14. A Bite To Eat

A BITE TO EAT 14 The Orson Eerie kickball chomped and chewed the dugout roof. Then— CLOAK! CLOAK! CLOAK! There was a tremendous clattering at Sam's feet. The swirling winds had knocked over a bag of wooden baseball bats. One splintered bat tore a hole in the bag.

Lucy exclaimed, "That's it! I have a home run of a plan. Grab those bats! We're going to deflate that monster ball!" "YES!" Antonio cheered. "I love a good Orson-beating plan!" The friends scooped up as many bats as they could carry. They raced out onto the field. REE-ARRGGHHH! The monstrous ball roared. It spun and chased after Sam, Lucy, and Antonio. "What's the plan?" Sam cried. "This!" Lucy shouted, as she tossed a bat over her shoulder. It hit the grass.

Sam glanced behind him. The Orson Eerie ball chomped at the ground as it sped after them! The bat flew up into its mouth along with dirt and grass. The ball's fangs chewed. Wood bits flew. "I get it!" Sam said. "Orson will swallow the bats and chomp them into sharp splinters!" "They'll shred him up from the inside out!" Antonio said. Sam, Lucy, and Antonio raced across the infield. Every few steps, they tossed another bat behind them. Sam heard the bats being gobbled up. The first part of the plan was working.

But then— "Oh no!" Antonio exclaimed. "There's nowhere else to run!" Dirt kicked up as Sam slid to a stop. The huge metal backstop was directly ahead of them— and the terrifying kickball was hurtling toward them! They were trapped. Sam looked at his friends. They each still held two bats. "We need Orson to swallow more bats!" Sam yelled. "Throw your bats NOW!" They did. The scattered bats blocked the kickball's path to Sam, Lucy, and Antonio. The monstrous ball rolled to a stop. Bits of wood fell from its teeth.

Sam gulped. "Why did Orson stop? We need him to eat those bats," Antonio whispered. "There aren't enough giant splinters yet!" "We need to make Orson come toward us," Lucy said. Sam narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry," he growled. "I'll get him to come closer."

Sam rattled the metal backstop and shouted, "HEY, ORSON EERIE! DO YOU SEE THESE HALL MONITOR SASHES ON OUR FACES?! WE ARE STILL THE HALL MONITORS! WE WILL NEVER STOP FIGHTING YOU!" REE-ARRGGHHH! The monstrous kickball turned red with anger. It rolled forward like an unstoppable boulder. The bats disappeared! The ground quaked and the backstop shook. The ball kept rolling forward! It was going to swallow the hall monitors next! But then—