29 - Monster Blood III (8 page)

Cheers and cries of amazement rang out over the diamond.

Evan watched the ball fly out of sight. Then he leaped joyfully in the air
and began running the bases.

The longest home run in the history of the world!

It took only four steps between bases. He had just rounded second base when he heard the sirens.

Evan turned his eyes to the street in time to see two fire trucks squeal
around the corner. The trucks pulled right up onto the playground grass and came
roaring toward the softball diamond, sirens blaring.

Evan stopped at third base.

The sirens cut off as the two fire engines skidded to a halt along the first
base line.

Evan’s mouth dropped open as Conan Barber leaped out of the first truck.
Several black-uniformed firefighters dropped to the ground behind Conan.

“There he is!” Conan cried, pointing furiously at Evan. “That’s him! Get
him!”

Grim-faced firefighters began hoisting heavy firehoses off the trucks. Others
moved toward Evan, hatchets clutched menacingly in their hands.

“That’s him!” Conan shrieked. “He’s the one who put me in the tree and
wrecked my parents’ fence!”

“Huh?” Still standing on third base, Evan froze in shock.

Was this really happening?

The playground rang out with shouts of surprise. But the voices were drowned
out by more sirens.

Evan saw flashing red lights. And then two black-and-white police cars roared
over the grass, screeching up behind the fire engines.

A man and woman came running behind the police cars. “That’s the one!” they
called breathlessly, pointing at Evan. “That’s the one who crushed the car. We
saw him do it!”

The firefighters were busily connecting the hoses to hydrants at the curb. Blue-uniformed police swarmed on to the field.
The kids on the two softball teams huddled together on the pitcher’s mound. They
all seemed dazed and frightened.

“He tried to kill me!” Conan was shouting to a woman police officer. “That
giant put me in a tree and left me there!”

“He crushed a car!” a woman screamed.

Evan hadn’t moved from third base. He gazed past the fire engines to Andy and
Kermit. They stood near the backstop. Kermit had the dumb, toothy grin on his
face.

Andy had her hands cupped around her mouth. She was shouting something to
Evan. But he couldn’t hear her over the wail of sirens and the excited shouts
and cries of everyone in the playground.

Some of the police and fire officers huddled together, talking rapidly. They
kept glancing up at Evan as they talked.

What are they going to do to me? Evan wondered, frozen in fear.

Should I run? Should I try to explain?

More people came hurrying across the playground. As soon as they spotted
Evan, their expressions turned to surprise and amazement.

They’re all staring at me, Evan realized. They’re pointing at me as if I’m
some kind of freak.

I
am
some kind of freak! he admitted to himself.

Firefighters formed a line, holding their hatchets waist-high. Others readied the firehoses, aiming them up at Evan’s chest.

Evan heard more sirens. More police cars rolled on to the playground.

A young police officer with wavy red hair and a red mustache stepped up to
Evan. “What—is—your—name?” he shouted, speaking each word slowly, as if
maybe Evan didn’t speak English.

“Uh… Evan. Evan Ross,” Evan called down.

“Do you come from another planet?” the officer shouted.

“Huh?” Evan couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing.

He heard some of the softball players laughing, too.

“I live in Atlanta,” he shouted down to the officer. “Around the corner. On
Brookridge Drive.”

Several officers and firefighters held their ears. Evan’s voice came out
louder than he had planned.

Evan took a step toward them.

The firefighters raised a firehose. Several others readied their hatchets.

“He’s dangerous!” Evan heard Conan shout. “Watch out! He’s really dangerous!”

That got everyone shouting and screaming.

The playground was filling with people. Neighborhood people. Kids and their
parents. Cars stopped and people climbed out to see why the crowd had gathered.

More police cars bumped over the grass. Their wailing sirens added to the
deafening noise, the shouts and cries, the frightened murmurs.

The noise. The staring eyes. The pointed fingers.

It all started to make Evan dizzy.

He felt his legs tremble. His forehead throbbed.

The police had formed a line. They started to circle Evan.

As they closed in, Evan felt himself explode. “I can’t take any more!” he
screamed, raising his fists. “Stop it! Stop it! All of you! Get away! Leave me
alone! I mean it!”

Silence as the sirens cut off. The voices hushed.

And then Evan heard the red-haired police officer shout to the others: “He’s
turned violent. We have to bring him down!”

Evan didn’t have time to be frightened.

The firehoses chugged and gurgled—then shot out thick streams of water.

Evan ducked low. Dove forward. Tried to get away from the roaring water.

The force of the water stream ripped the ground to his side.

Evan dodged to the other side.

Wow! That’s powerful! he thought, horrified. The water is strong enough to
knock me over!

Frightened shouts rose up over the roar of the water.

Evan plunged through the line of dark-uniformed police officers—and kept
running. “Don’t shoot!” he screamed. “Don’t shoot me! I’m not from another
planet! I’m just a boy!”

He didn’t know if they could hear him or not.

He dodged past several startled onlookers. A long hook-and-ladder stood in
his path.

He stopped. Glanced back.

Firefighters were turning the hoses. The powerful spray arced high. Water
crashed to the ground just behind Evan, loud as thunder.

Kids and parents were running in all directions, frantic, frightened
expressions locked on their faces.

Evan took a deep breath. Bent his knees. And leaped over the fire truck in
his path.

He heard shouts of surprise behind him. He vaulted high over the truck.
Landed hard on the other side. Stumbled. Caught his balance.

Then, ducking low, his arms stretched out in front of him, Evan ran.

His long legs carried him away quickly. As he reached the street, a low tree
branch popped up as if from nowhere.

Evan dipped his head just in time.

Leaves scratched over his forehead, but he kept running.

Got to watch out for tree branches, he warned himself. Got to remember that
I’m two stories tall.

Breathing hard, he plunged across the street. The late afternoon sun was
lowering behind the trees. The shadows were longer now, and darker. Evan’s
shadow seemed a mile long as it stretched out in front of him.

He heard the rise and fall of shrill sirens behind him. Heard angry shouts.
Heard the thud of footsteps, people running after him.

Where can I hide? he asked himself. Where will I be safe?

Home?

No. That’s the first place the police will look.

Where? Where?

It was so hard to think clearly. They were close behind him, he knew. Chasing
him. Eager to bring him down.

If only he could stop somewhere, close his eyes, shut them all out, and
think. Then maybe he could come up with a plan.

But he knew he had to keep running.

His head throbbed. His chest ached.

His long legs were taking him quickly away from the playground. But he still
felt awkward, with his sneakers so far below him and his head so high in the
trees.

I’ll hide out at Kermit’s house, he thought.

Then he quickly decided that was a bad idea, too.

“I can’t get
in
Kermit’s house!” he cried out loud. “I’m too big!”

And then he had a truly frightening thought: “I can’t fit in
any
house!”

Where will I sleep? he wondered. And then: Will they let me sleep?

Can’t the police see I’m just a boy? Evan asked himself bitterly. He turned
the corner and ran past his house. The lights were all off. The door closed. No
car in the driveway.

His parents hadn’t come home from work.

He kept running. Running across yards. Ducking low. Trying to hide behind
shrubs and tall hedges.

Can’t they see I’m a boy? Not a creature from another planet?

Why do they think I’m so dangerous?

It’s all Conan’s fault, Evan decided. Conan got the firefighters and police
all crazy with his wild stories.

His wild,
true
stories.

And now where can I run? Where can I hide?

The answer came to him as he neared Kermit’s house. Two doors down, a lot had
been cleared. And an enormous stack of lumber had been piled at the back.
Someone was about to build a house on the lot.

Breathing hard, sweat pouring down his broad forehead, Evan turned and ran
across the lot. He ducked behind the tall pile of lumber. And stopped.

He dropped to his knees and leaned against the lumber stack, struggling to
catch his breath. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his
T-shirt.

Maybe I’ll hide here for a while, he thought. He lowered himself to a sitting
position.

If I sit down and hunch my shoulders, the lumber pile hides me from the
street. And it’s shady and cool behind it. And I can keep an eye on Kermit’s house from here.

Yes. This is a good hiding spot for now, Evan decided. Then, after dark, I’ll
sneak over to my house and try to explain to my parents what happened.

He leaned his back against the lumber pile and shut his eyes.

He had just started to relax a little when he heard a voice cry: “Got him!”

Evan’s eyes shot open.

He tried to scramble to his feet.

But then he saw who had shouted.

“Kermit!” he cried angrily. “You scared me to death!”

Kermit flashed his annoying grin. “I
knew
you’d hide here, Evan,” he
said, smirking. “I’m so smart.”

Kermit turned and called out, “He’s back here! I was right!”

A few seconds later, Andy gingerly poked her head behind the stack of lumber.
Her eyes studied Evan for a few seconds. Then a smile crossed her face.

“You’re okay?” she asked softly. “I was so worried—”

“Yeah. I’m okay—for now,” Evan replied bitterly.

“The whole town is after you!” Kermit exclaimed. “It’s really awesome! It’s
like a movie!”

“I don’t
want
to be in a movie!” Evan griped. “This movie is too
scary.”

“They’ve got guns and everything!” Kermit continued excitedly, ignoring
Evan’s complaint. “And did you see those firehoses? It’s amazing! They all want
to catch you!”

“They think you’re an alien from outer space,” Andy added, shaking her head.

“And who told them that? Conan?” Evan asked bitterly.

“Conan made them believe you’re real dangerous,” Kermit said, grinning that
grin Evan hated so much.

“I
am
dangerous!” Evan declared. He growled menacingly at Kermit.

The growl shocked the grin off Kermit’s face.

Evan turned to Andy. “What am I going to do? I can’t run and hide for the
rest of my life. They’re going to catch me. If you two tracked me down, the
police will track me down, too.”

Evan let out a long, frightened sigh. “There’s nowhere I can hide. I’m too
big to hide! So what can I do? What?”

Andy scratched her arm. She knotted up her face, thinking hard. “Well…”

And suddenly Evan knew exactly what to do.

Watching Andy, Evan knew how to solve the whole problem.

Evan jumped to his feet. His heart began to pound. For the first time in
hours, a big smile spread across his face.

“Evan—what’s wrong?” Andy demanded. His sudden move had startled her.

“I know what we can do!” Evan declared. “Everything is going to be okay!”

“Get down!” Kermit cried. “I hear sirens. They’ll see you.”

In his excitement, Evan had forgotten that he was taller than the lumber
pile. He dropped back to his knees. Even on his knees, he was a lot taller than
Kermit and Andy.

The sirens blared louder. Closer.

Evan gazed around. The sun had fallen behind the trees. The sky was evening
gray now. The air grew cooler.

“We’ve got to hurry,” Evan told them. He put a hand on Kermit’s slender
shoulder. “Kermit, you’ve got to help me.”

Behind his glasses, Kermit’s little mouse eyes bulged with excitement. “Me?
What can I do?”

“The blue mixture,” Evan said, holding on to his cousin’s shoulder. “Remember
the blue mixture?”

“Wh-which one?” Kermit stammered.

“The one that shrank my mosquito bite!” Andy chimed in. She suddenly realized
what Evan was thinking.

“That’s right,” Evan explained to Kermit. “Watching Andy scratch her arm
reminded me. That blue mixture of yours shrank the mosquito bite instantly.”

“Maybe it can shrink Evan, too!” Andy exclaimed excitedly.

Kermit nodded, thinking hard. “Yeah. Maybe it can.”

“I’ll rub it all over my body, and I’ll shrink back to my normal size,” Evan
said happily.

“It’ll work! I
know
it will!” Andy cried enthusiastically. She let out
a cheer and jumped up and down. Then she tugged Kermit’s arm. “Come on, Kermit.
Hurry! Let’s get to your basement. You still have the blue mixture, don’t you?”

Kermit narrowed his eyes, trying to remember. “I think so,” he told them. “A
lot of stuff got wrecked, remember? But I think I have it.”

“He has to have it!” Evan cried. “He
has
to!”

Evan climbed to his feet. “Come on. Hurry.”