Chapter 31

chapter thirty-one Joe's Pizza sits below us. I see no sign of Quint. No sign of Rover or Bardle. I buzz into the walkie and say, "Quint, I'm sorry, but we're here." Silence. Then, a moment later, the front door to Joe's Pizza flies open and— George. Whoa, OK. Quint's like a general in a monster army now. Right on. Bardle steps out last, gasping. He catches my eye and nods. I return the gesture.

A deafening collective monster roar fills the air— and then they're suddenly scaling Thrull the Tree Beast! "Time to rumble!" Dirk says. He leaps from the tree house, hits the ground, and rolls. He's instantly up, throwing tremendous punches. Tentacle branches come for him, but Dirk grabs the monstrous wood arms, twisting them, punching them, and breaking them. "GET! BENT!" Dirk yells as he grabs one branch and snaps it against his knee. It shatters with a violent, splintering crack. June and I lay on the Super Soakers. The sharp scent of the Weed-B-Gone fills the air. The fumes are blinding but we continue blasting. Thrull the Tree Beast unleashes a deafening roar, then shakes his wooden limbs, sending monsters spiraling through the air. Thrull stomps toward June and me. The Wormungulous slithers backward. "YOU. WILL. PAY," Thrull roars. "Jack, down!" June says as she slams into me, tackling me to the floor in the nick of time. Thrull's

hand grabs hold of the Soakers. His wooden fingers tighten and— HOSE RIP. My stomach sinks. The Soakers are gone. I had hoped if the monsters could keep Thrull busy, we could do him in with the Weed-B-Gone. But that plan is out the window. And worse than that—

The bestiary! I spot Quint gripping the book, darting around like he's trying to avoid a swarm of bees, but a horde of Vine-Thingies quickly hunt him down. They grab hold, yanking him into the air. "YES! THE BESTIARY KEY!" Thrull roars. As Quint is lifted, he flings the book. It lands in the hands of a thin, many-armed monster. The monster swings from a tree branch. Thrull swipes at it, but the many-armed monster tosses the bestiary to the next friendly beast. It's a game of hot potato. But it's a game we can't win. It won't last. Thrull is too strong. "I'm going to help!" June says, leaping over the side. She lands, shouts, "TO ME!" and the book drops into her arms. June—quick, athletic, wielding her half-busted spear—slices up Vine-Thingies as she darts around with the book. "Dirk!" I shout. "Get up here!" In moments, he's coming over the side. "How much of that Weed-B-Gone do we have left?" I quickly ask.

Dirk grabs hold of a Vine-Thingie. "Five barrels," he says as he casually rips the vine in half. "But without the Soakers, what can we do? We can't carry it. And it's too heavy to launch with the catapult." There's a KRAK outside. The Wormungulous bellows and we're suddenly sent stumbling through the door and into the tree house. I plow into the poker table. A second later, there's a tremendous bang as something very heavy lands on me. I sit up, rubbing my head. It's my space marine armor suit. An idea begins to form... "Dirk," I say. "Help me suit up!" Dirk looks at me like I'm nuts. Fair enough. I probably am.

Three minutes later. Space Marine Jack, you want my friends? You have to go through me first.