A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch! Read online

  Then Jodi said that the plan was to search the LAKE with our EYES while we were ON DECK to see if we could spot Gary trying to swim away from the monster or holding on to a ROCK waiting to be rescued or anything.

  And then Jodi gave me a bit of a SIDE LOOK and I knew she was scared that we WOULDN’T find Gary because he’d already been EATEN.

  Jodi checked that we all had our LIFE JACKETS on properly because she was worried and also because she likes to check

  because she doesn’t really trust other people to do things properly.

  When it was time to go up ON DECK, Jodi smiled at me a TINY BIT when no one was looking and I knew that it was because she was enjoying the mission, too (even though it was a very serious and DANGEROUS one).

  But then all of a sudden there was loads of NOISE on deck and people were

  and moving around a LOT.

  That’s when Jodi looked at us and said, “This is IT, people. Stay together. DON’T run. Let’s GO!”

  So we all followed Jodi up the stairs on to the deck and that’s when we saw that EVERYONE was

  at something in the distance and Ranger Tam was SHINING A LIGHT on to the water and shouting, “WOW! Did everyone see that?! I can’t BELIEVE IT! I think this is the very FIRST sighting of her HEAD!”

  That’s when we all looked out on to the lake.

  And Jodi

  And I held on TIGHT to Maisie in case she fainted.

  I couldn’t BELIEVE what we were SEEING because what we were seeing was a

  bobbing around in the lake!

  And because of the spotlight we could even see its big black EYES!

  Then suddenly a voice behind us said, “Did you see it?! It’s the

  And we GASPED and spun around because it was GARY PETRIE!

  Maisie GRABBED him and hugged him for ages and he smiled LOADS. And then she asked him what he was doing on the boat and he said that he’d sneaked on just like us because he wanted to see

  Then JODI grabbed him and gave him a quick hug too and he looked SHOCKED.

  And that’s when he said, “OK. What’s going on?”

  And that’s when Jodi said, “No time to explain. Zach! Pass me the phone!”

  But Zach just smiled because he was already RECORDING.

  And Jodi said, “We’re going to be

  Then she made us hide under the blanket until every single passenger was off the boat and it had gone quiet.

  And then we crept off the boat and on to the dock. But that’s when we heard a voice say, “I think you owe me TICKET MONEY, don’t you?”

  And we all GASPED and turned around and that’s when we saw Ranger Tam was still on the boat and he was standing with his arms crossed, STARING at us!

  I didn’t know if we should say something or try to give him some money or if we should just RUN. But before we could do anything he said, “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you’d snuck on to my boat? I knew you were there. But I saw you all had life jackets on and were following the rules so I didn’t say anything. Just kept an eye on you. Didn’t want to have to take you back and give everyone a refund, did I? Tonight was a BIG NIGHT for us!”

  And then he smiled a bit of a CREEPY SMILE and said, “Now off to bed with the lot of you before the

  gets you!”

  So we RAN back to the lodges.

  But when we got there, Gary said, “LOOK! A giant footprint!”

  And we said that we already knew about that and that it belonged to the MONSTER.

  And then Gary said, “Where do they lead?”

  And Jodi’s head spun RIGHT round to face Gary when he said that and then she said, “What do you mean?”

  And Gary pointed to the ground and said, “There’s loads of them, look. They must go somewhere!”

  And that’s when I GASPED and said that the monster must have come BACK, looking for MORE PACKED LUNCHES.

  And that’s when GARY gasped too and he said, “Why did you feed it my packed lunches?!”

  And he looked a bit annoyed with me.

  But I didn’t have time to explain because Jodi said we needed to follow the footprints NOW before the monster found SOMEONE to eat!

  Jodi ran ahead of us but then all of a sudden she STOPPED.

  And Zach hissed, “What? What is it?”

  We all watched as Jodi turned around REALLY SLOWLY and her face looked

  And that’s when she said, “We’ve got a problem.

  And she was RIGHT because the footsteps led all the way to the

  That’s when Gary RUSHED past us and went round the back of the lodge and we heard him SCREAM.

  So we all ran after him and I was ONE HUNDRED PER CENT expecting to see the

  But we didn’t.

  That’s when Gary said, “It’s RUINED. Look at it!”

  We saw that he was screaming about his HOT-TUB because it was COVERED in MUD and the water was all BROWN.

  Then Gary turned and looked at us and said, “Why would the monster do this to my hot-tub?”

  And he looked like he was going to cry.

  That’s when Zach GASPED and said that he thought the lake monster could probably only stay out of the water for so long before it needed to make itself WET again. And that it was probably TOO DRY by the time it got to the lodges so it had to use the HOT-TUB to get all SLIMY again.

  And that’s when Gary fell to his KNEES and said that he was GUTTED about the hot tub and that he’d wanted to use it at LEAST five more times before we left.

  Jodi said that Gary needed to FORGET about the hot tub and get his HEAD STRAIGHT and that there was probably a LAKE MONSTER inside the lodge

  And that’s when I heard a THUD and I saw that Maisie had fainted. And to be honest I was a bit surprised that it had taken her THIS long because Jodi had talked about the monster eating people at LEAST three times that night.

  That’s when Jodi said that she was

  But then Gary said, “I’m going in first because it’s MY lodge.”

  And for once Jodi didn’t argue.

  Gary got a bit of a LOOK on his face and then he said, “Right. Um. OK. Let’s go then.”

  And I knew that it was because he had expected Jodi to say NO and that now he was shocked that HE had to go first when there was probably a

  Jodi took a deep breath and said to me and Zach, “Stay with Maisie. And if we’re not back in exactly FOUR MINUTES, call the ARMY. OK?”

  So we nodded and then we watched as they disappeared inside the lodge. And then we stood in SILENCE for

  And I knew that it was four minutes because Zach had set the STOP WATCH on his phone and he was holding it out in front of us so we could both see.

  I was JUST about to say that we needed to phone the ARMY when both Jodi and Gary came RUSHING out of the cabin and Jodi hissed, “Mr Beattie’s GONE!”

  I looked at Zach and Zach looked at me and I knew that we were both thinking the same thing. The lake monster had TAKEN MR BEATTIE.

  So I said, “Are you sure?”

  Jodi nodded and said that his bedroom door had been WIDE OPEN and that there was mud

  And that’s when I gasped because that was PROOF that the monster had taken him!

  Then Jodi said, “We need to get back down to the lake. They might still be there!”

  And then Gary shouted,

  And then he ran back inside the lodge and came back a few seconds later with two cans of DEODORANT.

  And then he said, “If the monster’s with Mr Beattie, I’m going to SPRAY IT with THESE so it goes all DRY and CRUSTY and has to run back to the lake! That’ll teach it to use MY hot tub!”

  I looked at Jodi and she looked IMPRESSED and I was a bit impressed TOO because it was a good idea!

  And then Jodi said,

  Me and Zach each picked Maisie up by an arm and a leg and Gary Petrie ran ahead with a deodorant can in each hand, waving his arms in the air and shouting, “WE’RE COMING, MR BEATTIE! HANG ON!”

  But when we got to the lake there was
no one there.

  Jodi said we should look around a bit so we did, and that’s when I found Gary’s robe where we’d left it by our lodge. So I walked over and handed it to Gary.

  And Gary gave me a weird look and said, “What’s that?”

  I was a bit surprised when he said that because we all knew how much he LOVED his robe.

  So I said, “It’s your ROBE. We found it here earlier, right next to the lake. That’s why we went on the tour. We thought you’d been attacked by the monster after you’d delivered our sandwiches.”

  And then he unzipped his WATERPROOF JACKET and we all saw that he was WEARING his robe underneath!

  Then Gary took the robe from me and held it out in front of him and said,

  It’s an ADULT robe!”

  And then Gary looked at the ground and said, “We’re too late. Poor Mr Beattie. He wasn’t even that old!”

  None of us knew what you should do when your teacher gets eaten by a monster.

  Zach said that he thought it was time to call the ARMY so that they could come and CAPTURE the monster before it ate any more teachers.

  Maisie said that it was time to GO HOME and that we needed to go and tell Miss Jones

  But then Jodi got a bit ANGRY and she said, “Someone has to stop her.”

  And I thought Jodi meant the MONSTER.

  But then she said, “I’m going to tell Mrs Muir that her PET has EATEN our teacher and that SHE should have called the army AGES ago rather than keeping a DANGEROUS ANIMAL in a LAKE!”

  And Jodi looked absolutely FURIOUS and I knew that there was no point trying to argue with her so we all just ran after her, and Gary said that he was going to bring the ROBE as EVIDENCE.

  We all followed Jodi up the steps and into the RECEPTION and watched as she marched RIGHT up to the desk and pressed the bell really hard THREE TIMES and then crossed her arms and waited. But no one came.

  And that’s when Zach said, “The shed.”

  We all looked at each other because we knew that he was RIGHT and that that’s where the hotel owner would be. But also that the MONSTER might be there, too.

  That’s when Maisie took a really deep breath and said, “We need to do this, people.”

  And I almost laughed because she sounded EXACTLY like Jodi and I knew that she was being

  So that’s when we all looked at each other.

  And then Jodi nodded.

  So we RAN.

  When we got to the shed, the door was closed.

  That’s when Gary Petrie said, “What now? Do we knock?”

  We all looked at each other but no one said anything and I knew that it was because no one wanted to be the one who knocked in case the MONSTER opened the door!

  And then all of a sudden Jodi stepped forward and pushed the door

  But the shed was empty.

  That’s when Jodi said, “Get inside. Quick!”

  So we all RAN inside and Jodi shut the door behind us and my heart was RACING because I thought she’d seen the monster or something!

  But then she said, “We need to search quick before Miss Muir finds us here. There might be evidence we can use to prove she’s keeping a pet monster.”

  So we looked around the shed but there wasn’t much there except for some beach equipment and loads of towels.

  But Zach said, “That’s weird.”

  And we all looked at him and saw that he was pointing at clothes hanging on the back of the shed door. And then he took something down from a hook and held it up and we all saw that it was a woman’s shirt and that it had a NAME TAG on it and that the name tag said MARGARET MUIR.

  And Zach pointed at a pair of SHOES on the ground and then he bent down and put his HAND inside one of them and Gary Petrie yelled,

  I knew that the clothes and shoes were obviously Mrs Muir’s but I didn’t understand why Zach looked so freaked out or why he was putting his hands inside them!

  That’s when Zach said, “Why would she leave her clothes in here?”

  And Gary said that maybe this was where she got changed for work. But Zach said that didn’t make any sense because it wasn’t anywhere near the hotel and it was right by the lake.

  And then he said, “I think she was here a second ago and she left her clothes behind. Her shoes are still warm.”

  And Gary Petrie made a

  and I knew that it was because of the WARM SHOES.

  We all STARED at each other because this didn’t make ANY sense.

  But then Zach said, “Do you remember Mrs Muir’s hands? How green and a bit scaly they looked? And how she hid them from us?”

  That’s when Jodi said that the green stuff was from the

  because she’d been feeding it and maybe even stroking it, too.

  But Zach shook his head and said, “I think we’ve got this all wrong.”

  And then he looked up at us and his eyes were HUGE and his face had gone completely WHITE.

  And then he said, “I don’t think Mrs Muir KNOWS the monster. I think she IS the monster!”

  We all GASPED and stared at Zach with

  Then Zach said that Jodi must have seen Mrs Muir go into the shed in

  that time and that me and Zach had seen her come out in

  That’s when Gary looked at Jodi and did a bit of a NERVOUS LAUGH and said, “I bet you’re glad you didn’t give her a piece of your mind now! She probably would have eaten you!”

  And then Jodi gulped and I said, “I think that’s why she UPGRADED us. She wanted us all to be close to the lake so she could EAT US!”

  And that’s when Maisie screamed, “THE LODGES! COME ON! WE NEED TO SAVE MISS JONES AND EVERYONE ELSE!”

  And then she ran out of the shed and we all ran after her.

  But when we got to the lake, we heard SPLASHING and Gary shouted, “You can come out, Mrs Muir. We know it’s you in there! We’re not scared of you!”

  And we all GASPED because we were actually VERY SCARED and we knew that it was a

  to ask A MONSTER to come ashore in case it ATE US!

  Then the splashing got LOUDER and we heard SNORTING TOO!

  I had no idea what was going on but then Maisie said, “That sounds like Miss Jones! She snorts like that sometimes when she laughs. Maybe she does it when she’s scared, too!”

  And that’s when Jodi took out her torch and pointed it at the lake and we saw that ALL the teachers were in the lake!

  Then Gary said, “Oh no! They’re having a midnight swim! And they have

  So we all began jumping up and down and waving our arms about to try to get their attention and Jodi yelled, “TEACHERS! Can you hear us?”

  But it was obvious that they COULDN’T because they were all laughing too loudly and splashing about.

  That’s when Maisie started blowing her EMERGENCY WHISTLE that her mum makes her wear after the time we went on the school trip with the WEREWOLF.

  And Gary yelled,

  Then all of a sudden, Ranger Tam appeared and he said, “What on EARTH do you think you’re doing? There are guests trying to sleep! Stop yelling!”

  But then we heard an

  and we saw a TAIL in the lake just a few metres away from where the teachers were having their midnight swim!

  That’s when Gary told Zach to start filming because that’s what Mr Beattie would have wanted.

  And then Maisie screamed at the top of her lungs,

  But before anyone could do ANYTHING, the monster swam RIGHT past the teachers! They all started SCREAMING and SHOUTING and trying to run out of the water.

  We all stood and watched in

  as the monster swam CLOSER and CLOSER to the shore and then it walked RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER and stood in front of us!

  The monster STARED at Zach, who was still holding out his phone even though his hand was REALLY SHAKING.

  The monster didn’t move. It just stayed completely STILL.

  I had to take DEEP BREATHS because I couldn’t believe how

  That’s when Jodi
said, “Hello, Mrs Muir. Don’t you look nice this evening? We’d like to ask you a few questions if that’s OK? About our teacher, Mr Beattie?”

  And I GULPED because I thought we were all about to witness Jodi being eaten ALIVE.

  But then all of a sudden, the monster raised its SLIMY ARMS in the air and started to PULL ITS HEAD OFF.

  And that’s when I felt Maisie’s hand go LIMP in mine and then she hit the ground with a little thud.

  And when I looked back up at the monster I couldn’t BELIEVE what I was seeing because I was looking at a

  Then the monster dropped its head on the ground and it rolled over towards us and we all GASPED.

  It took me AGES to realise what I was looking at. And we were all in

  We all STARED at her and no one said anything for AGES until Zach eventually said, “Why are you pretending to be a monster? Why are you trying to trick everyone?”