8 THE FOURTH MEMBER

CHAPTER 8 THE FOURTH MEMBER The bunnies must love it here!" said Dottie, hopping over a log. Alexander, Rip, and Nikki laughed. School had ended, and they were leading Dottie through the woods. "Okay, here we are!" said Rip. Dottie's eyes grew wide. "A caboose?" she said. "Yep!" said Nikki. "It's our hideout!" Dottie followed her friends into the caboose.

"Welcome to the Super Secret Monster Patrol headquarters!" said Alexander. "This is where we keep our monster-fighting weapons," said Rip, swinging a ski pole like a sword. "And here's our trunk of disguises," said Santa Claus. Actually, it wasn't Santa. It was Nikki in a fake beard and a hat. "And here is our most important tool," said Alexander. He showed the notebook to Dottie. "It describes every monster in Stermont."

"But there's some kind of boss-monster out there trying to steal it," added Nikki. "A boss-monster?!" said Dottie. "That sounds scary. How can I help?" "Well..." said Alexander. "Rip, Nikki, and I think you'd make a perfect member of the S.S.M.P. Will you join us?" Dottie's smile was bigger than the rabbit ears on her shirt. "Heck, yeah!" she said. "Great!" said Alexander. "Then repeat after me." He flipped the notebook to the very first page and began to read.

When googly-eyed monsters all covered in ooze start swallowing school children whole, I swear that I'll fight 'em (and try not to lose) by joining this secret patrol. Dottie said the oath and became the fourth member of the S.S.M.P. "Yay!" shouted Nikki. "Fist bump!" shouted Rip. "Look out!" shouted Alexander. A long-eared shadow darted along the wall. Alexander jumped back, crashing into a shelf. KER-BLONK! Junk spilled everywhere.

"It's a shadow-smasher!" Alexander yelled. SHADDW-SMASHER Living darkness "That's not a shadow-smasher!" Rip shouted. Alexander looked again. The long-eared thing was Dottie's regular shadow, with her bunny backpack. "Yikes, Salamander," said Nikki. "I thought you were onto something with the violet fungus, but now you're jumping at shadows!" "Just go home and get some rest," said Rip. "Don't worry, we'll pick up all of this stuff," added Dottie. "Okay, thanks guys," he said. Alexander trudged home.