38 - The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena (8 page)

Thank goodness.

Lauren came over to hear about our trip. I wanted to tell her the
whole
story. But Dad told us to keep quiet about it—at least until the snowman
was safely settled somewhere.

“I don’t believe you two!” Lauren snorted. “A week ago you wouldn’t shut up
about snow. Now you’re letting the sun burn you to a crisp!”

“Well, we did the cold thing and now we’re doing the hot thing,” I told her.
“Anyway, I’ve seen enough snow to last me the rest of my life.”

“Tell me about the trip,” Lauren insisted. “Tell me everything!”

“It’s a big secret,” Nicole told her. She and I exchanged glances.

“Secret? What kind of secret?” Lauren demanded.

Before we could reply, Dad emerged from the darkroom. He squinted in the
sunlight. He wore a down jacket, a ski cap, and gloves. He had turned the
air-conditioning way up in the darkroom and covered the trunk with ice packs, to
keep the snowman cold.

“I’m going into the city now,” he announced, removing his coat. Dad had a
meeting with some scientists and wildlife experts in Los Angeles.

He wanted to turn the Abominable Snowman over to the right people. He wanted
to be sure the snowman would be treated well.

“Are you kids going to be all right while I’m gone?” he asked.

“Of course,” Nicole replied. “We survived the Alaskan tundra. I think we can
live through one afternoon in our own backyard.”

“My mom is home,” Lauren said. “She’ll be around if we need anything.”

“Good.” Dad nodded. “Okay, I’m off. But remember—Jordan and Nicole, are you
listening? Don’t touch the supply trunk. Stay away from it—understood?”

“Gotcha, Dad,” I promised.

“All right. I’ll bring a pizza home for dinner.”

“Good luck, Dad!” Nicole called. I watched him jump into the car and drive
off.

“So what’s the big secret?” Lauren asked as soon as Dad was gone. “What’s in
the supply trunk?”

Nicole and I glanced at each other.

“Come on. Spill,” Lauren urged. “I won’t leave you alone until you tell me.”

I couldn’t resist. I
had
to tell someone. “We found him. We found him
and we brought him back.”

“Found who?”

“The snowman!” Nicole exclaimed. “The Abominable Snowman!”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “For sure. And did you find the Tooth Fairy up there,
too?”

“Yes, we did,” I joked.

“He’s lying in the darkroom right now,” Nicole told Lauren.

Lauren’s face twisted in confusion. “Who—the Tooth Fairy?”

“No. The Abominable Snowman. A real one,” I said. “Trapped in a block of
ice.”

Along with four or five snowballs, I thought to myself.

Snowballs I could throw at Lauren. For a nice little surprise.

“Prove it,” Lauren challenged us. “You’re making it all up. You think you’re
really funny.”

Nicole and I exchanged glances. I knew what she was thinking. Dad had just
told us to stay away from the trunk.

“You two are as bad as the Miller twins,” Lauren complained.

That did it. “Come on,” I said. “We’ll show you.”

“We’d better not, Jordan,” Nicole argued.

“We won’t hurt anything,” I promised. “We’ll just pull open the lid a tiny
bit so Lauren can see him. Then we’ll slam it shut. No harm done.”

I climbed off my lounge chair and started across the lawn to the darkroom.
Nicole and Lauren followed me.

I knew they would.

I opened the darkroom door and switched on the light. A blast of cold air
swept over me, making my bare chest tingle.

Nicole hesitated in the doorway. “Jordan, maybe we shouldn’t.”

“Oh, come on, Nicole,” Lauren chided. “There’s no Abominable Snowman. You two are ridiculous!”

“We’re not ridiculous!” Nicole protested.

“We might as well show her, Nicole,” I said.

Nicole didn’t reply. She stepped into the darkroom and shut the door.

In my bathing suit, I was shivering from the cold. It was almost like being
back in Alaska.

I knelt beside the huge trunk. I unhooked the latches.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted the heavy lid.

Peered inside.

And let out a chilling, bloodcurdling scream of horror.

Nicole and Lauren shrieked and leaped back.

Nicole backed into the wall with a
crash.

Lauren ducked under the developing table.

I couldn’t keep a straight face. I started to laugh. “Gotcha!” I cried
gleefully. I was so pleased with myself.

I had scared them to death. They were both stiffer than the Abominable
Snowman. He lay frozen and still inside his block of ice.

“Jordan—you creep!” Nicole declared angrily. She punched me in the back.

Lauren punched me too. Then she peered into the open trunk.

And let out another scream. “He’s real! You—you weren’t kidding!” I could
see that she was breathing hard.

“It’s okay, Lauren,” I assured her. “He can’t hurt you. He’s frozen.”

She stepped closer and stared down at him.

“He’s huge!” she cried in amazement. “His—his eyes are open. They’re so
mean-looking!”

“Close the lid, Jordan,” Nicole insisted. “Quick. We’ve seen enough.”

“Now do you believe us?” I asked Lauren.

She nodded. “It’s… awesome!” She shook her head, stunned at the amazing
sight.

Before I shut the lid, I sneaked two snowballs out of the bottom of the
trunk. Snickering, I passed one to Nicole.

“What’s so funny?” Lauren asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” I said. I sealed the lid shut and latched the trunk. That’ll hold
him, I thought. We’re safe. Dad will never know we sneaked a peek at the
monster.

We left the darkroom, closing the door carefully behind us.

“That creature is just so awesome!” Lauren exclaimed. “What is your dad going
to do with him?”

“We’re not sure yet,” Nicole replied. “Dad’s trying to figure that out.”

She held her hands behind her back, hiding the snowball from Lauren. Suddenly
she shouted, “Hey, Lauren! Think fast!”

She threw the snowball at Lauren. It missed.

Splat!
It hit a tree.

“Nice shot, ace!” I cried sarcastically.

But then I gaped at the tree in shock.

The snowball—it didn’t crumble to the ground.

It started to
grow
!

Thick white snow spread quickly up the tree trunk—and over the branches.
Within seconds, the entire tree was covered with snow!

“Wow!” Lauren gasped. “Nicole—how did you do that?”

Nicole and I stared open-mouthed at the snow-covered tree.

I was so stunned, the snowball fell out of my hand.

I jumped back as it hit the ground—and spread!

“Oh, wow!” I shrieked. I watched snow spread over the lawn like a white
blanket.

It spread under our bare feet. Over the driveway. Out to the street.

“Ooooh! It’s cold!” Nicole wailed, hopping from foot to foot.

“This is too weird!” I cried. “It’s a hundred degrees out—and the snow
isn’t melting! It’s spreading—and growing deeper!”

I turned to see Lauren hopping and dancing, whirling around wildly. “Snow!
Snow!” she sang. “It’s wonderful! Snow in Pasadena!”

“Jordan—” Nicole said quietly. “This isn’t right. We should have left this
snow in the cave. It isn’t normal snow.”

Of course she was right. Any cave where an Abominable Snowman lives has got
to be a weird place. But how could we have guessed—?

“Let’s build a snowman!” Lauren cried gleefully.

“No!” Nicole warned. “Don’t touch it. Don’t do anything, Lauren. Not until
we’ve figured this out.”

I don’t think Lauren heard my sister. She was too excited. She kicked a spray
of snow at an evergreen bush. The bush froze over with snow.

“What are we going to do?” I asked Nicole. “What’s going to happen when Dad
comes home? He’ll kill us!”

Nicole shrugged. “Beats me.”

“But—but—you’re supposed to be the
brain
!” I sputtered.

“This is so cool!” Lauren squealed. “Snow in Pasadena!” She picked up a chunk
of snow and started balling it up between her hands.

“Snowball fight!” she shouted.

“Stop it, Lauren!” I cried. “We’re in big trouble here. Don’t you understand—?”

Lauren fired the snowball at Nicole.

Instantly, thick white snow spread all over Nicole’s body. Covering her.
Covering her until she looked like a snowman!

“Nicole!” I cried, running over the snowy ground to her. “Nicole—are you
okay?”

I grabbed her arm. Stiff as an icicle. She was frozen solid!

“Nicole?” I stared into her snow-covered eyes. “Can you hear me, Nicole? Can
you breathe in there? Nicole? Nicole?”

“Oh, no!” Lauren shrieked. “What have I done?”

My sister was a statue. A frozen, snow-covered statue.

“Nicole, I’m so sorry,” Lauren cried. “Can you hear me? I’m so sorry!”

“Let’s take her inside,” I suggested frantically. “If we get her in the warm
house, maybe we can warm her up.”

Lauren grabbed one of Nicole’s arms. I grabbed the other. We carefully
dragged her stiff body to the house. Her bare toes, hard as ice, left a long
trail in the snow.

“She’s so freezing!” Lauren cried. “How can we melt the snow?”

“Let’s put her next to the oven,” I said. “Maybe if we turn it up full blast,
the snow will melt.”

We stood her in front of the oven. For good measure, I turned on all the
burners on top of the stove.

“That ought to do it,” I said. A bead of sweat trickled down my face. From the heat—or from worry?

Lauren and I watched and waited.

Watched and waited.

I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe.

The snow didn’t melt.

“It’s not working,” Lauren groaned. “Nothing’s happening.”

I tapped Nicole’s arm. Solid ice.

I tried to stay calm. But I felt as if a hundred butterflies were tap dancing
in my stomach. “All right, it’s not working. We’ll have to try something else.
Something else…”

Tears rolled down Lauren’s cheeks. “Like what?” Lauren demanded in a
trembling voice.

“Well…” I racked my brain for the hottest place I could think of. “The
furnace! We’ll hold her in front of the furnace.”

We dragged Nicole into the furnace shed behind the garage. The snow seemed to
weigh a ton. It took all our strength to drag her.

I turned the furnace on full blast. Lauren stood Nicole in front of the open
furnace door.

A blast of hot air sent Lauren and me staggering back. “If this doesn’t work,
nothing will,” Lauren sobbed.

The heat roared out of the furnace. I saw reflections of the red flames on
Nicole’s icy face.

My heart pounding, I watched to see the ice start to drip and the snow slide
off her.

But the ice didn’t melt. My sister remained a human snow cone.

“Jordan—what are we going to do?” Lauren wailed.

I shook my head, thinking hard. “The furnace isn’t working. What else is
hot?” I was too scared to think clearly.

“Don’t worry, Nicole,” Lauren told my frozen sister. “We’ll get you out of
this—somehow.”

I suddenly remembered how warm the Abominable Snowman had felt when he
carried us across the Alaskan tundra. There we were, ten degrees below zero,
surrounded by deep snow, and heat had poured off the creature’s body.

“Come on, Lauren,” I ordered. “We’re taking her to the darkroom.”

Struggling and straining, we dragged Nicole back outside and across the
backyard to the darkroom.

“Stay here,” I told Lauren. “I’ll be right back.”

I raced into the kitchen. I pulled open all the cupboards and drawers,
desperately searching for one thing—trail mix.

Please, please let there be trail mix somewhere in this house! I prayed.

“Yes!” I found a plastic bag of trail mix behind an old box of spaghetti. I
grabbed it and flew back to the darkroom.

Lauren stared at the bag in my hand. “What’s that?”

“Trail mix.”

“Trail mix? Jordan, can’t you wait to eat later?”

“It’s not for me—it’s for
him
.” I motioned at the trunk.

“What?”

I unlatched the trunk and pulled it open. The Abominable Snowman lay inside
as before, frozen in the block of ice.

I grabbed a handful of trail mix and waved it above the snowman’s face. “Wake
up!” I begged. “Please wake up! Look—I brought you some trail mix!”

“Jordan—have you totally lost it?” Lauren screeched. “What on earth are you
doing?”

“I can’t think of any other way to save Nicole!” I cried.

My hand trembled as I frantically waved the trail mix over the snowman. “Come
on! You know you love trail mix. Wake up! Please wake up! Come out and help us.”

I leaned over, staring hard at the monster’s eyes. Watching for him to blink.
Watching for any signs of life.

But the eyes didn’t move. The creature stared lifelessly up through the block
of ice.

I refused to give up.

“Yum, yum!” I shouted, my voice high and wild.

“Trail mix! Boy, is that good!” I popped a few raisins into my mouth and
chewed. “Mmm-mm! Delicious trail mix. So good! So tasty! Come on—wake up and
try some!”

“He’s not moving!” Lauren sobbed. “Give up, Jordan. It isn’t going to work.”

I jumped when I heard a soft sound. A faint
crick.

I stared down at the block of ice.

Did the monster move?

No. Silence now. The Abominable Snowman’s black eyes glittered up at me,
lifeless and blank.

Was it my imagination?

Lauren is right, I thought sadly. My plan isn’t working.

Nothing is working.

I gently touched my sister’s stiff, frozen arm. Maybe when Dad gets home, I
hoped. Maybe he’ll think of some way to save her.

“What are we going to
dooooo
?” Lauren sobbed. She was no help at all.