Chapter 25

chapter twenty-five The next attack comes from behind. It's a hug attack, courtesy, June Del Toro. She's tackling me, flipping over me, flopping on to the floor Yea, a kindof-sortof victory. "Is that what you call that?" I ask.

June sits up, half giggling. "Hey, better than a kinda- sorta defeat. I mean, we lived, Evie fled, Ghazt is toast, and now we have thousands of monsters who are willing to fight!" She's right about all of that, and I'm definitely happy, but... "It also sounds like Thrull is gonna try to get some information out of Ghazt. To do something. Which seems... not great?" "Shh," June says. "Just let me have this. Let all of us have this. Including you." "The mayor declares this a day of partying!" Johnny Steve shouts. He's waving a two-liter bottle of grape soda and foam is flying everywhere. That gets me giggling right along with June. "Johnny Steve, your campaign manager is in one hundred percent agreement," June says. "Now, where are Dirk and Quint? I wanna get the actual, non–Victory Geyser party started now." And I realize I have no idea. They should be here, celebrating with us, right now. That's how we always end these adventures! Why aren't they? A voice suddenly speaks up—tired and raspy. "Quint's conjurer's cane... Something..." It's Yursl, slowly shuffling toward us. She looks near collapse. "Something went wrong..." The blood drains from June's face. "What?"

My heart starts pounding hard and my legs feel weak —too weak to stand, so I'm grateful when June rises, helping me up, leading me outside, to the rear of the mall, the place Quint and Dirk were last headed. But when I see what's there, I'm ready to sit down again. We're staring at a smoldering hole in the earth. Lying in the hole is the rear half of the Bone Howler. It has been perfectly sliced in two. The front half of its body? It's not there. Just... gone. And so are Quint and Dirk. I sink to the ground. I look around, desperate to see Quint pop out from behind a rock, yelling "Gotcha!" Or Dirk leaping up, laughing, saying, "Look how scared they were!"

But that doesn't happen. I don't see my friends. I don't see Thrull or his army or any of that. I do see Evie, though. In the far distance, on my BoomKart. She's speeding away—off to who knows where... I look up at June, hoping she'll have something reassuring to say. She doesn't. She looks too gut- punched to say anything. She just takes my hand. And we stay there, waiting for our friends to come back. We stay there for a long time.

TO BE CONTINUED IN SPRING 2022!