14. It's Alive!

IT'S ALIVE! 14 Wooden stakes jabbed at the ground as the monstrous jungle gym stomped toward the school. It moved like a spider.

Sam looked up. Fog surrounded Eerie Elementary. No one would be able to see the jungle gym! No one would know about the horror just outside their walls! The jungle gym raised one giant stake and jabbed it into the school. WHACK!!!

Sam gasped. Everyone inside was in terrible danger. He had to act now! "Hey, Orson!" Sam shouted at the jungle gym. "Before you snack on those students, you've got a hall monitor to deal with!" The jungle gym stopped moving. Slowly, it turned. Sam shivered. The jungle gym seemed to have a face— and it was staring directly at Sam. The long red slide was like a tongue. Above the tongue was a mouth framed in wood.

Suddenly, a tire swing swung out at Antonio. He screamed as the tire dropped onto him. It quickly tightened its grip— like a huge rubber belt. "It's got me!" he cried out. Lucy and Sam raced toward their friend. A climbing pole ripped from the ground and swung at them. "Watch out!" Lucy shouted, as they dove to the ground. WHOOSH! The metal pole swung over their heads.

Sam and Lucy scrambled to their feet. Lucy shrieked. The jungle gym's climbing net had gotten ahold of her! The net yanked her up into the air. She was like a fly caught in a spider's web. Sam stumbled back. This freaky jungle gym just grabbed both of my friends! he thought. How will I stop this thing!?

Sam's mind raced. He thought back to how he defeated Eerie Elementary when it attacked during the school play. He had tossed a huge tub of peanut butter into its mouth to stop it from chomping Antonio. It's like each horrible creature is a part of Orson Eerie himself! Sam thought. His eyes darted around. He spotted the soccer ball lying at Antonio's feet. Can I do it? Sam asked himself. Can I do what I'm terrible at? Can I use the very thing that got us into this mess to save us? Only one way to find out...