13th Street #5, page 1
Dedication
To my cat Kimi, for taking care of all those spiders for me.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: The Roar at the Ranch!
Chapter 2: Spooky Shack
Chapter 3: A Grumpy Ghost
Chapter 4: Terrifying Tarantulas!
Chapter 5: Farting and Flying?
Chapter 6: Casa de Calacas
Chapter 7: Spider Siege!
Chapter 8: Ivan Ensnared
Chapter 9: Tracking Tarantulas
Chapter 10: Cocooned Cousin!
Chapter 11: Web-Slinging Weirdos!
Chapter 12: Squeaky Summons!
Chapter 13: Freeing Friends
Chapter 14: The Queen of Bones
Chapter 15: Winter Wonderland
Activities
About the Author and Illustrator
Back Ad
Copyright
About the Publisher
Chapter
1
The Roar at the Ranch!
The old house glowed bright and warm against the growing dark of a late winter afternoon. From every room came laughter and excited chatter. Dante Dávila felt happier than he had in a long time. His whole family was celebrating his great-grandfather Arturo’s ninetieth birthday at Rancho el Monte—their ranch in Las Tunas, Mexico.
With the party about to begin in the living room, Dante could almost forget that in an hour or two he would return to the frightening, monster-filled world of 13th Street.
His grandmother had been staring at Dante for nearly a full minute. It wasn’t just annoying. It was downright dangerous! All his life, adults had told him that if someone stared at him too long, he could get mal de ojo.
The evil eye!
Luckily, his grandmother reached out a wrinkled hand and rubbed his hair.
“Abuela Beba!” Dante groaned, though he was secretly relieved. “You’re messing up my ’do!”
“Ay, Dante,” said his mother, Lola. “You’re cute even with your hair messed up.”
“Don’t worry, m’ijo,” said his grandmother, “I wouldn’t want you to get mal de ojo.”
“No such thing as the evil eye,” interrupted his mother. She set a paper plate in Dante’s hands. It was piled high with tamales. “But you’re looking kind of thin, m’ijo. Eat.”
The food smelled delicious. As Dante unwrapped a tamal, he tried not to picture this as his last meal. “Did you know the Maya invented tamales? They needed some food they could carry with them on long trips. I read it in this book that—”
“Oh Dante,” said his grandmother. “You don’t need to study so hard. You’re so handsome! Your looks will open doors for you.”
Aunt Lucy shook her head. “No, Mom. Dante’s more than just a pretty face.”
Dante felt his cheeks get red. He set down his plate and stood. “Be right back.”
He stomped off toward the patio door, but his mother followed him outside.
“Dante, are you okay?” she asked.
He sighed. “Mom, y’all are so annoying.”
“Don’t be angry. We’re only complimenting you, m’ijo,” she said.
She had a point. And Dante used to love all the attention. Now there were more important things on his mind. Two of his classmates had been pulled into a nightmare world of monsters and ghosts. Only Dante and his cousins could save them.
“I know. Sorry, Mom.”
“Are you coming back in?” she asked.
“Bathroom run,” he said, nodding toward the outhouse a few steps away.
“Hurry back,” his mother said. “We’re going to cut the cake soon. Then it’s piñata time!”
Dante gave her a thumbs-up and ran outside. His cousins, Malia and Ivan, were waiting for him beside the outhouse.
“You’re late,” Ivan said.
“I got mobbed, dude,” Dante explained.
“Is that Dante?” a voice said from Malia’s phone. It was Susana on video chat.
Malia nodded at the screen. “Yes. He just escaped his fans.”
“Um, whatever,” Susana said, rolling her eyes. “Anywho, there’s still no sign of Santiago and Rafaela, y’all. Mickey and I have been Skyping for the past few days. Because of the portal that popped up on his map in the aquarium and then faded, we’re totally convinced the two ended up on 13th Street.”
Dante sighed. “Gah. I really wish Mickey was leading this rescue attempt. He knows 13th Street a lot better.”
“Well, he’s stuck in Japan with his parents,” Susana pointed out.
“I know,” Dante said. “Heck, even having you along would be a relief.”
Susana raised an eyebrow. “Uh, thanks? I guess? But I don’t have a passport, so I couldn’t go to Mexico.”
Ivan poked his head over his cousins. “Anyway. One of the portals is near the ranch, right?”
Without warning, the bathroom door opened:
WHAM!
The cousins jumped.
A horrifying growl came from inside the bathroom.
ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!
Malia pushed her cousins back, lifting her hand. “Close up, Ka—”
Ivan clamped his hand over her mouth. “Wait!”
Out of the bathroom came lurching . . .
. . . DOÑA CHABELA!
“¡Ay, Dios mío!” she laughed. “You kids nearly pooped your pants, huh?”
Dante clutched his chest. His heart was beating like a marching drum. “¡No manche, señora! That was NOT FUNNY!”
Chapter
2
Spooky Shack
“Sorry!” Chabela giggled. “I couldn’t resist.”
Malia narrowed her eyes. “Oh, sure. Now that your grandson’s safe, you’re all fun and games.”
Ivan cleared his throat. “Why are you even here? Susana’s about to review the plan with us. We’re all set.”
“Ay, chamaco,” Chabela said. “Mickey sent me. I’m, uh, logistical support or something. I’ll keep your parents off your trail.”
“Let’s hurry, then,” Susana chimed in. “Mrs. Aguilar walks you to the portal and stands guard. Y’all reenter 13th Street and get the pikos to take you back through the sewers till you reach the zombie family. Then all of y’all head to the Depot of the Dead to negotiate with Omi for supplies.”
Chabela nodded. “According to Mickey, the zombies and skeleton people know all the movements of the woman with white hair I saw in my dreams. He calls her the Queen of Bones.”
Dante gasped. “Queen of Bones?”
“Sí,” Chabela said. “Mickey didn’t explain much. He just said you should watch out for her. She’s very dangerous.”
“But she’s probably got Santiago and Rafaela,” Susana added. “Which is why you need to figure out where she is.”
Malia groaned. “My phone’s about to die, Susana. Quick question: What does she want with them? Did Mickey have any ideas?”
“Not really.” Susana shrugged and adjusted her headset. “Just that the queen is obsessed with human kids. Something about our imaginations.”
“Maybe that’s why she appeared to you, Chabela,” Ivan mused, “and asked you to send her children.”
Somewhere, a door creaked open. An adult started shouting.
“Hey, huercos! Where are y’all? The party is about to start!”
With a shushing gesture, Chabela pulled the three cousins away. “Come! No time to lose!”
The sun had dropped below the horizon, leaving just a reddish glow in the sky. But the moon was out and nearly full. It was easy to follow the path to the big mesquite tree beside the well.
When they reached the mesquite, the cousins grabbed three backpacks they had hidden there. They’d filled them with stuff they might need: flashlights, rope, water guns full of mouthwash, earplugs, small fire extinguishers, and salt.
“We should leave our sweaters here,” Ivan said. “Remember how hard it was to run in our snowsuits?”
Dante gave a little laugh as he carefully pulled his sweater over his head. “Guess we’re serious monster hunters now, huh?” He patted his hair back into place.
Chabela snapped her fingers. “That reminds me. Mickey sent you a gift.”
She rooted around in her purse and pulled out a squeaky toy.
“Um,” Dante said, “how is that supposed to help?”
“It belonged to Bruno,” Chabela explained. “If he hears this, that big dog will come running and defend you.”
Dante stuck it in the front pocket of his backpack.
Chabela led them along the narrowing path through the brush. Soon they reached a spooky old shack.
“The portal is inside,” she said.
“Cowboys used to live here,” Ivan whispered, “a hundred years ago.”
“Vaqueros, you mean,” Malia corrected.
Dante shivered. “And now?”
“Just ghosts,” Chabela said.
Dante breathed in relief. Ghosts weren’t so bad.
“And maybe tarantulas,” she added.
That made Dante stop dead in his tracks.
Chapter
3
A Grumpy Ghost
Chabela nudged Dante. “You’ll be fine. They don’t bite. I’d be more worried about the Queen of Bones.”
Dante shuddered. “¡Uy, cucuy!”
“Stop freaking Dante out, Doña Chabela. Time to move,” Malia said, raising her hand. “Open, Hebaan!”
Though it had been nailed shut and was par
Something kind of big—a rat or opossum—skittered away from the moonlight that poured into the shack. There were cobwebs and leaves everywhere. Stepping carefully, Malia walked in, waving at her cousins to follow.
Dante grimaced but gave Chabela a thumbs-up. “See you when the mission is accomplished!”
The floor groaned under their feet.
CREEEAAAK!
Somewhere outside, a barn owl screeched like a frightened child.
SHRIIIIEEEK!
“See the portal yet?” Dante asked, trying to keep cobwebs out of his hair.
“There!” said Ivan.
Beside an old iron stove, the purple outline of a portal pulsed faintly.
“Okay, Chabela!” Malia called. “We’re going through!”
She stepped into the purple glow and shimmered for a second. Then, WHOOSH! She disappeared.
Dante entered next. Passing through a portal was like walking through water. The humming grew loud in his ears, then PLOP!
He stepped into the nightmare world of 13th Street.
“Wait.” Dante looked around as Ivan came through behind him. “This isn’t a sewer, guys.”
They were standing in a dusty living room. The furniture was covered with sheets.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!” an unfamiliar voice said.
The cousins spun around, gasping in surprise. Floating in the air nearby was a man. Well, the ghost of a man. He looked a lot like their friend Yoliya. But bigger and uglier.
“This wasn’t in the plan,” Malia said.
Dante frowned. “What should we do now?”
“Excuse me, sir,” Ivan said. “I’m looking for a couple of human kids.”
“THERE ARE TWO STANDING RIGHT BESIDE YOU!” the grumpy ghost shouted.
Malia shook her head. “Not us. Other kids.”
The ghost just glared at them.
“What about . . . the Queen of Bones?” Ivan asked.
The ghost floated back as if in fear. “HUSH! DON’T MENTION HER NAME! JUST GET OUT!”
Dante raised an eyebrow. “Okay, BOO-mer. Don’t get your ectoplasm in a bunch.”
Malia was already at the front door. “Open, Hebaan!”
They stepped outside, and the door slammed shut. Dante looked up and down the block. Broken-down houses, leaning at weird angles. Dead trees. Rusted cars.
None of it was familiar.
“Where the heck are we?” he asked.
Chapter
4
Terrifying Tarantulas!
Malia balled her hands into fists. “It looks kind of like the first place we visited. But houses, not apartment buildings. Ivan?”
Ivan was a little distracted. He pointed at Dante’s head. “Don’t freak out, but . . . you’ve got some spiderwebs in your hair.”
“What?” Dante hurried to the next house to check his reflection in a broken window. Wispy webs were clinging to his wax-sculpted hairdo! With shaking hands, he carefully started picking the white strands from his hair.
Please, no spiders, he prayed silently.
“Are you afraid, or just super vain?” Malia asked.
Dante took a moment to really look at himself. He was here on an important mission. The stakes were high. But he couldn’t stop picking at his hair.
“Oh!” Ivan exclaimed, kneeling beside a manhole cover. “We must be right above the sewer where Bruno and Mickey reunited.”
Before Dante and Malia could respond, a strange sound filled the air.
SKITTER-SKATTER!
PITTER-PATTER!
And then over the rooftops they came.
HUGE, WOLF-SIZE TARANTULAS!
Dante’s heart almost stopped.
The massive spiders crawled down crooked walls and leaped into trees. They were all headed in the same direction.
Straight toward the cousins!
Chapter
5
Farting and Flying?
“Run!” Malia screamed.
But Dante was already sprinting away. Spiders grossed him out, even little ones.
Tarantulas the size of wolves? Yeah, forget that.
Ivan and Malia caught up pretty quickly. From behind them came a loud trumpeting sound.
TOOOOOOOT!
The cousins slowed and looked over their shoulders. Their worry turned to amazement and shock.
The spiders were flying through the air!
TOOOOOOOT!
Another spider blasted off a rooftop, leaving a wake of shingles behind it.
“Are they . . . farting?” panted Malia.
“Oh, snap,” Dante said. “You’re right!”
One of the tarantulas landed about fifty yards away. It scrunched up its weird face and tooted again, rocketing into the air. A whirlwind of dust and gravel went spinning behind it.
“Methane propulsion,” Ivan said in awe.
“Huh?” Malia asked. “Remember, I don’t speak nerd.”
“Fart power,” said Dante, laughing. “And it’s bringing them closer, fast.”
“Hurry!” Malia ordered. “Find a door with the thirteen symbol on it! We need to get inside, now!”
Chapter
6
Casa de Calacas
The tarantulas kept tooting, flying closer and closer. The cousins rushed from house to house, checking the doors.
Finally they found one with the double bar and three dots. Number thirteen. Dante lifted his hand. “Open, Hebaan!”
BOOM! The door almost flew off its hinges. Inside, there was a family of skeletons—calacas, like Omi from the Depot of the Dead. From their size and traditional Mexican clothing, it seemed like a mom, dad, and two children.
“Papá, who are they?” one of the kid calacas asked.
“No idea,” he answered.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
A trio of terrifying tarantulas landed in the front yard.
“Get inside!” the mother calaca cried. “And lock the door!”
Chapter
7
Spider Siege!
The cousins didn’t need the invitation—they were already rushing inside. Dante shut and locked the door behind them.
“Why did you let them in, Blanca?” the father calaca demanded.
His wife gestured at them. “They pretty much invited themselves, Cano.”
WHAM!
Something heavy collided with the door. Everyone jumped.
The youngest calaca, a boy, started sniffling. “I’m scared!”
“Don’t worry, Cándido,” his father said, hugging him. “The Queen of Bones just wants these living children.”
Dante gulped. “You’re not going to give us up, are you?”
The skeleton girl spoke up. “Well, she’s our ruler. It’s hard not to obey.”
WHAM!
The spiders weren’t letting up.
“I thought Mickey Aguilar ruled 13th Street,” said Ivan.
The calaca shook her head. Her bones made a sound like a marimba. “No. He’s the Quiet Prince, but she’s the Loud Queen. The one who rules. The tarantulas are her soldiers.”
WHAM!
This time, a crack appeared in the door. Dante glanced at the windows on either side of it. They were boarded up, but—
BASH! BASH! BASH!
One of the tarantulas started hammering away at the boards.
CREEEAAAK! The nails began to pull away from the window frame.
Malia pointed at the girl calaca. “What’s your name?”
“Alba,” she replied.
“Okay, Alba,” Malia said. “Is there any place to hide? Because those tooting tarantulas are getting in whether we like it or not.”
“Um, the attic?” Alba glanced over her shoulder. “There’s also the garage.”
Ivan snapped his fingers. “Does the garage door open?”
Cano, the father calaca, nodded. “Good idea. Leave that way. Hurry.”
Dante raised a hand. “Wait! They’re right outside. Malia’s right. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but . . . let’s hide until they break in.”
