Chapter 27

chapter twenty-seven The tree house rumbles beneath us as the Wormungulous races across Wakefield. Dirk—all Captain Masculine—managed to shove every barrel of Weed-B-Gone into our main room and out of sight. His toolbox is open as he works to mount three Super Soakers to the tree house railing. Every minute or so, the worm hits something, the

entire tree house jerks, and Dirk bangs his head and shrieks. Finally— "Super Soakers attached!" Dirk shouts. "Garden hoses coming!" I call. June and I rush back and forth, running long coils of garden hose from the barrels to the Super Soakers. As soon as we squeeze those plastic Soaker triggers, oh man—Weed-B-Gone is going to blast out like a jet... a jet of tree-obliterating ooze. But it's all worthless if we don't get there in time to save Quint... Rover leads the way across Wakefield, and the Wormungulous follows, its tail end whipping back and forth, powering us. The Wormungulous's gigantic, thrashing teeth devour anything that threatens to slow us down. It chews through concrete and plows through barricades. We pass known zombie hangouts—zombie hangouts that are now empty. Our middle school, where we found June, months back. The zombies are no more. The grocery store, where we would grab food—not a single zombie.

I soon spot a wall of trees in the distance. The forest looms ahead of us. It seems to be leaking darkness, like the place itself cannot stand light. Evil is in there. Evil, helping more evil to enter this world... The Wormungulous weaves around the thickest trees, leaving a trail of splintered wood and ragged earth in its wake. Branches whip against the tree house. Other trees are crushed. Snapped at the base. Ripped from the ground. In minutes, we travel miles—deep into the heart of the forest. Until far up ahead, I see a glowing light. The clearing. The shrieking Tree of Entry. Bardle grips the railing. "Slowly, slowly," he says. "We do not want to spook Thrull." I whistle. Rover slows to a trot, then stops. The worm grinds to a halt. June hears it first. She looks to me, her face pale with fear. Then Dirk. I hear it, too. Chanting.

THE CEREMONY HAS BEGUN. THE DOOR IS FORMING. I dash up to the lookout for a better view. As I peer through the telescope, the thickness of the tangled forest almost blocks my view. Almost...

Oh no. Quint...