Elliot and the Pixie Plot (Underworld Chronicles 2)

Elliot opened the lid and immediately slammed it closed. "It smells like something died in there."

Cami nodded. "Like I said, you don't want to know about the ingredients."

Elliot cracked the lid open again. The liquid inside was clear and thick like syrup. Every now and then a thick bubble rose to the top and popped, even though it wasn't cooking. Elliot shut the lid. "So what do I have to do?"

"Nothing but let it sit. Stir it if you want." Cami began to walk away but then turned back to him. "Oh, and one more thing, if it starts making noises, then you'd better get everyone out of the house, because that means it's going to blow up."

"What kind of noises?" Elliot asked.

"I dunno," Cami said. "It's a liquid, so it probably shouldn't make any noises at all. Anyway, I'll come back in a day or two and check on it."

As she began to leave, Kyle and Cole, Elliot's six-year-old twin brothers, ran to Cami and Elliot. "Secret lovers, hiding place. Secret lovers, kissy face," they teased.

Elliot picked up a stick and hurled it toward his brothers. "Stop bothering me all the time!" he yelled, although this was in fact the first time they'd bothered him all day.

Cami shrugged. "I have to go anyway."

"You really should go out through the gate on the other side of the house," one of the twins said. It was probably Cole, Elliot thought. He had trouble telling the twins apart.

"But there's no fence in your yard," Cami said. "Why do you have a gate if there's no fence?"

"It's rude to cross the grass where there would be a fence if we had a fence. Use the gate." Kyle winked at Cole as he finished, but Elliot didn't think Cami noticed.

"All right," Cami said and followed the twins to the gate. She waved at Elliot in such a nice way that he couldn't help but wonder what devious tricks she had up her sleeve. Then he noticed she wore a short-sleeved shirt, so she probably didn't have room for any tricks up there. And if she did, they probably weren't very good tricks.

Elliot was so busy wondering about Cami's tricks, he didn't notice how watchful Kyle and Cole were being until it was too late. Kyle and Cole only watched what entertained them, and something about Cami leaving through the gate definitely had their attention.

She stepped on a pile of grass that instantly sunk beneath her feet, leaving Cami knee deep in mud.

Only a few weeks ago, Kyle and Cole had been fascinated with water. It only made sense that by now they had moved on to mud.

Cami's face turned red, the color a face gets when a person is really mad. She tried to pull her legs out but only got more mud on herself. "I'm stuck," she said to the twins. "Help me." They only laughed, which of course made her face even redder.

Elliot didn't wait around to see what happened next. He yelled, "Okay, well, I'll keep an eye on the science project for you," and ran away.

Those readers who lived near Lake Baikal in Russia on June 30, 1908, will remember the meteor explosion that occurred a few miles up in the sky. Some 80 million trees were knocked over from the force of the explosion, and glass windows shattered as far as a hundred miles away. If there is anyone reading this story who did not happen to be living near Lake Baikal over a hundred years ago, then you should know it is considered to be the loudest single event ever to happen on this earth. It was a hundred times louder than a one-ton bomb and was more than three times the sound required to cause hearing loss.

Lying in his room that night, with his ears sandwiched between two pillows, Elliot was sure he had discovered the second loudest sound in history.

Tubs was snoring.

Tubs snorted in air, and Elliot thought this must be what it's like inside a tornado.

Then Tubs exhaled, and Elliot imagined a million tiny Tubs germs being sent as far away as the jungles of Africa, all riding on a single breath.

Mother had insisted that Elliot let Tubs use his bed for the night. "He doesn't have things as good as you," she told Elliot. "Be nice and let him have the bed."

Tubs could literally have his bed now, Elliot thought. He didn't think he ever wanted it back again.

When Tubs took Elliot's bed, Elliot took his older brother Reed's bed and made Reed sleep on the floor. It had seemed fair at the time, although now Elliot wasn't so sure. Reed didn't stay on the floor for long. He had finally left about an hour ago, saying he was going in to work at the Quack Shack, his fast-food duck burgers job, either on the really late night shift or on the really early morning shift, whichever was closer. Elliot rolled over in Reed's bed and tried to plug his ears with Reed's pillow.

Tubs drew in another breath. It sounded like a train running through Elliot's room.

Elliot threw off his covers and shoved his feet into a pair of slippers beside his bed. They were Reed's, but he'd only borrow them for a minute. Elliot trudged downstairs and into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Maybe he could take some of that water upstairs and throw it on Tubs. That'd get him to stop snoring.

Elliot was halfway through his glass of water when he heard heavy footsteps clomping down the stairs. Tubs must've woken up for a drink too.

"Snoring must make you thirsty," Elliot said, but as Tubs entered the kitchen he didn't answer. He didn't even really seem to be awake.