CHAPTER ONE Last night I heard the strangest noise Ten-year-old Michael Wilson was headed home Walking along with him was his best friend Leo Hammer and his cousin Liv Hernandez It was a warm day on Shaker Street Michael tugged his baseball cap down to shade his dark brown eyes He said It went whirrrr whirl fzttt Leo ran a hand over his sandy brown hair His bangs hung in his face Hmm I don’t know that one he said He readjusted the straps on his heavy backpack then asked Michael Are you sure the fzttt was at the end and not in the beginning like fzttt whirr whirl Positive Michael said Why Well if the fztt was at the beginning then I’d say you heard a 1997 Toyota station wagon with a loose fan belt nine-year-old Leo explained But since the fzztt is at the end I’m not sure what that could be He shrugged It’s a mystery Mystery Liv who was ten like Michael was walking ahead of the boys She spun around and pulled her headphones out of her ears I love a mystery Pressing a button on her phone Liv turned off the sound Sorry for ignoring you guys she added I was listening to the last few minutes of Alien Takeover I had to make sure the aliens didn’t kidnap the poor old man Liv was the only one of them whose parents had gotten her a phone Leo’s dad and Michael’s parents agreed that they didn’t need one yet It was a huge bummer Michael rolled his eyes at Liv and snorted You know that podcast is a hoax right There’s no scientific proof that extraterrestrial life is real And there’s no proof that it’s not real Liv said She peered over her red vintage
glasses frames What do you think Leo Liv pinned him with her deep brown stare I Leo hesitated If there really are aliens I’d prefer it if they’d stay on their own planet Ah so you do believe in aliens Liv exclaimed grinning Leo’s the smartest kid at school Best grades Best scores HA She faced Michael and put her hands on her hips That’s all the proof you need she said Aliens exist You’re ridiculous Michael argued That’s not proof Besides Leo’s a chicken If there was a chance that aliens might land on Shaker Street he’d be at home hiding under the table True Leo agreed He tucked his hands into his armpits and clucked Bawk bawk Liv insisted I’ll prove it to you both that the podcast BANG A firecracker burst over Michael’s house The sparkles glittered in the late afternoon sky
Forget the aliens We gotta go Now Michael shouted at his friends
They were still near Liv’s house at the bottom of Shaker Street Michael’s house was pretty far away at the dead end at the top of the hill The Wilson home was one of the biggest on the block And it was the tallest The old Victorian looked like a skinny purple painted gingerbread house with green icing trim Above the third floor was a tower room a turret Michael’s mom called it There were lots of windows that overlooked the other historic homes of Shaker Street Michael saw a flash of light in one of those big windows Then as the fireworks faded a familiar voice boomed through a loudspeaker in the front yard You have five minutes The voice belonged to Michael’s grandfather Henry Wilson Senior Michael regretted the day he’d built those small speakers for his grandfather He’d used two cool-looking tin cigar boxes to hold the wiring They were supposed to make Grandpa’s stereo louder so his old ears could hear his favorite music But Grandpa immediately rewired them Grandpa thought it was funny that he’d turned the speakers into an announcement system that echoed throughout the entire neighborhood No one else thought it was funny at all Especially not Michael It was embarrassing for Michael and his friends Ticktock Grandpa called out His eighty-year-old voice cracked Ugh Leo groaned looking up the tall hill I hate it when he does this He tightened his backpack straps for the run Someone should call Sheriff Kawasaki She wouldn’t do anything Liv said The speakers are annoying but everyone on Shaker Street loves Grandpa Henry Henry Senior was Michael’s dad’s Henry Junior’s dad Liv and Michael’s moms were sisters so Liv wasn’t related to Henry Senior Still she and everyone else called him Grandpa Just then the old man called out Time’s a wastin Ugh Leo complained again as they took off running up the hill Maybe you could invent some kind of escalator Leo said to Michael as his breath became heavier Or a
