Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 "SHE'S PROBABLY HEADED FOR THE new factory," said Neveen. "She loves things being built." But when Franky, Wolfy, Vampyra, Neveen, Fern, and the Little Junior Monster Scouts all reached the village, they were too late. Cleo was nowhere to be found, and everywhere they turned, there was a villager, or a construction worker, or even a trash- carrying rat standing as still as stone. Well, that makes sense… because they were stone. Stone statues. There was a woman flying a kite. A man carrying a basket of radishes. An old woman knitting in her rocking chair. Three kids in

the middle of a unicycle race. All the people doing all the things were now stone. Even the mayor. Even Baron Von Grump. Even Baroness Von Grumpier. "They're… They're stone," Franky said. He knocked very lightly on Baron Von Grump's shoulder. Neveen twisted the ends of her bandages. "Cleo must have asked them a riddle." "And that turned them to stone?" Wolfy asked. He looked left, right, up, and down for Cleo. He did not want to be asked a riddle and turned to stone.

"No," said Neveen. "You only turn to stone if you get the answer wrong." "Yikes!" said Fern. "Well, what do we do?" Vampyra asked. "How do we turn them back?" "I never should have let Cleo off her leash," said Neveen. "This is all my fault."

Fern tapped on Baroness Von Grumpier's foot. "Do you think they are going to stay stone?" she asked. "Not if we can find Cleo and get her to reverse the effects," Neveen said. "Wait, she can do that?" Vampyra asked. "She can," said Neveen. "But only because she turned them to stone in the first place." "She could be anywhere!" Wolfy howled. "She could be halfway back to the desert by now." Just then Edgar swooped down from the sky and settled on Baron Von Grump's stone shoulder. "Caw?" he asked. He lightly pecked Baron Von Grump's shoulder. Then a little harder. Then even harder. When he realized he was tapping pure stone, he gave it a few more serious pecks before giving up altogether. "Caw," he sighed.

"Edgar, have you seen a sphinx?" Franky asked. "Caw?" "A sphinx," said Vampyra. "She has the body of a lion." "And the head of a cat," said Wolfy. "And eagle wings," Franky added. "Don't forget the snake for a tail," said Fern. "And she likes to ask a lot of riffles," said Spike, the youngest cub in the Little Junior Monster Scouts troop. "You mean riddles," said Neveen. "Her name is Cleo." Edgar bobbed his head up and down and pointed his wing toward the Gloomy Woods. He'd just tucked his beak under his feathers for a nice nap when she'd landed in his tree, asking him riddles. Edgar, however, had not answered. And by not answering, he was not turned to stone. He simply flew up, up, and

away, hoping to find another nice spot to roost and rest. And then he saw Baron Von Grump standing here, in the village of all places! But now he knew why. He had been turned to stone. "Looks like Cleo went into the Gloomy Woods," said Vampyra. "I know what that means," Wolfy said. Franky nodded. "Gloomy or not, we have to go in and find her." The Gloomy Woods were very, very dark. It was so dark that you could hardly see anything, not even your own hand. And there were so many trees. Trees and branches just waiting for you to run into them, or roots waiting to tangle and trip you. The Junior Monster Scouts had gone into the woods once before, when they helped Peter the piper find his kitten, Shadow. They knew