced high into the air … and barreled into Awful Alvin, like a bowling ball hitting a pin. Alvin went flying one direction and Lampy the other.
Phil came running down the slope, rope in hand. “Thought you might need this to tie up the loose ends,” he said, handing the rope to Larry.
Before Alvin could regain his senses, Larry had the awful onion and his sidekick tied up like a sack of potatoes and sitting
in the garbage can—ready for pickup by Officer Olaf.
CHAPTER 19
A NEW POWER
But the danger wasn’t over yet.
Back in the heart of Bumblyburg, Gunkzilla broke loose from the cords that Larryboy had wrapped him in. The monster looked around for something to smash. His eyes (made out of cracked car headlights) locked onto the Burger Bell restaurant. Gunkzilla stomped in its direction, roaring every step of the way.
But that’s when the monster began to slow down. Even his roar began to sound like a recording being played in slow motion. Gunkzilla was losing power.
The courage that Larryboy had shown back at the cave was having an effect on the Trash Reenergizer. As the machine sucked up Larryboy’s courage, it began to sizzle, steam, rattle, and shake.
Other Veggies who had heard about the heroics also began to gain courage. Soon, bravery spread through Bumblyburg like a fresh wind. As the Trash Reenergizer sucked up this courage, it began to spark. Nuts and bolts holding the contraption together began to wiggle and pop out. The machine was having a complete breakdown. And then …
KABOOM!
The Trash Reenergizer went up in a fire-filled cloud of smoke.
But surprisingly, Gunkzilla didn’t stop altogether. His eyes clicked on. His gears shifted. A new surge of energy moved through his trashy body. Gunkzilla was on the move again.
But there was a difference. Free from the power of the Trash Reenergizer, the monster began to clean up the mess he had made.
“Well, I’ll be,” said Officer Olaf with a big grin on his face. “The trash monster has become a giant garbage collector.”
It was true. Gunkzilla tiptoed through the town, picking up garbage and carrying it to the landfill. Bumblyburg was saved … and getting cleaner by the minute.
CHAPTER 20
SUPER JANITOR
As Bumblyburg returned to normal, Phil Winklesteen did one of the bravest things of his life. He told the people that he hadn’t really saved those seven puppies from Bumbly Bay. He admitted that they had saved him.
To his surprise, the thing that he had feared most did not come to pass. The people of Bumblyburg didn’t really care that he had been rescued by puppies. Instead, they were amazed by his and Larry the Janitor’s courage in helping Larryboy defeat Alvin and Lampy. There was even some talk that his adventure would be made into a book. As for Larry the Janitor and Vicki Cucumber …
“Larry, I couldn’t believe how brave you were,” Vicki said, as they headed back toward Bumblyburg. Then she stopped and looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry I got so angry with you the other day. I didn’t know …”
“That’s OK,” Larry smiled.
“But I should’ve realized how brave you are, Larry. You were fearless!”
“Actually, I wasn’t fearless,” Larry said, as they continued on. “I was very scared. But Larryboy taught me that God wants us to do brave things even when we’re scared silly.”
Larry eyed Vicki’s camera bag, which still had his letter sticking out of one of the pockets. “Uh … Vicki, did you ever read that letter from me?”
Vicki glanced down at the letter and blushed. “Oh … well, I’m afraid I didn’t.”
Larry breathed a big sigh of relief.
“I was so upset with you that I never even looked at it,” she admitted. “But I’ll read it right now.”
“No, no, no, that’s OK,” said Larry, plucking the letter from her bag. “I said some things that I probably shouldn’t have.”
“I understand.”
So Larry ripped up the letter and dropped it into the nearest trash can. Five minutes later, garbage men drove up in their truck, emptied the trash into the hopper, and rode off to the dump. The ripped-up letter wound up forty feet underground in the Bumblyburg Landfill.
Larryboy’s secret was buried deep—where it belonged.
As for Awful Alvin …
He and Lampy were arrested on charges of “Assault with a Soggy Banana Peel.” Then they were tossed into the Bumblyburg Pig-penitentiary, a prison for trashy criminals. Alvin spent long days plotting a way to escape and get his revenge on Larryboy.
When it was late at night and the darkness made him afraid, Alvin used his sidekick to light up his cell. Lampy was his own personal nightlight.
“We shall return,” Alvin vowed, tucking himself into bed. “Good night, Lampy.”
Alvin closed his eyes and began to count mutant sheep. “I’ll get you, Larryboy,” he muttered sleepily. “I’m not afraid of you … I’m not afraid …”
Suddenly, Lampy’s lightbulb burned out and Alvin’s cell became pitch dark.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
That was Awful Alvin, in case you hadn’t already guessed.
THE END
ZONDERKIDZ
LarryBoy and the Abominable Trashman
Copyright © 2011 Big Idea Entertainment, LLC. VEGGIETALES®, character names, likenesses and other indicia are trademarks of and copyrighted by Big Idea Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved. Illustrations © 2011 by Big Idea Entertainment, LLC.
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Written by: Doug Peterson
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LarryBoy and the Abominable Trashman! Page 4