“I can keep him quiet,” Carter said. “He really likes black licorice and playing with my Nintendo DS. If I turn the sound off and sneak him food, no one will even know he’s there.”
Nick and Angelo shared a concerned look.
“I can’t leave him home,” Carter said. “And if I miss one more day of school before the end of the semester, I’ll get suspended.”
There didn’t appear to be much choice. “All right,” Nick said. “We’ll take him to school. But you have to make sure nobody sees him.”
Running the whole way, they managed to get to class just before the bell rang. As they came through the door, Angie Hollingsworth and her friends Dana and Tiffany were waiting. The girls considered themselves at least as knowledgeable about monsters as Nick, Angelo, and Carter. The two groups had been archenemies until recently, when they’d had to work together to save another student from an evil mad scientist. Now there was a kind of truce that no one seemed completely comfortable with.
“Look who’s here,” Angie said with a smirk. “I guess I lose a chocolate cupcake.”
Nick raised a single eyebrow—something he’d been working on over the past few weeks. “Do I even want to know why?”
Angie flipped back her red hair and grinned. “I bet Dana that at least one of you would get lost in the woods and they’d have to send out search-and-rescue.”
“Nice to know you cared,” Nick said, the sarcasm in his voice thicker than caramel on a banana split.
Carter pulled a piece of licorice out of his jacket, slipped it into his pack, and whispered something toward the back pocket.
“What’s with him?” Dana asked.
Angelo’s right eye twitched. “Uh, nothing.” He looked toward the front corner of the room, where a group of girls were crowded around a desk. “What’s going on over there?”
Tiffany sniffed. “Kimber Tidwell is such a twit. She’s decided that hats and puffy skirts are now in fashion. Although where she came up with such a ridiculous idea, I have no clue. Not a single fashion designer has said anything of the kind.”
Tiffany was a nut about fashion trends. But Kimber had been the most popular girl in the school since kindergarten. Anything she and her friends Torrie and Rebel decided was cool suddenly became trendy whether Tiffany liked it or not.
“Take your seats, please,” Ms. Schoepf said.
As Nick went to his desk, he mouthed to Carter, “Keep it hidden.”
Carter gave a thumbs-up. But the homunculus was already squirming around in his backpack. It would be a miracle if someone didn’t notice it—especially Angie and her friends, who had eagle eyes when it came to figuring out what the boys were up to.
Fortunately, Ms. Schoepf kept them all busy with a math test, a history pop quiz, and a long lecture on the importance of the semicolon. Even Nick didn’t have time to think about the homunculus.
It wasn’t until the lunch bell rang and the kids began heading out the door to the playground that he remembered to check on Carter.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Not good,” Carter whispered. “Carter Junior’s been restless. I don’t think the licorice agreed with his stomach.”
“No kidding,” Nick said. “Did it ever occur to you to try feeding it something healthy? Like, say, vegetables?”
“Vegetables are for rabbits and hamsters,” Carter said.
“Keep your voices down,” Angelo said. He glanced over at Kimber, Torrie, and Rebel, who were flouncing around in skirts that could have fit at least three girls each from what Nick could see.
“I’m telling you,” Kimber told anyone who would listen. “Soon everyone will be wearing puffy skirts. It’s going to be like polyester in the seventies.”
“If you mean ugly, uncomfortable, and something you’ll want to hide pictures of in the future, I’m sure you’re right,” Tiffany said.
Rebel lowered her sunglasses and peered out from under a floppy hat with a huge orange sunflower on the side. “Look. It’s the wannabe patrol. Where’s your I-wish-I-was-cool-too badge?”
Torrie spun around, making her pink skirt open like a carnation around her legs, and glared at Tiffany. “By the time the masses realize what’s cool, we’ll be wearing the next new thing.”
“Just ignore them,” Angie said. “They’d wear cardboard boxes if they thought it would get them attention.”
“Trust me,” Kimber said. “We’d look better in cardboard than you look in those . . .” She waved her hands at Angie’s clothes. “. . . whatever you call that.”
Angelo nodded toward the far corner of the schoolyard and whispered to Nick and Carter, “Let’s get away from everyone else and get a look at the you-know-what.”
Making sure no one was following them, the boys crossed the basketball courts and sat down beneath the shade of an old oak. Carter unzipped his pack and eased the homunculus out. “How are you feeling, little guy?”
Angelo studied the creature, which at the moment looked like Carter. “Its skin seems kind of green.”
“Maybe we should try giving it medicine,” Nick said.
Angelo immediately shook his head. “It would be impossible to know how it might react. Plus, how would you calculate the right dose?”
The homunculus clutched its stomach and moaned. It was pitiful to hear. “We can’t just let him suffer,” Carter said.
The three boys stared at the little creature, unsure of what to do. Before they could come up with a plan, the little Carter opened its mouth and let out a belch that echoed across the playground.
“Whoa,” Carter said. “That was awesome, little dude. I guess it wasn’t the licorice after all. Maybe I gave him too much Mountain Dew.”
Angelo slapped a hand to his forehead. “You’ve been feeding him candy and soda? What were you thinking?”
Carter held out his hands, palms up. “I figured since he looked like me, he should probably eat like me.”
The homunculus looked up and gave a wide grin. “I’m hungry.”
“See,” Carter said. “It takes one candy-aholic to know one.”
“What is that?” a voice asked.
Nick and his friends turned to see Angie, Dana, and Tiffany standing right behind them.
Nick immediately moved between the girls and the homunculus. “You were spying on us!”
“As if,” Tiffany said, shaking out her dark hair.
“Why would we want to spy on you?” Dana asked.
“Then get lost,” Nick said.
“We were coming to see if you were going to Monster Movie Madness Saturday at the mall,” Angie said. “But we’re not going anywhere until you tell us what you were doing with that doll.”
“It’s not a doll,” Carter said as Angelo tried to hush him.
“It’s not anything. Now scram,” Nick hissed.
“It’s not anything,” a miniature Nick repeated, jumping onto Nick’s shoulder.
Angie’s eyes went wide as the homunculus changed into a perfect copy of her, tilted its chin, and said, “I guess I lose a chocolate cupcake.”
Carter’s mouth swung open like a box on a hinge. “Carter Junior can turn into a girl?”
Angelo grabbed the creature. It glared up at him with a perfect Angie sneer and said, “I bet Dana that at least one of you would get lost in the woods and they’d have to send out search-and-rescue.”
“It’s alive.” Angie stared at her tiny double. “Did you . . . make it somehow?”
Angelo shook his head. “We found it while we were camping.”
“An imp?” Dana asked. “Or some type of fairy?”
“That’s what I thought at first,” Angelo said, pulling out his notebook. “But after more research I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s either a homunculus or a mandragora.”
“A tiny human,” Dana whispered almost reverently. “Does anyone else know about it?”
“No,” Nick said at once. “And we want to keep it that way. Do you have any idea what people would do i
f they found out we have this?”
“Found out you have what?” a voice asked snottily. It was Kimber Tidwell. “Obviously not body odor. Because everyone knows you have that.”
Rebel spotted the homunculus Angelo was still gripping. “He has a doll that looks just like Angie.”
Torrie giggled. “Is she your girlfriend, brainiac? Even you can do better than that.”
Before Angelo could stop it, the homunculus squirmed out of his grip and turned into Kimber. Waving its hands theatrically in the air, it said, “Soon everyone will be wearing puffy skirts.” Instantly it changed into Torrie. “Even someone like you can do better than that.”
Kimber pulled down her sunglasses. “How did it do that?”
“It’s not a doll. It’s alive.” Rebel snatched for the homunculus, but it danced out of her reach, bunched up its fists, and, in a perfect impression of Tiffany’s comment that morning, said, “Kimber Tidwell is such a twit.”
Nick grabbed the creature. It twisted in his hands, but he refused to let go. “That’s enough show-and-tell.” He gave Angelo a desperate look and hid the homunculus behind his back. “If you girls want your own, check eBay.”
“eBay?” Kimber asked. She moved around to get a better look. But Angelo stepped in front of her.
“Right,” Angelo said. “But good luck getting one. The technology prototypes are nearly impossible to find. Especially with the remote control and facial duplication feature. It takes some serious microprocessing power to pull that off.”
Torrie took off her hat. “What are you talking about? Don’t try to tell me that thing’s some kind of robot. It moved and talked. It’s real.”
“Real impressive animatronics technology,” Dana said. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it. But then again, you three don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff. You’re too busy with princess dresses.”
Tiffany laughed. “Maybe you should keep up with the trends.”
Kimber’s face went bright red. She spun around. “Come on. Let them play with their toys. They’re too lame to have any real friends.”
Torrie and Rebel followed her across the playground. But Rebel kept glancing over her shoulder. “I don’t think it was a toy.”
As soon as they were gone, Nick gave Carter the homunculus. “Put that thing away and make sure no one sees it.”
Carter patted the creature, which seemed exhausted by its performance. Wrapping it gently in what looked like a doll blanket, he put it inside his backpack. “Don’t worry. I think it’s going to sleep.”
“What are you guys going to do with it?” Angie asked. “Please tell me burp breath isn’t keeping it as a pet.”
“We’re returning it to its primary habitat as soon as possible,” Angelo said. “And you three have to swear not to say anything about it.”
Dana tugged at a strand of honey-colored hair. “We won’t tell. But are you sure it’s a good idea to take it back?”
Nick watched Carter put the homunculus to bed and realized that, just like his friend, he actually felt sort of protective of the little guy—or girl. “What else would we do with it?”
Dana twisted the strand of hair back and forth. “Who knows if it can live in the wild now that it’s been around humans? Besides, it is an entirely new species. Scientists would go ape to learn more about it.”
“You want to let people do tests on it?” Angelo asked.
“They wouldn’t have to do tests,” Angie said. “They could keep it somewhere safe and study it. Even put it on display.”
Carter balled up his fists. “Nobody’s doing tests on Carter Junior. And nobody’s putting him in a zoo.”
“Fine.” Dana held up her hands. “I’m just saying we should at least give it a little thought before we decide anything.”
“We aren’t deciding anything,” Nick growled. “Angelo, Carter, and I are taking Carter Junior back to where he belongs, and the three of you are pretending you never saw a thing.”
Angelo tapped his notebook silently.
Angie nodded. “You three found it. You can do what you want with it. Come on,” she said to Dana and Tiffany. “Let’s finish our lunch before the bell rings.”
“That was easy,” Carter said. “I’ve never seen Angie give up on an argument that quickly.”
“Maybe she realized it was the right thing to do,” Angelo said.
“Maybe,” Nick agreed. But part of him wondered if that was all there was to it.
That night, the three boys gathered at Carter’s house. Carter lay on his bed reading a comic book. Spread out on Carter’s chest, Carter Junior read a miniature version of the same comic.
Nick swept aside a potato chip bag and at least six candy bar wrappers to sit on the floor by Carter’s bed. “How do you live in this mess?”
Carter closed his book long enough to check the chip bag for crumbs. “Just fine, thanks.”
Sitting at the desk, Angelo opened a brown paper bag and took out a couple of Tupperware containers. “I brought some food for the homunculus.”
“Really?” Carter sat up, but wrinkled his nose and plopped back onto his pillow when Angelo opened the containers. “Fruits and vegetables? Yuck.”
“I don’t want you to feed it any more candy,” Angelo said. “And no more soda either. From now on it’s fruit, vegetables, and water.”
Carter crossed his legs. “I can try. But I don’t think he’s going to go for that stuff. The little guy’s got a serious sweet tooth.”
Carter Junior crossed his legs. “Fruits and vegetables? Yuck.”
Carter chuckled. “See?”
Angelo looked at the homunculus before signaling the other boys. “Can we, um, talk in private? Without you-know-who listening?”
“Sure.” Carter lifted the miniature version of himself off his chest and set him on the floor. “Go get us some Cheetos.”
“Cheetos,” the homunculus repeated before trotting out the door.
“Is that safe?” Nick asked. “What if your family sees him?”
Carter brushed the idea away with a wave. “Mom and Dad are on a date, and my sisters wouldn’t look away from the television if the house was on fire. Besides, I’ve trained Carter Junior to sneak around without being seen.”
“Really?” Angelo jotted something in his notebook. “I wondered if it might be learning. If it is, that makes what I have to say even more important.” He steepled his fingers in front of his chest, almost as if he was praying. “We have to assume the homunculus is capable of more than we think.”
Nick felt something jabbing him in the back and pulled out a Popsicle stick from under the bed. “What do you mean?”
“I think it’s doing more than learning about our food and our mannerisms—what we say, how we act. I think it understands what we’re saying.”
Carter searched under his pillow for a snack. “Of course he does. I’ve been teaching him all kinds of stuff. How to use the remote control and play video games. He’s pretty good at Need for Speed Most Wanted.”
Angelo nodded. “Which means it could know what we’re planning.”
Nick sat up straight, understanding dawning on him. “He knows we’re planning on returning him to the forest?”
Angelo frowned. “And it’s entirely possible the homunculus doesn’t want to go back to a place where there won’t be any more sugar, snacks, or video games.”
“Are you saying we can keep him?” Carter asked.
“No. The homunculus is a wild creature.” Angelo gave Carter a meaningful look. “Whether we like it or not, being removed from the wild is not good for it. However, we must at least consider the possibility that the creature may try to stop us from returning it to its home.”
“Wow,” Nick said. He checked the hallway to make sure the homunculus wasn’t outside listening. “What should we do?”
Angelo got up from the desk. “I checked the bus schedule, and we can get dropped off at the exit where your dad got off the freeway. But getti
ng there and back will be an all-day trip. We can’t pull it off until this weekend.”
He shut the bedroom door. “Until then, we need to keep it either where we can see it or locked up at all times.” He turned to Carter. “Do you have a cage or tank of some kind?”
Carter thought for a minute. “I have an aquarium I used to keep turtles in. I don’t have the turtles. But I still have the aquarium in my closet.”
Angelo walked to the bed and placed a hand on Carter’s shoulder. “I know this might be difficult for you. But from now until Saturday, anytime you are sleeping, at school, or anywhere you can’t see it, Carter Junior needs to be locked in the aquarium. And make sure you put something heavy over the top of the tank. I think the homunculus could be a lot stronger than he lets us see.”
Tuesday morning, Nick woke up early with a weird craving for chocolate-coated Cheetos. Either he’d been having bizarre dreams or Carter was rubbing off on him. Determined to resist the temptation, he reached for a box of Rice Chex for breakfast. But he hadn’t even poured the milk when Carter himself came busting through the kitchen door, tennis shoes squeaking on the kitchen tiles as he raced across them.
“Is Angelo here?” he gasped, looking around wildly.
“No.” Nick checked the clock on the wall. “And you shouldn’t be either. School doesn’t start for more than an hour.”
Carter grabbed Nick’s arm. “You have to help me before Angelo finds out.”
Nick felt a ball of ice form in his gut as all thoughts of food disappeared. “Before Angelo finds out what?”
“Okay, here it is.” Carter took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself and said, “Carter Junior is gone.”
“Are you kidding me?” Nick leaped to his feet. “Didn’t you put him in the aquarium?”
“Of course I did,” Carter said, panting as if he’d run all the way from his house. “I put a little bed in there and water and vegetables just like Angelo said. I gave him the Nintendo DS, and a bag of Skittles to hold him over. I don’t think he liked it when I put the board on top. But I did it anyway. I even put, like, ten pounds of books on top of the board.”
Nick squeezed his hands together, trying not to blow up. “How did he get out then?”
Case File 13 #3 Page 6