Stampede of the Supermarket Slugs by Bill Doyle

Author:Bill Doyle [Doyle, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-375-98312-2
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2012-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

5

MIXED-UP MAGIC

AVOIDING THE SLIME streaks on the floor and office door, the cousins crept out into the store. They couldn’t see the slugs in the snack aisle. But they could hear them ripping through wrappers and chomping the snacks.

Keats shuddered. “I really can’t wait to get out of here,” he said.

He matched the potion recipe to the map on the coupon book. The ingredients were scattered all over the store. They didn’t have time to get everything before the cheese puffs ran out.

Henry tapped his nose, thinking. “We’ll have to split up again,” he said.

“Oh man …,” Keats groaned.

“It’s the best way,” Henry said. “The sooner we send the slugs to Snoozeville, the quicker we can leave.”

“It’s not that,” Keats said. He turned Henry around to face the pet-food aisle.

Down near the water bowls, six dogs were chasing squeaky cat toys in circles. At least they looked like dogs. Their bodies were made of bone-shaped treats. And when they opened their mouths to bark or snap at the toys, kibble fell out.

“Please tell me I’m imagining that,” Keats said to Henry.

“Wish I could, cuz,” Henry responded.

A clanging came from the next aisle over. Henry and Keats shared a worried look. Together they took a few steps to peek into the cleaning aisle.

A band of ten mops battled a crew of a dozen brooms. Their handles waved through the air like swords as they crashed against each other. Whack! Whack! From the shelves, an audience of metal dustpans clapped and clanged. Henry and Keats jumped as a sponge fired from a bucket like a cannonball.

Weird noises—grunts, bells, ripping, and crashing—came from around the store.

“What’s going on?” Henry asked just as a breeze blew past them. “And, phew! What’s that stink?”

Keats took a whiff. The breeze smelled like mothballs. It reminded him of the air that came out of the tube in the office. Keats nodded slowly as the pieces fell into place. “Remember how Mr. Cigam’s house was full of crazy, mixed-up magic?” he asked.

Henry chuckled. “Uh, kind of hard to forget, Keats.”

“When we opened the panel, I bet we let in air from Hallway House,” Keats said. “Now that air is blowing all around the store. It’s making things go berserk!”

“Oh man,” Henry said. “Giant slugs and weird magic air? Let’s get moving before something even creepier shows up.”

He handed Keats a plastic shopping bag from a checkout lane and took one for himself. Before they split up, Henry said, “You grab the top two things on the list. I’ll get the bottom two. And I’ll meet you at the seafood counter for the octopus legs.”

The cousins headed off in different directions. Keats moved fast through the store but kept an eye out for danger. A slug and its sharp teeth might be just around the corner.

The barbecue sauce sat on a shelf with the mustard and ketchup at the end of an aisle. He tossed a bottle in his bag and rushed on. A rolling herd of toilet paper nearly tripped him, but he soon made it to the fruits and vegetables.

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