It Came From the Nightosphere by Laura Farrell Read Free Book Online Page B

creature had vacant eyes – something was missing from this Fluffy Person. It was like he wasn’t quite alive but not quite dead either.
    ‘Hmm,’ Marceline said, observing the poor thing in her hands. ‘My dad’s been here. Come on. Let’s go.’

    ‘No, we have to help this guy,’ Finn insisted as he took his backpack off and began to dig through it. ‘I’ve got some soul food that Jake packed for me. Do you like collard greens? Or country-fried steak?’
    Finn tried to feed the steak to the moaning and half-lifeless Fluffy Person. But it was no use. The Fluffy Person didn’t want steak. He needed his soul back.
    ‘You want to help him?’ Marceline asked impatiently. ‘Help me get my bass back.’
    ‘How will that help him?’ Finn asked.
    ‘My dad stole my bass guitar, Finn!’

    Marceline screamed. ‘And when I get it back, I’m going to break it over his neck and slam my dad back into the Nightosphere!’
    ‘Oh, clam!’ Finn agreed. ‘But first, we have to return the souls your dad sucked back to these sad little husks. Right, Marceline?’
    ‘Uh, sure, we’ll do that,’ Marceline answered unconvincingly.
    So Finn and Marceline continued to hunt for the Lord of Evil. They soon found themselves at Red Rock Pass, a deep cavern in the Land of Ooo.
    ‘Red Rock Pass,’ Marceline told Finn. ‘If my dad wants to get through the mountains, he’ll have to go through here.’
    ‘We can work together and smash him with this rock,’ Finn said, pointing to a tall rock that sat precariously balanced at the top of a cliff. ‘And once he’s smooshed, all the souls will go back to their rightful bods,’ he added hopefully.
    And so, they waited.

While Finn and Marceline lay waiting at the top of Red Rock Pass, the Lord of Evil was busy collecting more souls. He came upon the Marauder Village and found a group of tough Marauders sharing combat stories. They were unaware that there was an evil soul snatcher on the loose and now, suddenly, in their midst.
    ‘So, I popped his head like a cork,’ the head Marauder continued his story to his comrades. ‘That’s what I think of expanding-Earth theory.’

    The Marauders laughed and cheered. That was a good one! They didn’t notice that the Lord of Evil was now sitting with them and had already sucked out the soul of one of them.
    ‘All right,’ the Lord of Evil said, interrupting their conversation, ‘I’ve got a joke, too. What wears a dark suit, is completely evil, and is about to suck out all your souls?’
    ‘Your mama!’ the head Marauder called back laughing, impressed with his own comeback and trying to beat the Lord of Evil to the punch line. The Marauders laughed, but the joke was on them.

    ‘That’s right. I’m your mama,’ the Lord of Evil answered coldly as the Marauders congratulated themselves on their leader’s quick wit.

    While the Marauders chuckled, the Lord of Evil opened his mouth wide and sucked out every last Marauder soul. The Land of Ooo was easy pickings. It was time to move on to the next meal.

    He headed over to Red Rock Pass and walked leisurely through the deep valley. He managed to suck up some insect souls along the way while making up a cheerful tune.
    Stompin’ on ants.
    Suckin’ their souls.
    Stompin’ on ants –
    Souls, souls, souls!
    Finn and Marceline spotted him from above but stayed silent. They would watch and wait until he was in the perfect position – and then they would crush him like a bug.

    Finn pushed with enormous effort against the giant boulder, trying to get it to fall on top of the Lord of Evil. Then he realised why moving the unsteady rock was so difficult: Marceline wasn’t helping him! She’d flown down the pass and was trying to wrestle the axe-guitar from her father’s hands. Her guitar was all she cared about!

    ‘So, finally taking a run at your old man, huh?’ the Lord of Evil asked as Marceline tried, unsuccessfully, to attack her father. She missed and crashed into the