Роберт Стайн - The beast from the east

The beast stayed on the other side of the clearing, sniffing the air. It stomped back and forth, sniffing hard. The ground seemed to shake each time one of its furry paws hit the ground. I could feel Nat and Pat shiver with fear.

The beast turned away from us.

Whew! I thought. It hasn't seen us. I bit my bottom lip and held onto Pat and Nat.

"Argggh," the beast grunted. It dropped to all fours. It pressed its snout to the ground and crept along, making loud snuffling noises.

I didn't tell Pat or Nat what I was thinking. The beast hadn't seen us — but there was no way we could keep it from smelling us.

Its long tail swished back and forth. The tail banged against the trees. Gourds fell to the ground.

The beast crawled into the center of the clearing. Closer.

I dug my fingernails into my palm.

Turn around, beast, I prayed. Go back into the woods. The blue creature stopped. It sniffed again. And then it turned. It began to creep in our direction.

I swallowed. Hard. My mouth suddenly felt so dry.

The creature's tail pushed against one of the cabbage plants near us. The leaves rustled.

"Get down!" I whispered, shoving my brothers. We stretched out flat on the ground.

The beast stopped a few feet from our hiding place.

Its tail brushed my arm. The fur felt rough and scratchy.

I jerked my arm away. Could he feel me? Was I like a tiny animal to him? One he could pick up and squeeze the way my brothers teased our dog?

The beast rose up on its hind legs and sniffed. It towered over the cabbage plant. It had to be at least eight feet tall!

It picked at its fur with a clawed thumb — and placed whatever it found in his mouth.

A pleased grin formed under its twitching snout. It peered around the clearing.

Don't look down, I prayed. Don't see us.

My body tensed.

The creature growled and ran its long tongue over its fang. Then it tromped off into the trees.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"We'd better wait a few minutes," I told my brothers. I counted to one hundred. Then I crawled out from behind the plant. No sign of the creature.

But then I felt the earth shake.

"Oh, no!" I gasped. "Here it comes again!"

5

The beast's enormous blue head bobbed up between the trees. How had it come back so fast? And from the other direction?

We scrambled back to our hiding place behind the huge cabbage plant.

"We have to get away from here," I whispered. "If it keeps searching back and forth, it's bound to find us."

"How do we get away?" Nat demanded.

I picked up a gourd from the ground. "I'll throw this gourd. The beast will turn its head to see what the noise is. Then we'll run — in the other direction."

"But, what if it sees us? What if it chases us?" Nat asked. He didn't seem happy about my plan.

Nat and Pat exchanged nervous glances.

"Yeah. What if it runs faster than us?" Pat demanded.

"It won't," I said. I was bluffing. But my brothers didn't know that.

I peeked over the top of the cabbage. The creature stood closer than ever. It sniffed the air, its pink snout coiling like a snake.

I glanced at the gourd in my hand, then brought my arm back, ready to throw.

"Wait!" Pat whispered. "Look!"

My arm froze where it was. Another beast had tromped into the clearing.

And another.

And another.

I gulped. More blue beasts clomped into the clearing.

No way could we make a run for it now.

The enormous creatures tromped around the clearing. They growled and grunted to each other.

One stopped and jabbered loudly in a deep and gravelly voice. The folds of hairless skin under its chin wobbled back and forth.

"Look at them all!" Nat murmured. "There must be at least two dozen."

A small beast jogged into the clearing. Its fur shone a brighter blue than the rest. It stood only about three feet tall.

Was it a child? A young beast?

The tiny beast placed its short, pink snout on the ground and sniffed. Dirt and dried-up bits of leaves stuck to its snout.

"It looks hungry," Pat whispered.

"Shhh!" I warned.

The tiny beast glanced up eagerly. In our direction.

It did look hungry. But for what?

I held my breath.

The small beast suddenly scooped a gourd off the ground. It shoved the whole thing into its mouth and crunched down. Yellow juice squirted between its lips and soaked down its shaggy blue fur.

It eats fruit! I cheered silently. That was a good sign. Maybe they are vegetarians, I thought. Maybe they don't eat meat.

I knew that most wild animals ate only one type of food. Either meat, or else fruits and vegetables.

Except for bears, I suddenly remembered. Bears will eat both.

A large beast thudded over to the kid. It yanked the little creature to its feet and began jabbering angrily at it. It dragged the kid back toward the woods.

The beast with the hairless folds of skin stepped into the center of the clearing.

"Grrugh!" It snorted at the others. It waved a furry paw in a circle. It waved and grunted and jabbered.

The other creatures nodded and grunted to one another. They seemed to understand each other. They seemed to be grunting some kind of language.

The big beast gave a final grunt. The other creatures turned back toward the woods. They spread out and began to creep silently into the trees. I felt the earth trembling under the pounding of their feet. Twigs and leaves crackled and cracked.

In a few seconds, they had vanished. The clearing stood empty.

I let out another long sigh of relief.

"What are they doing, anyway?" Pat asked.

Nat wiped sweat off his forehead. "They act as if they're searching for something," he answered. "Hunting."

I swallowed hard.

I knew what they were hunting for.

They were hunting for us.

And now there were so many of them. Spreading out in every direction.

We don't stand a chance, I realized.

They're going to catch us.

And then what?

6

I stood up slowly. I turned in a full circle, checking everywhere for a sign of the hairy creatures.

Their low grumbles and growls faded into the distance. The ground stopped shaking.

A gust of cool wind blew through the clearing. It made the gourds in the trees knock against each other. An eerie melody whistled through the trees.

I shuddered.

"Let's get out of here. Now!" Nat cried.

"Wait!" I told him. I grabbed his arm and held him back. "Those beasts are too near. They'll hear us or see us."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to stick around. I'm going to run as hard as I can. I'm outta here!"

"I'm with you." Pat leaped to his feet. "But which way do we go?" he asked.

"We can't go anywhere now," I argued. "We're lost. We don't know which way to go. So we have to stay right here. Mom and Dad will come find us. I know they will."

"And what if they don't? What if they're in trouble, too?" Nat asked.

"Dad knows how to survive in the woods," I said firmly. "And we don't."

At least I didn't. If only I had listened at that outdoors camp.

"I do, too!" Pat whined. "I can take care of myself. Right Nat? Let's get going!"

Who was he kidding? Pat didn't even like the woods.

But he's stubborn. When he gets an idea, no one can change his mind. And Nat always agrees with him. Twins!

"Ginger — are you coming or not?" Pat demanded.