Monster Blood IV

14

Evan squatted on the grass, watching the blue Monster Blood intently. Andy and Kermit stood openmouthed as the creature bounced, and grew, and took shape.

A sleek blue head popped up from the body. A curved gash in the head became a mouth. It turned up in a goofy grin.

Two big, round eyes appeared above the mouth.

The creature was about the size of a chipmunk. It made a squeaking sound as it bounced over the grass. Its rubbery body throbbed rapidly, like a heart.

“It’s so cute!” Andy declared, raising her hands to the sides of her face. “It’s like a lovable little blob creature.”

“It looks friendly,” Kermit added. “It keeps staring up at us and smiling.”

Evan didn’t say a word. As he studied the creature, a heavy feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach.

I don’t care how cute the little guy looks, he thought. This is Monster Blood. And Monster Blood is always evil.

“Let’s try to push it back in the can,” he suggested.

The creature bounced and squeaked.

“Do you think it will fit?” Kermit asked.

Evan stared at the grinning blob. “We have to squeeze it back in,” he told them.

“But it’s so cute!” Andy protested. She bent down close to the little creature. “You’re a cute guy, aren’t you?” she said to it. “Do you like to be petted?”

Andy reached for it with both hands.

It slid right through her fingers and bounced away, squeaking loudly.

“Oooh! It’s so cold and wet!” Andy declared. “Look! It’s like a little seal!”

She made another grab for it. But again the blobby creature bounced away from her.

Kermit stepped in front of it. “I’d like to get it under a microscope,” he said. “Maybe take a few tissue samples.”

“You have to catch it first,” Evan told him.

Kermit dove for it. Grabbed.

The creature bounced over his hands and escaped.

“Hey — he licked me!” Kermit exclaimed. “I think he licked me.”

“He seems to be friendly,” Andy said. She dropped to her knees. “Here, Blobby. Here, Blobby,” she called. She held out her hands to it.

To everyone’s surprise, the creature bounced over to her.

Andy trapped it gently between her hands. She giggled. “It’s so cold!”

She ran her hand tenderly over the back of its quivering body. “Do you like to be petted?” she asked it again softly.

The creature purred.

Evan and Kermit both let out cries of surprise.

Andy petted the blue blob some more. It purred louder.

“He likes it!” Andy declared, laughing.

“Weird,” Kermit murmured. “See if you can pull off a hunk so I can study it.”

“No way!” Andy cried. “You’re not hurting my little Blobby.” She petted it tenderly.

“Be careful,” Evan warned. “This is Monster Blood — remember?”

“It can’t be,” Andy argued. “Monster Blood is green. This cute thing is something else.”

“It might be a different kind of Monster Blood,” Kermit suggested. “You know. A different flavor.”

“Whoa!” Andy cried out as the creature bounced out of her hands. Throbbing wetly, it began bouncing and rolling toward the garage.

“Catch it!” Evan cried.

All three of them chased after the creature. It moved surprisingly fast.

Kermit made a grab for it — and it slid through his hands.

Evan ran in front of it and tried to block its path. But it rolled around him and kept bouncing.

“Don’t let it get away!” Andy cried.

Evan made another frantic grab — and lifted the wet blob off the ground. “Got it!” Evan cried.

But the creature changed shape. Squeaking loudly, it pulled itself in until it resembled a giant worm. And then it slid easily from Evan’s hands.

“Whoa — it’s cold!” Evan exclaimed. He examined his hands. The creature had left a coating of wet blue slime on Evan’s palms.

Evan glanced up in time to see the creature roll to the back of the yard. “Stop it!” he cried. “Don’t let it go over to Conan’s yard!”

He ran to catch up to it. Kermit reached it first. “Hey — what’s it doing?” Kermit demanded. “It’s turning on the garden hose.”

The hose was coiled against the back of the garage. A long end of it stretched along the ground.

Evan stopped and stared as the creature perched on top of the nozzle. Its body began to bounce up and down in a steady rhythm. It stopped squeaking and began to make loud gulping sounds.

“Is it drinking?” Andy asked.

“Huh? I think it is!” Evan cried, staring in amazement.

The creature bobbed on top of the hose nozzle. Drinking. And as it drank, it grew.

“It’s inflating — like a water balloon!” Kermit declared.

“We’d better stop it before it gets too big,” Evan warned.

Evan tried to turn the water off, but the spigot wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck!” he cried. “I can’t turn it! It’s stuck!”

The creature gulped more water. It was as big as a basketball now, and still growing.

Evan grabbed it with both hands and tugged. His hands slid off the slippery, wet body.

The creature was as big as a beach ball.

“Help me!” Evan cried, grabbing the creature again. “We’ve got to pull it off the hose.”

He gave a hard tug. But the gulping creature held on to the hose.

Andy stepped up beside Evan. They both wrapped their arms around the inflating creature and struggled to pull it loose.

“It — it’s attached itself!” Evan gasped.

The creature bulged, bigger, bigger, until Evan and Andy couldn’t get their arms around it.

“Now what?” Evan groaned.

And the creature exploded.

Evan heard a deafening POP. A wave of cold water and slime hurtled over him, knocking him over.

Evan landed in a sitting position.

“Ohhhhh.” He let out a groan as he wiped the thick blanket of slime off his eyes and face.

“Sick,” he heard Andy mutter.

He turned and saw that Kermit and Andy were also drenched. Thick gobs of slime clung to Kermit’s glasses. Andy’s hair was soaked, matted flat on her head.

“Sick,” Andy repeated, staring down at her slime-covered hands. “Oh, yuck. This is sick.”

Evan wiped more goo from his eyes. Then he turned to where the creature had stood — and gasped in shock. “Oh, noooo!” he cried. “Am I seeing things?”