Beetle Blast by Ali Sparkes

By the time the toxic cloud reached him it was already too late. Josh went cross-eyed. He grabbed his throat and gurgled. He slumped onto the bed. His face went purple.
    â€œMmm—mmm—mo—” he rasped. His poisoner stood over him, smirking. He was immune to the gas.
    â€œMo—” gasped Josh, falling off the bed and crawling toward the door. “MOM! Danny’s farting at me again!”
    Danny grinned proudly. His twin brother fell out onto the landing, sucking in grateful breaths of clean air.
    Mom was less amused. She put her head around their bedroom door. She withdrew again quickly.
    â€œDanny! That’s revolting! Go to the bathroom at once!” she called from the other side of the door. “Good grief! What is going on in your innards?”
    â€œYou feed me,” pointed out Danny.
    â€œDon’t be smart!” snapped Mom.
    â€œIt’s OK—I’ve stopped now,” said Danny. He stepped out to see his twin slumped against the banister. Josh flapped a hand in front of his face.
    â€œWell, I hope so!” said Mom. “I don’t want you embarrassing Josh at the Wild Things meeting.”

    Danny blinked in surprise. “Wild Things? I don’t go to Wild Things!
I’m
not the freaky little bug geek. That’s just Josh!”
    Josh was identical to Danny on the outside (although a lot less fluffy on the hair front and without the skater-boy clothes). But on the inside, the brothers couldn’t have been more different. Danny loved loud music, skateboarding, and kicking soccer balls around. Josh loved peering at nature through a magnifying glass. That’s why Josh had signed up for Wild Things. He went every week with a bunch of other freaky little bug geeks. Danny had no intention of joining him!
    â€œI’m sorry, but you
have
to go,” said Mom. She took some towels into the bathroom. “Your soccer coach called to say practice is canceled. I’m going to pick up my new car. There’s nobody to look after you. You’re going with Josh.”
    â€œOh
no
!” wailed Josh. “He’s going to fart all the way through!”
    â€œAh well,” sighed Danny. “I’ll just have to set up my own Wild Things gang—the Stink Bugs.”
    â€œJust
try
to act interested,” hissed Josh as he and Danny joined the other Wild Things at the Blackthorn Wildlife Center. They met every Monday after school. They did experiments, nature hikes, and looked at things through microscopes. Today they were going pond dipping to see what they could find.
    â€œDanny, meet Ollie, Milo, Biff, and Poppy,” said Josh. He pointed to each of his fellow bug geeks in turn. They all wore “nature freak” clothes, Danny noticed. Lots of green and brown and little vests with lots of pockets. Just like Josh. Danny, in his bright orange sweatshirt and baseball cap, looked like a traffic cone by a hedge.
    â€œHi, Danny,” said Biff. He had a pair of binoculars around his neck.
    â€œGreetings,” said Ollie and Milo, together. They both had glasses and funny green hats, just like old people wore.

    â€œHi, Danny, nithe to meet you,” lisped Poppy. She had brown braids, freckles, and a rather alarming number of teeth. She rattled a little plastic tub at him. She whispered, “Antth’ eggths!” with her eyebrows going up and down.
    â€œEr … yeah,” said Danny, backing away.
    â€œLook—Granddadth come to help today,” said Poppy. She pointed to a tall man in a low-brimmed hat who was standing nearby, gazing out the window. Danny noticed he had a strange, black, pointed fingernail on the little finger of his left hand. Well, weirdness obviously ran in the family.
    â€œI think she likes you,” sniggered Josh. Poppy smiled scarily at Danny and stroked the lid of her plastic tub. “She wants to take you home…”
    â€œShut up!” hissed Danny. He hurried