by David Bowles
Dedication
To my nieces Nikki, Emily, Samantha, and Kaylee,
for taking your cousins on such wild adventures. —DB
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: Big Surprise at the Bus Stop
Chapter 2: Dangerous Detour!
Chapter 3: Fire-Breathing Ferrets!
Chapter 4: Hidey Hole
Chapter 5: Weasels Reach the Warehouse!
Chapter 6: Zigzagging Zombies!
Chapter 7: Ugh, the Undead!
Chapter 8: Freeze the Furious Fire
Chapter 9: Cold Storage
Chapter 10: Risky Recon
Chapter 11: Time Travel
Chapter 12: Bait for the Beasties!
Chapter 13: White Weasels!
Chapter 14: Portal to the Past
Chapter 15: Nopalitos, for Now
Activities
About the Author and Illustrator
Back Ad
Copyright
About the Publisher
Chapter
1
Big Surprise at the Bus Stop
Dante Dávila hopped down the steps and hit the sidewalk with a smile. He loved his morning stroll to the bus stop!
“Dante!” It was Ms. Cartaya, the mail carrier, slipping letters into mailboxes. “Looking sharp there, cutie.”
“Thanks!” Dante said. “First day of school. Got to look my best!”
He gave Ms. Cartaya a thumbs-up and kept walking toward the bus stop.
Just then Mr. Medina came out of his house, coffee in hand. As he bent to pick up his newspaper, he grinned at Dante.
“¡Buenos días! Ready to break some hearts, Romeo?”
“Nope!” Dante laughed. “Sharing my good looks with everybody’s lucky eyes.”
“¡Eso!” Mr. Medina said, lifting his cup. “Confidence. The key to life.”
A few cars cruised by as Dante neared the corner, their drivers waving hello. It’s nice to be back in my own neighborhood, Dante thought. Everybody loves me here. It’s safe. Not like 13th Street.
As if his thoughts had called her, a woman came stumbling out from behind a tree.
Dante’s eyes went wide.
It was Doña Chabela. The strange old lady from Gulf City!
“What are YOU doing here?” Dante asked nervously.
“Making sure,” she gasped, “you get on that bus. Long ride ahead of you, guapo.”
Chapter
2
Dangerous Detour!
With a grinding sound, a school bus came around the corner. It hissed to a stop a few feet away. The door creaked open.
Dante put his foot on the first step, his hand on the metal rail. If Chabela wants me to get on this bus, maybe I shouldn’t, he thought.
“Hurry up, Dante,” said Robby Leal, the young bus driver.
“Be brave!” called Doña Chabela. “Face your fears, boy!”
Dante hurried inside. As the doors shut, his cousin Ivan, who was sitting in their favorite three-seater, pressed his face to the window. He looked shocked.
“No way!” Ivan shouted. “Malia, it’s that weird woman from Gulf City!”
Malia was Dante’s other cousin. She was sitting next to her best friend, Susana Leal, the bus driver’s little sister. Susana narrowed her eyes at Dante. They had been rivals since kindergarten, when Dante had been voted Cutest in the Class.
Susana insisted she was MUCH cuter then—and even cuter now!
“The ugly duckling’s arrived,” Susana said under her breath.
Malia ignored her and stood up to see better.
“Doña Chabela? In Nopalitos?” she said.
“Sit down, guys!” Robby told Dante and Malia. They were the only kids onboard this early. The school bus route had barely begun.
“Just drive, Robby,” Susana answered.
“You’re supposed to respect me, squirt,” her brother warned.
“Whatever.” Susana checked her face in a small mirror.
“Still not cuter than me,” Dante whispered as he took a seat beside Ivan.
Susana shot him an angry look.
Malia sat between them, clearing her throat. “Dante? Did Chabela say anything to you?”
Before Dante could reply, Robby groaned.
A tree lay in the road ahead, just after the next intersection. “Looks like we have to take a quick detour,” Robby said.
He spun the steering wheel. The bus began to turn, heading onto the side street.
WHOOSH!
A strange roaring sound swirled around them. The bus shook.
“Wait,” said Robby. “I don’t recognize this neighborhood.”
At the same instant, Ivan, Dante, and Malia jumped up with a gasp!
The bus was surrounded by rusted old cars with no tires. Leaves blew up and down cracked sidewalks. An eternally gray sky hung overhead like a dirty rag.
Below those dense clouds, the tall, crooked, and empty buildings of 13th Street stretched as far as the eye could see.
“Oh no,” whispered Dante. “We’re . . . back!”
Chapter
3
Fire-Breathing Ferrets!
Susana closed her mirror. “Back where?”
Robby slowed to a stop. Dante could see the alley where he’d hidden from the Snatch Bats a few months ago.
“Back where we left off,” Dante muttered. “Like a video-game checkpoint.”
Suddenly six big creatures jumped into the street! They were the size of small horses, but their bodies and tails were longer. Their fur was thick and slick. They had short snouts and ears.
Susana stared out the window. “Uh, R-Robby? Why are there giant ferrets in the road?”
One of the beasts was in front of the bus. It snarled, showing sharp teeth.
“I don’t know, but they don’t look friendly!” he replied.
Dante hurried down the aisle to the back door. The creatures were everywhere. “Boss? I think we’re in trouble.”
Malia took a deep breath. “Robby, you need to drive away. Fast.”
The bus driver raised an eyebrow. “That’s Mr. Leal to you, Malia. And I don’t take orders from kids.”
“I’d listen to her,” Ivan said. “She helped us escape from this place before.”
Just then, all the ferrets opened their mouths at once. Dante could see an orange glow at the back of their throats.
Then the creatures BREATHED FIRE AT THE BUS!
WHOOSH!
The bus got hot fast. Some of the windows cracked. The kids moved to the aisle, ducking down.
“What kind of ferrets can breathe fire?” Robby shouted.
“Giant ones from another dimension!” Ivan replied.
“JUST DRIVE!” yelled Malia.
Robby stamped on the gas pedal, and the school bus sped ahead!
VROOOM!
Apartment buildings whizzed by. Now they were in the warehouse district. The ferrets couldn’t keep up. Soon Dante couldn’t see them anymore.
“We lost the furry flamethrowers,” he called, his heart pounding in his chest.
Malia looked at Dante. “Are you okay? You’re sweating. A LOT.”
“He’s scared, Malia,” Ivan said. “Fire is his big fear.”
Susana looked at them, shocked. “What?”
Malia explained. “His seventh birthday. Too much product in his hair. When he went to blow out the candles, WHOOSH! Flaming bangs.”
“It was terrible,” Dante said sadly. “Mom put out the fire, but my hair was ruined. Dad shaved it all off.”
Susana managed to smile. “Bald, huh?”
“Don’t start, wannabe,” Dante warned.
Robby slowed the bus to a s
top. “This is crazy. I need answers.”
Taking a deep breath, Dante explained. “We spent the summer in Gulf City. A woman told us to take a shortcut. It led us here, to 13th Street. It’s another world. Full of monsters. You have to defeat them to escape.”
Robby turned in his seat. “Wait, are you talking about that lady at the bus stop?”
Ivan stood up. “Yes. You know her?”
“Her name is Isabel Aguilar. She lived in Nopalitos when I was in middle school,” Robby explained. “She moved away to take care of her grandkids, I think.”
Susana adjusted her hair with a shaky hand. “So Mrs. Aguilar sent us here? How? Why?”
Malia shrugged. “Maybe she’s an evil witch.”
“Yeah,” said Dante, “who gets fluffy oversize rodents to roast school buses.”
Suddenly there was a BOOM. The whole bus shook!
“AHHHH!” screamed everyone.
Except Ivan. “Relax. It’s just the metal of the bus shrinking as it cools down.”
“Whew,” sighed Malia. “I thought we were goners.”
Chapter
4
Hidey Hole
Susana sighed. “Well, one mystery is solved.”
“What do you mean?” Malia asked.
“When you got to Gulf City, you kept complaining about Thing One and Thing Two. A few weeks later, you guys were best buddies,” she explained.
Ivan frowned at Malia. “Thing One and Thing Two?”
“That was before we defeated the Snatch Bats together,” Malia said, embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“Y’all can do a group hug later,” interrupted Robby. “How do we escape?”
Dante looked back down the street. “In video games, you can run away from the monster for a while. But it keeps coming. We gotta get this bus off the street.”
Ivan nodded. “And we need time to make a plan of attack.”
Malia pointed. “Look, one of the warehouses is open.”
Robby headed toward the building. Its metal door had been rolled up. There was just enough space to drive inside.
The brakes hissed. Everyone exited the bus.
“Let’s get that door down, Ivan,” Robby said. But they couldn’t reach.
“Is there a stool around here?” asked Malia.
“No need,” Dante said. “I’ll just use my charm!”
Susana rolled her eyes. “You’re so conceited.”
“And you’re jealous. Close up, Kalaan!” Dante shouted the magical command.
The door came slamming down. WHAM! Everyone jumped back.
“Good one,” Ivan said. “Use that 13th Street magic.”
Painted on the inside of the door was a symbol: two lines, one atop the other, with three dots above them.
“What does it mean?” Susana asked. “That question’s for Ivan, Dante. Don’t strain your cute little head.”
“Ha, ha, Miss Runner-up.” Dante shrugged. “Lots of doors have that mark. It means they can be opened.”
Robby inspected the door. “Suse, go get the chain and padlock from the toolbox.”
“I’ll go with you,” Malia said.
As the two girls headed back to the bus, the sound of thudding steps came from outside, getting louder. Suddenly strange barking and hissing filled the air.
Dante swallowed hard. “They’re here!”
Chapter
5
Weasels Reach the Warehouse!
“Suse!” Robby shouted.
The two girls were already coming, dragging a chain between them. Susana also held a lock in her hand.
The fire-breathing monsters slammed into the door!
BAM!
Then their claws starting scratching at it!
SKRITCH! SKREECH!
Grabbing the chain from Susana and Malia, Robby bound the door to its frame. As he pulled the chain tight, he motioned to his sister.
“Put the padlock on these links!”
Susana did, and everyone backed away from the door.
Outside, the monsters were chirping and hissing angrily. Some of them got their claws under the door. They tried to lift it. But the chain held.
“That was close,” Susana said. “Those ferrets almost got your hair, Dante!”
Dante smirked. “You’re hilarious.”
“I don’t think they’re ferrets,” Ivan said. “Probably weasels. Big stoats, that’s the species.”
Dante laughed nervously. “Big? How about gigantic stoats?”
“Weasels, ferrets, whatever,” Malia interrupted. “How do we get rid of them? Hiding isn’t the answer.”
Ivan bit his lip. “We can’t get to the Depot of the Dead . . .”
Robby’s eyes widened. “The what of the what?”
“Besides, nothing on those shelves would help,” Ivan continued.
Dante glanced around. “Hey, this warehouse is full of junk. Maybe we’ll find the right tools.”
“Good idea,” Malia said. “Split up and start searching. We need stuff that can stop fire-breathing ferrets.”
Ivan cleared his throat. “Weasels.”
“So, what, warmth-breathing weasels? Doesn’t quite work,” Dante said.
Robby turned his hat around. “Scorching stoats?”
Malia tapped her foot. “Enough jokes. Start looking!”
Everyone hurried to obey her.
Meanwhile, the creatures kept slamming themselves against the door.
Chapter
6
Zigzagging Zombies!
Dante hoped he’d find a fire extinguisher. But no.
The scratching at the door stopped. Then an odd creaking sound began.
URRRRK. CRIIIICK.
HURRRM.
Dante stared at the door. In the middle, right below the mysterious symbol, it started glowing.
“Oh no.” Dante gulped. “Guys? Guys!”
The others stopped searching and turned around. Except Robby. He was kneeling, looking at something on the floor.
Dante pointed. “The weasels. Are trying. To melt. The door!”
Susana put her hand over her mouth.
Just then, Robby grabbed a ring in the floor and pulled with all his might.
CREAAAK!
A secret trapdoor lifted open!
“There’s a ladder going down into a tunnel!” he shouted. “Let’s go!”
A piece of white-hot metal fell off the door. Through the hole, Dante could see the hungry face of a giant weasel.
He ran toward Robby and climbed into the tunnel.
Next came Susana, Malia, and Ivan.
The tunnel had a dirt floor. It was barely visible in the light from the open trapdoor.
Robby came down after them. He closed the hatch, leaving them in total darkness.
“Uh, guys?” Dante said, his voice shaky. “I can’t see a thing!”
“Hang on,” Malia said. “I’ll use my phone’s flashlight.”
She pressed a button and light poured out onto the ground.
“Ew!” Susana said. “Did somebody just fart?”
Malia lifted her phone.
Coming toward them were six people-shaped figures. They stumbled a little as they walked, zigging to one side of the tunnel, then zagging to the other.
“Hello?” Malia said. “We’re trying to escape some fire-breathing ferrets. Which way should we go?”
The first two figures got closer. Malia’s phone lit up their faces.
It was a man and a woman. But their skin was sort of green. Patches of it were peeling away, too. The man lifted his hand.
Some of his fingers were just bone!
And he smelled like spoiled hamburger meat!
“Oh, great,” Ivan muttered. “We’re dead.”
“No,” said Susana, gulping. “They’re dead!”
Chapter
7
Ugh, the Undead!
“Argh!” growled the man.
“Zombies!” shouted Ivan.
“I go
t this!” Robby lifted a hammer he’d brought with him.
“Wait!” the man said, raising his other hand. “Just kidding! We’re not going to hurt you!”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Please forgive him. He’s easily bored.”
The other four stepped into the light. They looked much younger.
“Oh, yay.” Susana shuddered. “Zombie kids!”
“Sorry,” the man said. “I know we’re scary.”
The woman nodded. “But come with us. We’ll lead you to safety.”
Robby was suspicious. “Why should we trust you?”
“We live on this street,” the man said. “We know all the hiding places. And we know how important family is. You’re a family, right?”
Ivan spoke up. “Two families. Brother and sister. Three cousins.”
Malia calmly made introductions. “I’m Malia. That’s Ivan and Dante. These two are Robby and Susana.”
Dante took a step toward them, trying not to panic. “What are your names?”
“We forgot them.” The young girl zombie poked her head between the two adults. “We’re just Mictecah now.”
“Meek what?” Dante asked.
“Speak English or Spanish to the living,” the woman reminded her.
“Sorry. Undead Folk,” the girl translated.
“I’m Big Brother,” said the tallest of the kids. “She’s Sister. This is Little Brother.”
The shortest pointed to the other boy zombie. “And he’s Cousin.”
The woman smiled. “I’m Mother. This is Father.”
A horrible screech came from above. Something started pounding against the trapdoor.
“Great!” said Malia. “They know where we are!”
Smoke started curling from the wood above their heads. The fire-breathing ferrets were burning through!
“Follow us!” shouted Mother, shambling away as fast as she could. “There’s not much time!”