10. Mop Swap

Chapter 10 Mop Swap "Don't panic," Lucy said. "Let's just give the aliens the note and see what happens." "Not me!" Brian said. "I can still feel their yucky fingers all over me!" Lucy folded the note neatly in half. "I'll do it," she said. "What, you're just gonna open the attic door and walk up there?" Nate asked. "What if they keep you, too?" "I'm not afraid of aliens!" Lucy said. "I'll just… I don't have a good idea."

Bradley reached behind the door for a mop. "I do," he said. "We can stick the note up through the ceiling vent on this." "Brad, the ceiling is too high," Brian said. "Lucy can stand on my bed," Bradley told his brother. The kids trooped back to the bedroom. Bradley gave Lucy some tape. Lucy stuck the note to the end of the mop. Then she stood on the bed. The vent was right over her head. "Ready?" Lucy whispered. The three boys looked up and nodded. Lucy poked the mop handle through one of the holes in the vent. She held it there. Lucy looked down at the three boys with big eyes. "I feel something," she whispered. They all heard a sound. It was the tape being removed from the handle. Lucy lowered the mop.

The note was gone! "Now what?" Nate asked. "I don't know," Lucy said. "I guess we—" Suddenly they heard loud thumping noises over their heads. Then they heard screeching, like fingernails on a blackboard. "Run for your life!" Brian yelled. "They're mad at us!" He dove back under his bed. Nate charged into the closet and slammed the door. Lucy and Bradley stayed where they were, looking up. The noises from above their heads stopped. Tiny pieces of paper fell from the vent like snowflakes. They landed on Lucy and Bradley.

Lucy grabbed some of the pieces. "It's my note!" she said. "They tore it up," Bradley said. Brian poked his head out from under the bed. "I guess that means they don't want to swap," he

said. Bradley opened his closet door. "Come on out, Nate," he said. "Now I'm getting mad!" Lucy said. "That was totally rude!" "Guys, my parents will be home pretty soon," Brian said. "How do we tell them that Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose have been kidnapped by aliens?" "Don't forget Polly and Pal," Nate added. "I think it's time for a new plan," Bradley said.