14 SKY'S THE LIMIT

CHAPTER 14 SKY'S THE LIMIT Despite the totally dark sky at noon on the first day of spring, the adults in the crowd were chatting happily. The kids, however, were starting to lose it. ADULTS HOW ODD! IT'S LIKE A THUNDERSTORM, MINUS THE THUNDER! KIDS

"What's with these grown-ups?" Alexander asked. "It's like they don't see what's going on. Except for Mr. Hoarsely." The boys watched as he dove behind a huge spotlight near the bandstand. "It's getting even darker!" said Rip. "I can't see the edge of the park!" Alexander gave Rip a couple of flashlights. "Let's try to light up the sky!"

The boys ran around, waving their flashlights at the shadow dome. The sky began to grumble. "Is it working?" asked Rip. "I'm not sure," said Alexander, "Maybe we could "Hey, AI chirped a voice. Alexander's dad jumped out from the darkness. "Boy, Gopher Day is hey, are you playing flashlight tag?" Alexander glanced at Rip. "Uh, actually, Dad "Swell!" said Alexander's dad. "Here, give me a flashlight." He closed his eyes and began counting to 100.

Rip and Alexander both rolled their eyes. "Okay, Rip," said Alexander, "let's aim for the exact same spot." Rip pointed his flashlight straight up. Alexander angled his to match. This time, the sky grumbled much louder. "GIVE UP!" A loud voice thundered from the sky. Alone, the shadow smashers had been silent. But together, they spoke in a booming voice. "WE HAVE ALL COME TOGETHER TO BLANKET STERMONT IN ETERNAL DARKNESS!"

The rumbling grew louder yet, and the sky became even darker. Now the flashlights only seemed to shine a few feet in front of them. "It's no use," said Rip. "Our lights are too weak." "IT WILL ALWAYS BE PAST YOUR BEDTIME! AND STERMONT WILL BE OURS!" "All right, we get it, shadow smashers," growled Rip. "You're scary monsters who want us gone." "STERMONT WILL BE DARK AND WINTRY ALL YEAR LONG! NO TREES! NO FLOWERS! AND CERTAINLY NO PEOPLE!"

Alexander lowered his flashlight. "The two of us are no match for a gazillion shadow smashers." Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. "No, but the three of us might be." Nikki stepped out of the gloom. "Nikki!" said Alexander. "You came back?" Even Rip seemed happy to see her. "Yep," said Nikki, flipping her hood off her head. "I took an oath to protect my town, and I intend to keep it. Now all we need is a plan!"