03 - Monster Blood by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)

to be out of there,” Evan exclaimed as they stepped out to the
sidewalk.
    “Trigger got a very good report,” Andy said reassuringly, petting Trigger’s
head. “Hey, look—his head is wider than my hand!”
    “He’s nearly as big as a sheepdog!” Evan said miserably. “And Dr. Forrest
says he’s perfectly okay.”
    “Don’t exaggerate,” Andy scolded. She glanced at her watch. “Oh, no! I don’t
believe it. Late for my piano lesson. Again! Mom’ll kill me!”
    She waved good-bye, turned, and ran full speed down the sidewalk, nearly
colliding with an elderly couple coming slowly out of the small grocery store on
the corner.
    “Let’s go, boy,” Evan said, thinking about what Dr. Forrest had said. Tugging
the leash, he headed out of the small, three-block town. Despite the vet’s
assurances, Evan was still plenty worried about Trigger.
    He stopped outside the grocery. “Maybe an ice cream pop will help cheer me
up.” He tied Trigger’s leash to the red fire hydrant across from the grocery’s
door. “Stay,” he instructed.
    Trigger, ignoring Evan, struggled to pull free.
    “I’ll only be a second,” Evan said, and hurried into the store.
    There were three or four people in the store, and it took a bit longer than
Evan had expected. When he returned to the sidewalk ten minutes later, he
discovered the Beymer twins busily untying Trigger.
    “Hey—let go!” he cried angrily.
    They both turned toward him, identical grins on their beefy faces. “Look what we found,” one of them teased. The other one
successfully untied the leash from the hydrant.
    “Hand me that,” Evan insisted, holding his chocolate ice cream bar in one
hand, reaching for the leash handle with the other.
    The Beymer twin held the leash handle out to Evan—then quickly snapped it
back out of his reach. “Gotcha!”
    The brothers laughed gleefully and slapped each other a high five.
    “Stop fooling around,” Evan insisted. “Hand me the leash.”
    “Finders, keepers,” one of them said. “Isn’t that right, Tony?”
    “Yeah,” Tony replied, grinning. “It’s an ugly dog. But it’s our ugly
dog now.”
    “Get your own dog, wimp,” Rick said nastily. He stepped forward and punched
the ice cream bar out of Evan’s hand. It landed on the sidewalk with a plop.
    The brothers started to laugh, but their laughter was cut short as Trigger
suddenly uttered a low, warning growl. Pulling back his lips, he bared his
teeth, and his growl became a snarl.
    “Hey—” Rick cried, dropping the leash.
    With a loud, angry roar, Trigger reared up and pounced on Rick, forcing him
to stagger backward to the curb.
    Tony had already started to run, his sneakers pounding the pavement noisily as he headed at full speed past the vet’s
office, past the post office, and kept going.
    “Wait up! Hey, Tony—wait up!” Rick stumbled, stood up, and took off after
his brother.
    Evan grabbed for Trigger’s leash—and missed.
    “Trigger—whoa! Stop!”
    The dog took off after the fleeing twins, barking angrily, his enormous paws
thudding loudly on the pavement, picking up speed as he closed in on them.
    No, Evan thought, finding himself frozen there on the corner in front of the
grocery.
    No. No. No.
    This can’t be happening!
    It’s my dream.
    Is it coming true?
    Evan shuddered, remembering the rest of his dream, remembering how he, too,
grew until he was twice his size.
    Would that part of the dream also come true?

 
 
16
     
     
    That afternoon, about an hour before dinnertime, Evan called Andy. “Can I
come over?” he asked. “I have a small problem.”
    “Sounds like a big problem,” Andy said.
    “Yeah. Okay. A big problem,” Evan snapped impatiently. “I’m not in the mood
to kid around, okay?”
    “Okay. Sorry,” Andy replied quickly. “Any sign of Rick and Tony? They’re not
your problem, are they?”
    “Not at the moment,” he told her. “I told you, they were gone by the time I
caught up with