I Live in Your Basement by R. L. Stine Page B

carpet. It flopped
wetly, heavily toward me.
    I gasped as I saw the thick trail of yellow slime it left on the carpet
behind it.
    And then, before I could force my trembling legs to move, the spongy, wet
creature rose up.
    Stretched…
    And wrapped itself around my waist.
    “Unnnnnh.” I let out a sick groan of disgust. Its sour aroma shot up to my
nostrils, choking me. Its sticky wet flesh tightened around me.
    I opened my mouth to scream for help.
    But it choked off my air.
    The odor… so foul and heavy. Wave after wave of it washed over me like some
kind of poison gas.
    I tried to kick the creature.
    But my sneakers sank into the soft, gooey slime.
    I punched with both fists. And tried butting it with my head.
    My punches made wet SQUISH SQUISH sounds as my hands disappeared into
the spongy body.
    It was like battling a slimy, sticky sponge.
    I tried wrestling it. Bending it back. Back…
    But the foul-smelling goo stretched.
    Stretched over me. Over my face.
    So warm and sticky. Pulsing.
    It wrapped around my head.
    Covered my face. Covered my nose.
    The warm, sticky slime slid up my nostrils.
    I—I can’t breathe! I realized.
    I’m going to suffocate inside this thing!

 
 
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    I knew I didn’t have much time to free myself. With a burst of strength, I
swung my head back.
    But the warm goo moved with me. Pressed tighter against my face. I could feel
the sticky slime climbing up my nose, into my mouth.
    I had to get help. But how?
    I stumbled forward. Could I walk? Could I push the heaving, spongy creature
with me?
    If I could get downstairs…
    My heart pounding, I forced myself forward.
    Butting against the heavy blob, pushing, digging my knees into its flesh as I
struggled to move.
    Yes! I took a step. Then another.
    Was I through the bedroom door?
    I stared through the creature’s milky flesh. Stared right through its thick
body.
    The house was a shadowy blur on the other side.
    I couldn’t breathe. My chest began to burn. I couldn’t hold my breath much
longer.
    I had to keep going!
    Pushing, butting it, forcing my legs to take another step… another step… I made my way down the hall with the creature over me.
    Yes. Yes. Every step taking me closer to help.
    Yes…
    And then suddenly my feet lifted off the floor. I tumbled forward.
    Falling! I was falling down the stairs.
    The sticky creature bounced beneath me, cushioning me like a foam rubber
pillow.
    Down… all the way down the stairs.
    We bounced hard together at the bottom.
    My head jerked free from the sticky goo.
    I gasped in a mouthful of air. So cool and sweet. My lungs about to explode.
    I sucked in another long breath.
    And then the slime covered my face again.
    I tried to roll free. But it stuck to the front of my body, wrapping itself
tightly around me again.
    I kicked off from the wall. Bounced forward.
    Through the hall. Into the kitchen.
    Mom—where are you? My desperate question.
    Mom—are you home? Don’t you hear me?
    The creature clung to my face, to my chest. Its foul odor swept over me. A
wave of dizziness made me slump to my knees.
    No!
    I forced myself up, carrying the weight of the spongy wet creature.
    Across the kitchen. Peering through its glassy body.
    Up to the kitchen counter.
    And slammed it into the sharp counter edge.
    I backed up—and pushed forward again. As hard as I could.
    SLAM!
    I drove the slimy creature into the edge of the counter.
    Again. Again.
    Pushing with all my strength. Then backing up and shooting forward again.
    SLAM! SLAM!
    Its body made a sharp squishy sound with each blow.
    But it clung to me tightly, clung to my face, shutting off my air. Clung to
me until I could feel my strength fade away.
    One more try. One more slam into the counter.
    I shot forward as hard as I could.
    I heard a loud SPLAAAT.
    And to my shock, the spongy warm goo fell off my face.
    Dropped from my chest. Dropped to the floor with a heavy PLOP.
    Gasping, sucking in air, panting so hard, my chest ached, I