6. The End of the Ride

THE END OF THE RIDE 6 The speeding wagon carried Sam toward Eerie Elementary's open mouth. I'm about to be Orson's dinner! Sam thought. But then— GHHHRRAR!

Sam heard an engine growl. He looked around to see where the sound came from. But— KA-SLAM! Something hit the wagon. "Whoa!" Sam cried. He was thrown from the wagon and landed in a hay pile. "Hey, Sam!" a familiar voice called out. "Are you starting the Eerie Day celebrations without us?"

Sam blinked. Antonio and Lucy were driving the tractor! They had rammed the wagon! "Let's take care of that monstrous wagon!" Lucy said as she climbed down from the driver's seat. But the wagon was no longer monstrous. It lay still. The wheels spun harmlessly. Eerie Elementary's doors slammed shut. The attack was over.

Sam sagged against a hay bale and caught his breath. "Good timing, guys. But how did you know I was in trouble?" he asked. "I called to see if you got home okay," Lucy said. "Your mom hadn't seen you, so I called Antonio—" "And I was like, SAM'S IN TROUBLE!" Antonio said. "So here we are," Lucy said with a smile.

Sam shook his head. "That wagon was going to feed me to Orson. But the moment it was hit by the tractor, it stopped. It didn't fight back or anything!" "That was easy," Lucy said as they began walking home. "Just like the pumpkins this morning." "Two easy battles in a row!" Antonio said. He was almost skipping down the sidewalk. "We're really getting the hang of this hall monitor thing." Suddenly, Lucy stopped. Her eyes were wide as she grabbed her friends. "Antonio, what happens when you go too long without eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" "Oh man," Antonio groaned. "I can barely move!"

"Exactly!" Lucy said. "You're so hungry that you're weak! I think that's what's happening to Eerie Elementary. We've defeated it time after time. Now the school is starving! We defeated it easily BECAUSE it's weak! And Orson Eerie is getting desperate!" Those words hung in the air... It made sense. Sam knew they would have to be braver than ever before... "This is our moment," Sam said. "Now is the time to risk everything. Now is the time to defeat Orson Eerie for good." Lucy and Antonio nodded. But they all had the same thought: How?