by R. L. Stine
Todd pushed his way through a group of laughing, shouting kids, all shaking rainwater off themselves, puddles on the hall floor at their feet.
“So? How’d it go?” Danny asked eagerly as Todd stepped up to him.
Todd started to tell his friend the bad news—but he stopped when he heard a voice he instantly recognized.
Regina!
Around the corner, out of view of the two boys, Regina and Beth were sharing a good laugh.
“So he has to dump out all those gross worms today!” Regina was gleefully telling Beth. “Isn’t that awesome?”
“Awesome!” Beth declared.
Both girls laughed.
“Todd is such a jerk!” Beth exclaimed. “Did he really think the worms were crawling upstairs on their own? Did he really think they were coming to get him?”
“Yeah. I think he did!” Regina said through her scornful laughter.
Around the corner from the two girls, Danny and Todd stood listening in shock. Neither of them moved a muscle. Todd’s mouth had dropped open. He could feel his face growing red-hot.
“So today’s the last day?” Beth was saying. “Did you put any worms in his stuff today?”
“Only two,” Regina replied. “Mom gave him a thermos of hot vegetable soup since it’s such a nasty day. I dropped one in the thermos. And I slipped one into his jacket pocket. He’s on his way to school. He probably stuck his hand in and found my little surprise.”
Both girls laughed again.
“And he never guessed it was you the whole time?” Beth asked Regina.
“He guessed,” Regina replied. “But I’m such a good actress. I acted shocked and totally grossed out. Pretty soon, he didn’t know what to think!”
They laughed some more. Then Todd heard them head the other way down the hall.
He turned to find Danny staring at him. “Todd—do you believe it? It was your sister the whole time!”
“I knew it,” Todd lied, trying to sound casual. “I knew it was Regina.”
“Well, what are you going to do?” Danny demanded, still staring hard at Todd.
“Get revenge, of course,” Todd replied quickly.
“Revenge? How?” his friend asked.
“I’m not sure,” Todd told him. “I just know it’s going to take a lot of worms!”
26
The rain stopped after lunch. The heavy, dark clouds drifted away, and bright sunshine poured down from a clear blue sky.
Todd eagerly watched the weather change through the classroom windows. The sunshine filled him with hope.
This means the worms will be coming up from the ground, he thought happily. Dozens and dozens of worms.
He was desperate to get out and collect them. He was going to need a ton of worms to pay his sister back for her mean joke.
Unfortunately, just before school let out, he and Danny were caught having a glue fight during art class. Ms. Travianti, the art teacher, made them both stay after school and clean up all the paintbrushes.
It was nearly four o’clock when Todd led the way to his favorite worm-collecting spot behind second base of the softball diamond. The playground was deserted. There were no other kids in sight.
Todd and Danny both carried empty coffee cans they had borrowed from the art room. Without saying a word, they bent down and set to work, pulling up long, brown and purple worms, and dropping them into the cans.
“How many do we need?” Danny asked, poking in the soft mud till he found a big wet one.
“As many as we can get,” Todd replied. He still hadn’t figured out exactly what he was going to do to Regina. He just knew it was going to be totally awesome. And gross.
“You really should pay back Beth, too,” Danny suggested. He dug a hole with his chubby hand and discovered three big worms tangled together.
“Yeah. You’re right,” Todd agreed. “We’ll save a bunch for Beth.”
Todd stood up and pulled off his jacket. Even though it was late afternoon, the sun still beamed down. He was already sweating.
“Look at this one!” Danny declared. He held up a stubby pink worm.
“It’s just a baby,” Todd said. “Toss it in the can, anyway. I need as many as I can get. Big or little.”
Danny dropped the stubby pink worm in with the others.
Todd pulled up a really long one. He carefully brushed clumps of mud off it before dropping it in the can. “The rain always brings up the really big ones,” he told Danny.
The ground rumbled.
At first Todd didn’t notice.
“Did you feel that?” Danny asked.
“Feel what?”
The ground shook again.
Todd heard a low rumbling sound, like distant thunder.
“Hey—!” Danny cried, alarmed. He stopped digging.
“That always happens,” Todd told him. “No big deal. Keep digging.”
Danny dug his hand back into the mud. But he jerked it out quickly when the ground shook again, harder this time. “Hey—why is this happening again?” he cried.
“I told you. It’s nothing,” Todd insisted.
But then a loud roar made them both cry out.
The entire playground seemed to tremble. The roar grew louder, closer.
The ground shook. Then both boys heard a cracking sound.
Todd started to his feet. But the ground shook so hard, he tumbled back down to his knees.
Craaaaaack.
“Oh, no!” Danny cried.
They both saw the dirt pull apart between them. It looked like a dark wound opening up.
Another rumble. The ground quivered and shook. The mud split open. Wider.
Wider.
And something poked up from under the ground.
At first, Todd thought it was a tree trunk.
It was dark brown like a tree trunk. And round like a tree trunk.
But it was moving too fast to be a tree, rising up from the opening in the mud.
And as the ground shook and the rumbling rose to a roar, Todd and Danny both realized that they were gaping in horror at a giant worm.
A worm as thick as a tree trunk.
Up, up it stretched, up from the mud, darting and dipping its enormous head.
Todd uttered a shriek of terror, and turned to run.
But his feet slipped on the wet, quivering mud. He fell forward, landing hard on his knees and elbows.
And before he could pull himself up, the enormous worm swung around him, swung around his waist, circled him, pulled itself tight.
“Ohhh!” he uttered a cry of panic.
A crazy thought burst into Todd’s head: This is the mother worm. She’s come up to protect her babies.
And then another crazy thought: The worms are really getting their revenge this time!
And then he had no more time for crazy thoughts. Or any other kinds of thoughts.
Because the enormous worm was tightening itself around Todd’s waist, choking off his breath, choking him, choking him.
Pulling him. Tugging him down into the mud, down into its cavernous hole.
He tried to call for help.
But no sound came out of his mouth.
He couldn’t yell. He couldn’t breathe.
The huge, wet worm was crushing him, crushing him as it pulled him down.
And then a dark shadow rolled over Todd. And everything went black.
27
Danny grabbed Todd’s feet and tried to pull him free.
But the worm had wrapped itself around Todd’s waist like a tight belt. Danny pulled Todd’s ankles. Pulled hard.
But he couldn’t free his friend.
And now the worm was disappearing back into the gaping hole in the mud, and taking Todd down with him.
And suddenly they were all covered in shadow.
“Huh?” Danny let out a startled gasp.
And raised his eyes to see what caused the shadow.
And saw the enormous robin bouncing along over the gr
ass.
“Hey!” he frantically called out. “Regina! Beth!”
They were carrying the big papier-mâché bird home from school. He couldn’t see their faces. They were hidden on the other side of the enormous robin.
“Regina! Help us!”
And then the bird’s shadow rolled over Danny and Todd.
And the worm jerked straight up. And began to tremble.
Did it see the shadow of the bird?
It jerked straight up—and let go of Todd.
Todd slid to the ground. And the quivering worm began to lower itself. Instantly, with a sickening sucking sound, it dove back into the mud.
Gasping for breath, Todd scrambled away on all fours.
The worm—it thinks Christopher Robin is a real bird! he realized.
When he glanced back, the worm had vanished back under the ground.
“Regina! Beth!” Todd and Danny shouted together.
The two girls slowly lowered their science project to the ground. “What do you want? What are you two doing here?” Regina demanded, poking her head around from the other side of the enormous robin.
“Did you see it?” Todd cried breathlessly. “Did you see the worm?”
“It was so huge!” Danny added, pulling Todd to his feet. “It was as tall as a building!”
“Ha-ha,” Beth said sarcastically. “You guys must think we’re really dumb.”
“No way we’re going to believe you caught a giant worm!” Regina added, shaking her head.
“You didn’t see it?” Todd cried weakly. “You really didn’t see it?”
“We’re not making it up!” Danny shouted angrily. “It grabbed Todd. It was huge and brown and slimy! It was pulling Todd down.”
“Give us a break,” Beth groaned.
“Go eat worms,” Regina said.
They hoisted up their giant robin and continued their slow trek toward the street.
Todd watched the bird’s wide shadow roll over the grass. The shadow that had saved his life.
Then he turned to Danny with a weary shrug. “Might as well go home,” he said softly. “I’m not sure I believe it myself.”
Todd tossed all of his worms into the garden that afternoon. He told everyone he never wanted to see a worm again.
When Danny came over to Todd’s house a few weeks later, he found Todd down in the basement, busy with a new hobby. “What are you doing?” Danny asked.
Todd’s eyes remained on the fluttering creature inside the glass jar on the worktable. “I’m chloroforming this butterfly,” he told his friend.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Danny asked.
“I dipped a wad of cotton in chloroform and dropped it into the jar. It will kill the butterfly. Watch.”
When the gold-and-black butterfly stopped fluttering, Todd carefully opened the jar. He lifted the butterfly out with long tweezers and gently spread its wings. Then he hung it on a board by sticking a long pin through its middle.
“You’re collecting butterflies now?” Danny asked in surprise.
Todd nodded. “Butterflies are so gentle, so pretty,” he said, concentrating on his work.
“Todd has changed a lot,” Regina announced, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. “He isn’t into gross anymore. Now he’s into things that are soft and beautiful.”
“Let me show you some of my most beautiful butterfly specimens,” Todd told Danny. “I have a few monarchs that will knock your eyes out.”
Everyone was happy about Todd’s new hobby. Especially Regina. There were no more cruel practical jokes played in the Barstow house.
Then, one night, Todd gazed up from his worktable—and uttered a horrified cry as he saw the big creature fluttering toward him.
An enormous butterfly.
As big as a bedsheet!
Carrying an enormous silver pin.
“What are you going to do?” Todd cried.
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