I stumbled and fell into a shallow pool of freezing water, accidentally dropping Haylie’s hand for a second before finding it again. “Don’t leave my side, okay?” I instructed her. She nodded.
A line of gray rocks jutted up from the ground, forming a semicircle around a frothy whirlpool—Down Below’s version of a waterslide.
“You three—in the hole!” I screamed as Adam hoisted the final girl off Blue’s back. I felt mean doing it, but I shoved the girls we had rescued into the water. “I know this is scary, but I promise you’ll be safe.” I pushed them down the waterslide, wincing at the sound of their terrified screams.
I grabbed Haylie’s hand. “Just like at Wet Willy’s, remember?” I plopped down, shifted her onto my lap, and pushed off. I barely registered the freezing water that sloshed above my waist.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!” The scream tore from my mouth as we plummeted down, and my stomach dipped. The current swirled around us, shooting us around curves so fast my head was spinning. At one point, I swore we were actually moving up, but it was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing beyond the dim outline of Haylie.
Then we were spiraling down again in one long loop like the world’s biggest crazy straw. I kept my mouth clamped shut just in case the turns and twists were too much for my stomach. I loved roller coasters, but this took “thrill ride” to a whole new level.
“You okay?” I murmured into Haylie’s hair, but she must not have heard me over the rushing water. I was probably gripping her too tight, but that was okay.
The slide veered to the right at such a sharp angle that the left side of my butt lifted off the base. “Hold on,” I gasped, half to myself, half to Haylie.
I hoped Adam had made it down the slide before the monsters got there. How much time had Haylie’s wand attack bought us? There hadn’t been much ground for Atticus to make up.
Water swished around us as we shot straight forward. Suddenly, the cold hit me, the icy water like knives against my skin. I clamped my mouth shut to keep my teeth from chattering.
With a lurch, the slide ended and we were airborne. I lost my grip on Haylie, flailing in the dark. What had I done? What if there was nothing beneath us but jagged rocks? Or sharp sticks? Or—
I belly flopped so hard I heard the smack when I hit the surface, and I forgot the pain in my hands and feet for a second.
“Haylie? Haylie!” I screamed, groping in the dark. Water was still gushing from the slide, and I caught a mouthful. It tasted like pennies.
“I’m here.” There was a soft touch on my right shoulder, and I reached to drag her away from the waterfall, kicking my legs to stay afloat.
SCENE FIFTEEN:
TWENTY-ONE MINUTES LEFT
Twisting to take in my surroundings, I realized the pool was no more than twenty feet wide. The other little girls were clinging to the side, too small to pull themselves out. At least they looked unharmed. Physically, at least.
“I’ll help you!” I called to them. “Haylie? Can you crawl on my back? Like a piggyback ride, only swimming?”
“Sure,” she said, and I positioned myself so she could wrap her arms around me.
“Hold on tight!” I kept my voice cheerful so Haylie would stay calm.
I glanced at the water pouring out of the slide. Adam and Blue had been right behind us, right?
Paddling to the side of the pool, I twisted so Haylie could pull herself out of the water. I followed, straining to use only my forearms and elbows to avoid opening the wounds on my palms again. At least the cold numbed the pain.
I crouched to help the other girls. Their hair was plastered to their faces, and their lips were blue. I hoped they didn’t get sick. Not every little kid was as resilient as Haylie. “You were all so brave!” I said brightly. “I bet that’s the bravest thing anyone’s ever done.”
Discreetly, I checked my watch. Twenty minutes until we all became monsters.
“Wh-wh-where are we?” Amy asked. Her teeth were chattering so much she almost couldn’t get the words out.
Good question. Where were we? A huge pile of trash framed the area to my right.
Are we back where we started?
“Almost home,” I said. Almost home.
Emma smiled. “Detroit?”
“Errr, sure.” I crouched down and looked into their small, scared faces.
The water kept pouring out of the slide. It was like someone had opened a floodgate. Where are Blue and Adam?
I wrapped my arms around myself. My fingers were numb and my wet clothes felt like frost against my skin.
“Lissy?” Haylie’s voice was soft. “I’m cold.”
“I know, Hails.” I put an arm around her, drawing her against me. Her teeth chattered and her skin was turning blue. “We’ll be out of here in just a minute.” I only hoped that was true.
“Where are Blue and Adam?”
“They’ll be here in a second,” I said to reassure myself as much as Haylie. “Hey, let’s play a game. Let’s count to ten, and by ten, I’ll bet Adam and Blue come shooting out of the slide.”
“That’s not a game,” Emma scoffed.
“Well, it’s something to do while we wait, okay?”
“Okay.”
“One,” we counted, our breath coming out in puffs. “Two. Three. Four. Fi—”
A terrified wail echoed from the tube, giving me even more goose bumps. I hugged Haylie tighter.
Adam shot out of the bottom of the slide, hitting the water with a spectacular belly flop. More freezing water sprayed me.
He didn’t move, and I jumped to my feet. I was about to leap in when he lifted his head and started swimming away from the torrent. He turned his head to spit out a mouthful of water.
Before he made it to the side, a high-pitched scream came from the tube and Blue shot out. He landed only about a foot from Adam’s head, slipping under the surface and bobbing up again.
“Come on,” Adam spluttered. “Get on my back.”
Blue wrapped his arms around Adam’s neck. Huge circles ringed his eyes and there were scratches on his bare arms. He rested his face against Adam’s neck while Adam dog-paddled to us.
“What took you so long?” I reached to help Blue climb onto the bank.
“Nice to see you, too.” Adam hoisted himself out of the water.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I thought the monsters got you!”
Adam grinned. “We stopped to cover the waterslide with a tree branch. It’ll take them at least a few minutes to clear it.”
“Won’t they just rip it off?”
“It’s jammed in there nice and tight.”
“Buying us some time—thanks.”
Speaking of time … I glanced at my watch, and my heart sank. After six o’clock.
“Where to now?” Adam asked.
“I don’t know. This looks like where we came in. We’re close …”
“Well, let’s motor.” He held out his hands. “Who wants to come with me?”
Blue was already leading the way. Silently, Emma took one of his hands, and Amy took the other.
Adam turned and hurried around the huge pile of garbage. I followed, dragging Haylie and Sadie with me.
SCENE SIXTEEN:
SIXTEEN MINUTES LEFT
When we turned the corner, I recognized the open area from the beginning of the night. Only now, the piles of junk had shrunk, picked over by monsters. A few stragglers remained, making the rounds of the leftovers. Talk about the world’s weirdest flea market.
Adam stopped suddenly. “Great. This all looks the same.”
“Well, let’s look for something we recognize.” I tried not to grip the girls’ hands too hard. What if we’re too late?
Then I saw it. Sticking out of one of the piles.
“The umbrella!”
“What?” Blue asked.
I pointed. “I remember seeing that. Right across from where we came in! I was thinking how out of place it was.” Thank goodness there was no sun or rain D
own Below and the monsters had no use for umbrellas.
“You’re right,” Adam said. “You found a marker!”
“A marker?”
“Remember? Same thing we used so we’d know where to meet with Blue?”
“Oh, yeah.” Had I picked up some Boy Scout skills during this crazy adventure?
“I want it,” Haylie said, struggling to wrench the umbrella from the pile.
I didn’t have time to argue with her. I grabbed it and hit the button to close it. “Here.” I pulled her and Sadie into the dark tunnel we’d left from the beginning of our journey. Willing myself to run, faster and faster, I tried to ignore the rocks cutting into my feet.
“You’re going too fast!” Sadie complained.
“Not fast enough. Just a minute more,” I wheezed, wincing as something sliced into my foot. If we ever got out of here, I was going to need a tetanus shot.
“There it is!” Blue cried. “That’s where we came in!”
SCENE SEVENTEEN:
FOURTEEN MINUTES LEFT
Up ahead, a rectangular glow came from the top of the tunnel. The bottom of Haylie’s bed?
“You first,” I told Adam. “You’re the biggest. We need to boost you up.”
Adam hesitated, and I shook my head. “Adam, this isn’t the time to be chivalrous. The whole ‘ladies first’ thing doesn’t apply in Monsterville.”
“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s the journal: Undo it by leaving the exact same way you came. … Could it be referring to … Transformation? Is that what she’s talking about undoing?”
Blue looked from me to Adam, then back to me. He shook his head. “We don’t have time to figure it out.”
Adam looked at his watch. “We have thirteen minutes.”
I closed my eyes. “It makes sense that she meant reversing Transformation. The whole journal was devoted to saving kids from Down Below. Leaving the exact same way you came. How had Blue come?”
My eyes flew open. “Blue came Down Below from under his bed.” I shook Adam’s shoulder. “On Halloween! This is our chance to undo his transformation.” I whirled on Blue. “Where’s your bed? Do you remember?”
“No.” He played with his tail. “But it should be down the same trail since it’s in the same town as yours. And if we find it, it’ll be glowing.”
We were cutting it close. I looked at the small, dirty faces clustered around me. Six human, one monster. If we looked for Blue’s portal, and we didn’t find it in time, Down Below would claim six more monsters.
I was torn. Then Haylie spoke up. “I want us all to go home!”
We didn’t even make the decision aloud. Adam and I gripped the girls’ hands tighter and we raced down the trail, farther into the darkness. Even without a flashlight, we found our footing. I counted my steps. Fifty, then a hundred …
“Look at that!” Adam cried. “Up ahead. Is that—?”
“It’s light! And it’s blue! That’s my portal.” Blue sounded like he couldn’t believe it.
“Up! Up! Up!” I screamed.
Blue laced his hands together to make a step. Adam stuck his foot in and Blue boosted him up. When Adam hit the ceiling of the tunnel, he went through with a sucking sound, his body disappearing on the other side.
“The girls next,” Blue said, and one by one he picked them up and pushed them through the rectangular light.
But the light was fading.
“Hurry, Blue,” I moaned.
Just as he moved to help me up, a low chuckling sound rumbled behind us. “You don’t want to stay with us?”
I whirled around. Standing there was a gangly, hunchbacked monster—Atticus, appearing for the final showdown. He’d removed his party hat.
SCENE EIGHTEEN:
EIGHT MINUTES LEFT
I stepped forward as Blue shrank behind me. “Get away from us!”
Atticus cocked his head like he was amused. “Why would I do that?”
“There are two of us and one of you. Don’t make us hurt you!”
“How cute—a threat.” Atticus moved closer, frowning at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle. In the light, he was even more hideous than he’d been near the Transformation Room, his greenish skin covered in lumpy warts and moles.
“You think it’s just a threat?” I taunted. “How are your feet feeling?”
“A bit of pain. But nothing compared to what you’ll feel … very soon.”
“Ooooh, I’m so scared.” I wouldn’t show him that I was terrified.
With one more step, Atticus was less than a foot away, his eyes studying me. “Why do you look so familiar? Have you invaded here before?”
“Excuse me—invaded? You stole my sister! And, no, I haven’t had the pleasure.” I glanced at the light narrowing above me.
“You remind me of someone,” Atticus mused, his green eyes meeting mine. His jaw sagged. “It can’t be!”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember me?” He sounded as whiny as Haylie when she’s tired and hungry.
At first I thought he was crazy, or playing some kind of game, but then a flash of realization hit me.
I left him! How could I do that? From now on, every time I see green eyes, I’ll think of him….
“Oh,” I whispered. “You were taken with Aunt Lucy, weren’t you?”
“Lucy?” he said sharply.
“I know. I look like her. She—”
He stepped forward and gripped my arm, his fingernails digging into my skin. Blue shrank back even more, and I used the umbrella to block him from Atticus’s reach. “Back off!” I yelled, but Atticus wasn’t listening.
“She escaped without a thought for me,” he hissed.
“That’s not true!” I tried to wriggle away. “I found her journal. She thought about you every day.”
“Thought? Why did she stop thinking about me?” he snarled.
“Well,” I gasped as he tightened his grip, “she died.”
Atticus released me. “She died?” He looked more shocked than sad.
“Yeah. I mean … she was old. She had a long life.”
His shock turned into smug satisfaction. “She escaped from Down Below and lived a normal life. No glory, no fame—nothing. And here, I’m in charge of North American Transformation. I have glory. I have fame. And I live forever!”
Talk about bad dialogue. Obviously, Atticus was more than a little power hungry. “That’s great.” I looked into his eyes. There was nothing human there. But I still felt a little bad for him. What turned him into this?
I had no time to waste being sorry, though. I glanced up at the fading light. “You know what you don’t have?”
“What?”
“An umbrella!” I shoved the tip into his bony stomach, and opened it. Atticus stumbled and landed hard on his back.
“Guys! Look above you!”
I glanced up at the sound of Adam’s voice and saw a blue sheet decorated with cartoon astronauts. “Blue! Grab on!” I screamed.
Blue grasped a corner of the sheet and rose in the air, his feet dangling. “Yes!” I cheered, jumping to grab his legs. But instead of staying still so Adam could pull us both up, Blue flailed and kicked me in the jaw.
“Oh!” I fell heavily, my forehead cracking against the rocky ground. Blood trickled into my eyes. Blue vanished through the portal and the sheet descended again. My lifeline.
As I struggled to stand, the ground shook. Was this the end? Had dawn come, and I was transforming? Would I look down at myself and see long, gnarled limbs and translucent skin?
Atticus grinned. “Not long now.” I almost expected him to gleefully rub his hands together.
Metal bars jutted out of the rocky ground to surround me. They rose quickly, and in no time at all, they were ten feet in the air and had joined together. The ground below me smoothed into a metal floor. I was trapped in a giant cage.
Clutching the bars, I shook them, not even feeling the pain in my hands anymore. “Let me out!”
I screamed.
“Obviously, no,” Atticus said. He studied me, his head cocked to one side. “At least not for a few minutes. Not until it’s too late.”
I looked around wildly for a way to escape—a latch or a broken bar or a padlock. My mind whirred. This was the classic death-trap scenario, like in Live and Let Die, where James Bond gets away because the villain takes his sweet time lowering him into shark-infested waters.
When a movie has a death-trap scenario, the hero always finds a way out. If that wasn’t true, Austin Powers wouldn’t have spoofed it. There had to be a way out for me, too.
“You could be the better person, you know,” I told Atticus, my head swimming from my new cut. I wiped blood off my forehead. “If you let me go.”
“I’m not a person anymore,” he reminded me.
“Yes, you are. Just not on the outside.”
Maybe I could inspire a villain speech. That’s when the villain goes on and on about how smart he is, and why he did what he did, and blah, blah, blah … giving his victim enough time to loosen his bonds or unlock his handcuffs or or wriggle from his ropes.
“No,” Atticus said, his green eyes hard. “I’m a monster now, thanks to your aunt only worrying about herself.”
“Come on, could she really have saved you?” I knew arguing with Atticus wasn’t a good idea, but I didn’t have a better one.
“Maybe!”
“Maybe. Or would you have preferred you both stayed monsters? That seems pretty selfish.” I eyed the top of my cage. The sheet poked through the bars. I resisted the urge to grab it. I’d never fit through the bars.
“Lissa!” Adam called to me, faintly.
The light above had narrowed even more. It was just a thin sliver. Desperately, I eyed the sheet, thinking about when this all began. When I got Adam to rig a trap to catch a monster.
My mouth went dry. Could the beginning to all of this also be the ending? I remembered Adam’s scornful words when I asked him if a Sasquatch would break his snare.
Of course it won’t. I used a clove hitch. As long as Adam braced himself against something and pulled hard …
I jumped, grabbing the sheet. “Not yet!” I yelled to Adam. Frantically, I tied the sheet around the top of the cage, using the clove hitch Adam had taught me months ago. It had to stay. Then I scrambled up the side of the cage, my palms slippery with blood and sweat. Somehow, I managed to hang from the top, like a kid on the monkey bars. I was less than two feet from the portal.
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