Evan turned and saw that the giant hamster had picked up a kid.

Conan!

Cuddles held Conan in both paws and was raising him toward his gaping mouth.

“Drop! Drop!” Mr. Murphy was shouting.

Conan thrashed his arms and legs. “Help me! Ohhh, hellllp me!” he shrieked. He started to cry. Gasping sobs. Tears rolled down his red cheeks.

“Helllllp! Mommmmmy! Mommmmmy! Hellllp me!”

Normally Evan would have enjoyed watching Conan cry like a baby. But this was too serious. Cuddles could chew Conan in half! Evan realized.

He grabbed Andy. “Where’s the Monster Blood?”

“Huh? In my locker. I hid it under a bunch of stuff in my locker. Why?”

“I need it,” Evan said. “Come on. I have another idea.”

“I hope it’s better than the last one,” Andy muttered.

They hurried to the door, then glanced back. Cuddles was playing with Conan, tossing him from paw to paw, licking him with his huge, pink tongue. Conan was wailing his head off.

Evan led the way to Andy’s locker. “I’m going to eat some Monster Blood,” he told her, thinking out loud. “I’ll eat a lot. I’ll grow bigger than Cuddles.”

“I get it,” Andy said, running beside him. “You’ll turn yourself into a giant. You’ll make yourself as big as Cuddles.”

“No,” Evan replied. “Bigger. Much bigger. I’ll make myself so big that Cuddles will look hamster size. Then I’ll stuff him in the supply closet and lock the door.”

“It’s a stupid plan,” Andy said.

“I know,” Evan agreed.

“But it’s worth a try,” Andy added.

Evan swallowed hard and didn’t reply. He was staring across the hall at Andy’s locker.

“Oh, no!” Andy cried out when she saw what Evan was gaping at.

The locker door bulged as if about to burst open. And green goo poured out from the sides and the bottom.

“The Monster Blood—it outgrew my locker!” Andy cried.

Evan ran up to it and grabbed the door handle. He started to tug. “Is it locked?”

“No,” Andy replied, hanging back.

Evan tugged. He tugged harder. With a loud groan, he tugged with both hands. “It won’t open!” he cried.

“Let me try it,” Andy said.

But before she could step forward, the locker door burst open with a loud whoooosh.

Sticky, green gunk splashed over Evan.

He didn’t have a chance to cry out.

It poured over him like a tall, cresting ocean wave.

An ocean wave of Monster Blood.

It’s burying me! Evan realized.

The huge, sticky glob splashed out of the locker, plopped over him, smothering him, choking him.

It’s sucking me in! I can’t move!

I can’t move!

Evan shut his eyes as the heavy, green gunk rolled over his head. He shot his arms out, trying to push it away.

As it swept over him, he fell to his knees. Kicking and thrashing, it forced him down to the floor.

I’m stuck inside, he thought. Stuck inside …

He felt hands grab his ankles.

The hands tugged hard.

He began to slide. Over the floor. Over the thick layer of Monster Blood.

“I’ve got you!” he heard Andy cry. “I’ll get you out!”

He opened his eyes. He saw her pulling him, tugging him out of the thick green gunk by the ankles.

It clung to his clothes and his skin. But he was out.

“Thanks,” he murmured weakly. He climbed shakily to his feet.

He could hear Conan screaming and crying back in the classroom. There was still time to save him, Evan realized.

He pulled a hunk of Monster Blood off the quivering green mound—and jammed it into his mouth.

“I’m going to be sick,” Andy groaned, holding her stomach.

Evan swallowed and reached for another mouthful. “It doesn’t taste bad,” he told her. “A little lemony.”