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her nicely enough.
    I crept into the hallway. Mom wasn’t in her room.
    Where did she go? I wondered.
    Then I noticed that the door to the attic was open a crack.
    That’s strange, I thought. Why would she go up there? Dad always kept the attic door locked. He said the floor wasn’t finished and it was dangerous to go up there.
    We never use the attic. Why did Mom go up there tonight?
    I opened the door and crept up the stairs. Near the top, I stopped.
    Whoa. There’s a room up there, I saw. Dad lied. It’s completely furnished. And the floor isn’t unfinished. It looks perfectly solid.
    Why did Dad lie? Why?
    Squinting into the dim light, I spotted Mom. She was standing with her back to me. She pulled open a closet door.
    Slowly…slowly…
    And as the door opened, a glow of light poured out from the closet.
    A blue glow.

10
    I gasped. And stared in amazement at the eerie light pulsing out of the closet.
    I saw it for only a second.
    Someone behind me grabbed my shoulder, hard. Mom slammed the closet shut.
    I spun around—and stared up at my dad.
    “Ben, what are you doing up here?” he demanded.
    “Uh…what are you doing up here?” I shot back.
    “Nothing you’d be interested in,” Dad said sternly.
    “We’re just fixing the attic up a bit,” Mom said.
    “It…it was going to be a surprise for you,” Dad added.
    I could tell he was lying.
    Why were they both acting so strange? Whywouldn’t they tell me the truth?
    “I saw a blue light,” I said. I pointed.
    Mom shook her head. “Light? I didn’t see it.”
    “Must have been a reflection from the street,” Dad said. “Now, go to bed, Ben. It’s really late.”
    I wanted to ask more questions. But I could see it was no use. I said good night and hurried back to my room.
    I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to sleep.
    I stared out my window for a long time, watching the sky.
    I was dying to find out what they were doing in the attic. And I wanted to see what was inside that attic closet.
    Maybe tomorrow when they’re not around, I thought.
    I fell asleep at last. In my dreams I saw an army of aliens, slimy and reptilian. They were seven feet tall, walked on two legs, and were covered with wet scales. There were thousands of them, marching around and around in a figure eight.
    I stood at the center of the eight, where the two loops intersected. The aliens began to march in a spiral, moving closer and closer to me….
    I held up my hand. They stopped. “Do not fear me,” I said. My voice came out loud and booming. “I am your friend. Speak to me. Show me your language.”
    The lead alien stepped forward. “On our planet, we greet each other this way.”
    He stuck out his tongue. It was a long, slimy tongue, maybe five feet long.
    He tickled me with it. Then he licked my face.
    I didn’t like it. But I didn’t want to make them angry. So I said nothing.
    “Now,” the alien leader said. “You must touch my hand. That means you accept our greeting.”
    I reached out and touched his wet, slimy hand. It felt as if it were covered in mucus.
    I shivered. It was disgusting. But I had to do it for the good of interstellar relations.
    Wait a minute, I thought. My hand really is touching something slimy and wet.
    Am I still dreaming? Am I still asleep?
    I touched the slimy skin again.
    Okay, I thought. I’m definitely awake.
    I opened my eyes.
    And started screaming.
    It wasn’t a dream.

11
    I bolted upright. I was in my room. In bed. Moonlight poured in through my window.
    My hand was wrapped around a slimy creature.
    With a cry, I opened my hand. The creature plopped onto the floor.
    A frog.
    “Whoa!” I whispered. Godzilla. My brother’s frog.
    “You’re alive!” I whispered. I knew this would make Will really happy.
    I reached down and gently picked up the frog. “Where have you been hiding, boy?” I climbed out of bed and started toward Will’s room.
    But my foot landed on something wet.
    I glanced down—and saw that I was standing