38 - The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)

of us started shouting at the creature.
    He ignored our cries and thudded heavily across the snow. His black eyes
narrowed on the snow-covered tree. He stepped up to the tree. Threw his arms
around it. And hugged it tightly, just like when he had hugged Nicole.
    I watched as the snow began to melt. The blanket of white slipped down, down,
shrinking away—until the tree stood green and golden again under the sunlight.
    “Wow!” I uttered, hands pressed against my face.
    But the big, furry creature had more surprises in store.
    With a loud grunt, he dropped to the snowy ground. As we stared in surprise,
he began to roll in the snow.
    The snow appeared to stick to his fur. As he rolled, the snow vanished
beneath him.
    Before long, the big creature was rolling on green grass. The last of the
snow had vanished.
    He jumped to his feet. His eyes went wide, and he uttered a pained cry.
    “What’s the matter with him?” Lauren demanded.
    The Abominable Snowman gazed around, stunned, at the green grass, the palm
trees. Then he raised his eyes to the blazing sun.
    He clutched his fur-covered head and let out a scream of terror.
    He seemed confused for a moment. Frightened. Then he let out a deep grunt—and took off down the street. His big paws thudded heavily over the pavement.
    I ran after him. “Wait! Come back!”
    He tore through someone’s yard and kept running.
    I gave up. No way I could catch him.
    Nicole and Lauren caught up to me. “Where’s he going?” Nicole demanded.
    “How should I know?” I snapped, struggling to catch my breath.
    “I think he’s looking for someplace cold,” Lauren said.
    Nicole agreed. “You’re probably right. He must be so hot. Pasadena is no
place for an Abominable Snowman.”
    “He’ll probably find a cave in the mountains,” I said. “It’s a lot colder up there. I only hope he finds a way to get trail
mix.”
    We trudged back to our yard. Green again. And hot. I knew that Nicole and I
had one word in our minds—D-A-D.
    He had instructed us not to touch the trunk. We had ignored his warning.
    Now the snowman was gone. Dad’s big discovery. Dad’s big chance for fame.
    Gone. Gone forever.
    It was all our fault.
    “At least Dad has his photos,” I said softly. “The photos will amaze everyone
all by themselves.”
    “I guess so,” Nicole replied, biting her bottom lip tensely.
    We walked back to the darkroom to close up the supply trunk. I glanced inside
the trunk. Two magic snowballs were left.
    “Those things are dangerous. We’d better get rid of them,” Nicole warned.
    “ I’m not touching them.” Lauren backed away.
    “You’re right,” I told my sister. “We should hide them somewhere. They’re too
dangerous to keep around.”
    Nicole ran into the house and returned with a heavy-duty garbage bag. “Quick—stuff them in here.”
    I carefully scooped up each snowball and dropped it in the trash bag. Then I twisted the bag closed and knotted it
tightly.
    “Now what?” Lauren asked.
    “We should blast them into outer space,” Nicole said. “If anyone gets hold of
them and starts spreading snow around, we’ll be in big trouble. We need the
Abominable Snowman to get rid of the snow—and he’s gone.”
    “Pasadena could turn into a ski resort!” I joked. “We could ice skate on Kyle
and Kara’s swimming pool.”
    I shivered. I didn’t want to think about Kyle and Kara. And I didn’t want to
think about snow. “We should bury the snowballs,” I told them. “But where?”
    “Not in my yard!” Lauren protested.
    I didn’t want to bury them in our yard, either. What would happen to them
down there? Would they spread snow underground? Would snow spring up through the
grass?
    We left the darkroom and scanned the area for good burial spots.
    “What about the empty lot?” Nicole suggested.
    Across the street, right next to Kyle and Kara Miller’s house, stood a vacant
lot. There was nothing in it but piles of sand and a few empty