nose.
âWhereâd you get the material?â I asked.
Jimmy smiled. âI raided my older sisterâs dresser drawer of all her spandex dance clothes. They were all black, so after I finished stitching the get-ups together, I found some silver spray paint in the garage and gave them a couple coats.â
âLetâs try them on,â Mumps suggested.
Jimmy, TJ, and Mumps slipped into the costumes.They looked exactly like the little aliens who had been snatching my snores. In fact, they looked so real I wanted to reach out and cuff them a good one upside the head.
âMine fits like a sock,â Jimmy said.
âThis one feels good too,â TJ added.
Mumps strutted around my room, making alien noises. âSince Vivian is about my size, it should fit her perfectly.While you guys are inside Robo-Nose, Iâll be working with Dr. Wackjöb. Schnoz can fly me there in the harness.â
A knock came at my bedroom door.
âI have some cookies and hot chocolate for you boys.â
It was my mom.
Jimmy, TJ, and Mumps quickly ripped off the alien costumes.
âThanks, Mom,â I said, opening the door and taking the plate of goodies.
âDonât you boys stay up too late,â she said. âUnderstand?â
âOkay,â we mumbled through a mouthful of cookies.
When my mom left the room, I looked at the clock sitting on my nightstand. âItâs nine thirty already,â I said. âIâm checking in with Vivian.â
I pressed the red button on the walkie-talkie. âVivian. Can you read me?â
âRoger that,â Vivian replied, her voice full of static.
âI saw the costumes Jimmy made. They look just like the real thing.â
âGood. Iâll be drinking soda full of caffeine to stay awake. Remember, when the cloud appears you have to let me know. Then Iâll sneak over to your house. Okay?â
âSounds good,â I answered. âIâll make sure the back door is unlocked so you can get inside. Over and out.â
âWhat do we do now?â Mumps asked when I turned off the walkie-talkie.
âLetâs play a few games of Electronic Battleship and then go to bed,â TJ suggested.
Jimmy slurped down the last drop of his hot chocolate. âI wonât be able to sleep,â he said.
âMe either,â I agreed. âBut we have to turn out the lights. If the aliens donât think Iâm asleep, they may not come.â
The Not-Right Brothers and I played a few rounds of Electronic Battleship until around midnight.
âI guess itâs time,â TJ said.
âYou got that right,â I said, crawling into bed and flicking off the light.
Jimmy, TJ, and Mumps unrolled their sleeping bags on the floor and slid inside.The only sounds were the occasional fart by Mumps, followed by a round of raucous laughter. My eyelids felt as heavy as bowling balls, but I fought the urge to sleep.The Not-Right Brothers, on the other hand, gave in to the sandman too easily. Soon, all three of them were crashed out, thin lines of drool dripping from their open mouths.
I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to stay awake. My discipline paid off. As the crimson-colored numbers of the alarm clock flashed 4:00 A.M., I felt a gust of warm, heavy air pass over my body. My eyes squinted in the semidarkness. I saw a dark shadow forming above my bed.
âJimmy, Mumps, TJ!â I shout-whispered. âSomethingâs happening.â
âHuhâ¦â Jimmy mumbled in his half-sleep.
âWhattaâ¦?â TJ muttered, turning over in his sleeping bag.
A pungent electrical smell filled the room. I watched as the shadow slowly molded into the shape of two little gray aliens. The space invaders hovered at the foot of my bed, staring at me with large dark eyes, each holding a flexible hose the size of a sewer pipe.
CHAPTER 16
INTO THE SHADOW
I reached for the walkie-talkie. âVivian! Theyâre