Chapter 18

chapter eighteen I lie there, on top of big dead Blarg, trying to catch my breath. It takes about, oh, two hours. I don't hear any of the terrible sounds of this world. No monsters howling, no zombies moaning. Just my breath, returning to me. And then—OOMPH! A kick to my gut. My eyes flicker open. I manage a grin. "I know."

Silence, for a moment. Then I hear Quint and Dirk rustling around. Rover yawns. June has her hands on her hips, taking it all in: the ragged ground, the giant dead monster we're standing on, the kick-butt tree fort that towers over the yard—and Dirk and Quint and Rover, our friends. And then she smiles and says, "Well, that was something." "Yep," I say. "It sure was." "Hey, dork! Stop smiling!" Dirk hollers, grinning. "Yes," Quint says. "We've got much cleaning up to do. And a tree house to rearm." A tree house to rearm. A home to defend. And you know what? It feels great. So that's it. We won. We survived. For now... There are more monsters to fight and more beasts to slay. And hopefully there are more kids out there, and the tree house's numbers will grow. Someday, maybe, we'll lead an army against

these monsters. But until then, the most important thing is... I did it! Well, sorta.... I mean, it turns out June was no damsel in distress. And she most definitely did not need rescuing. But, in a roundabout way, I rescued her anyway! And that means— I completed the ULTIMATE Feat of Apocalyptic Success!

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And now? Well, now, I think it's time we all relaxed. At least for a little while. And hey—maybe we'll even have time to figure out a secret team handshake before the next giant monster comes around the corner.... THE END! (for now...)