I waved the whistle at them. Did they recognize it? I blew it some more.

Daisy and DeWayne had backed to the door. They stared at me, their faces scrunched up in confusion.

I blew another long blast.

To my shock, the monsters all started to whimper. They curled up on themselves, trying to cover their ears.

All of them were shaking and quaking.

Wow, I thought. They definitely don’t like high-pitched sounds.

It hurt my ears, too. But I blew the whistle again.

The monsters hunched over, trembling, whimpering softly.

“Michael? Is that really you?” Daisy called.

“Are you nuts?” DeWayne snapped at her. “That’s not Michael. That’s a monster waving a dog whistle at us!”

“UNNNNH!” I cried. I raised the whistle to Daisy. I pointed it at myself.

Sign language. Desperate sign language.

“We’re out of here!” DeWayne cried. “They’re gonna eat us or something!”

But Daisy kept staring hard at me. “Michael?”

I nodded. I took a bow. I nodded some more. I waved the dog whistle in front of her.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Daisy cried. She realized it was me! “Did Mrs. Hardesty do this to you?”

I nodded some more.

DeWayne was starting to believe, too. He pointed to the others. “Mrs. Hardesty hatched all these from giant eggs?”

I nodded again.

I knew there wasn’t time for any more questions. Mrs. H would be back from the store at any minute.

I lowered my head and took off running. I burst between my two friends and out the door. My lizardy feet pounded the stairs up to the kitchen.

Daisy and DeWayne followed after me. No sign of Mrs. Hardesty.

Now what?

I was free. Out of the basement room. But no way I could tell the whole story while I was still a monster.

My eyes darted around the kitchen. I saw my jeans and T-shirt piled in a corner. Then I gazed at the stove.

The eggs!

Were there any eggs left in the pan?

I pushed my two friends out of the way and stomped to the stove.

“Michael? What are you doing?” Daisy cried.

I looked down at the frying pan. Just a tiny chunk of egg left. A teaspoonful, stuck to the bottom.

Was it enough to turn me back into me?

It had to be!

I lowered my face into the pan. Flicked out my snaky tongue and wrapped it around the little piece of egg. I pulled it into my mouth and swallowed it.

Yes. Come on. Change, Michael! Change!

I waited. Waited …

Nothing happened.