He had seen a giant glob of Monster Blood swallow kids whole. And he had seen what had happened when his dog, Trigger, had eaten Monster Blood. The cocker spaniel had grown and grown and grown—until he was big enough to pick up Evan in his teeth and bury him in the backyard!
A small chunk of Monster Blood had turned Cuddles, the tiny hamster in Evan’s class, into a raging, growling monster. The giant hamster—bigger than a gorilla—had roared through the school, destroying everything in its path!
This gunk is dangerous, Evan thought. It may be the most dangerous green slimy stuff on Earth!
So how did it get in Evan’s driveway?
And what was he going to do about it?
The Monster Blood bounced and hiccupped. It made more disgusting sucking sounds.
As it bounced, it picked up sticks and gravel from the driveway. They stuck to its side for a moment, before being sucked into the center of the giant wet ball.
Evan took another step back as the ball slowly started to roll. “Oh, noooo.” A low moan escaped his throat. “Please. Noooo.”
The Monster Blood rolled over the driveway toward Evan, picking up speed as it moved. Evan had tossed one of his Rollerblades by the side of the house. The green goo swallowed up the skate with a loud thwoccccck.
Evan gulped as he saw the skate disappear into the bouncing green ball. “I—I’m next!” he stammered out loud.
No way! he told himself. I’m getting out of here.
He turned to run—and went sprawling over the other skate.
“Ow!” he cried out as he fell hard on his elbows and knees. Pain shot up his arms. He had landed on both funny bones.
Shaking away the tingling, he scrambled to his knees. He turned in time to see the seething goo roll over him.
He opened his mouth to scream. But the scream was trapped inside him as the heavy green gunk splatted over his face.
He thrashed both arms wildly. Kicked his feet.
But the sticky goo wrapped around him. Pulling him. Pulling him in.
I—I can’t breathe! he realized.
And, then, everything turned green.
“Evan—stop daydreaming and eat your Jell-O,” Mrs. Ross scolded.
Evan shook his head hard. The daydream had seemed so real. His mother’s voice still sounded far away.
“Evan—hurry. Eat the Jell-O. You’ll be late.”
“Uh … Mom …” Evan said softly. “Could you do me a really big favor?”
“What favor?” his mother asked him patiently, pushing back her straight blond hair into a ponytail.
“Could we never have green Jell-O again? Could you just buy other colors? Not green?”
He stared at the shimmering, quivering green mound of Jell-O in the glass bowl in front of him on the kitchen counter.
“Evan, you’re weird,” Mrs. Ross replied, rolling her eyes. “Hurry up. Kermit is probably wondering where you are.”
“Kermit is probably busy blowing up his house,” Evan replied glumly. He pulled the spoon out of the Jell-O. It made a gross sucking sound.
“All the more reason for you to hurry over there,” his mother said sharply. “You are responsible for him, Evan. You are in charge of your cousin until his mom gets home from work.”
Evan shoved the green Jell-O away. “I can’t eat this,” he murmured. “It makes me think of Monster Blood.”
Mrs. Ross made a disgusted face. “Don’t mention that slimy stuff.”
Evan climbed down from the stool. Mrs. Ross pushed a hand gently through his curly, carrot-colored hair. “It’s nice of you to help out,” she said softly. “Aunt Dee can’t really afford a baby-sitter.”
“Kermit doesn’t need a baby-sitter. He needs a keeper!” Evan grumbled. “Or maybe a trainer. A guy with a whip and a chair. Like in the circus.”
“Kermit looks up to you,” Mrs. Ross insisted.
“Only because he’s two feet tall!” Evan exclaimed. “I can’t believe he’s my cousin. He’s such a nerd.”
“Kermit isn’t a nerd. Kermit is a genius!” Mrs. Ross declared. “He’s only eight, and already he’s a scientific genius.”
“Some genius,” Evan grumbled. “Mom, yesterday he melted my sneakers.”
Mrs. Ross’s pale blue eyes grew wide. “He what?”
“He made one of his concoctions. It was a bright yellow liquid. He said it would toughen up the sneakers so they would never wear out.”
