by David Bowles
“Does anyone else live here?” Ivan asked.
Yoliya sniffled. “Not in this building. I do have neighbors, though, who—”
“But can you help us escape?” Malia interrupted.
“There’s only one way off 13th Street,” Yoliya said. “Defeat the threat. Then a portal back to your world will open.”
“Ah!” Dante exclaimed. “We have to level up!”
Chapter
7
Rooftop Run
“Defeat them? That’s crazy! We’re just three kids,” Malia said. “They’re . . . like, huge flying rats!”
Ivan stood. “We don’t have any weapons. I even lost my flippers running from those bad-breath bats.”
Dante gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t think it would have helped.”
Yoliya smiled. “That’s why you have to go to the Depot of the Dead.”
Dante gulped. Ivan’s eyes opened wide.
Malia sighed. “Doesn’t sound like a place we want to visit.”
“The storekeeper has lots of amazing things on his shelves,” Yoliya explained. “I’m sure you can find something to fight the Snatch Bats with.”
Dante snapped his fingers. “Just like a video game. We go in, find what we need.”
Ivan nodded. “Then we buy it!”
Malia shook her head. “We don’t have any money.”
“Okay, then we . . . trade for it!” Ivan said.
“Trade what? Your snorkel?” Malia asked.
Yoliya interrupted. “Just tell him I sent you. He’ll make a deal.”
Malia turned to the door and looked through the peephole.
The Snatch Bats were flying around outside. Waiting.
“Tell me there’s another way to this . . . Depot of the Dead,” Malia said.
Yoliya shrugged. “I just walk through the walls.”
Malia rolled her eyes. “Not an option.”
“Is there a back door?” Dante asked.
“No,” said Yoliya. “But you can go to the roof. The depot’s only three buildings down. You can jump from roof to roof!”
“But the bats might attack!” Dante complained.
“They won’t expect us up there,” Ivan promised.
Yoliya rushed up the stairs. Ivan and Malia followed. The choice was made.
There were three floors, and then a few more steps to the roof.
The cousins stood under the gloomy sky. It was filled with a dark mist.
“Okay,” Yoliya said, standing nearby. “It was good meeting you. I hope you make it out. If not, come visit me. It gets lonely here.”
The door shut. It had the same strange symbol as the front entrance.
The cousins reached the edge of the roof. The next roof was pressed right against it. No gap. But it was a little lower. They climbed quietly over the edge and dropped to the flat, dirty surface of the second roof.
A Snatch Bat popped through the strange gray sky. Right out of thin air!
It saw them and screeched!
The other creatures must have heard, because the air was suddenly filled with the sound of beating wings.
WHOOP! WHOOP!
The cousins ran like they had never run before!
AAARRRRK!
The Snatch Bats rose into the air behind them!
Ivan tripped over his own feet, but Dante caught him. They kept running.
The creatures were getting closer.
The next building was taller. Malia looked down at the deflated yellow duck in her hands. It had cost her parents a lot of money. She really, really loved it.
“What are you doing, Malia?” Ivan shouted. “They’re coming!”
Closing her eyes for a second, Malia tossed the plastic aside. She jumped and grabbed the edge of the roof. Ivan gave her a boost, then helped Dante up, too.
The Snatch Bats dived toward him!
Ivan was tall enough to reach the roof. He pulled himself up. His cousins were rushing to a door with the mysterious symbol.
Just as Ivan started to run toward them, he was yanked into the air by one of the bats!
Chapter
8
Strange Storekeeper
The big bat glared at Ivan. Its lips curled back, revealing teeth like knives. Then its breath hit. The stink was powerful. Ivan found it hard to move.
But as the creature opened its jaws, Ivan lifted his right hand. He ripped his snorkel from his mask. Then he shoved it into the bat’s mouth!
With a roar of pain, the monster let him go. Ivan landed on the roof and limped toward his cousins.
They were yanking on the door, desperate.
“It’s stuck!” cried Dante.
Ivan shook his head, sighing. He shouted, “Open, Hebaan!”
The door popped open. Malia and Dante hurried inside. Ivan was right behind them.
“Close up, Kalaan!” he said, just as the Snatch Bats came flying toward them.
WHOOSH!
SLAM!
The bats couldn’t stop themselves. One by one they smashed into the closed door!
BOOM! BAM! BASH!
“Downstairs,” said Malia.
At the second landing, there was a man standing in a large doorway. His back was to them. At the sound of their heavy breathing, he turned around.
Dante let out a frightened squeak.
“AH! It’s a calavera!”
The man was indeed a skeleton! Not a scary one, though. He had friendly eyes. “¡Hola! I’m Omi, the storekeeper.”
Ivan knew it was impossible. Skeletons couldn’t talk.
But maybe anything was possible on 13th Street.
“H-hello,” Malia stuttered. “Yoliya sent us. We need to defeat the Snatch Bats.”
“Well, step into the depot, chamacos, and take a look around!” Omi said cheerfully.
Chapter
9
Depot of the Dead
They followed Omi inside. His bones made weird marimba sounds as he walked.
The Depot of the Dead was a big showroom. Lining the walls were many shelves covered with different items.
Plus dust.
And cobwebs.
“Let’s split up,” Ivan suggested.
“Um, you can check that side,” Dante said, his voice still a little shaky. “Me and Malia will look over here.”
Most of the things on the shelves were silly or useless. Tennis rackets with no strings. Chipped coffee cups. Unmatched left shoes. Blankets with holes.
“Look!” Dante had grabbed a large water gun. Two more were on a shelf nearby.
“Water won’t stop them,” Malia said.
Omi was with Ivan. He had a huge smile.
“How do you defeat Snatch Bats?” Ivan asked.
“No idea. I wouldn’t try it,” Omi replied.
Ivan scratched his head. “A skeleton. A ghost girl. Are we . . . dead?”
The storekeeper poked him in the chest with a bony finger.
“Ow!” Ivan complained.
“Nope, not dead,” Omi said.
Malia stormed over, upset. “This is everything you have in stock?”
Omi shook his head. “Oh, no, m’ijita. There’s more in the storeroom. Follow me.”
They went down to the basement. Omi showed them a much bigger room, stuffed with boxes and crates.
Arranged in the middle were hundreds of bottles of blue-green liquid.
Ivan snapped his fingers.
“Yes! Mouthwash,” he said. “We’ll take all of it.”
Chapter
10
Sweet-Smelling Strategy
Malia narrowed her eyes. “What?”
Ivan explained. “These bats’ nasty breath freezes muscles up. Mouthwash should take that power away.”
Dante nodded. “Smart!”
Malia crossed her arms. “And how are we supposed to get it in their mouths, genius?”
Dante answered before Ivan could. “We fill up those water guns, and . . .”
“Squirt!” Iva
n finished. “Minty-fresh victory.”
“Momentito,” said Omi, lifting up his bony hand. “Time to haggle.”
“Excuse me?” Dante asked.
The skeleton rubbed his fingers together: squeak, squeak. “Payment. What’ve you got to swap?”
They laid out all of their belongings on top of a box of toilet paper, including Malia’s purse and everything in it.
“These will do just fine,” said Omi, gathering the items up.
Malia’s eyes watered. Her parents had bought her the little handbag as a reward for good grades and behavior. It wasn’t fair!
“Boss,” Dante warned. “We need this trade.”
“Fine. It’s a deal,” Malia said with a sigh. Their freedom was more important than her possessions.
But she refused to shake the shopkeeper’s hand.
There were limits, after all!
Chapter
11
Beating the Bats
Ten minutes later, the front door to the Depot of the Dead burst open. Out walked Malia Malapata, Dante Dávila, and Ivan Eisenberg.
Each of them was holding a huge water gun loaded with mouthwash as a swarm of Snatch Bats swirled around them.
“Now!” shouted Malia.
She pulled the trigger when one of the Snatch Bats lurched toward her. It was screeching. The stream of mouthwash went right into its mouth.
The bat stopped in its tracks. Its red eyes went wide. Foam dribbled from its jaws.
Then it dropped to the ground, twitching.
All at once, the rest of the bats launched toward the cousins!
Dante raised his water gun and started squirting. “Aim for their mouths!”
SQUISH! SQUISH!
Dante and Malia took out six of the monsters in just a few seconds.
Ivan, however, was having problems. His aim wasn’t good. He kept splashing the bats in the eyes, which just made them madder.
“You have to adjust for your terrible aim!” Malia yelled. “Point at their chests, Ivan!”
Her order didn’t make much sense, but Ivan was too nervous to argue. A bat was swooping toward him. He aimed for its chest.
SQUISH!
He hit it right in the mouth!
“Wow, boss!” Dante said between blasts. “You’re good at this!”
“My mom taught me,” Malia explained. “She learned in the Marine Corps.”
After that, there was no time for talking. Wave after wave of bats kept coming.
Malia’s water gun ran out first. She rushed back to the building.
“Storekeeper! Reload!”
The door opened, and the colorful calavera tossed her another bottle. She uncapped it and quickly refilled her weapon.
“Don’t move. The boys will need more soon.”
After thirty minutes of fighting, there were just a couple of bats still flying. The rest were in heaps on the ground.
“We’re going to level up soon!” Dante said with a happy laugh.
Then the ground started to tremble. A shadow fell on them.
Dante gulped. “After we beat the Boss Bat, I mean.”
Chapter
12
Boss Battle
The cousins looked up. The Boss Bat stood with its wings spread wide. It opened its horrible jaws and blew a nasty stench at them!
“Hang on!” Malia called as Ivan’s and Dante’s knees buckled. “Remember the plan!”
“You got it!” Dante said, gagging. “Ghostbusters style!”
The three of them lifted their water guns, ready to fire at once and cross their minty-fresh streams.
But the massive monster swung its wing tip at them. A single claw ripped through their weapons, smashing them to little bits!
SCREECH!
Strings of saliva flew from its mouth. The cousins fled in different directions.
Ivan rolled under a rusted car. Howling, the giant creature grabbed the vehicle with one clawed foot and threw it into a nearby building. Ivan ran off and the other bats followed.
Dante squeezed into a narrow space between two buildings on the other side of the street. He hid behind some moss-covered trash cans. The Boss Bat saw him and went charging at the gap.
WHAM!
CRACK!
It beat its head against the two buildings. Bricks came loose, showering down on Dante. He grabbed a trash can lid and used it as a shield.
The other bats caught up to Ivan. Each one grabbed an arm.
Malia ran back to the Depot of the Dead for another bottle. She knew there was just one option. She had to save the day.
Chapter
13
Malia and the Mouthwash
Malia climbed onto the roof of the truck.
“Hey, stinkface!” she shouted, loosening the bottle cap.
The giant Snatch Bat turned and saw Malia. It stomped toward her. Malia swung the bottle back and forth. She was going to throw it like a water balloon as soon as the monster got close enough.
But before she could do that, the Boss Bat stretched out a leg . . .
. . . AND GRABBED HER IN ITS CLAWS!
Her arms were pinned to her body! She could hardly move!
The Boss Bat lifted Malia toward its YAWNING JAWS. Its teeth and tongue were covered with pink slime. The stench was TOO MUCH!
The bottle was still in Malia’s right hand. It poked up above the bat’s thick toes. And she could still move her neck!
Below, Dante came running into the street. “Leave her alone!”
“Get back, Dante!” Malia shouted. “I got this!”
She bent her head. Using her teeth, she grabbed the bottle. Tilting her head back, she let the minty-fresh liquid fill her mouth till her cheeks hurt.
The Boss Bat’s snarling face was just inches away!
Before it could eat her, Malia managed to spit out the mouthwash . . .
. . . right into the monster’s jaws!
SPLASH!
It gave a horrible SCREEEEECH! Stumbling backward, it dropped Malia to the sidewalk.
Then it toppled over like a rotten old tree.
TIMBER!
WHAM!
Chapter
14
Exit and Escape
“That was AMAZING, boss!” Dante shouted as he tossed aside the trash can lid. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Malia said as he helped her stand. “Thanks.”
“Look, guys!”
It was Ivan, running toward them. Everywhere, the bats were shrinking.
In seconds they were normal size. Malia spun around. The Boss Bat had shrunk down, too!
“Your plan worked, Ivan!” she said.
“Our plan, Malia,” Ivan corrected. “Without Dante’s video game skills and your leadership . . .”
“Don’t get all mushy on me,” she said. But her eyes teared up.
The door to the depot opened. Omi walked out. Behind him floated Yoliya.
“Hey!” Malia shouted. “You said that a portal would open up!”
Suddenly, all the bats leaped into the air! With tiny squeaks, they flew off toward the sky.
They left a minty-fresh scent behind.
Yoliya shrugged. “I don’t understand. They’re all gone. The portal should appear.”
They heard a screech and looked up. One last bat was flying away into the sky. Once it disappeared, a glowing circle opened in the air in front of the cousins. Inside it, Malia could see the entrance to the alley.
“Hurry!” Yoliya said. “It closes fast!”
Dante and Ivan rushed right through the portal.
Malia turned to the skeleton and the ghost girl.
“You could come with us.”
The storekeeper shook his head. “No. Not now, anyway.”
Yoliya’s eyes filled with tears. “Go!”
As Malia hurried back to her own world, she heard an unfamiliar voice whisper:
“First checkpoint, children.”
Chapter
15
Game Over?
The cousins wasted no time. They ran back up the alley, ignoring the sweet smell of pastries. When they reached 11th Street, they turned, heading toward their aunt’s apartment building.
Malia slowed as they passed the house of Doña Chabela. There was no sign of the old woman.
“I wonder if she knew,” Dante said.
“It’s pretty suspicious,” Ivan agreed.
Malia clenched her hands into fists. She stomped right up to Doña Chabela’s front door and pounded with all her might.
No one answered.
“Forget about it, boss.” Dante had come up behind her. He touched her arm gently. “Let’s just go home.”
As the three kids walked away, a face appeared at a window. It was a woman, watching their backs with a hopeful smile.
Doña Chabela.
The cousins didn’t see her, though. They were distracted by the sudden appearance of Aunt Lucy. She came running up the street toward them.
“¡Ay, pingos!” she exclaimed. “You almost gave me a heart attack! I’ve been calling and calling. I went down to the water park and you weren’t there! And what HAPPENED to you? You’re all dirty and scratched up!”
Malia opened her mouth to tell Aunt Lucy everything, but Ivan spoke first.
“We took a shortcut through the alley. Some bullies jumped us. They stole Malia’s phone. We chased them, but they got away. We were lost for a while.”
Dante and Malia stared at him. He never lied. They were amazed how good he was at it. He must have thought Aunt Lucy wouldn’t believe the truth anyway! Besides, she was worried enough.
“The good thing is that you’re back and you’re okay,” Aunt Lucy said, reaching out to hug them.
She was quite surprised at how tightly they kept clinging to her.