Heard the car rumble away.
Heard the tires crunch down the driveway.
“Noooo!” I shouted as I reached the front door. “Don’t go! Don’t go!”
I pounded the door with my fists. I kicked it hard. And then I saw the pink slip of paper on the floor, slipped under the door.
A message. I picked it up with a trembling hand. And started to read:
We’re not coming back. Until next week. Sorry, kids. But work is taking much longer than we thought.
A phone message—from Mom and Dad.
Grandma and Grandpa didn’t come back, I realized. Mr. Donner, from the general store, had driven over to deliver this phone message.
The roar of the monster tore through my thoughts.
I spun around.
Clark was gone.
“Clark!” I shouted. “Where are you?”
The monster’s growls grew louder. Meaner.
“Clark!” I called out again. “Clark!”
“Gretchen—come quick!” I heard his desperate cry from the kitchen.
“Gretchen! Gretchen!”
As I charged through the living room, he shouted my name over and over again. Each time his voice grew higher, more excited.
“I’m coming!” I yelled. “Hold on, Clark. I’m coming!”
I rounded the couch—and tripped over a footstool. My head hit the floor hard.
Clark continued to cry out my name, but his voice seemed distant now. So far away.
My head throbbed with pain.
I struggled to stand, and the room spun around me.
“Gre-tchen! Gre-tchen!”
He sounded more frantic than ever.
“I’m coming!” I said through a dizzy haze.
Then I heard the monster’s bellow. It thundered through the house.
I have to get to Clark. He’s in trouble! The monster has him! I realized.
I stumbled through the living room. Toward the kitchen.
The creature’s roars shook the walls.
“Hold on, Clark!” I tried to shout, but my voice came out in a moan. “I’m coming!”
I stumbled into the kitchen.
“Gretchen!” Clark stood next to the refrigerator.
Alone.
“Where is he?” I cried. My eyes darted around the room, searching for the monster.
“Wh-where’s who?” Clark stammered.
“The monster!” I yelled.
“Upstairs,” Clark replied, puzzled. “What took you so long to get here?”
Clark didn’t wait for an answer. “Look at this.” He pointed to the refrigerator. I turned and saw two letters stuck there with magnets.
“You were screaming like a maniac to show me that?” I shrieked. “I nearly killed myself! I thought the monster had grabbed you!”
