8. They Are Listening

Chapter 8 They Are Listening "Is that Brian coming back?" Nate whispered. "I don't know," Bradley said. Suddenly they all heard a little yelp. "What was that?" Bradley asked. "Where's Brian?" They heard a thump. They heard chewing and swallowing noises. Then they heard nothing. The house was silent again.

Nate let out a little giggle. "I guess they didn't like the grapes, so they took Brian instead!" he said. "Don't joke around!" Bradley said. "I'm going to look for him!" "We're coming with you," Lucy whispered. "We are?" Nate asked. Lucy nudged him. "We're all in this together!" she said. The three kids peeked out from behind the sofa. On hands and knees, they crawled into the hallway. "Look, the bathroom door is open," Bradley said. "Brian's not there!" "And all the grapes are gone!" Nate said. It was true. Lucy's trail of grapes had disappeared. Lucy pointed to the closet door. It was closed. "I thought we left it open," Nate whispered. "We did," Lucy whispered back.

Suddenly the hall closet door burst open. Brian jumped out. "Boy, am I glad to see you!" he said. "I thought the green guys got you, too!" "And we thought they got you!" Bradley said, grinning at his twin. "They did!" Brian yelled. "I was coming out of the bathroom when something fell over my head! It felt like a hundred little arms grabbed me. They stuck me in the closet!" "Ugh!" Nate said, pointing to a piece of lint on Brian's shoulder. "Space cooties!" "Very funny, Nate," Brian said. But he wiped the lint off. "Did you eat all the grapes I left out?" Lucy asked. "No, it must have been them," Brian said. "I just ate the ones you put in the closet." "Did you see the aliens?" Nate asked. "No!" Brian said. "They threw this over my head!" He reached into the closet and pulled out a fuzzy red cloth.

"That's what Mom puts under the Christmas tree," Bradley said. "Guys, what if they know about Lucy's plan?" Nate asked. "What if they're planning to capture us?" "They're not getting me again!" Brian said. "I'm hiding!" He tore up the stairs. "Let's barricade ourselves in our room," Bradley said. He and Lucy and Nate followed Brian. They found him under his bed. Bradley got down on his hands and knees. "Bri, come on out," he said. "We locked the bedroom door. We can move the dresser in front of it." "I'm staying here till Mom and Dad get home," Brian said. Nate knelt down, too. "The first place the aliens will look is under your bed," he said. They heard Brian sigh. "Maybe it is a dream," he said. "And we're all in it."

Bradley reached under the bed and pinched his brother. "Hey, what's that for?" Brian yelled. "See, you're awake," Bradley said. "It's not a dream. Come on out, Bri. We need you to help us move the furniture." Brian slid out from under the bed. His jeans and shirt were covered with dust. "Hey, what's that?" Lucy asked. She was pointing at Pal's rubber hot dog on top of Brian's bed. "It's Pal's toy hot dog," Brian said. "He must have left it there."

"But he took it outside when we were eating breakfast," Lucy said. "I saw him. I remember thinking he'd lose it in the snow." Nate picked up the dog toy. "Does Pal have two rubber hot dogs?" he asked. "Nope, only one," Bradley said. "Then how did it get up here in your bedroom?" Lucy asked. The four kids stared at each other. Bradley looked up at the ceiling. "Oh no," he whispered. Then he put his fingers to his lips. He pointed up. There was a heat vent in the ceiling. Bradley grabbed a paper and pencil. He scribbled a note and held it up. The note said: