Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 GRRR guh guh gug gug GRRR guh, guh, guh, guh… The noise got louder and louder, drowning out the honks and rattles echoing from busy Commercial Street. But it wasn't the growling gurgles that sent stabs of fear through Carmen. The entire tank was rocking back and forth. The rounded sides were bulging in and out.

The metal groaned and squeaked. And then… Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Something small hit the ground, inches from Tony's boot. Carmen stared. It was a tiny piece of metal, the size of Carmen's finger, covered with brown syrup. "It's one of the bolts!" Carmen cried. The bolts—rivets—that held the tank together. There were thousands of them. And now all the rivets seemed to let go of the tank at once. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! They blasted through the air like bullets. Bang, bang, bang, bang. Bang, bang, bang, bang. Rosie whinnied. They had to get away from here! "Tony!" Carmen said quickly. She offered him her hand, to help him climb up onto Rosie with

her. "Get on. Let's go!" But just then a rivet came whistling through the air. It hit Rosie in the neck. She let out a highpitched, screeching cry, then reared up as blood spurted from the wound. Carmen fell off and hit the ground hard. And before she knew it, Rosie had taken off—without Carmen. "Rosie!" Carmen screamed. Tony was at her side in a flash, pulling her up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" But Carmen didn't have time to answer. Kaboom! The tank shattered apart. Jagged sheets of metal went whirling through the air. As the tank collapsed, the molasses inside seemed to hover in the air for a split second—a massive roiling cloud. And then it crashed to the ground, a colossal, churning wave. The gagging stench of molasses rushed up Carmen's nose and down her throat, deep into her

guts. Screams of terror pounded in her ears, shouts in English and Italian. "Help me! "Run!" "Get out of here!" Carmen couldn't help looking back as she and Tony ran for their lives. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The wave of molasses was at least twenty feet tall, and swirling and churning in every direction. With each passing second, it devoured more of the waterfront. It smashed into buildings, tearing them to pieces. It picked up sheds and wagons, horses and men. The roar got louder as the wave filled with wreckage. She and Tony ran as fast as they could. But the wave was faster. Within seconds, it had caught them.