“You’re doing it!” Kermit cried happily. He stayed at the top of the stairs, watching Evan’s progress eagerly.

Evan took another step. The wooden stairs creaked under his weight. He tried to lean on the banister. But it snapped beneath his hand.

He climbed two more steps.

He was a third of the way up when he became stuck.

His body was just too wide for the narrow stairway.

Kermit pulled both of Evan’s hands. Andy pushed him from behind.

But they couldn’t budge him.

“I—I can’t move,” Evan stammered. He felt panic choke his throat. “I’m jammed tight in here. There’s no way I’ll ever get out!”

Then he felt his body start to tingle. And he knew he was growing even more.

As Evan grew, he heard a cracking sound.

Soft at first. Then louder. Very close by.

He cried out as the wall to his left crumbled. His expanding body had broken the wall away.

As the wall cracked and fell, Evan took a deep breath and lurched up the stairs.

“Made it!” he cried as he squeezed through the doorway.

A few seconds later, he burst out through the kitchen door, into the sunlit backyard.

Dogface lay stretched out near the fence. The dog jumped to his feet as the gigantic Evan appeared. Frightened, Dogface gave a loud bark, his stubby tail wagging furiously, then turned and bolted from the yard.

Kermit and Andy followed Evan into the backyard, cheering and shouting, “You made it! You’re free!”

Evan turned to face them. “But now what?” he asked. “Now what do I do? I’m nearly as tall as the garage. How tall am I going to grow?”

Kermit stepped closer to Evan. “Look—I’m standing in your shade!” he declared.

Evan’s shadow fell across the yard like the shadow of a tree trunk. “Kermit, give me a break,” Evan muttered. “I have a little bit of a problem here, you know?”

“Maybe we should get you to a doctor,” Andy suggested.

“A doctor?” Evan cried. “What could a doctor do for me?”

“Check your knees?” Andy joked.

Evan leaned over her, squinting down at her menacingly. “Andy, I’m warning you. One more bad joke, and—”

“Okay, okay.” Andy raised her hands as if trying to shield herself from him. “Sorry. Just trying to keep it light.”

“Evan isn’t light. He’s heavy!” Kermit chimed in. His idea of a joke.

Evan let out an unhappy growl. “I don’t think a doctor can help me. I mean, I couldn’t fit into a doctor’s office.”

“But maybe if we brought the can of Monster Blood along, the doctor could figure out an antidote,” Andy suggested. “Some kind of cure.”

Evan started to reply. But shrill voices on the other side of the tall wooden fence at the back of the yard made him stop.

“Cut it out, Conan!” a girl pleaded.

“Yeah. Leave us alone, Conan!” Evan heard a boy shout.

Evan lumbered over to the fence and peered into Conan’s yard. He saw Conan Barber furiously swinging a baseball bat, swinging it hard, forcing a little boy and girl to back up against the fence.

“Let us go!” the little girl screamed. “Why are you so mean?”

Conan swung the bat, bringing it close to the boy and girl, making them cry out.

Evan leaned over the fence. His broad shadow fell over Conan. “Want to play ball with me, Conan?” Evan thundered.

The two little kids spun around. They stared up at the enormous Evan. It took them a long time to realize they were staring at a real, giant human.

Then they began to scream.

Conan’s mouth dropped open and a strangled gurgling sound escaped his throat.

“Hey, Conan, how about a little batting practice?” Evan asked, his voice booming over the backyard. Evan reached over the fence and plucked the bat from Conan’s hand.

The little boy and girl ran away screaming. They darted through the hedge at the side of Conan’s yard and kept running until they vanished from view.

Evan took the bat and snapped it in two between his hands. It cracked apart like a toothpick.

Conan froze in place, staring up at Evan in disbelief. He pointed a trembling finger. “Evan—you—you—you—” he stammered.

Evan tossed the two pieces of the cracked bat at Conan’s feet, forcing Conan to hop out of the way.

“You ate Monster Blood!” Conan accused. “That sticky green stuff. The stuff that Cuddles the hamster ate last year! You ate some—didn’t you!”

Evan didn’t want to be reminded of Cuddles the hamster. The little creature had turned into a huge, vicious beast after eating Monster Blood. Cuddles had returned to hamster size only because the Monster Blood was old and stale.

But the Monster Blood Evan had swallowed was new and fresh.

Now I’m a huge, vicious beast, Evan thought sadly.

“Are you crazy? Are you totally messed up? Why did you eat Monster Blood?” Conan demanded.

“It was an accident,” Evan told him.