Chapter 16

chapter sixteen Rover slams into me from behind, taking me off my legs, knocking me up into the air. I grab the reins and work my way up his furry side. "Rover, buddy!" I shout. "Nice timing!"

I duck as Rover charges between Acid Blarg's legs. And then— WE'RE OFF. I grip the reins as tight as an Xbox controller while Rover rockets down the street, massive paws pounding pavement. He rips around the corner and I'm nearly launched from the saddle. KA-KRASH! Rover lowers his head and slams into a trash can, knocking it up and over my head. An old Wendy's wrapper plasters itself to my face. Yuck. Pickles.

Old pickle juice on my tongue. I rip off the gnarly pickle wrapper in time to see— Dozers in the road! "ROVER, GIVE IT TO 'EM!" I scream, ducking down, and—

Acid Blarg snarls as he chases us. He's moving faster now—practically on top of us. I can smell his foul stench. But we're close! The tree house is just two blocks away... The sun is coming up. "Faster Rover!" And then I spot Big Mama, racing down the street. I see Dirk's behind the wheel. I tug the reins, steering Rover until we're sprinting alongside the speeding truck. "Hey, buddies!" I call out. "How fun is this?!" Dirk glances out the window and does a double- take. June sits up, catches my eye, and smiles. I flash a wink, like a cool guy. Quint, activate defenses on it.

I catch a glimpse of Quint reaching into his pocket, grabbing his little remote control keychain thing. It's all like, BEEP-BOOP-BOOP! The tree house towers over the fence at the end of the street. It's going into action, almost transforming, as all of Quint's gadgets and defenses begin activating. The tree house's catapult flings forward, launching a big-screen TV. It soars through the air, tumbling, end over end. I crane my neck in time to see— TV TIME! SLAM!

Dirk steers Big Mama up onto the curb and the truck skids to a halt. My friends move in a unit, like a better-looking version of the Avengers, racing to the fence and climbing over. A second later, Rover charges forward, smashing through the fence, into the backyard. In a flash, I'm climbing off Rover, scaling the tree house, ready for the final battle at dawn...