CHAPTER 5

FINDING THE BOOKS

Before I got home I put Pinocula in my backpack so that my mom wouldn’t see him. I felt pretty certain she’d know Pinocula wasn’t a cousin of mine.

There were a lot of things running around in my brain at the moment. The loudest thought in my head had to do with me finding the books I needed to read so that I would better understand Pinocula. The school library didn’t have the books, and the public library wouldn’t let me visit at the moment—I guess they were still bothered by the fort that Jack and I had built out of books last time we were there. The books I needed were probably in my closet, seeing how they had helped bring Pinocula to life, but my closet was locked. I had learned from experience that if Beardy didn’t want to open up, there was no way we could bust it open.

Pinocula wanted to lie down and think, so I put him in the bottom drawer of my dresser. It had worked for Hairy, but it seemed more fitting for Pinocula.

With Pinocula comfortable, I slipped out my window and headed to the rock island to hang with my friends and see if by some chance they had any books.

The island was in the middle of our cul-de-sac. It was covered with rocks and had a couple patches of grass, a dozen bushes, and a few palm trees. It was the perfect place to hang out.

The only person on the island at the moment was Trevor. He had his model wolf and was building a fort for it.

Trevor always got into whatever he was studying. It didn’t matter how stupid or boring the subject was. His last school project had been one of his most embarrassing.

I told him that I also liked wolves, but that I had more important things on my mind.

I took a few minutes to fill Trevor in. At first, he was confused because he still thought Pinocula was my cousin. After a little more explaining, he understood that Pinocula was a new creature from my closet. He got extra pumped when he remembered that vampires and wolves go together.

Trevor suggested we go to his house. His mom was heavily into vampire books and movies, and he thought she might have a copy of Dracula. It was strange to me that Trevor’s mom liked vampires. She was known for being scared of the dark and against any books that had questionable and grown-up words in them. But according to Trevor she had no problem with glittery vampires.

Trevor’s mom wasn’t home, so we went to her bookshelf and searched for ourselves. There, in the middle of the bottom shelf, was the book I’d been looking for.

Trevor pulled out Dracula and told me I could borrow it. He said his mom didn’t like Dracula as much as the other books because there were no handsome vampires in it. They didn’t have a copy of Pinocchio. Trevor suggested we check with Mr. Harker who lived a few streets over. Mr. Harker and his wife were constantly trying to get people to join their book club. They also liked to brag about how many books they owned, so there was a good chance they’d have a copy of Pinocchio.

Trevor and I walked through the alley behind my house and down through another alley to get to the Harkers’ house. When we finally got there, I was a little reluctant to knock.

I finally got up the courage and rang the doorbell. Mr. and Mrs. Harker answered together. They looked like they had been standing right behind the door waiting for someone to ring.

They were super pumped to see two young minds looking for books. When I asked them if they had a copy of Pinocchio, Mr. Harker said,

Mr. Harker went on and on about how much he had loved the book Pinocchio as a child. He also informed us that his book club would be meeting tomorrow evening and he thought it might be fun to do a reading.

Before we could leave his house, I had to promise that I’d come back for the reading tomorrow. Mr. Harker also kept the copy of Pinocchio to have it waiting for me.

While we were walking home, Trevor and I tried to figure out what had just happened. We were both a little confused.

When we got back to my house, I took Trevor to my room to show him my new creature. I wanted to talk to Pinocula about a bunch of stuff, but he was still resting.

I closed the drawer. Trevor was pretty disappointed that Pinocula wasn’t in the mood to talk.

Trevor went home, and I got down to the business of reading Dracula. The book was a struggle to get into at first. When I read Harry Potter and Star Wars, they felt new and futuristic. Dracula seemed like a story really old people would like.

The book began with a man going to Transylvania to help Dracula buy a house. Most of it was written in letters or journal entries, sort of like the book you are holding right now. The difference is I’m writing and drawing The Creature from My Closet books so that future generations will know what happens behind my odd closet door. I think the author of Dracula was just writing to scare people.

When dinnertime came, I skipped it so I could keep reading. The book was really beginning to grow on me.

I started to feel like I was in it and I was the one writing the letters and having to save the world from Dracula. The book even talked about wolves a few times. I couldn’t wait to tell Trevor. When I was about halfway finished, I decided I’d better go to sleep. It was only eight o’clock, but I was pooped. As I was shutting the book, the bottom drawer of my dresser slid open, and Pinocula sat up and stretched.

I pleaded with Pinocula to keep resting, but he wanted no part of that. It was dark, and he was itching to do something. I tried to grab him, but he jumped up to the window, slid it open, and sprang out. I climbed out after him, begging him to stop. It was night, but there was still enough moonlight to see.

Pinocula reached the island. He hopped onto one of the large rocks and looked around. I was just about to lecture him on the importance of doing what I said when something near the palm trees made a noise. I grabbed Pinocula and held him behind me. Then “something” stepped out from the trees.

Jack was out on the island by himself, standing between the palm trees, doing nothing. Pinocula started talking, and because he was behind my back, it looked like I was speaking.

Jack stared at me for a few seconds. I think he was trying to decide if he still wanted to be friends. He tried to look behind my back, but I kept moving to keep Pinocula hidden. At first he wondered if I was holding my cousin, but then he realized …

Reluctantly, I pulled Pinocula out from behind my back. It was dark, but Jack could see enough of him to guess what he was.

I was going to lecture Jack on keeping Pinocula a secret when I suddenly felt weak. My thumb where I had been bitten began to tingle. I rocked back and forth.

I fell to the ground before I finished my thought.