1 A CLOSE-KNIT GROUP

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CHAPTER 1 A CLOSE-KNIT GROUP Wait up, Dottie!" Alexander shouted. He jogged to catch up with his friend as she skipped along the forest path. "No way!" Dottie called back. "I love S.S.M.P. meetings!"

S.S.M.P. stood for Super Secret Monster Patrol, a group of kids sworn to protect the town of Stermont from monsters. Alexander was the group's leader. Dottie was its newest member. They soon came upon an old caboose, covered with vines. "Gosh," said Alexander. "Our headquarters is overgrown." "At least the flowers smell good!" Dottie said, sniffing the air. "Oh what's this?" There was some red yarn tangled in the vines. The yarn wiggled.

"Someone's pulling the other end!" Dottie said. She followed the yarn, which looped around the caboose and under the back door. Dottie opened the door. Alexander followed her inside. RARRR!!! A two-headed creature leaped out from behind a table. "MONSTER!" Dottie cried, jumping back. "Watch out! It's a knit-wit!" said Alexander. CLACKITY-CLICK The monster wiggled its claws.

"How do we stop it, Salamander?" asked Dottie. Salamander was Alexander's nickname. His friends called him that at home, at school, or when they were under attack by a two-headed yarn creature. "Quick! We need to unravel it!" said Alexander. Dottie leaped toward the monster and grabbed a big fistful of yarn. She yanked hard. The monster spun around, crashing into a shelf. CLONK! An old tin coffee can fell to the floor. Something fuzzy rolled out. A horrible smell filled the caboose.

"Time out!" said one of the monster's heads. POP! POP! The knit-wit pulled off its yarn-ball heads. Inside were the other two members of the S.S.M.P. Nikki pulled out a stopwatch. "Forty-seven seconds!" she said. "A new record!" "What just happened?" asked Dottie, holding her nose from the stench. "That was an S.S.M.P. monster-fighting test," said Alexander. "You did awesome!" Dottie grinned. Alexander's eyes watered from the smell of the stinky fuzzy thing.