Chapter 19

chapter nineteen guys. The tendril is close. Also, I named it the tendril, but it's got two Ls at the end because it drills. Get it tendril. What are you talking about? Sounds scary, but I like the name. The chasing tendril fills the tunnel entirely. Pebbles in soil. Rain down on us. I don't like the way the plants are flickering, like horror, movie bathroom, light bulbs. June shouts.

I slip on a mound of soil, face-plant into the ground, then get back up. "Guys!" I shout. I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, but the Tendrill is louder. "It's not just... the Vine- Thingies... it's bigger! The Tendrill." My friends dash around the next turn. I tuck in my head and run faster. Speeding after them, I holler, "GUYS! IT'S BIG! REALLY BIG!" "How big?" Dirk shouts as he glances back. His eyes go scary wide. "Oh. That big." Up ahead, June seems to somehow find another gear—and picks up speed. We're going uphill the entire way. I've got a cramp in my side like I swallowed a ninja star and it got wedged in the side of my gut. Unfortunately for us, I bet the Tendrill doesn't even get cramps. Lucky no-crampgetting tendrill with two Ls. "Look! More quills!" Quint calls out, pointing up ahead. "That means go left!" Dirk says. "That's the way we came!" We're nearly to the surface.

But the Tendrill is close—and getting closer. Go go, go. I'm going. This is as much going as I can go. "I'm gonna try to slow the thing down!" I shout, as I yank the Slicer from over my shoulder. I plunge it into the tunnel wall, dragging it through the dirt as I run. I twist the handle, soil spills out, and soon the tunnel wall is collapsing behind us. "Faster, faster, faster!" I cry.

Another turn—then I catch sight of the crater where we entered. A rope dangles through a hole in the surface—Big Mama's tow cable. June leaps for the rope. Quint's behind her, sailing toward it. Dirk grabs hold. They're being lifted up. At the last instant, I jump. Dirk grabs my wrist. "Pull me!" I cry. "Pulling, bro!" And then a final YANK and I'm exploding out of the dirt. Dirk races toward Big Mama. Then— KAAA-VOOSH! The Tendrill ERUPTS through the ground, radiating like an earthquake. The monster's surging body is like a whale breaching the surface. The sharp, fringed head of the Tendrill screeches in anger. "It's like an extension of Thrull," Quint says. "Doing his bidding." "I am SO not cool with that," June snarls.

"GET IT!!!" I shout, and June, Quint, Rover, and I spring forward to attack....

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