Tiny-Stego Stampede Read online

  “Of course. It’s GENIUS!” I said as I jammed a big flower on Bruno’s nose horn.

  “Genius!” Lin said as she looped a big blossom on one of Zip-Zap’s wings. Zip-Zap squawked. He didn’t think the idea was as awesome as we did.

  The rumbling of the stampede was getting closer as I pulled a flower around my waist. “Okay. I think it’s time for the big surprise!” I said.

  “Yup. On three,” Lin said, and we both started counting.

  “One … two … THREE!” we shouted together. Then the whole group of us, Bruno, Zip-Zap, Pizza, Cornelia, Lin, and me, all jumped out in front of the rolling stampede. The bright flowers we wore, combined with the massive ROAR we all let go at once, stopped the stampede in their tracks.

  The herd was silent for a few seconds as they stared back at the strange display in front of them. Then Lin spoke up.

  “I cannot believe that worked,” she said with a little giggle, shedding her flower disguise.

  “Me either. I thought we were going to be smashed pancakes for sure,” I said.

  “Wait. Look at that,” Lin said as she raised up on her tiptoes. “Is that…?”

  “ChuChu,” I said. She was hanging from the spiked tail of the stegosaurus right in front, sound asleep. All we had to do was climb up and get her.

  I picked a handful of grass and fed it to the stego to help keep her calm while Lin climbed up to rescue her sister. The large Microsaur didn’t seem to mind at all, but she sure did appreciate the grass, and she left me with a slobbery hand to prove it.

  Lin walked along the stego’s back, holding her sister in her arms. She hopped to the ground next to me, then gave her the most sisterly hug ever, and kissed her rosy cheek.

  “Don’t you ever leave me like that again, you little peanut,” Lin said, and I saw a little tear drop from Lin’s eye to the top of ChuChu’s sleeping head. It woke ChuChu up, and as she blinked her eyes open, she smiled real wide.

  “Sissy,” she said, then reached up and pinched Lin’s cheek.

  “That’s right. I’m Sissy,” Lin said.

  I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to rush anyone, but we still needed to get the herd back into the fence.

  “Um, Lin. I hate to say this, but we still have some work to do,” I said.

  “Oh yeah. I can’t wait. We have to get the stegos inside the fence, and this will be the ending to a perfect day,” Lin said.

  I was about to agree, when I remembered that Vicky was waiting for us back at the fence, and Lin had absolutely no idea that we had a visitor.

  “Well, let’s not say perfect just yet. You thought the stampede was shocking, just wait until I show you my little surprise,” I said as I climbed back on Bruno.

  “Oh, good. I love surprises,” Lin said. She handed ChuChu to me, knowing that riding Zip-Zap was a one-person job that took a lot of attention.

  “Well, you’re not going to like this one. Not one little bit,” I said, then shouted to the twins, “Pizza, Cornelia. For the last time today, let’s GET ’EM ON UP!”

  CHAPTER 13

  SURPRISE!

  Stopping the stampede took a lot of smarts and energy, but getting them going again was pretty easy. Lin and Zip-Zap went on one side of Wilson, and Bruno and I took the other. Lin and I shouted to Wilson, sending up lots of loud Hi-yahs and whoops until he started moving. After that, all we had to do was stay on either side of him and direct him up the hill toward the fence. The stegosauri pretty much followed along with Wilson’s lead, but I sent Pizza and Cornelia to the back of the herd to make sure they all stayed together.

  The journey to the fence started off slow, but before long, we were back to stampede speed once again. When we got to the hill, Lin saw the fence.

  “Wow. That’s humongous! Is that the surprise?” she asked.

  “Umm. No. Sorry. I told you the surprise wasn’t good news. That fence is very good news,” I said.

  Lin and I helped guide Wilson toward the gate of the fence. If we wanted him to go right, I’d move away a little, and Lin and Zip-Zap would ride close to his feet. Not wanting to squash them, Wilson would move a little to the right. And if we wanted to go left, we swapped. Lin moved away and I squeezed into Wilson’s space. It was a little spooky riding that close to something with feet bigger than your bedroom, but as soon as we got Wilson through the gate, we were home free.

  Lin and I were caught up in the stampede as the herd moved into the wide fenced-in area. The stegosauri followed Wilson all the way to the lake at the bottom of their new pasture before they stopped.

  Wilson kept walking though, right into the deep lake. His feet were covered first, then his legs. When the cool water reached up to his belly, the gigantic patagotitan let out another of his rumbling bellows. The lake water rippled with the sound and made waves that crashed against the shore of Lake Wilson. In a few more steps, the water was nearly up to his back, and he settled down and let out a massive Microsaur sigh.

  “That was amazing,” Lin said. “He looks so happy.”

  “I know, right?” I said.

  “Was the lake the surprise?” Lin asked.

  “No. Sorry, Lin. Actually, I don’t see the surprise around here anywhere,” I said as I looked for Vicky. I was a little worried that she’d wandered off.

  “Come on. Let’s go close the gate. It’s been a long day,” Lin said.

  “Looooong day,” ChuChu said as she rode in my arms.

  “That is for sure,” I said with a smile.

  As we rode away from the lake, making our way through the herd of relaxing stegosauri, I had to admit the place looked pretty good. It was full of long, tender grass, and there was plenty of shade and fresh water.

  “I think they are going to like it here,” I said as we reached the gate.

  “Is that the surprise?” Lin said as she slid from Zip-Zap’s back. He ruffled his feathers and squawked. It had been a long day for Bruno and Zip-Zap as well.

  “Oh man. I wish I didn’t say it was a surprise. Remember, surprises aren’t always good,” I said. Bruno helped me and Lin shut the gate, and then ChuChu and I hopped off my trusty Microceratops and gave his nose a great scratch.

  “Dino goggies,” ChuChu said as she walked over to the twins. They were lying in the grass just outside the fenced-in stegosauri, looking as happy as I’d ever seen them. Their ears were still on, but they weren’t straight anymore and they looked like they were ready for a nap.

  “Well, Danny, if you don’t have a surprise for me, I guess we better just head back. Maybe the surprise is no surprise,” Lin said.

  I was starting to worry about Vicky. She was supposed to wait right here for me to return. Losing a second person in one day in the Microterium would not be fun. Not one bit.

  “Hey. You moved the Slide-A-Riffic,” Lin said. “That’s awesome. Now THAT has got to be the surprise.” She took ChuChu in her arms and started skipping over to the Slide-A-Riffic. I was looking in the deep grass for Vicky, when I heard a scream.

  Lin was looking down into the basket of the Slide-A-Riffic. “Vicky Van-Varbles! What are you doing here?” Lin shouted.

  “Surprise,” I said. Lin glared at me, and I shrugged. Nothing I could do now but explain, and I knew that might be the most difficult thing I’d done in the Microterium all day.

  CHAPTER 14

  SLIDING HOME

  We used the newly installed Slide-A-Rific to make our way back to the Fruity Stars Lab 3.0. It was nice for two reasons. One, it was super fast, and two, Zip-Zap, Bruno, and the twins needed a break. Or at least that’s what we thought. As we glided through the air, high above the ground, the Microsaur friends did their best to keep up under us.

  After a smooth landing next to the lab, Lin jumped out of the Slide-A-Riffic first.

  “Come on, ChuChu,” Lin said. She held out her arms for ChuChu and helped her sister out of the basket.

  Vicky climbed out next. Then I got out and followed Lin as she marched quickly toward the
copper penny beneath the nozzle of the Expand-O-Matic. She put ChuChu down on the penny, then got down low so she could talk directly to her sister.

  “You stay right here on this shiny penny, okay, ChuChu?” she said.

  “Oooh. Is a BIG penny,” ChuChu said. She was still hugging Snuffle Bunny tight as she plopped down on the penny, obeying Lin.

  Lin looked over at me and pointed to the lab. “You. Me. Lab. NOW!” she said.

  I swallowed, then nodded. I was going to obey Lin as well. I followed her into the Fruity Stars Lab 3.0.

  “What about me?” Vicky asked.

  I turned and motioned to ChuChu, then whispered, “Can you keep an eye on her for a while? We don’t need her running off again.”

  Vicky smiled. “Okay. I like babies,” she said.

  “She’s NOT A BABY,” Lin shouted from inside the lab. I didn’t know she could even hear us.

  “I gotta run. I have some explaining to do,” I said.

  I found Lin in the control room for the Expand-O-Matic. She was leaning against a workbench with her arms crossed.

  “So. How did this disaster happen?” she asked.

  “It’s a long story, but in short, she followed me here,” I said. I hit the switch to warm up the Expand-O-Matic and checked the dials.

  “I think you mean she broke into Professor Penrod’s secret barn without getting invited,” Lin said.

  “Yes, but to be fair, that’s kind of how we found this place, too,” I said.

  “Sure. But we were following a tiny-dactyl who stole your GPS beacon. She was being a snoop,” Lin said.

  I nodded, then looked out the front window of the lab. Vicky was sitting on the penny with Lin’s sister on her lap. She was coating ChuChu’s fingernails in bright purple fingernail polish.

  “And then what? You just decided to shrink her and let her into the Microterium?” Lin asked.

  “No, I didn’t decide to do that. She jumped on the big metal step and Shrink-A-Fied herself in. What was I supposed to do?” I asked.

  “I can think of one thing. You pick her up and put her in a bug jar. Problem solved,” Lin said.

  I heard barking and turned to check on ChuChu and Vicky again. They were obviously playing doggies because ChuChu was teaching Vicky how to sit and beg.

  “That’s not really an option, Lin. You can’t just keep a tiny person in a bug jar,” I said.

  “You can if you’re trying to keep the biggest secret on earth. We have like a bazillion secrets to keep? Do you think SHE can keep a secret?”

  “Probably not, but we have to try to figure something out,” I said.

  “I’m telling you, Danny. There’s a bug jar in the barn-lab. A bug jar will solve all our problems,” Lin said.

  “Still, not an option, Lin,” I said.

  I looked outside again, stalling for time as I thought about how to tell Lin about our next problem. Vicky took off her necklace and gave it to ChuChu, and in return, ChuChu handed Vicky her Snuffle Bunny. Vicky hugged the stuffed rabbit, kissed its nose, then passed it back to ChuChu. I had never seen Vicky act so nice. It gave me an idea. Even though she wasn’t up for getting dirty, she did survive an adventure-filled day, which was a plus. And if there was a little bit of nice inside Vicky after a day like today, then my strange idea just might work.

  Lin broke my concentration as I thought over my next steps carefully. “Danny, can we please try the bug jar?”

  I half smiled back at her and shook my head. Something thumped on the ground outside. Bruno had made his way back from the stego fence, and he had found Vicky and ChuChu.

  Vicky walked up to the big lump of horns and muscle and pretended like he knocked her to the ground. It made ChuChu laugh so hard that she fell to the ground as well. Vicky stood up and did it again, and this time all three of them fell to the ground, including Bruno.

  “You know. She’s not all bad,” I said as we watched ChuChu and her play.

  “Seriously, Danny?” Lin said with the biggest eye roll I’d ever seen.

  “Well, ChuChu likes her. That’s gotta count for something,” I said.

  “ChuChu also likes ketchup and crushed nacho chips on her peanut butter sandwiches. She likes everything,” Lin said.

  “I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it,” I said. “Follow me. We need to make a deal with Vicky.”

  “What kind of deal?” Lin asked.

  “Just follow my lead, you’ll see,” I said as we headed out the door.

  CHAPTER 15

  LET’S MAKE A DEAL

  Lin and I sat next to Vicky on the copper penny as we watched Bruno chase ChuChu.

  “Your sister is really cute,” Vicky said to Lin. “I always wanted a baby sister.”

  “Thanks,” Lin said. “There are times when I’d give her to you, but most of the time she’s pretty great.”

  “So. Are we getting out of here?” Vicky asked.

  “Yes. Of course, but we need to work out a few details first,” I explained.

  Vicky stared at me like I was a talking alien. “Details. I thought you’d done this before,” she said.

  “We have. A bunch of times, but what Danny is trying to say is that we need to make a deal before we’re going to let you out of the Microterium,” Lin said.

  “Oh,” Vicky said. Then she thought about things for a minute. “Wait. Who says you get to choose if I leave or not? That’s not fair.”

  “Oh, it’s fair,” Lin asked. “It’s fair because we know how to make the Expand-O-Matic work and you don’t. And if that’s not okay with you, I know where there is this perfectly clean bug jar that we could use to—” Lin said.

  I stopped her before she said too much. “Hang on, Lin,” I said.

  “A bug jar? For me? Oh, I don’t think so,” Vicky said, shaking her head snarkily.

  “Hang on, you two. Give me a chance to explain,” I said.

  Lin and Vicky turned to look at me, and I knew I had better talk fast before they both ended up wrestling in the grass.

  “Look. We’re all going to expand back to normal. We just need to talk about a few rules first,” I said.

  “Rules. Like what?” Vicky said.

  They both looked at me and waited for me to share my idea. ChuChu brought a totally slobbery Snuffle Bunny to Vicky.

  “Fro to big rhino goggie,” ChuChu said. Vicky smiled wide and tossed the Snuffle Bunny into the grass. Bruno and ChuChu chased after it, giggling and chuffing as they went.

  Vicky turned back at me, ready to hear the deal.

  “Here’s the problem. Lin and I are afraid that if you go back to normal size you’ll tell the whole world about the Microsaurs,” I said.

  “No, I won’t. Why would I do that?” Vicky asked.

  “Because this place is the coolest place you’ve ever been in your entire life and you’d become super popular if you told everyone about it,” Lin said.

  “Okay. That’s fair, but I won’t tell everyone. I promise,” Vicky said. “And besides, what’s the big deal if I told a few people?”

  “If anyone finds out about this place, we won’t be able to keep it safe. Reporters would come with video cameras and tell everyone about the Microsaurs. People might walk around in it, without knowing they need to shrink first, and smash—well, they would smash everything. And it wouldn’t be fair to Professor Penrod. He’s worked really hard to build this place and fill it with Microsaurs that need protection,” I said.

  “I won’t tell anyone, I promise,” Vicky said. “Cross my heart, hope to die.” She drew an imaginary X over her heart.

  “That’s not enough,” I said.

  “Pinkie promise?” Vicky said, holding out a pinkie finger for us to lock and swear.

  “Still. Not enough,” I said.

  “Well, that does it, then,” Lin said, losing patience with the whole thing. “I’ll go get the bug jar.”

  “There is another way, but it won’t be easy,” I said.

  “I’ll do anyt
hing. I don’t want to be in Lin’s bug jar for the rest of my life,” Vicky said.

  “The IMPA,” I said. I looked at Lin and gave her a look that told her to play along. She did without losing a beat.

  “Oh no, Danny. Vicky is not ready for the IMPA,” she said.

  “I know, but what choice do we have?” I asked. “And don’t say bug jar.”

  Lin shrugged, and I could tell she was still voting for keeping Vicky in a bug jar.

  “We can’t leave Vicky in a bug jar. What would we tell her parents? They are going to wonder where she is soon,” I said.

  “They probably do already,” Vicky said.

  “We only have one choice. The IMPA,” I said.

  “What’s the IMPA?” Vicky asked.

  “What’s the IMPA?” Lin said as if she knew exactly what it was and thought it was crazy that Vicky didn’t know. “Go ahead, Danny. Tell her what the IMPA is.”

  “The International Microsaur Protection Agency,” I said in my most grown-up voice to try to make it sound even more important.

  “Sure. International Microsaur Protection Agency. Of course, but do you think she’ll pass the test?” Lin said, making up some rules of her own, which worried me a little, but I went with it.

  “Maybe,” I said. “It depends on what is on the test this time.”

  “Oh. I just looked up the rules yesterday. There are four tests in total. Bravery, Food, Questing, and…” Lin paused as she tried to think of another test. I jumped in before she thought of something really dangerous.

  “And the Promise Keeper’s Oath. You have to memorize it,” I said.

  “Oh yeah, that’s it. I don’t know, Danny. I don’t think she’s ready,” Lin said.

  “I’m ready. I could do that. What do I get if I pass the test?” Vicky asked.

  “You get to come back to the Microterium with us,” I said.