Evan watches as the thick purple scales cover Ricky's face and realizes he's watching his friend turn into a Creep. Though the boy's clothes remain unaltered, Ricky's whole head morphs into that of a massive purple lizard with sharp teeth and a long red tongue. His hands have become four-fingered claws, and a long, winding tail now sticks out behind him, dragging on the ground.

There's a devious look in Ricky's green eyes.

"Humans are the past! Creeps are the future!" Ricky chants, his voice raspy as if he's both speaking and growling at the same time.

"That's it, Ricky!" Mr. Dark cheers, "Embrace your destiny! Tear them apart!"

"Humans are the past! Creeps are the future! Humans are the past! Creeps are the future!" Ricky cheers again.

"Yes, that's right, Ricky! Humans are the past! Creeps are the future!" Mr. Dark joins in.

"Yessss!" Ricky hisses, "But you know what? I make my own future!"

"WHAT?!" Mr. Dark yells.

Ricky pounces at Mr. Dark, knocking the man on his back. With one claw, Ricky slashes across his face with his sharpened claws, leaving four deep cuts in his skin from which blood trickles down. In pain, Mr. Dark covers his face and roars in anger.

"I really thought you'd turned to the dark side, man." Evan tells Ricky.

"Of course not. Just needed a little boost. Sometimes it takes a monster to beat a monster," Ricky says with a growl.

Mr. Dark gets back to his feet, clutching his face. "I've had about enough of this!" he snaps. "Lynne! Randy! Lucille! It seems to me our guests want monsters. Let's give them what they want!"

Evan watches as the Darks transform, Mr. Dark into that same hulking, dragon-like beast Evan has lain eyes on before, with a forked tongue, and broad shoulders covered in suckers. His massive form tears through the red fabric of his suit, leaving strips of cloth hanging from his scaly chest. The scar from Ricky is still carved across his face. Mr. Dark roars, shooting out hot orange flames from his mouth.

"Holy shit!" Jerry exclaims.

"Yeah, and I thought he was ugly before," Andy says.

"He's just another monster to take down, guys," Amanda says, pointing her pistol right at Mr. Dark. "He'll go down as easy as Dawes did."

Amanda fires her gun. As the bullet flies out, it strikes Mr. Dark's chest. Rather than passing through, the round bounces off his hardened scales. Mr. Dark starts to laugh, a booming cackle that shoots more flames from his hungry jaws. Amanda drops her gun and goes instantly pale.

"That tickled," Mr. Dark says, "Your weapons aren't going to work, Ms. Benson. There are no guns allowed in a Goosebumps book. You're all going to play this game by MY rules."

Mrs. Dark follows, her body shifting into a feline creature with slender proportions, so thin that Evan can see the bones visible beneath her skin. Mrs. Dark doesn't lose her cat-like eyes, which now seem to be glowing intensely. Pointy ears stick out of her head, a long mane of black hair flowing past them.

"You look beautiful, darling," Mr. Dark says. "You remember the first human we shared together?"

"How could I forget?" she hisses.

Randy Dark is next to change, looking like a combination of all his parent's most terrifying features, resembling a massive panther with scales running down his back. Evan can see what looks like wings starting to form.

"Make daddy proud, Randy!"

Randy pounces at Ricky like the massive feline he is, wrestling the Creep to the ground. Evan imagines this is what it's like when a cat catches a lizard. Then again, most regular lizards don't have giant tails they can swing around like a mace. Ricky growls as Randy hisses, whipping his tail across the creature's face.

"Come on, Lucille. Show them what happens when they mess with the Darks!"

Lucy stands frozen before she looks at Evan. "Are you afraid?" she asks.

"No," Evan replies, even though his heart is beating in his chest. "You don't have to join him, Lucy. You're one of us!"

She ignores his comment. "You should be very afraid right now, Evan."

Evan watches as Lucy's jaw unhinges like a snake, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. Too many to count. She sprouts just as many eyeballs across her face, beady yellow little eyes that watch all of them at once. Lucy seems to have inherited her father's ability to spit fire, as out of her mouth comes an erratic burst of flame and smoke. Like her mother, Lucy's long black hair remains atop of her head, creeping down in thin strands across her face. Dark tentacles sprout from her back, and as Evan watches her contort her body even further beyond recognition, he can feel his brain turning to mush. Whatever Lucy's true monster form is, Evan can barely comprehend it. He can feel himself losing his grip on sanity. All he can do is laugh.

"Are you terrified yet?" Lucy asks. The answer is a resounding yes.

"Evan, snap out of it!" Andy says, and the sound of her voice wakes Evan from his temporary madness.

"Yes, Evan, it's time to WAKE UP!" Mr. Dark yells.

He lunges at Evan with terrifying speed, delivering a punch into Evan's face that knocks him to the ground. If Slappy's punch felt like being hit by a wooden board, Mr. Dark's fist feels like a wrecking ball smashing into his face.

"Evan!" Andy yells.

"Do you know how SICK and TIRED I am of you children? Damn kids. You always think you know better than us, don't you? You really think you're strong enough to change the world. Here's a reality check. This world is OURS."

Mr. Dark delivers another crushing blow into Evan's face. Evan can feel blood gushing from his nose.

"And I can't believe all of you followed this IDIOT into battle! Evan Ross. The boy who's still terrified of monsters. Come on, Evan. Even if you did beat me, who would EVER believe you? Who would believe that a boy like Evan Ross saved the world from monsters?"

He punches Evan again.

"I was going to make this so nice and easy, but now, I think I'll just beat you to death right on this lawn," Mr. Dark growls. "I want you to feel every hit. You deserve it for all the pain you've caused me, sticking your nose where it didn't belong."

Evan spits up blood.

"I don't care who believes me," Evan chokes, "As long as I have my friends."

"That's right," Andy says, "You're still outnumbered, Dark."

Evan turns his head, his bones aching as he does so. He watches as Andy leads the charge right into Mr. Dark. From all sides, the eight teens attack the massive monster in front of them. Conan jumps on his back, delivering a series of punches as Andy delivers a hard knee into Mr. Dark's stomach. Jerry and Amy pelt stones into his face and Carly Beth grabs a stick from off the ground, striking Dark's kneecaps. Meanwhile, Ricky continues his bloody battle with Randy Dark, and the Bensons are getting slashed up by Mrs. Dark's claws.

Mr. Dark growls in anger, a loud roar before he throws Conan off his back. Stomping the ground with a fury that sends everyone flying back. Opening his mouth, he breathes an intense ray of fire, creating a large circle of flames around him and Evan, preventing the others from getting close.

"You son of a bitch!" Andy screams. "Come on, Evan! GET UP!"

Evan's ears are ringing. He wants to get up, but every muscle in his body is screaming in agony.

"See, I was angry before, " Mr. Dark says. "NOW I'M REALLY PISSED OFF!"

Mr. Dark continues beating Evan as Lucy watches.

"Lucy!" Evan chokes, "Please. You once told me when you were a kid, you saw a monster. You said your parents didn't believe you, did they? Not until it was almost too late."

"That's not true!" Mr. Dark says, "You don't know Lucille like I do. She made up so many tall tales I didn't know what to believe. I had to make sure."

"And so what?" Evan spits. "You claim you care about monsters and yet you killed one just to eliminate the competition. All you care about is keeping your power."

"HOW DARE YOU?" Mr. Dark growls in his face, hot breath wafting into Evan's nose. "How dare you come to MY house, call me a BAD FATHER, and say I don't care about monsters? Everything I've ever done has been for my family!"

"He's lying, Lucy!" Evan says. "I know what you've been through, all of us know what you've been through."

Evan looks through hazy vision at Lucy and she has reverted to her human form and is starting to approach the circle of flames that is only growing in heat and intensity. As she walks to the flames, her father takes notice. He doesn't look happy.

"Lucillle, what do you think you're doing?"

"This isn't right, Dad," Lucy says, "You don't have to kill him!"

"I'm sorry, Lucille, but yes, I REALLY do need to kill him."

"But he's… my friend!" Lucy pleads

Mr. Dark's eyes narrow. Smoke huff from his nostrils. "You really want to risk your life for this idiot, Lucy Dark? Would you truly betray your family for some worthless bags of meat?"

"Maybe I would," Lucy says.

Lucy shoves her father with a surprising amount of strength, causing him to stumble backwards. His leg lands right in the hot fire. It doesn't take long for the flames to spread on his skin. Mr. Dark begins growling in panic, swatting at his flesh to put the fire out. He lets out a loud roar of pain.

"LUCILLE!" he screams, shaking his head. "I should have expected you would betray me. The Girl Who Cried Monster. It all makes sense. You're the last one."

Evan sees what he means. The circle of teens is complete. Evan. Andy. Conan. Carly Beth. Ricky. Amy. Jerry. Amanda. Josh. Lucy Dark now made the tenth member of their little team.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner," Lucy says, helping Evan up to his feet.

Mr. Dark snarls, having successfully put out the fire consuming his body. The distraction is enough for Evan to pull out the final egg of Monster Blood from his pocket.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mr. Dark asks.

"I'm ending this once and for all," Evan replies, "You were right, Mr. Dark. I'm still scared of Monster Blood and yet I can't seem to stay away from it. I realize now that I can control my fear, and now I'm going to use that fear to destroy you."

Mr. Dark laughs as Evan opens the container of Monster Blood, spilling sticky green slime all over the ground. Evan shuts his eyes. He imagines how he must look like right now, covered in blood and bruises. His heart still beats in his chest. He had managed to control just a tiny sample of Monster Blood before, but this felt different. Somehow, he had to find enough strength to get the Monster Blood to consume Dead House and free his parents. Evan isn't sure he has the strength required to do that. He takes a deep breath.

I invoke this curse upon you, Monster Blood, I need you to grow," Evan thinks. Once more, he puts himself in Sarabeth's shoes, channeling the witch's rage with all the hatred he feels for Mr. Dark.

I want you to crush my enemies, consume all that is in your path until Dead House is no more.

The Monster Blood gurgles, starting to grow as it consumes stones and twigs, absorbing them into its gelatinous green body.

"Gross!" Amy exclaims.

"No, it's beautiful," Andy tells her. "Come on, Evan. I believe in you. You can control it!"

Evan focuses on the sound of Andy's voice as the Monster Blood gurgles in his ear. Like a massive tidal wave, it grows over the hills of Dead House, consuming everything in its path, including Mrs. Dark and Randy. As the two of them are sucked into the Monster Blood with a loud slurping noise, the slime grows to massive proportions, like a giant slug, leaving a long trail of thick slime across the dirt.

"LYNNE! RANDY!" Mr. Dark yells, watching his family get sucked into the massive green blob. "You'll pay for this! You think you can control that stuff? You can't! It will just as easily destroy you as it will destroy the rest of us!"

Evan thinks about what happened to Sarabeth, how the Monster Blood had consumed her despite all her efforts to control it. Evan fears the very same could happen to him. After all, it didn't matter what words he spoke, the Monster Blood was an uncontrollable force of nature. Mr. Dark was right. It would consume anything it wanted to. Evan's heart races. He tries to stop the beating. He can't let the Monster Blood know he's afraid.

Destroy the house, not me, Evan pleads, Destroy the house, NOT ME.

"Come on, Evan!" Andy cheers.

The Monster Blood rumbles, its slimy body jiggling like a pile of green gelatin. The cheering of his friends continues as the Monster Blood turns its attention at last to Dead House. The slime gurgles hungrily, ready to absorb all of Dead House in a single gulp.

Evan can't help it. He smiles. This is it, he thinks. The moment they've been waiting for. Dead House would be no more. But Evan's happiness soon changes to horror as he feels the Monster Blood tugging on his shoes.

Looking down, he sees his foot has been caught in the slime. Panicking, Evan struggles to free himself. It's too late. The Monster Blood begins to pull him in. He screams, finding himself drowning in the green slime. It doesn't take long before The Monster Blood absorbs him completely. Evan can hardly breathe. All he can see is the dark green of the monster's gelatinous stomach.

"EVAN!" Andy screams.

Sorry, Andy, Evan thinks. I've failed. I've come so far, just to die here. I guess I couldn't get over my fear after all, Evan tells himself. As The Monster Blood consumes him, the whole world goes dark.