But Mike wasn’t listening. He was determined to send the girl through the door—any door. He leaned down to say good-bye to the kid, careful not to get too close. “Okay, send me a postcard, kid. That’s Miiike Wazowwwski.”
“Mike Wazowski!” the girl exclaimed.
“Very good,” Mike said. He threw a pencil through the door. “Go get the stick. Go fetch,” he told her.
Just then a big blue hand reached out and closed the door. “Mike, this isn’t Boo’s door,” Sulley said sternly.
“‘Boo’? What’s ‘Boo’?” Mike asked.
“That’s what I decided to call her,” Sulley said. “Is there a problem?”
“Sulley, you’re not supposed to name it!” Mike said, his voice rising. He began to shout. “Now put that thing back where it came from, or so help me...”
Suddenly Mike shut his mouth. A number of assistants and CDA agents had turned to look at them.
“Oh, hey, we’re rehearsing a scene for the upcoming company play called…uh, Put That Thing Back Where It Came From…Or So Help Me!” Mike said, covering up quickly. He started to sing. “Put that thing back where it came from, or so help me…” Sulley hummed along.
The other monsters went back to their work. But when Sulley and Mike turned around, Boo was gone!
Mike suddenly cheered up. “Wait a minute! This is perfect! She’s gone!” He tried to hold Sulley back. “Somebody else will find the kid! It’ll be their problem—not ours. She’s out of our hair!”
But Sulley wasn’t going to lose Boo. With Mike clinging to his tail, Sulley ran through the halls in search of his little human friend. Rounding a corner, he slammed right into Randall!
“What are you two doing?” Randall asked suspiciously.
“They’re rehearsing a play,” said a passing assistant.
“She’s out of our hair…” sang Mike, trying desperately to cover up once again.
Randall ignored him. “Word on the street is the kid’s been traced back to this factory. You haven’t seen anything, have you?” he said with a snarl.
“Well…uh…no,” Sulley stammered nervously. Boo, still disguised as a monster, began to waddle down the hall. Sulley edged away from Randall and followed her.
“No way!” said Mike. “But if it was an inside job, I—I’d put my money on Waxford. You know, he’s got them shifty eyes.” Mike pointed his thumb toward a monster with several shifty eyes.
“Hey, Waxford…” Randall’s eyes narrowed as he moved off to question the monster.
Mike breathed a sigh of relief and turned around—to find himself face to face with a furious Celia! She was wearing a brace around her neck. Her snakes all had little braces around their necks, too.
“Michael Wazowski! Last night was one of the worst nights of my entire life!” she yelled. Her snakes hissed angrily at Mike.
Mike’s eye nearly bugged out of his head. He glanced over at Randall. “Shhh! Honey, I thought you liked sushi,” he whispered.
“Sushi!” Celia roared. “You think this is about sushi?”
Randall stopped in his tracks. Mike saw him. Desperate to keep Celia quiet, he grabbed her and planted a huge kiss on her lips.
But Randall had heard enough. He held up the newspaper Fungus had given him. There, right on the front page, was a picture of Mike.
“Wazowski!” Randall hissed. He spun around—but Mike was already gone!
Panicked, Mike tore down the halls of Monsters, Inc. As he stopped to catch his breath, Randall unblended from the wall right next to him.
“Yikes!” Mike shrieked.
Randall grabbed Mike and pushed him against the wall. “Where’s the kid?” he growled.
“You’re not pinning this on me!” Mike replied. “It never would have gotten out if you hadn’t been cheating last night!”
Randall smiled evilly. So Mike thought that was what this was all about. “Cheating. Right. Okay, I think I know how to make this all go away. In five minutes everyone goes to lunch; the Scare Floor will be empty. You see that clock?” He grabbed Mike’s arms to emphasize his point. “When the big hand is pointing up and the little hand is pointing up, the kid’s door will be in my station.” He yanked Mike’s arms into the twelve o’clock position. “But when the big hand points down…” He twisted Mike’s arm. Mike winced. “…the door will be gone. You have until then to put the kid back.” Randall gave Mike’s arm one last twist, then disappeared.
Meanwhile, Sulley was chasing Boo. He’d almost caught up with her when suddenly she fell into a trash can! Before he could reach her, two geeky monsters dumped the garbage into a trash compactor. Sulley hurried to the garbage room, but it was too late. He picked up a cube of compressed garbage. One of the monster eyeballs from Boo’s costume poked out.
When Mike found him, Sulley was cradling the garbage cube and crying. “I can still hear her little voice,” Sulley sobbed.
“Mike Wazowski!” said a little girl’s voice.
“Hey,” Mike said, putting his ear near the cube. “I can hear her, too.”
“Mike Wazowski!” said several little voices.
“How many kids you got in there?” Mike asked, staring at the cube.
Sulley whipped around. There was Boo, minus one monster eyeball from her costume, toddling along with a day-care class of little monsters. She hadn’t been compacted after all! Sulley ran over and scooped her up.
“Don’t you ever run away from me again, young lady!” he said, hugging her tightly.
“Okay, Sulley. That’s enough. Let’s go,” Mike said through clenched teeth. Just then one of the little monster kids sank its teeth into Mike’s arm. Mike yelped in pain, and Boo started laughing.
The lights overhead glowed brightly. Lightbulbs began to pop. The day-care class screamed and ran away.
“Stop making Boo laugh!” Sulley told Mike as they hurried back to the Scare Floor.
When they arrived, they found Boo’s door in its station. “There it is! Just like Randall said!” Mike exclaimed with relief.
“Randall!” exclaimed Sulley, confused. Boo squirmed out of his arms and ran to hide under a desk. “Mike, what are you thinking?” Sulley asked as he coaxed Boo out. “We can’t trust Randall! He’s after Boo!”
“Look, Sulley. You wanted her door and there it is,” Mike said. “Now let’s move.”
“No, Mike,” Sulley said, holding Boo tightly.
“You want me to prove everything’s on the up-and-up?” Mike asked. “Fine!” He marched over to Boo’s door and walked inside. While Sulley and Boo watched, Mike started jumping on the bed. One jump. Two jumps. On the third jump, a large plastic box flew up from the bed and covered him. It was a trap!
Sulley and Boo hid under a desk as Randall emerged through Boo’s door, carrying the box with Mike inside. Looking over his shoulder, Randall loaded the box onto a cart and quickly wheeled it off the Scare Floor. Sulley grabbed Boo and followed him.
The lizard monster moved quickly. Sulley tried desperately to keep up with him, but the hallways were crowded with Monsters, Inc. employees returning from their lunch break. He lost sight of Randall. When Sulley turned a corner, he found himself at a dead end.
Sulley looked around, confused. Meanwhile, Boo began to play with some tools that hung on a panel on the wall. Suddenly the panel swung open, revealing a secret passageway!
“Boo, way to go!” Sulley cheered.
Carrying Boo, Sulley hurried down the dark corridor. At the end, he discovered a grimy, dimly lit laboratory. Randall and Fungus were inside. Hidden behind a wall of pipes, Sulley watched them.
“I got the kid!” Randall told Fungus. “Get over here and help me! Come on—while we’re young here.”
Randall and Fungus pulled the box off the cart and opened it to find—Mike!
“Wazowski!” Randall exclaimed, shocked. “Where is it, you little one-eyed cretin?” he asked angrily.
“You’re nuts if you think kidnapping me is gonna help you cheat your w
ay to the top!” Mike told him.
Randall gave a sinister chuckle. “You still think this is about that stupid scare record?”
“Well, I did right up until you chuckled like that,” Mike said weakly. “And now I’m thinking I should just get out of here.”
But Randall wasn’t about to let Mike go anywhere. “I’m about to revolutionize the scaring industry,” he said. “And when I do, even the great James P. Sullivan is gonna be working for me. First I need to know where the kid is—and you’re going to tell me.”
A vacuumlike machine lowered from the ceiling. It began to move slowly toward Mike’s face. “Uh-oh. What is that thing?” Mike cried. The machine began to suck Mike’s lips toward it.
Sulley looked around frantically for a way to save his friend. He spotted some cords leading to an electric outlet. Reaching over, Sulley pulled the plug. The machine stopped with a whir.
“Go check the machine!” Randall snapped at Fungus. And then Randall noticed the electric cords moving on the floor. “Hmmm,” he said suspiciously. He followed the cords to the wall, plugged them back in, and returned to the machine.
But when he got there, his jaw dropped in surprise. Mike was gone and Fungus was strapped in his place! The vacuumlike machine was sucking the scream right out of Fungus!
Randall hit a switch and turned off the machine. “Where is he?” Randall shouted furiously.
But Fungus couldn’t speak. Lifting one weak arm, he pointed to the exit through which Mike, Sulley, and Boo had escaped.
The three friends raced out the secret passageway and back into the Monsters, Inc. factory. But they weren’t out of danger yet! At the end of the hallway, a group of CDA agents were still searching for clues.
“We gotta get out of here now!” Mike exclaimed. “We can start a whole new life somewhere far away!” He ran toward a door marked EXIT. “Good-bye, Monsters, Inc. Good-bye, Mr. Waternoose!”
“Wait!” said Sulley. “Follow me! I have an idea!” He turned and ran back the way they’d come.
“No, no, no, no!” Mike cried, running after Sulley.
“Simulation terminated. Simulation terminated,” said a computerized voice.
“No, no, no, no!” Waternoose was yelling at a roomful of monster recruits in the simulator room. “What was that? You’re trying to scare the kid—not lull it to sleep! How many times do I have to tell you? It’s all about how you enter the room!”
At that moment Sulley burst into the room. Mike was right on his tail. “Mr. Waternoose!” Sulley cried.
“James! Perfect timing!” Waternoose declared. “Now show these monsters how it’s done.”
“No, sir, you don’t understand…,” Sulley protested. But Waternoose grabbed Boo out of Sulley’s hands and passed her to Mike.
“Pay attention, everyone,” he told the recruits. “You’re about to see the best in the business!” The lights in the room dimmed. The puppet boy was reset in his place in the bed. Boo wiggled out of Mike’s arms and ran to be near Sulley.
“Now give us a big, loud roar,” Waternoose told Sulley. Sulley paused. “What are you waiting for?” Waternoose asked. “Roar!”
Sulley sighed. He had no choice. Opening his mouth, he gave a mighty “ROOOAAAARRR!”
The puppet kid screamed. Boo was terrified. Tears welled up in her eyes. As the monster recruits clapped, she ran to hide in the corner.
“Well done, James!” said Waternoose, ushering the recruits out of the room.
Sulley suddenly spotted Boo hiding in the shadows. “Boo?” said Sulley gently. But she backed away from him, crying. Sulley no longer seemed like a cuddly friend to Boo. Now he seemed like a big scary monster!
As she tried to get away, Boo tripped. The hood of her monster costume fell back.
Waternoose gasped. “The child!”
Mike tried to explain. “Sir, she isn’t toxic. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me. Sulley and I have been with her since last night, and nothing’s happened to us. We tried to get its door to send it back, but things didn’t work out like we planned. It’s not our fault—it’s Randall’s. He was trying to kidnap her. We thought he was just trying to cheat at first, but it’s a lot bigger than cheating. He’s got some kind of crazy torture machine that sucks the scream out of kids, and he was gonna test it out on that girl!”
“Randall!” Waternoose exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Sulley was still trying to reach Boo. But she ran away from him and hid behind one of Waternoose’s legs. Waternoose scooped her up.
“Oh, I never thought things would come to this,” he said with a sigh. Holding Boo, he crossed to a door station and punched numbers into a keypad. “I’m sorry you boys got mixed up in this…especially you, James. But now we can set everything straight again for the good of the company.” A huge metal door fell into the station.
“Uh, sir, that’s not her door,” Sulley told him.
“I know,” Waternoose said. “It’s yours.”
Suddenly Randall unblended from the metal door. He opened it to reveal—falling snow! Sulley and Mike gasped.
With a mighty shove, Waternoose pushed the two monsters through the door and into the human world!
“Boo!” Sulley cried as he and Mike landed in a pile of snow. He looked up in time to see Waternoose slam the door shut. Sulley ran to the door. But when he opened it again, all he saw was falling snow. The opening to Monstropolis had closed.
“Oh, what a great idea, going to your old pal Waternoose,” Mike snapped. “Too bad he was in on the whole thing!”
Sulley ignored him and tried the door again. The only thing he cared about was getting back to save Boo from Randall’s machine. But the door stayed closed.
“All you had to do was listen to me,” Mike yelled, furious. He charged at Sulley. The two monsters rolled through the snow, fists flying.
Just then a huge shadow fell across them. The two looked up to see…a giant, hairy monster! Mike and Sulley screamed!
Shadows flickered on the wall of the Yeti’s cavernous lair. The huge beast carried a tray of teacups to Mike and Sulley. Suddenly he grinned.
“Sno-cone?” he asked, politely offering the tray of yellow sno-cones to Mike. Mike looked at the treats, disgusted. “Oh, no, don’t worry—it’s lemon,” the Yeti said, seeing Mike’s reaction.
Mike didn’t answer. He was huddled next to a lantern, trying to keep warm and glaring at Sulley. Sulley sat by the mouth of the cave, staring out at the snow. Snow drifted in and piled up on his fur.
“I understand,” the Yeti said. “It ain’t easy being banished. It won’t be so hard for you guys—banished with your best friend.”
“He’s not my friend!” Mike shouted. “Ruined my life for a stupid kid!” he yelled at Sulley. “Because of you, I’m stuck forever in this frozen wasteland!”
“Wasteland!” the Yeti said defensively. “I think you mean wonderland. How about all this fabulous snow? And wait until you see the local village—cutest thing in the world—”
“What did you say?” Sulley said, interrupting. “Something about a village? Where? Are there kids in it?” He ran across the cave and grabbed the Yeti.
“It’s at the bottom of the mountain—take you at least three days,” the Yeti answered, a little scared by Sulley’s enthusiasm.
Sulley growled. “Three days!” That wasn’t soon enough to save Boo! He punched the wall of the cave. A piece of ice split off and slid across the floor. All of a sudden Sulley got an idea!
He crossed the cave and began digging through the Yeti’s collection of hiking gear. “We need to get Boo,” Sulley announced.
A snowball flew across the room and hit Sulley in the face. He paused, then continued working on his project. Mike began to pack another snowball.
“Boo! What about us?” Mike said angrily. “We were about to break the record! We would’ve had it made!”
“None of that matters now,” Sulley said, hammering away.
“None of it matters?” Mike
shouted. “What about everything we ever worked for? What about Celia? I’m never going to see her again! What about me? I’m your best friend. Do I matter?”
Sulley stopped working and turned to Mike. He’d built a sled! It had skis for runners and a ski pole for steering!
“I’m sorry, Mike. I’m sorry we’re stuck out here, but Boo’s in trouble. I think there might be a way to save her, if we can just get—”
But Mike cut him off. “We? If you want to go out there and freeze to death, be my guest. You’re on your own.” He folded his arms and turned his back to Sulley.
Grabbing the lantern, Sulley took his sled out into the snow.
By the light of the swaying lantern, Sulley rocketed down the snowy mountainside. He whizzed between two huge rocks, narrowly missing them. The sled picked up speed. He was nearing the bottom!
Suddenly a giant boulder loomed up in his path. There was no way to turn! Sulley hit the boulder. One of the skis tore off the sled. Sulley went flying through the air and tumbled down the mountainside. At last he came to a stop. The big blue monster lay still in the snow. It was all over. He would never reach Boo now.
But what was that sound? Sulley lifted his head and listened carefully. There it was again—the unmistakable sound of a child’s scream. The fog lifted. In the distance, Sulley saw the village!
George, the goofy monster who had been decontaminated the day before, walked cautiously up to his door station with a crutch. He was still pretty bruised from the CDA agents’ decontamination.
“George, I know you can do this,” Charlie, his assistant, said encouragingly. “I picked out an easy door for you in nice, quiet Nepal.”
“You’re right,” George said. He handed Charlie his crutch and stepped up to the door.
At that moment, Sulley came running through the door, trampling poor George. “Gangway! Look out! Coming through!” he yelled. “Sorry, George,” he called over his shoulder as he dashed off.
Charlie’s eyes opened wide. A child’s sock was stuck to George’s chest. He started to call out the contamination alert. “Twenty-three—” But George wasn’t going through that again! Before Charlie could finish, George grabbed his assistant, stuffed the sock into his mouth, and tossed him into the kid’s room, shutting the door.
Monsters, Inc. Junior Novel Page 4