21 - Go Eat Worms! Read Online Free

“That’s his house.”
    Danny’s brakes squealed as he brought his bike to a stop. He lowered his feet
to the wet pavement. “Wow.”
    The house rose up over the broad, tree-filled lawn, black against the purple
night sky. It was completely dark. Not a light on anywhere.
    “No one home,” Danny said, whispering.
    “Good,” Todd replied. “This is even better. Maybe we can look down in the
basement window or find the window to Patrick’s room, and see what he’s working
on.”
    “Maybe,” Danny replied reluctantly.
    Todd glanced around. Patrick’s house was the only one on the block. And it
was surrounded by woods.
    Both boys climbed off their bikes and started to walk them to the driveway.
    “I can’t believe Patrick would live in such a wreck of a place,” Todd said,
pulling off his cap and scratching his hair. “I mean, this house is a real
dump.”
    “Maybe his parents are weird or something,” Danny suggested as they parked
their bikes.
    “Maybe,” Todd replied thoughtfully.
    “Sometimes rich people get a little weird,” Danny said, climbing on to the
porch and ringing the doorbell.
    “How would you know?” Todd said, snickering. He pulled his cap back
down over his dark hair and rang the bell again. “No answer. Let’s check out the
back,” he said, hopping off the porch.
    “What for?” Danny demanded.
    “Let’s just look in the windows,” Todd urged, moving along to the side of the
house. “Let’s see if we can see anything at all.”
    As they turned the corner, it grew even darker. The pale sliver of moonlight
was reflected in one of the upstairs windows. The only light.
    “This is dumb,” Danny complained. “It’s too dark to see anything inside the
house. And, besides—”
    He stopped.
    “ Now what’s wrong?” Todd demanded impatiently.
    “Didn’t you hear it? I heard it again,” Danny said. “Like a growl. Some kind
of animal growl.”
    Todd didn’t hear the growl.
    But he saw something enormous running toward them.
    He saw the evil red glow of its eyes—unblinking eyes trained on him.
    And he knew it was too late to escape.

 
 
8
     
     
    “Run!” Danny screamed.
    But Todd couldn’t move.
    As the enormous red-eyed monster bounded toward them, Todd pressed his back
against a side door.
    He nearly fell as the door swung in.
    The creature uttered an ugly, threatening growl. Its huge paws thundered over
the ground.
    “Inside!” Todd screamed. “Danny—get in the house!”
    His heart pounding as loudly as the monster’s paws, Todd scrambled into the
dark house. Danny lurched in behind him, uttering low gasps.
    Todd slammed the door shut as the creature attacked.
    Its paws struck the windowpane in the door, making the entire door rattle.
    “It’s a dog!” Todd cried in a choked whisper. “A huge, angry dog!”
    The dog let out another ferocious growl and leaped at the door. Its paws
scraped over the window.
    “A dog?” Danny exclaimed shrilly. “I thought it was a gorilla !”
    The two boys pressed their shoulders against the door, holding it shut. They
peered out warily at the big creature.
    The dog had sat back on its haunches. It stared in at them, its red eyes
glowing. It was panting loudly, its enormous tongue hanging out of its mouth.
    “Someone should put that guy on a diet!” Danny exclaimed.
    “We could ride that dog to school!” Todd added.
    “How do we get out of here?” Danny asked, turning away from the dog. His eyes
searched the dark room.
    “He’ll go away,” Todd said. He swallowed hard. “Probably.”
    “This place is a dump,” Danny said, stepping into the room.
    Todd turned to follow Danny. They were in the kitchen, he saw. Pale moonlight
floated in through the window. Even in this dim light, Todd could see that
something was terribly wrong.
    The kitchen counters were bare and covered in dust. There were no appliances—no toaster, no microwave, no refrigerator. There were no dishes or pots and pans in view.