2 RAIN, RAIN, DON'T GO AWAY

CHAPTER 2 RAIN, RAIN, DON'T GO AWAY Alexander tiptoed down the rainy sidewalk. He made his way to a playground where his friend Rip was sloshing around. "Hey, Salamander!" Rip shouted. Salamander was Alexander's nickname, whether he liked it or not. He sort of liked it. "Wanna see something gross?" Rip asked. He raised a boot over one of the squirming worms. "Rip, no!" said Alexander. "Don't!" Rip lowered his foot a little. "They're just worms! What's the big deal?" Alexander sighed. "Rip, when we fought those balloon goons, we helped

everyone in Stermont even these tiny worms. If we go around squishing 'em, we're no better than the monsters we were trying to stop!" Rip made a gagging sound. "Fine," he said. "But it's weird to be surrounded by worms. I feel like a meatball wading in spaghetti!" "You're right, Rip." Alexander's eyes grew wide. "This is weird. Super weird!" He pulled the notebook out of his backpack. "The notebook!" Rip said. "Hey what does S.S.M.P. stand for, anyhow?" "I don't know yet," said Alexander. "But look! There's something in here about worms!"

MEGAWORM A small blue worm that seems harmless. At first. HABITAT Megaworma can be found on wet ground and sidewalks. BEHAVIOR Megaworms always travel alone. DIET Unknown. Possibly eats Kids. UH-OH

POP! Megaworms smell like caramel corn WARNING! A megaworm starts out tiny, but grows bigger than a school bus when sunlight hits it. Keep megaworms out of the sun! BEFORE AFTER WEAKNESS Any kind of loud screeching sound makes them shrivel up.

"This can only mean one thing," said Alexander. "These night crawlers must be megaworms!" "Yeah..." said Rip. "Wait no! That notebook says megaworms travel alone." He pointed the umbrella toward a nearby heap of worms. "There must be millions of these guys. There's no way they're megaworms!" "But what if you're wrong?" asked Alexander. "What if all of these worms grow huge and start eating kids?!" Rip shrugged. "The monster notebook also says megaworms are blue but these worms are pinkish gray!"

Alexander held up a finger. "Then let's do a test!" he said. "A screech should shrivel them up." He squatted down near a worm, took a deep breath, and— The worm wiggled a little. Rip tugged at Alexander's elbow. "C'mon, Salamander. Let's get to school." "Well, okay..." said Alexander. "Maybe Mr. Hoarsely can tell us about these monsters. Remember what he said at my birthday party?" "Yeah," said Rip. "He said that those balloon goons were only the beginning." "I just wish we knew what he meant...." said Alexander.