9. Hurry!

HURRY! 9 "We need to get back to school NOW!" Sam cried. He was just able to spot the school through the fog. The top of the building peeked above the trees. "That way!" Lucy said. They raced through the woods. The trees seemed to howl. The branches rattled and the leaves shook.

Sam's heart pounded. His legs hurt. He had never run so hard in his life. "We're getting close! I can see the fence!" Antonio said. They scampered up a small hill. At last, they crawled through the fence and burst out of the thick jungle.

They now found themselves back on the playground, standing next to the swing set. Up ahead were the slides, then the monkey bars. And just beyond that, the school. Fog surrounded it. Sam caught his breath. He thought, This afternoon was crazy scary, but now we're safe—

WHOOSH!!! VA-SHOOM!!! ZIP!! The bright-green playground grass was suddenly sprouting up all around them. It was growing out of control. Sam, Lucy, and Antonio stumbled. "What's happening?!" Lucy screamed. Huge blades of grass shot up. One whizzed past Sam's head. Each blade was ten feet high!

The friends huddled together. Then, all of a sudden, everything stopped. Grass had grown up around them. Ahead of them was a long, winding path through the greenery. Sam's eyes were as wide as silver-dollar pancakes. "Um," he said, "did our playground just turn into a hedge maze?" They looked around. Sam was right. They were standing in the middle of a winding labyrinth with walls of grass and trees.

"We'll never get out of here!" Lucy said. "We have to find a way out," Sam said. Antonio grinned and reached into his pocket. "Have no fear! I've got my lucky peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I'll leave a trail of breadcrumbs!" he said. "That way, even if we get totally lost, we can at least get back to where we started." Sam smiled. "Good thinking! Now, come on through the hedge maze we go!"