The rest of the students stood and watched. Some were laughing and making jokes. Some watched in silence, totally horrified by what they were seeing.
“Leech Girl! Hey — Leech Girl!” a boy shouted.
Some kids laughed.
Kelli was forcing herself not to cry. Her legs prickled and itched. She saw blood trickling down her calves.
Zeke and Decker had big grins frozen on their faces. A total win for them today, Kelli thought bitterly. A total win.
Kelli felt so sorry for herself. Things couldn’t get any worse — could they?
The next morning, Kelli tried to text her friend Marci in New York. But Marci didn’t answer.
“She probably has a whole bunch of new friends,” Kelli told herself sadly. “She’s forgetting all about me.”
Even though it was early, the morning air was steamy and hot. I’m sick of this hot, humid weather, she thought. I’m sick of waking up every morning already sweaty. She sighed. I’m sick of everything down here.
She pulled on a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of white shorts. She didn’t bother to brush her hair. No one cares what I look like.
Kelli started to the kitchen for breakfast. But Shawn stopped her in the hall. He raised his phone to her. “You’d better take a look at this,” he said softly.
She took the phone and gazed at the screen. “What is this, Shawn? Someone’s Instagram?”
Her heart stopped beating as the photo on the screen came into focus. There she was, standing on the edge of the swamp, her mouth open in a scream. She could see the disgusting black leeches up and down her legs.
She read the caption in a trembling voice:
“Leech Girl Rises from Monster Hole.”
Kelli forced herself to look away from the screen. She had never felt so angry in her life. Angry and sad and embarrassed at the same time. She could feel the blood pulsing at her temples. She really thought her head might explode.
She handed the phone back to Shawn without saying a word.
But the angry thoughts flew through her brain. She pictured Zeke and Decker’s grinning faces. Now I’m going to be known as Leech Girl for the rest of the year.
She stayed in the hall, hands balled into fists, struggling to calm down. But there was no way she could calm down. She was a total loser down here. She was a joke at school. She hadn’t made a single new friend. Zeke and his twin made her life miserable. And all the frightening talk about the Shaggedy …
Suddenly, standing in the hall, her jaw clenched, her heart pounding, fists curled tightly, she knew what she had to do. She couldn’t go on this way. She had to change things. And she knew how.
* * *
Kelli didn’t tell Shawn her plan till after school. A pair of fat bog frogs scampered across the path as they made their way toward home. “Bet I could catch them,” Shawn said. “Keep them as pets.”
Kelli didn’t reply. She was thinking about other things. Kids had called her Leech Girl all day. She heard them snickering and whispering every time she walked by.
She wanted to go roaring into them and wrestle them to the floor. But that was stupid. She had a better revenge plan than that.
“I’m going to call up the Shaggedy,” she told Shawn.
His mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I’m going to call up the Shaggedy.”
He squinted at her. “You mean you believe in it?”
Kelli shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I do. I’m going to follow that weird Ranger Saul’s instructions. And I’m going to summon it up from the swamp.”
“And then what?” Shawn demanded.
“Saul said if I called it up, it would do whatever I wanted.”
“And what do you want it to do, Kelli?”
She shrugged again. “I don’t really know. Scare Zeke and Decker out of their minds? Chase them out of town, maybe?”
Shawn laughed. “I don’t believe you. You’re joking, right?”
“No. I’m totally serious,” Kelli said.
Shawn studied her. “And you want to call up a terrifying swamp monster from the under the water because … ?”
“Because I want to change things,” Kelli said. “Because I don’t want to be Leech Girl for the rest of the year. Because …”
Something in front of them on the path caught her eye. “Shawn, look.” She pointed. A dead bird on its side on the dirt path. A large black bird with red markings on its wings and tail. Its tiny black eye gazed blankly up at the sky.
“We need fifty drops of blood,” Kelli murmured. She bent to pick up the dead bird. “Maybe it has the blood we need. Come on, Shawn. Let’s do this!”
Kelli cradled the dead bird in both hands and carried it to their house. The bird was still warm. She really hoped it had the fifty drops of blood inside it that she needed.
“This is crazy,” Shawn insisted. “Please don’t do this, Kelli.”
“It’s bigger than crazy!” she exclaimed. “It’s stupendous! It’s incredible!” A wave of excitement made her whole body tingle.
She put a hand on his shoulder. “I know you’re scared. But just think, Shawn … If this doesn’t work and it turns out there’s no such thing as a Shaggedy, you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
She thought that might calm him down. Or at least shut him up. But it didn’t work at all.
“Please don’t do this,” he said again, tugging her arm. “Please.”
“Okay, okay. You made your point,” she told him. “I know what your opinion is. But I’m going to do it anyway. You can either come along and help me. Or you can stay home and hide under the bed or something. And you’ll miss all the incredible excitement.”
He stared at her, his face tense, his fists in his pockets. Finally, he let out a long sigh. “Okay. I’ll go with you.” His voice broke. “It won’t work, anyway, right? Right?”
“Well … there’s only one way to find out,” Kelli murmured. She handed him a sheet of black paper. Then she pulled a sharp steak knife from the silverware drawer.
“Wh-what are you going to do with that knife?” Shawn stammered.
Kelli frowned at him. “We have to get the blood out of the bird, don’t we?”
She handed him the sheet of black paper. Then she cradled the dead bird in one arm. She carried the knife in her free hand.
They stepped out of their house, walked back along the side, and took the path that led to the swamp. The late afternoon sun kept ducking behind clouds. Long shadows formed in front of them, then vanished when the sunlight faded.
There was no wind. The trees and shrubs were still. A lone bird crying high above them was the only sound Kelli heard, except for the soft thud of their sandals on the dirt path.
They turned at the river and followed the path that led around to Monster Hole. No one around. Total silence now. Even the crickets were silent.
The river water was dark gray with dull patches of green under the cloudy sky. The current was gentle, lapping softly on the muddy shore.
Kelli squinted at the sandbar that circled Monster Hole. The sun appeared again and made the water sparkle. Shawn held the black paper stiffly in front of him. “Are we really doing this?”
“Don’t talk,” Kelli said. “Just try to be helpful.”
She took the paper from him and set it down flat on the dirt. “Hold it down. Don’t let it blow away.”
“There’s no wind,” Shawn said.
“Don’t argue, Shawn. Just hold the paper down.” Kelli didn’t mean to sound so sharp with her brother. She realized she was tense. Her whole body felt tight, as if all her muscles had been tied in knots.
She dropped to her knees and placed the bird on its back on the ground. The slender legs stood stiffly straight up. The blank-eyed head tilted at a strange angle. The feathers felt stiff and dry.
Kelli raised the knife over the bird. “I hope it still has its blood,” she murmured.
“I can’t look.” Shawn covered
his eyes with one hand.
Kelli didn’t reply. She tightened her grip on the steak knife handle, lowered the blade to the bird. Then she brought her hand down fast, dug the blade in deep, and made a long cut down the middle of the bird’s belly.
She had this weird feeling that the bird would utter a shrill scream. But, of course, it remained silent and didn’t move. And as she gazed down at the deep cut she had made, a trickle of dark blood oozed onto the smooth, feathery belly.
“Yes!” she cried, pumping a fist in the air.
“Sick,” Shawn muttered. He held the paper down with both hands.
Kelli set the knife down next to the bird. Then she dipped her pointer finger into the trickling blood. “Fifty drops onto the paper,” she told Shawn. “Then we call out the Shaggedy’s name ten times. And we’ll see what happens.”
“Uh … yeah. We’ll see,” Shawn murmured. His eyes were on the gently rolling water. He didn’t want to look at the cut-open dead bird.
Drip drip drip drip.
Kelli counted silently to herself. The blood felt warm on her finger. When it stopped trickling over the side of the cut, she had to dig her finger into the bird’s body to get more.
“Hurry up,” Shawn urged. “This is making me sick. Seriously.”
“Everything makes you sick,” Kelli murmured.
Drip drip drip …
The bird’s belly had fallen open. It looked as if the poor bird had cracked in half. Kelli dripped the last few drops of blood onto the paper. “Okay.” She jumped to her feet. “Bring the paper closer to the water, Shawn.”
He held back. “No. You do it. It’s totally yucky.”
She rolled her eyes and took the paper from his hand. “Follow me.” She led the way to the water’s edge. The ground grew soft and muddy here. Water lapped in a soft, steady rhythm.
Shawn stayed a few steps behind Kelli. “Can you at least help me shout his name?” she asked.
He nodded. “Okay.”
They began to shout in unison. “Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy!”
Their voices rang over the deep water. Kelli cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted even louder. “Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy! Here comes the Shaggedy!”
Ten times.
Kelli gazed around the circle of water that formed Monster Hole. The sun slid behind clouds again. The river water faded to gray.
“Nothing happening,” Shawn said, standing three steps behind her. “This was stupid. Let’s go home.”
“Wait.” Kelli motioned with one hand. “Just wait. And watch.”
Kelli held her breath and stared at the dark, rolling river. Rolling smoothly. Nothing changing. Nothing interrupting the soft, steady flow of water.
Nothing happening …
She uttered a sigh. Maybe her brother was right. Maybe this was a dumb waste of time.
Clouds washed overhead. They made a shadow appear in the water.
No. Wait. The shadow wasn’t caused by the clouds.
Kelli gasped and took a step to the water’s edge. She stared wide-eyed straight ahead … into the middle of the circle … into the middle of Monster Hole.
And she saw the water start to swirl. Low waves rose against the current. Moving in the wrong direction. She heard a churning sound. The sound grew louder.
The water tossed up. Low waves smacked against waves. The water tossed and churned. The middle of the circle began to bubble.
Sunlight spread once again over the water, and Kelli could see clearly. See something below the surface … something rising in the water … rising rapidly as the water churned and bubbled.
She heard Shawn’s frightened cry. He stepped up beside her and took her hand.
And they both watched the blue-green water appear to split apart … as the creature floated up … floated up over the surface. First its head, then its broad shoulders. The river tossed and crashed like thunder.
They both cried out as the monster blinked several times, water rolling off its face — and locked its dark-eyed gaze on Kelli and Shawn.
Its face was blue and puffy. Its eyes were an eerie yellow. Water rolled off its head, its bare shoulders. The creature appeared to grow taller as it rose in the water and began to stomp toward the shore.
It pulled a tangle of weeds from its long sea-green hair, hair down past its shoulders. Its mouth hung open in a silent roar. A slender, silvery fish slid out of one of its nostrils and splashed into the water.
“Run! Kelli! Run!” Shawn screamed. He spun away from the terrifying creature, his shoes pounding the soft ground.
Kelli turned to run. But then she stopped. She remembered Ranger Saul’s words. The Shaggedy would rise out of the water and do whatever she asked it to do.
She was the boss. She was its master.
She took a deep breath and summoned all her courage. She could still hear Shawn’s footsteps as he ran away. But she was determined to stay.
I called it up. Now I will control it.
She crossed her arms tightly in front of her to stop her body from shivering. She clenched her jaw and watched the enormous man-creature stomp toward the shore.
Its bare chest was covered in thick brown fur. Its arms were powerful and long. Its massive hands hung below his knees. Its legs were the size of tree stumps, covered entirely in brown fur so thick, it looked like dark leggings.
It uttered a low grunt. Black river water spewed from its open mouth. It tilted back its huge head and spewed more water from deep in its gut. It came storming toward Kelli, moving slowly, heavily. It slapped the surface of the water with both open hands as it walked, sending up high waves on both sides.
Kelli’s knees started to fold. Her whole body shuddered. But she returned the creature’s stare and stood her ground.
“Follow me, Shaggedy!” She tried to scream, but her voice came out in a choked whisper.
The creature shook water off itself like a dog after a bath. It lowered its huge head, scraggly wet hair falling over its yellow eyes.
“I called for you, Shaggedy!” Kelli found her voice and screamed. “And now you must do what I tell you!”
The monster tilted its head to the sky and roared. The ugly sound drove birds from the trees. It shoved its hair off its eyes with both fur-covered hands and glared, unblinking, at Kelli.
It stomped onto the wet mud of the shore. Took a step toward her. Another pounding step.
“Stop!” Kelli cried. A wave of panic rolled down her body. “Shaggedy — stop!”
But it kept coming, its eyes on hers like two wet flashlight beams. Another silver fish poked out of one nostril. The monster curled and uncurled giant fists at its sides.
“Shaggedy — stop!” Kelli screamed.
Before she could move out of its way, the creature raised a big fist and shoved her. A hard shove in the side that sent her toppling to the ground.
Kelli landed hard. Pain shot up and down her body.
She turned and saw the creature stomping to the trees.
“Stop!” she cried, trying to force away the pain. “Stop right there! Where are you going? Stop!”
Kelli climbed to her feet. She could see the big creature striding through the trees. It followed the path toward town, ripping vines and shrubs out of the ground with both hands as it walked.
“Wait! Stop!” Kelli ran after it. “You are supposed to listen to me! Stop!”
The monster turned, an ugly scowl on its dark blue face, and grunted in reply.
Kelli ducked behind a tree. Was it going to turn back and come for her?
No. It clomped away, its huge feet digging deep holes in the soft ground.
Kelli held her breath. The creature smelled like rotten fish. She wondered if she’d ever get the smell from her nose. Or the sight of its frightening wet yellow eyes beaming at her.
Kelli stopped
shouting at it. She could see that it wouldn’t listen to her. She followed on trembling legs, keeping a safe distance. She wanted to scream for help, but there was no one in sight.
She wondered if Shawn had run all the way home. She wondered if he was telling her dad about the monster. Maybe her dad would come and …
The path led to a row of small white houses. Kelli stopped with a gasp as the creature strode up to the first house. It pulled its powerful arm back — and shoved a fist through the front window. Glass shattered. Someone inside the house screamed in shock.
The creature lifted a metal trash can off the ground and heaved it through the broken window.
“Stop! Oh, please — !” Kelli begged.
But the creature was already at the next house. It reached both hands up — and tore the gutter off the roof. It clanged to the ground. The creature lowered its shoulder to the front door and splintered it easily. The door cracked in half and tipped off of its hinges.
Kelli saw faces in the windows across the street. People heard the crashes and the shattering glass. She stood helplessly, watching the creature she had summoned go berserk. She had called it up, and now it was destroying everything in its path … wrecking everything — and enjoying it.
What have I done? Why did I do this?
The monster tugged a mailbox out of the ground and heaved it through the windshield of a dark blue pickup truck parked at the curb. Glass shattered and flew everywhere.
“Help!” Kelli shouted to the people watching from their houses. “Get help. Somebody — call the police!”
She heard a siren in the distance. Was help on the way?
Yes. A black-and-white patrol car came roaring up, red light flashing on its roof, siren blaring. It squealed to a stop. The front doors flew open, and two black-uniformed officers came leaping out.
The monster shoved over a slender tree. The tree cracked and crashed to the ground. Grunting hard, the monster turned its eyes on the approaching policemen.
They drew pistols. “Freeze!” one of them barked. “Don’t move. Stay right there.”