Part 2, Quest for the Z-Box, Battle of the Beastly Lawn

The three brothers stood on the sidewalk before Mrs. Jenkins’ house. They gawked at the impassable expanse of overgrown lawn before them. The noon sun glared down on towering blades of grass. Milkweed stalks thick as your arm stood like tree trunks in the dense forest. They even thought they heard snarling from within the foliage. All the horror stories they had ever heard of this cursed place ran through their young minds.

“Are you nuts!?” Jake asked Jay in disbelief as he stared out over the sea of green.

Josh shook his head so hard his cheeks flapped. “No way! We won’t do it!

Jay sighed, “Look, Mrs. Jenkins said she’d pay someone to take care of her lawn. I heard her say so! C’mon, guys, think of the Z-box. Think of Space ring Commander!”

Jake and Josh shifted uncomfortably. Mrs. Jenkins’ yard was a death trap. Every kid in the neighborhood knew it. No one had ever been crazy enough to venture there before. And yet...

Jake couldn’t help envisioning the virtual alien caves and their hidden loot. Nor could Josh stop thinking about the Z-box’s superior graphics. The two exchanged a wary look.

“Oh, alright,” Jake groaned as he took hold of the lawn mower’s push bar.

“For the Z-box,” Josh agreed hesitantly, lifting a rake.

Jay smiled broadly at his brothers, “That’s the spirit!” He hoisted the gas-powered weed whacker onto his shoulder.

The boys traipsed up the driveway to Mrs. Jenkins’ house.

It was an old wood-paneled building, the paint chipped and faded, gutters rusted and sagging. The windows were dark, shuttered things. Like hollow eyes peering out from a decrepit face. Jay gulped, hiding his own reservations, and boldly led the way to the front door.

They reached the rickety white security gate, and Jay pushed the doorbell. It rang deep within the house with a single deep tone that sounded disturbingly like “RUN”. The brothers’ eyes widened. Josh turned to leave, but Jake grabbed his collar and turned him back to the door.

The door creaked open, and Mrs. Jenkins hobbled out, peering down at the boys. “Eh? What do you want?’ she asked. “I haven’t got your ball,” she added reflexively.

Jay cleared his throat and put on his best salesman smile. “Good afternoon, ma’am, my brothers and I are very successful lawn mowing professionals.” Jake turned up a skeptical brow at that. Jay ignored his brother and continued, “And we would like to offer you our services!” He pointed back at the monstrous forest of a front lawn behind them.

Mrs. Jenkins’ droopy eyes lit up as they passed over the boys and their battered old lawn care equipment. “Oh!” she said excitedly, “That would be marvelous. If you boys can manage that lawn, I’d pay you handsomely!”

Jay shot another grin back at his brothers before saying. “Not to worry, ma’am, we are on the job!”

Mrs. Jenkins bid them good luck and shut the door. The deal had been struck.

The three turned from the house and stepped up to the edge of the lawn. They knew, concealed within that gnarled curtain of greenery, lurked some deadly creature with an insatiable appetite for basketballs and stray cats. Their undertaking was pure madness! But the Z-box called their souls. So, the boys gripped their tools and got to work.

With the start of the mower (it only took him twenty pulls of the cord), Jake pushed forward into the towering lawn. Jay revved his weed whacker and plowed into the weeds. Josh cast his rake into the growth, seeking loose debris.

For an eternity (about 15 minutes), they struggled. They pushed, and they pulled, and they whacked, and they hacked at the lawn with all their might. Eventually, they stepped back, wiping sweat from their brows to look over their progress. What they saw stunned them. They were still on the edge of the lawn. They hadn’t gained an inch!

Every time Jake pushed the mower forward on its back wheels to mount the grass, the growth simply pushed him back. When Jay swiped his whacker, the weeds flopped down, then sprang back up, uncut. And Josh’s rake had now been caught in the greenery. It took all three of them to free it. The stubborn tufts of grass stood defiant, mocking the boy’s futile efforts.

“It’s—just too—strong for us.” Josh gasped as he flopped onto the driveway.

“This place isn’t natural.” Jake bemoaned. “It’s hopeless!”

Jay ground his teeth in frustration. There was no way he was going to let some stupid lawn stand between him and the Z-box! His face grew red, and steam poured from his ears. His temper boiled over. With an angry snarl, he lifted his weed whacker again and plunged headfirst into the lawn.

“Jay, Don’t!” Josh yelled.

Too late. Their eldest brother disappeared into the growth. At first, they heard the whirr of the weed whacker and Jay bellowing furiously, just out of sight. Then, the whacker's motor stalled. Jay’s scream rose several octaves, turning into a shrill shriek. Then, in one tense moment, he fell silent.

The remaining two watched on in horror. Slowly, Jake moved up to the edge of the lawn. “J-Jay?” he called. “Say something, man!”

THWAP!

A tentacle of weeds shot out from the depths of the lawn and wrapped itself around Jake’s legs. “GAHHH!” Jake gasped. With a monstrous tug, it pulled him, and Jake fell onto his back. “IT’S GOT ME!!!” He screamed. In his panic, Jake grabbed the only thing he could find, which happened to be Josh’s legs. Unfortunately, Josh's tiny frame was simply too small an anchor, and the beastly lawn easily dragged them both into its emerald abyss.

“NoOoOoOo!” Josh howled.

Grass blades and spiny weed stalks tore at their bodies as they were dragged deeper into the lawn. The brothers screamed in terror. Suddenly, the tentacle lifted them straight up into the air. They hung upside down, Jake still clinging to Josh’s ankles.

As they swung suspended in the air, Josh looked about. They were smack-dab in the middle of the yard now. Blood rushed to his head. He stared straight down into the heart of that terrible lawn.

That’s when he saw—IT. The monster’s true form. Josh squealed so loud that it could have shattered glass.

Directly below the pair, the grass had swirled into a great green mound of tangled weedery. The mound writhed like a pile of snakes, and a horizontal gash opened across it. It stretched wide like a mouth, filled with spiky fang-like stalks. Two bunches of dandelions spouted above the gash, glaring at them like a pair of evil yellow eyes. The beastly lawn roared as it brought the boys to its gaping maw.

 The two wailed in horror. This was it, the end was nigh!

Suddenly, the beast let out a pained cry, and the grassy tentacle slackened. It lost its grip, dropping the two, who fell to the ground with a thud. Dazed, Jake quickly got to his feet, his head whipping about to find what had saved them.

There, directly behind him, was their brother. Jay stood at the base of the grassy tentacle, looking feral with tufts of torn grass in his mouth. He had chewed them free! The mound that was the monster's head roared in pain. All around them, the grass swayed menacingly. More tentacles were forming.

“Run!” Jay shouted.

Jake hoisted Josh to his feet, and the brothers ran.  Swinging blades of grass cut and stabbed at the boys, while more weeds flailed out to trip them. The lawn seemed impossibly large, the distance nearly too great to run through. By some miracle they managed to escape the green labyrinth of death and reached the sidewalk. From there they fled across the street and stumbled into their backyard. They didn’t stop moving until they were barricaded in the safety of their old tool shed. Once the door was secure, shaken and gasping, the three flopped to the floor.

“My legs!” Jake screamed, “It grabbed my legs! I’m so itchy!” he scratched at the red skin around his ankles where the grass had rubbed him hardest.

“Atchoo!” Jay sneezed, his eyes watering, “My aller-ATCHOO-GIES!! AGH!”

Josh sat in a corner, rocking back and forth, his knees pulled to his chest. “We made it mad,” he said in shock. “The legends were all true, and WE MADE IT MAD!”

The boys sat in the safety of their shed for some time, wallowing in their defeat. Jay blew his nose into the hem of his shirt and picked several more bits of grass from his teeth. Jake was picking thistle thorns from his socks. All three of them were covered in scratches and red patches from pollen exposure.

Josh was still rocking back and forth on the floor, wide eyes staring at nothing. “Dandelion eyes... dandelion eyes!!!” he murmured frantically.

Jay watched his brother gloomily. Josh had been right. They had underestimated their enemy. Foolishly treated Mrs. Jenkins’ lawn like it was any other. This was a danger no man had ever faced before. And yet... The Z-box!

Jay’s defiant nature rekindled. He stood up, crossed the room, and slapped his youngest sibling across the face. “Get a grip, man!” he shouted. Josh blinked hard several times as he came to.

“We aren’t done,” Jay said grimly. We have to go back!”

Jake jumped to his feet and grabbed Jay by his shirt. “Are you crazy? That thing will eat us alive!” he yelled.

Jay remained calm in his brother’s grip. “The beast caught us off guard. But we’ve seen its true face now.” Jay held up a clipping of grass he had pulled from his teeth. “We can hurt it, which means we can kill it.” The crazed look crept back over Jay’s face once more.

“I have a plan...”