03 - Monster Blood (4 page)

The substance inside the can was bright green. It shimmered like Jell-O in
the light from the ceiling fixture.

“Touch it,” Andy said.

But before Evan had a chance, she reached a finger in and poked it. “It’s
cold,” she said. “Touch it. It’s really cold.”

Evan poked it with his finger. It was cold, thicker than Jell-O, heavier.

He pushed his finger beneath the surface. When he pulled his finger out, it
made a loud sucking noise.

“Gross,” Andy said.

Evan shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”

“I’ll bet it glows in the dark,” Andy said, hurrying over to the light switch
by the door. “It looks like the green that glows in the dark.”

She turned off the ceiling light, but late afternoon sunlight still poured in
through the window curtains. “Try the closet,” she instructed excitedly.

Evan carried the can into the closet. Andy followed and closed the door.
“Yuck. Mothballs,” she cried. “I can’t breathe.”

The Monster Blood definitely glowed in the dark. A circular ray of green
light seemed to shine from the can.

“Wow. That’s way cool,” Andy said, holding her nose to keep out the pungent
aroma of the mothballs.

“I’ve had other stuff that did this,” Evan said, more than a little
disappointed. “It was called Alien Stuff or Yucky Glop, something like that.”

“Well, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it,” Andy replied.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want it,” Evan said quickly.

“Let’s get out of here,” Andy begged.

Evan pushed open the door and they rushed out of the closet, slamming the
door shut behind them. Both of them sucked in fresh air for a few seconds.

“Whew, I hate that smell!” Evan declared. He looked around to see that Andy
had taken a handful of Monster Blood from the can.

She squeezed it in her palm. “It feels even colder outside the can,” she
said, grinning at him. “Look. When you squeeze it flat, it pops right back.”

“Yeah. It probably bounces, too,” Evan said, unimpressed. “Try bouncing it against the floor. All those things bounce like
rubber.”

Andy rolled the glob of Monster Blood into a ball and dropped it to the
floor. It bounced back up into her hand. She bounced it a little harder. This
time it rebounded against the wall and went flying out the bedroom door.

“It bounces really well,” she said, chasing it out into the hall. “Let’s see
if it stretches.” She grabbed it with both hands and pulled, stretching it into
a long string. “Yep. It stretches, too.”

“Big deal,” Evan said. “The stuff I had before bounced and stretched really
well, too. I thought this stuff was going to be different.”

“It stays cold, even after it’s been in your hand,” Andy said, returning to
the room.

Evan glanced at the wall and noticed a dark, round stain by the floorboard.
“Uh-oh. Look, Andy. That stuff stains.”

“Let’s take it outside and toss it around,” she suggested.

“Okay,” he agreed. “We’ll go out back. That way, Trigger won’t be so lonely.”

Evan held out the can, and Andy replaced the ball of Monster Blood. Then they
headed downstairs and out to the backyard, where they were greeted by Trigger,
who acted as if they’d been away for at least twenty years.

The dog finally calmed down, and sat down in the shade of a tree, panting
noisily. “Good boy,” Evan said softly. “Take it easy. Take it easy, old fella.”

Andy reached into the can and pulled out a green glob. Then Evan did the
same. They rolled the stuff in their hands until they had two ball-shaped globs.
Then they began to play catch with them.

“It’s amazing how they don’t lose their shape,” Andy said, tossing a green
ball high in the air.

Evan shielded his eyes from the late afternoon sun and caught the ball with
one hand. “All this stuff is the same,” he said. “It isn’t so special.”

“Well, I think it’s cool,” Andy said defensively.

Evan’s next toss was too high. The green ball of gunk sailed over Andy’s
outstretched hands.

“Whoa!” Andy cried.

“Sorry,” Evan called.

They both stared as the ball bounced once, twice, then landed right in front
of Trigger.

Startled, the dog jumped to his feet and lowered his nose to sniff it.

“No, boy!” Evan called. “Leave it alone. Leave it alone, boy!”

As disobedient as ever, Trigger lowered his head and licked the glowing green
ball.

“No, boy! Drop! Drop!” Evan called, alarmed.

He and Andy both lunged toward the dog.

But they were too slow.

Trigger picked up the ball of Monster Blood in his teeth and began chewing
it.

“No, Trigger!” Evan shouted. “Don’t swallow it. Don’t swallow!”

Trigger swallowed it.

“Oh, no!” Andy cried, balling her hands into fists at her sides. “Now there
isn’t enough left for us to share!”

But that wasn’t what was troubling Evan. He bent down and pried apart the
dog’s jaws. The green blob was gone. Swallowed.

“Stupid dog,” Evan said softly, releasing the dog’s mouth.

He shook his head as troubling thoughts poured into his mind.

What if the stuff makes Trigger sick? Evan wondered.

What if the stuff is poison?

“Are we going to bake that pie today?” Evan asked his aunt, writing the
question on a pad of lined yellow paper he had found on the desk in his room.

Kathryn read the question while adjusting her black ponytail. Her face was as
white as cake flour in the morning sunlight filtering through the kitchen
window.

“Pie? What pie?” she replied coldly.

Evan’s mouth dropped open. He decided not to remind her.

“Go play with your friends,” Kathryn said, still coldly, petting Sarabeth’s
head as the black cat walked by the breakfast table. “Why do you want to stay
inside with an old witch?”

It was three days later. Evan had tried to be friendly with his aunt. But the
more he tried, the colder she had become.

She’s mean. She’s really mean, he thought, as he ate the last spoonful of
cereal from his bowl of shredded wheat. That was the only cereal she had. Evan struggled to choke it
down every morning. Even with milk, the cereal was so dry and she wouldn’t even
let him put sugar on it.

“Looks like it might rain,” Kathryn said, and took a long sip of the strong
tea she had brewed. Her teeth clicked noisily as she drank.

Evan turned his eyes to the bright sunlight outside the window. What made her
think it was going to rain?

He glanced back at her, seated across from him at the small kitchen table.
For the first time, he noticed the pendant around her neck. It was cream-colored
and sort of bone-shaped.

It
is
a bone, Evan decided.

He stared hard at it, trying to decide if it was a real bone, from some
animal maybe, or a bone carved out of ivory. Catching his stare, Kathryn reached
up with a large hand and tucked the pendant inside her blouse.

“Go see your girlfriend. She’s a pretty one,” Kathryn said. She took another
long sip of tea, again clicking her teeth as she swallowed.

Yes. I’ve
got
to get out of here, Evan thought. He pushed his chair
back, stood up, and carried his bowl to the sink.

I can’t take much more of this, Evan thought miserably. She hates me. She
really does.

He hurried up the stairs to his room, where he brushed his curly red hair.
Staring into the mirror, he thought of the call he had received from his mother the night before.

She had called right after dinner, and he could tell immediately from her
voice that things weren’t going well down in Atlanta.

“How’s it going, Mom?” he had asked, so happy to hear her voice, even though
she was nearly a thousand miles away.

“Slowly,” his mother had replied hesitantly.

“What do you mean? How’s Dad? Did you find a house?” The questions seemed to
pour out of him like air escaping a balloon.

“Whoa. Slow down,” Mrs. Ross had replied. She sounded tired. “We’re both
fine, but it’s taking a little longer to find a house than we thought. We just
haven’t found anything we like.”

“Does that mean—” Evan started.

“We found one really nice house, very big, very pretty,” his mother
interrupted. “But the school you’d go to wasn’t very good.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t have to go to school,” Evan joked.

He could hear his father saying something in the background. His mother
covered the receiver to reply.

“When are you coming to pick me up?” Evan asked eagerly.

It took his mother awhile to answer. “Well… that’s the problem,” she said
finally. “We may need a few more days down here than we thought. How’s it going up there, Evan? Are you okay?”

Hearing the bad news that he’d have to stay even longer with Kathryn had made
Evan feel like screaming and kicking the wall. But he didn’t want to upset his
mother. He told her he was fine and that he’d made a new friend.

His father had taken the phone and offered a few encouraging words. “Hang in
there,” he had said just before ending the conversation.

I’m hanging in, Evan had thought glumly.

But hearing his parents’ voices had made him even more homesick.

Now it was the next morning. Putting down his hairbrush, he examined himself
quickly in his dresser mirror. He was wearing denim cutoffs and a red Gap
T-shirt.

Downstairs, he hurried through the kitchen, where Kathryn appeared to be
arguing with Sarabeth, ran out the back door, then jogged to the backyard to get
Trigger. “Hey, Trigger!”

But the dog was asleep, lying on his side in the center of his run, gently
snoring.

“Don’t you want to go to Andy’s house?” Evan asked quietly.

Trigger stirred, but didn’t open his eyes.

“Okay. See you later,” Evan said. He made sure Trigger’s water bowl was
filled, then headed to the front of the house.

He was halfway down the next block, walking slowly, thinking about his
parents so far away in Atlanta, when a boy’s voice called, “Hey—you!” And two boys stepped onto
the sidewalk in front of him, blocking his way.

Startled, Evan stared from one boy to the other. They were twins. Identical
twins. Both were big, beefy guys, with short, white-blond hair and round, red
faces. They were both wearing dark T-shirts with the names of heavy-metal bands
on the front, baggy shorts, and high-top sneakers, untied, without socks. Evan
guessed they were about fourteen or fifteen.

“Who are
you
?” one of them asked menacingly, narrowing his pale gray
eyes, trying to act tough. Both twins moved closer, forcing Evan to take a big
step back.

These guys are twice my size, Evan realized, feeling a wave of fear sweep
over him.

Are they just acting tough? Or do they really mean to give me trouble?

“I—I’m staying with my aunt,” he stammered, shoving his hands into his
pockets and taking another step back.

The twins flashed each other quick grins. “You can’t walk on this block,” one
of them said, hovering over Evan.

“Yeah. You’re not a resident,” the other added.

“That’s a big word,” Evan cracked, then immediately wished he hadn’t said it.

Why can’t I ever keep my big mouth shut? he asked himself. His eyes surveyed
the neighborhood, searching for someone who might come to his aid in case the twins
decided to get rough.

But there was no one in sight. Front doors were closed. Yards were empty. Way
down the block, he could see a mailman, heading the other way, too far away to
shout to.

No one around. No one to help him.

And the two boys, their faces set, their eyes still menacing, began to move
in on him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” one of the twins asked. His hands were
balled into fists at his sides. He stepped closer until he was just an inch or
two from Evan, forcing Evan to take a few steps back.

“To see a friend,” Evan replied uncertainly. Maybe these guys were just
bluffing.

“Not allowed,” the twin said quickly, grinning at his brother.

They both snickered and moved toward Evan, forcing him to back off the curb
onto the street.

“You’re not a resident,” the other one repeated. He narrowed his eyes, trying
to look tough.

“Hey, give me a break, guys,” Evan said. He tried moving to the side, walking
on the street, to get around them. But they both moved quickly to keep him from
getting away.

“Maybe you could pay a toll,” one of them said.

“Yeah,” the other one quickly chimed in. “You could pay the nonresident toll.
You know, to get temporary permission for walking on this block.”

“I don’t have any money,” Evan said, feeling his fear grow.

He suddenly remembered he had eight dollars in his pocket. Were they going to
rob him? Would they beat him up and
then
rob him?

“You have to pay the toll,” one of them said, leering at him. “Let’s just see
what you’ve got.”

They both moved quickly forward, making a grab for him.

He backed away. His legs suddenly felt heavy from fear.

Suddenly a voice cried out from down the sidewalk. “Hey—what’s going on?”

Evan raised his eyes past the two hulking boys to see Andy speeding toward
them on her bike along the curb. “Evan—hi!” she called.

The twins turned away from Evan to greet the new arrival. “Hi, Andy,” one of
them said in a mocking tone.

“How’s it going, Andy?” the other one asked, imitating his brother.

Andy braked her bike and dropped both feet to the ground. She was wearing
bright pink shorts and a yellow sleeveless undershirt top. Her face was red, her
forehead beaded with perspiration from pedaling so hard.

“You two,” she said, and made an unpleasant face. “Rick and Tony.” She turned
to Evan. “Were they getting on your case?”