Beast from Beneath the Cafeteria! by Tony Abbott

fear. “Where did everyone go?”
    Jeff looked out the window. Sunny Saturday morning. A few minutes ago they were all playing street hockey. Now this. He shook his head. “This can’t be happening.”
    â€œI know,” said Holly, taking a deep breath. “It’s totally crazy. But still, did you see their eyes? Little red dots. Like something from one of my dad’s movies.”
    Jeff thought of her father’s movies. Todd Vickers, horror moviemaker, owner of Humongous Horror Studios. Jeff wished this were just a movie. But something told him it wasn’t. It was real.
    Holly turned to him. “They’re aliens, Jeff. I know it!”
    Whoa! he thought. Sure, zombies from Mars had attacked Grover’s Mill once, but that was weeks ago!
    Holly pointed to the back of the house. “Come on. There’s only one way to find out what’s going on. We have to go down there. Into the cellar.”
    The two kids stepped slowly downstairs, trying to make as little noise as possible with their skates.
    The cellar below was divided into two rooms. One was supposed to be the playroom, the other was the room with the furnace and stuff.
    Rocks were piled up high against the walls there, too.
    A faint red light shone under the far door.
    Jeff and Holly rolled quietly across the room.
    Then they heard sounds.
    Voices, low and grumbling.
    Suddenly, the door swung open.
    Errrk!
    And they weren’t alone!

3
    Trapped!
    T he two kids squeezed flat in the shadows behind the door. They held their breaths.
    â€œOur work is nearly complete, Commander Exetor!” growled a low voice.
    â€œMighty Zoll will be pleased,” answered another voice. “This planet will soon be ours!”
    Holly clutched at Jeff’s arm tight. He nearly winced with pain. They both peeked around the door. Five hooded figures stood in the middle of the cellar.
    They all wore long robes, almost like bathrobes, but different! And some kind of shiny silver things hung from their belts. Tiny red eyes burned from deep beneath their hoods.
    They do look like movie aliens , thought Jeff. Maybe Holly was right.
    â€œAnd what of the earthlings, Commander Exetor?” snorted another creature.
    Jeff swallowed hard. Earthlings? Well, that did it. If he’d learned one thing from Mr. Vickers’ horror movies it was that earthlings don’t call other earthlings earthlings !
    He turned to Holly. “You’re right,” he whispered. “They’re … not from around here!”
    Holly swallowed, too. She formed a word with her lips. “Aliens!”
    Yes, that was the word Jeff was thinking of, too.
    Then, in the flickering red light, the one called Exetor removed his hood. Holly nearly choked into Jeff’s shoulder. “The nose!”
    Jeff gulped, trying to keep down his breakfast.
    The nose. It was more like a snout. Long and thick like a pig’s. But the really gross part was at the end of it. Little whiskers twitched in the air.
    Holly moaned. She did that thing with her fingers on her face. “Uggg-ly, with a capital Ug!”
    Jeff nodded. “They look like moles. Mole aliens.”
    â€œUgly mole aliens,” Holly whispered. “Don’t forget ugly.”
    Jeff nodded again.
    Exetor gave some kind of command and three of the moles disappeared into the shadows.
    A moment later they returned, each pushing a giant glass tube to the center of the room.
    The tubes stood about six feet high and three feet wide. They glowed with bluish light.
    Jeff stared in horror and began to shake. He grabbed Holly’s arm.
    â€œOh my gosh!” gasped Holly.
    In the glow, standing upright, one in each tube, were … Liz, Sean, and Mike! They were straining to get out of the tubes.
    â€œSleep tight!” snorted Exetor. He pushed buttons on the outside of the tubes. An instant later, a pink gas filled the tubes and the three kids stopped moving.
    â€œJeff!” Holly