Monster Madness by Dean Lorey Page A

teeth had left pinpricks of blood across his stomach and back but, thankfully, the damage was no worse than that.
    “Charlie…,” a weak voice called out beside him. It was Violet. “Did we all make it?”
    “I think so…but I don’t know how. Why didn’t the Hydra eat us?”
    “It’s because of their social structure,” Pinch said, raising himself up and propping his elbows on the bony spine of some kind of giant fish—bits of meat still clung to its ribcage. “None of the workers are allowed to eat before the Mother Hydra does—she gets first pick of all the food. Once she’s done, the males can have what’s left.”
    “So that’s why you told me to stop fighting and let them take us?” Charlie asked. “You knew that they’d bring us to the Mother Hydra?”
    Pinch shrugged. “Well, it was worth a try, wasn’t it? I think we should all just be thankful that she likes her meals alive when she eats them, or our circumstances would truly be dire.”
    “You mean more dire than being trapped in a Hydra nest waiting to get eaten by the Queen?” Theodore asked, sitting up.
    “Dire is better than dead, Mr. Dagget. Wouldn’t you agree?”
    “I’d agree that my butt hurts from lying on all these bones.”
    “Okay,” Violet said. “Let’s see what we’re up against.” She clambered to the lip of the pit. Charlie followed, but what he saw once he got there wasn’t encouraging. They were in some kind of underwater cave. Rivers of water fed large, dark pools. Male Hydras dived in and out of them, presumably to swim out to the ocean beyond. There had to be at least thirty of the wretched beasts. Just past the pools, Charlie got his first glimpse of the Mother Hydra, lounging like a queen upon her throne.
    She was enormous, nearly the size of a whale. Her brilliant blue scales shone brightly even in the dim light of the cavern. A couple of her large, toothy heads kept watch while the rest of them slept peacefully by her side. A few adventurous baby Hydras, each the size of a bear, playfully wrestled with one another throughout the cave while the rest crowded around her, nursing at the many ducts that ran up and down her plated belly.
    “You see those ducts?” Violet said, pointing at the Mother Hydra’s stomach. “That’s where we get the milk.”
    “Right,” Charlie said. “Perfect.”
    “Perfect?” Theodore repeated as he scrambled up out of the pit next to them. “What do you mean, perfect? How are we gonna get the milk? This isn’t a supermarket. We can’t just walk up and buy a quart!”
    “Shhh!” Charlie and Violet said at the same time.
    “Look, Theodore,” Violet continued. “Finding the Mother Hydra was the hardest part. Now one of us just has to sneak over there and milk her.”
    “Oh, is that all?” Theodore whispered. “Just sneak up and milk the giant monster? Easy!”
    A couple of the nearby baby Hydras turned and looked at them.
    “Shhhh!” Charlie and Violet said again, more forcefully this time.
    “You don’t have to worry about it,” Charlie added, “because I’m the one who’s gonna go do it.”
    “Negatory,” Theodore replied. “This operation requires skill and subtlety, exactly the kind of procedure that Dr. Dagget performs—the Doctor of Gettin’ It Done! I’m all man, baby! That’s just the way I roll.”
    “Uh-huh,” Charlie said, grinning. “Well, tempting as that offer is, you’ve got to stay back here to portal everyone out in case something goes wrong.”
    “Like what? You die?”
    “Theodore!” Violet snapped.
    “Hey, don’t look at me—he brought it up!”
    “I’m not gonna die,” Charlie said. “I just mean…there’s a lot here we can’t control.”
    “Which could lead to you dying,” Theodore repeated. “Which is why I’m doing this and you’re not.”
    “The decision is made.” Charlie turned away from him as if that settled it.
    “Ah, the decision is made. Okay. Gotcha. So is there anything in particular