8 CLASH IN THE TRASH

CHAPTER 8 CLASH IN THE TRASH KA-PLASH! A crashing sound woke Alexander in the middle of the night. Is the neighbor's dog in our trash again? he thought. Alexander grabbed a flashlight and threw on his rose-scented bathrobe. Then he tiptoed downstairs and out the front door.

He swung his flashlight around. The trash can was on its side. Even though the lid was shut, Alexander could smell the rotten-egg-and-tuna salad inside. GRUNT-GRUNT-GRUNT! It looked like a shaggy dog was sniffing around the can. No, wait. It had a pig's snout.

Then, with a snort, the creature changed. A jagged saw-shaped thing popped out of the side of its head. RINN-NIN-NN-NINNN-NIN!! The blade sawed through the trash can. The yellow bowl rolled out, spilling tuna salad everywhere. The shaggy thing took a deep sniff, and purred. A chill shot up Alexander's spine. He backed away from the creature, and ZWOOP! tripped on the front porch step.

Alexander's flashlight tumbled end-over-end, briefly throwing light into the monster's green eyes before hitting the ground and going dark. Alexander felt around in the grass for his flashlight. The monster reared up, dark against the moonlit fog. The saw-blade-thing was gone. Now the monster had a pointy gray horn. A rhino horn! thought Alexander. This monster is definitely the caboose-crasher! HOO-RONNNNNK!!! The monster pawed at the ground. Then it lowered its horn and charged straight for Alexander.

Alexander shut his eyes and braced himself. But the crash never came. SNORT! SNARF! ARF! The monster whimpered. Alexander could feel its breath as it sniffed his sleeve and chest. Then it inhaled a long, raspy breath, and: The monster sneezed all over Alexander, showering him in slime. "Yeeeargggh!" Alexander jumped up, opening his eyes. He thought he'd be nose-to-nose with the monster. But it had run off, leaving behind a trail of snot.