“You know, food isn’t the only thing I think about—oh, YUM!” Slingshot snatched a firefly out of the air. His beak glowed as he munched it down. “I always wanted to try one of those. Kind of hot ’n’ spicy. Let’s find more.”
They walked and walked. Slingshot ate all kinds of flying bugs and spiders still sticky with webbing, while Speed Bump nervously hummed his favorite songs.
A couple of raccoons startled them, laughing and rolling a garbage can as they crossed their path and ran out of sight.
Slingshot saw the pair of large glowing circles first.
No, they DEFINITELY weren’t fireflies. They were a pair of giant eyeballs on a pointy-eared head with a razor-sharp beak that was coming straight at THEM! The beak opened wide. Speed Bump jumped into Slingshot’s arms, and they both screamed like hungry baby birds waiting for their mommies.
The massive flying beast swooped past. There was a snapping sound.
Then it flew back into the night sky, carrying a stealthy snake that had been sneaking up behind Speed Bump and Slingshot.
The bird winked one of its giant glowing eyes at them and disappeared into the darkness.
There was a scuttling noise under a bush. “Man, I … BUUUUURRRRP … I HATE those things!” A mouse peered out at them. “BUUUUURRRP … Hey, what can I say? I burp when I’m nervous.”
Then the mouse was gone, its burps getting fainter as it scurried away.
“We’re lost?” Speed Bump screamed and jumped into Slingshot’s arms again.
“Stop DOING that! C’mon. Let’s try this direction.”
The buddies walked …
and walked and walked and walked. They were surrounded by strange, unfamiliar sounds …
and the high-pitched echo of a distant
They tried flying. It was so dark, though, that they kept bumping into trees. After the fourth crash, they decided to walk again.
Suddenly, they both stopped.
The ground in front of them was moving back and forth. Shadowy figures had risen from the dirt and were swaying eerily in the moonlight.
WORMS!!
Speed Bump had never seen so many. It seemed as if there were hundreds, maybe thousands, maybe millions, popping out of the earth. They were all so BIG and FAT!
A little whiskered snout poked out from the bushes once again.
Just as Speed Bump was wondering how mean a worm could really be, a tall shadow rose up over the Nightcrawlers. It seemed like the biggest, creepiest worm in the history of all slimy things. The other Nightcrawlers snapped up straight, except for a couple of smaller ones that dove back into the ground to hide.
“The big one is talking to them!” Slingshot whispered. “What’s it saying?”
“How should I know?” the mouse squeaked. “Do I look like I speak Wormese?” Then, with one last BURP, it was gone in the dark underbrush.
Speed Bump edged closer. He was nervous, curious, and suddenly very hungry. Nightcrawlers were scary, but they also smelled delicious. He glanced at Slingshot, who was standing in a puddle of drool.
Then the towering Nightcrawler let out a horrible, wicked laugh.
That was when Speed Bump saw something terrible silhouetted in the moonlight. The thing looked like an enormous worm, but it wobbled as if it was made of rubber, and its arms were actually sharp metal hooks.
The rest of the Nightcrawlers began chanting, and not in Wormese.
“Oh no, Slingshot!” Speed Bump squeaked. He knew this could mean only one thing. “The worms are out to get Early Bird! We can’t let him eat that … that THING! It has hooks! Sharp, pointy hooks! My brother’s so fast he won’t even know it’s dangerous until it’s too late!”
Speed Bump felt dizzy. His brother might drive him nuts, but he was still his brother, and the thought of him eating the fishing worm was …
Well, it was just too awful to even think about.
