“Isaac, hold on!” Malcolm yelled. He jumped off the roof, somersault-landed beside the snakes, and ran around the corner toward his brother.

“After him!” a snake cried.

Roscoe shrieked. “Snakes, Clementine! They might see me!”

“Quick, get out of here, Roscoe! Hide!”

Roscoe ran back across the meadow and flopped down in the tall grass.

Malcolm caught up with Isaac and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “We’ve got to get you out of here, Isaac.” He strained to pull the weakening raccoon toward the trees. “Come on. They’re catching up.” The rattling grew closer.

Roscoe watched them cross the meadow and disappear into the woods.

“Where are my buzzards?!” Farangis thundered.

The sounds of screeching came from behind the trees. Three buzzards flew toward Benjamin and Paco.

“Sire!”

“I see them.”

The boy squeezed the roman candle in his hand. He aimed the paper stick at the oncoming attackers and flicked his lighter on the fuse. Paco backed up and growled. He hadn’t expected the flaming orange, red, and yellow balls to look so magnificent soaring through the air. Thoomp! Thoomp! He almost enjoyed watching the fireworks show. The pack of birds screeched and divided, but a fireball hit the closest one square in the face.

“Aaaaggh! My eyes!” Sebastian zigzagged and crashed in the woods. Five more fireballs missed the other two buzzards, desperately trying to fly away.

Benjamin grabbed another and lit the fuse. He didn’t notice Paco’s fascination. He chased one of the buzzards, who ducked and dodged the fireballs until an orange one caught its left wing, sending it crashing to the ground.

“Sire, there’s the other one!”

A buzzard flew into the trees. Benjamin chased it but couldn’t hit it. He ran back to Paco, panting. “That’s all the roman candles I have, Paco. I’m out.”

Agonizing screeches came from the woods.

“I don’t think those nasty things will be coming back, Sire.”

“Where’s Malcolm?”

“He ran off with his no-good-traitor brother!” Paco’s face softened a little. “His brother was bitten by one of the rattlesnakes. I don’t think he’ll make it.”

“Where are the snakes?”

“I didn’t see. They chased the raccoons–disappeared around the barn.”

“C’mon. Let’s find Roscoe and Clementine.”

They sneaked along the back of the barn. “Sire, look!” Paco said.

Benjamin pulled back a web of ivy covering a small, square door with a rusted metal latch. His tug caused it to creak. “We could go through here, Paco!”

“Let’s go get Clementine and Roscoe. They’re around the corner.”

Still hiding in the grass, Roscoe kept his eyes open for snakes. Screech! He fainted at the noise behind him. But the blind buzzard wandering aimlessly through the trees never saw the goat fall in front of him.

Clementine and Roscoe weren’t where they were supposed to be. “They must’ve found a way in,” Benjamin whispered to Paco.