Chapter 12

chapter twelve June looks like some sort of crazed killer Amazonian warrior princess! She's got a broom handle carved into a spear and her hair is whipping around like there's a breeze but there's no breeze it's just her hair being, like, wicked. We're here to rescue you! Friend, she doesn't 100k like She needs rescuing, June, you look awesome. I had a few different ideas about how this rescue

might go down. Most of them looked something like this: MY HERO. But none of them looked like this... what's happening now—

you need to leave. NOW! "But we're here to rescue you!" I say. "I don't need rescuing," June says coolly. "Of course you do!" I exclaim. "You're trapped here! I knew it 'cause I saw your sweatshirt in the window. The red one with the yellow stripes!" June looks at me like I'm a creeper. "You know what clothes I own?" Guess I do sound like a creeper. "Um, I just pay attention to those things, I guess..." I mumble. "I'm, ah, observant." June frowns. "That's a little cute and a little

weird. But I don't need help. "But you should come with us! We have a whole tree housel It'S got crazy gadgets and video games and a toilet bucket and it'S pretty much the Lest! Nope Really, Totally good here. "Jack," she says, "my parents are coming to rescue me. All I need to do is wait here. What I don't need is three idiot boys running around, bringing zombie balls upstairs. Understand?" "How do you know your parents are coming?" "I just know, OK?" she says, her voice harsh. "Look, June, I don't think you understand. You're probably in shock. See, I am pretty, pretty awesome. I'm like a post-apocalyptic James Bond. I

mean, I've got a license to kill monsters." June looks at me like she's going to feed me to the zombies herself. "No, for real, I do. See?" I say, handing June a piece of paper. She takes the paper, eyes it suspiciously, then looks up and says, "Jack, this is a torn-off piece of a Denny's menu that you wrote 'License to Kill Monsters' on." I cross my arms, lean against a locker, and smile like a boss. "Yup. Sick, right? You should feel honored that I'm here to rescue you." June is less than impressed. "You spelled 'license' wrong." I shrug. "Spelling doesn't matter when it comes to killing monsters." "Yeah, but killing does matter. And you spelled 'kill' wrong, too. You used three L's." "That's on purpose. The extra L is for extra monster killing."

"JACK! I DON'T NEED RESCUING!" Whoa. Dirk, Quint, and I exchange freaked-out glances. Angry girls are more terrifying than any beasts. After a moment, June catches her breath. "Look, Jack, guys, thank you for coming here. Glad to know other people are alive. But I don't need rescuing, and, really, I'd like you to leave. Please." I take a step back. I don't understand—I've come this far. I've searched high and low for June. And now that I've finally found her—she has no interest in being rescued?! No. Doesn't jibe.