by Tony Abbott
Holly smiled back at her father. She loved him a lot, but the truth was Humongous movies were sort of, well, not so good. Props didn’t work. Sets tumbled down. Makeup fell off. But the camera kept rolling.
“The camera must keep rolling,” Mr. Vickers said. “You never know what might happen.”
As the five kids followed Mr. Vickers around the hangar, they could see the whole strange movie studio.
In one corner was a jungle with a volcano. Next to that was a castle dungeon with painted stone walls and lots of chains. Behind that was a giant kitchen with huge forks and spoons and a pair of enormous scissors sitting on a tall table.
“A total horror playground!” said Mike. “And look! The moon!” Mike stepped onto a bumpy landscape of crusty cardboard craters.
Mr. Vickers chuckled. “Actually, it’s supposed to be Mars. But only astronauts would know the difference!”
“Or aliens,” mumbled Liz.
Then the moviemaker said, “Behold, the den of mystery! The prop workshop!” He led them into a long room filled with work-tables.
“Excellent!” gasped Sean. “Hairy hands. Zombie eyeballs. Rubber brains. This is where I’m coming for school supplies! Hey, what’s this?” He pointed to a large black box on the floor.
“Careful with that, son,” said Mr. Vickers. “That’s a fog machine. One false move and we’ll be in fog as thick as a vampire’s accent!”
“This stuff is cool,” said Jeff, slapping a fake scar on his cheek.
The director nodded. “Props, costumes, and makeup are the heart of a good story. They transform normal folks into weird monsters.”
Liz turned to Holly. “In The Zone, it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes.”
Just then—Scritch! Holly heard something moving outside the door.
“And you know, kids,” said Mr. Vickers. “Movie stars come in all shapes and sizes, too. It just happens that I got a call this morning, and one of my … ah … actors, should be here very soon!”
“Cool!” said Jeff. “Can we meet him?”
Scritch! Holly moved closer to the door. She heard something for sure. “Dad, what’s out—”
Suddenly, the door swung open and a long, green arm curled in and wrapped itself tightly around Holly’s neck!
“Another thing is eating Holly!” cried Sean.
“Kkkkk!” she gagged as the long green arm yanked her out the door!
2
A Grabby Sort of Guy!
“A giant, real-live octopus!” screamed Mike.
That was the second-to-last thing Holly heard before things started to go dark. The last thing was her own voice, shrieking for help.
“Help-p-p-p!” she sputtered as she felt herself getting dragged across the ground.
Zzzzt! An electrical buzz sounded, and the green arm instantly uncoiled from Holly’s neck and dropped to the ground with a thud.
“Wow! It’s a giant octopus!” shouted Jeff. “Will you look at those tentacles!”
Holly looked up at the thing that had grabbed her. “An octopus?” she gargled.
Yes! An octopus! And boy was it a big one! It had a giant speckled green dome and eight leathery tentacles wrapped like snakes around it. Two deep eyes glared out from the towering dome.
Sean frowned when he saw the creature was sitting on the back of a truck. “Oh, so, it’s not a real octopus?”
“Now there’s a movie star!” said Mr. Vickers, rubbing his hands together as he approached the truck. “I hope my new prop didn’t scare you, Holly, dear!”
“No …” Holly rubbed her neck. “If not being able to breathe, watching your life flash before your eyes, and seeing a big bright light didn’t scare me …”
Mr. Vickers smiled at her. “That’s the spirit!”
Holly gulped. “Another second without air and I really would have been a spirit.” She got to her feet and read the words painted on the truck’s door. Acme Beast and Creature Delivery.
Next to the truck were two men in workmen’s overalls. One held a clipboard and chewed on a pencil. The other, a chubby man, leaned against the back of the truck.
While Mr. Vickers went over to examine the octopus, the man with the clipboard stepped forward. “I’m delivering one …” He read his clipboard. “Slither-Matic Deluxe Octo-Prop.”
“Eight legs!” blurted his chubby partner, still leaning against the truck. “It gives a hug like grandma and you need four humans just to shake hands with it! Ha!”
“Humans?” said Holly to herself. “I wonder why he said that …”
“Hey, missy, you gonna sign?” The man tapped his clipboard in Holly’s face.
Holly pulled back. “Uh, sorry, I don’t have anything to write with.”
“Here ya go.” The man yanked the pencil from his teeth and offered it to Holly.
Splat. Something green and slimy dripped off the end of the pencil. “Gum,” the man said.
The other Acme man, who was still leaning against the back of the truck, began to laugh. His wide stomach shook like a bowlful of jellyfish. “Gum!” he snorted. “Dat’s a good one!”
Holly swallowed hard and signed.
Suddenly, a soft voice spoke from the front of the truck. “Boys, help me down, won’t you?”
Everyone turned to see the passenger door of the truck open and a leg slide out. A leg with a boot on it. A high, black boot.
The two delivery men hustled over.
A moment later, a woman stood next to the truck. She was tall, with lots of wavy red hair, bright red lipstick, and a green suit.
“Gosh!” murmured Jeff.
Sean nodded. “She smells like the perfume counter at Mallwarts!”
Mike nodded. “Lady, are you an actress?”
“AWWWK!” the woman exploded, nearly spitting. She covered her mouth and giggled politely. “Er, no, not an … actress! He-he!”
Then the woman’s expression changed. She stared at Holly. Really, she stared at Holly’s shoulder. She stepped closer. “Is that a piece of … crab shell … on your shoulder?”
“Huh?” Holly looked at her shoulder. “Oh, no, this is from Clawgantua, the Clawed Avenger.”
The woman eyed Holly’s shoulder. Then she said, “I’d like to meet this Clawed Avenger.”
“He’s one of my dad’s movie props,” Holly said.
“Oh,” said the woman. She seemed disappointed. “Never mind, then.” She looked around and smiled sweetly at everyone. “I am Mary Smith! I will show you how to control your excellent new Slither-Matic Deluxe Octo-Prop. Here is the remote control unit.”
She took a black box from a little pouch on her belt. “These eight buttons control the eight tentacles, and this red one stops the prop.”
Mike and Jeff helped Mr. Vickers and the Acme men slide the giant octopus to the ground.
The woman named Mary Smith then gave Mr. Vickers the box. “If you run into any problems, I’ll be staying at the lake.” She pointed to the north end of Grover’s Mill.
“Lake Lake?” said Liz. “But there’s no place to stay at Lake Lake.”
“You should stay at the Baits Motel,” said Jeff. “It’s really neat. It’s shaped like a fish.”
“A fish!” The woman smacked her lips. “Mmm!” Then she turned to the delivery men. “Take me to the fish place, will you, boys?”
“Aye-aye, Miss Jones,” said the man with the clipboard. “Me and my partner would love to!”
Holly’s eyebrows went up. “Excuse me,” she said to the woman with red hair. “But I thought you said your name was Mary Smith.”
The woman turned and looked deep into Holly’s eyes. “Did I?” Then without another word, she climbed into the truck, and it roared off toward Grover’s Mill, leaving a cloud of dust behind it.
“Did anybody notice how totally weird that was?” asked Holly.
“Weird?” said Liz. “Compared to what?” She picked another bit of crab shell from Holly’s shirt.
Mike bent to sniff the
Octo-Prop. Sean and Jeff poked its leathery skin and smiled.
Holly rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”
“I shall name you—Gigantopus!” Mr. Vickers said with glee to the Octo-Prop. “Warm up those tentacles, because I’m going to make you a star!”
The enormous octopus prop sat spread out on the sandy ground. The dome was large enough to fit a whole house inside it. Each of the octopus’s eight long tentacles stretched thirty feet out from the center.
“He sure is a big guy!” said Mike, gently touching the rubbery green skin. He sniffed it again. “He smells like my mom’s fish sticks!”
Mr. Vickers’s eyes beamed with excitement as he lifted the camera to his shoulder. “We start filming immediately. Watch closely!” He aimed his camera. “Act one, scene one of Clawgantua vs. Gigantopus! And … action!” He pressed the remote control at the same time.
KEEE—RUNNNNNNNCH!
The Slither-Matic Deluxe Octo-Prop jerked its tentacles out, ripped the giant back door off the Humongous hangar, and hurled it up in the air.
“Great shot!” Mr. Vickers hooted. Then he frowned. “But … wait a minute … he’s not supposed to do that!”
Everyone watched as the giant door flew up into the clouds and hung there for a moment.
“Wow,” gasped Holly, looking straight up.
Then—whoosh!—the door dropped right back down to Grover’s Mill.
Right back down at Holly.
3
Sourbuss
WHAM!—the hangar door, now a crumpled, twisted piece of metal, slammed to the ground three inches away from Holly’s feet.
“My goodness, that was unexpected!” said Mr. Vickers, smiling as he fumbled with the control box. “I’m sure we can get Gigantopus under control.” He pushed the stop button firmly.
Sproing! The box burst apart in his hands.
“Ooops!” Mr. Vickers grinned nervously at the kids. “Everybody in the car!”
But before they could run to safety—
Thhhwupp! Thhhwupp! Two giant tentacles slammed down on the Vickers’ old dented station wagon, coiled around it, and hoisted it off the ground.
“Careful, it’s a classic!” shouted Mr. Vickers.
CRUNCH! The octopus threw the car down, and the bumpers, doors, and tires blasted off.
“Classic wreck, now!” Mike gasped, diving away as one of the beast’s leathery arms snapped like a whip inches from his head.
“Zone alert!” cried Liz. “One out-of-control movie prop, tentacled and dangerous!”
As Mr. Vickers tried desperately to piece the remote back together—KA-THOONG! Another long, slithery tentacle slapped down at the top of the Humongous hangar and put a twenty-foot dent in it.
“So maybe it is a real octopus?” said Sean.
Two more tentacles snapped swiftly at the kids. The big suction pads running up and down each arm moved like hundreds of gooey mouths.
“Whatever it is, it’s gross!” said Holly.
“And mad!” Liz cried. “And hungry!”
“Run for your lives!” yelled Mike, leaping to safety with Holly and Liz.
Sean made a dash away from the hangar just as one long tentacle slithered out with the oversized fork from the Humongous hit Attack of the Very Large Kitchen Utensils.
Gigantopus hurled the big fork at Sean.
THWANG! It missed his head by inches.
“Oooh, bad table manners!” cried Sean.
With another tentacle, Gigantopus shot the large eyeball from Mysterious Eye Land at Jeff.
It rolled at him like a supersized bowling ball.
“Help! It’s gonna strike!” yelped Jeff.
“Spare him!” cried Liz, who jumped over and pushed Jeff out of the way.
“Everybody this way!” Holly shouted. “Head for the desert!” She pointed to the wasteland to the west. “He won’t follow us. He’ll head for town!”
The kids ran full speed across the dusty ground, and tumbled behind a sand dune. Sean climbed up on the dune and looked back at the studio.
“Gigantopus is still attacking,” said Sean. The tentacles were snapping at the mountain range from Snowmonster.
“There’s nowhere to hide around here,” said Mike, crouching behind a tiny cactus plant. “Are you guys sure Gigantopus will attack the town?”
Holly shot a look at Sean. Her brother put his hand on Mike’s shoulder. “It’s the first law of Humongous movies, Mike. Giant Monsters Always Attack Towns.”
CRUNCH! The giant octopus hoisted itself across the roof of the hangar.
“Back! Back!” cried Mr. Vickers, still filming as he ran around to the front of the hangar. “Into the background with you!”
“Dad!” yelled Holly from the top of the sand dune. “Get out of there!”
Gigantopus’s domed head towered over the hangar, making the building seem like a model.
THWIRP! The eight long tentacles whipped down with incredible speed. They lunged at Mr. Vickers.
“I’ve got to save Dad!” Holly shrieked, starting back across the sand to the hangar.
Sean grabbed her arm. “No, it’s too dangerous! Dad’s a Zoner. He’ll do okay.”
“Keep down,” said Liz. “If Gigantopus sees us, he’ll come for us, too!”
KEEE—RUNNNNNNNCH! The roof of the studio nearly collapsed under the huge weight.
Just then they saw a low swirl of dust escaping up the road in front of the studio. It was Mr. Vickers, pedaling away on a very small bicycle, his camera still on his shoulder.
“My bike!” called Mike, jumping up and down. “It’s way too small for him!”
“Shhhh!” urged Liz, ducking behind the dune.
YEEEOOOWWW! Gigantopus uttered a sudden unearthly roar. He turned. His large red eyes flashed and his suction cups twitched as he spotted the five kids. He snapped his tentacles angrily at them.
“Sorry,” said Mike. “I guess I yelled too loud.”
WHAM! WHAM! The ground shuddered under Gigantopus’s thumping tentacles.
“Maybe now would be a good time for us to escape!” Jeff added quickly.
Mike scrambled across the sand. “Hey, I thought you said he wouldn’t come here. The first law of Humongous movies and all that!”
“I guess Gigantopus didn’t read the script,” said Sean.
The beast, who didn’t read the script, suddenly flexed his eight powerful thirty-foot tentacles. He was a blur of oozy suction pads, green leathery skin, and razor-sharp teeth as he slithered across the ground toward the kids.
“The sand!” yelled Jeff. “I can’t run that fast!”
Within seconds the beast was there.
“We’re octopus food!” cried Mike. “Doomed!”
Then, just as the beast was within striking distance of the five friends, its giant-domed head turned. The creature stopped, twirled its tentacles, and pushed off into the open desert.
“Yahoo!” said Sean. “He’s going away! Roll the credits. Turn up the lights. Clear the theater. Shut off the popcorn machine. Get the—”
“Whaaa-ungh!” Holly suddenly went down like a sack of heavy fish.
“Holly?” said Sean. “You don’t have to hide. The octopus is gone now.”
“I’m not hiding!” she said. “I slipped.” She found herself eye level with a pool of shiny stuff. “Whoa, what is this gunk?” Holly stared at the ground. “That creepy octopus left something slimy!”
Sean stooped. “Gloop,” he said helpfully.
“Smells pretty fishy,” said Mike, stooping, too.
Holly looked back across the sand. “Yeah, well, whatever it is, Gigantopus is leaving a trail of the fishy gloop. And it starts at the studio.”
“Uh-oh!” cried Sean, pointing to a swirl of dust in the desert. “He’s turning around again!”
Gigantopus whirled in the sand, his powerful tentacles still dripping gloop, and he headed north.
Toward town.
Toward the center of Grover’s Mill!
“Hurry!” yelled Holly. “We have to warn everyone!”
Buy Gigantopus From Planet X! Now!
About the Author
Over the last two decades, Tony Abbott has written dozens of mysteries, comics, and adventure books for young readers aged six to fourteen, with series including Danger Guys, the Time Surfers, the Weird Zone, Underworlds, Goofballs, and the long-running fantasy series the Secrets of Droon. He is also the author of the fantasy epic Kringle and the realistic novels Firegirl (winner of the 2006 Golden Kite Award for Fiction), The Postcard (winner of the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery), and Lunch-Box Dream. Among his latest novels is The Forbidden Stone, the first installment of the twelve-book saga the Copernicus Legacy. Tony has taught on the faculty of Lesley University’s MFA program in creative writing, is a frequent conference speaker and visitor to schools, and presents workshops to creative writers of all ages. His websites include www.tonyabbottbooks.com, www.thecopernicuslegacy.com, and the literary blog www.fridaybookreport.com.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1997 by Robert Abbott
Cover design by Connie Gabbert
ISBN: 978-1-4804-8655-3
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
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