A side door to the building was slightly ajar, so Freddy peered in. What he saw made his heart sink. In the middle of the warehouse it looked like they were building a replica of the Patty Cakes. Dozens of workers were hammering, nailing, painting, and sawing. The thing that Freddy had seen the forklift bring in was part of the Ferris wheel. It was now being lowered onto one end of the float. For that’s what this was, Freddy was convinced: the Patty Cake float for the Founders’ Day parade.

In a far corner Freddy saw Stewie Spanker, the owner of Patty Cakes, and also the town of Pookesville’s police chief and mayor, talking with a well-dressed, short, blond-haired man with a skinny mustache whom Freddy had never seen before. They were going over what looked to be plans for the float.

A depressed Freddy walked back to the Burger Castle and put his chicken costume on. They didn’t have a chance against the Spanker float. All the work he’d done was worthless. Colorful Fries that smiled and bobbed their heads and said stupid things? Who cared?

SPLAT!

“Ow!” Freddy cried out, and grabbed his arm that had just turned red. He looked over and paled.

Coming across the drawbridge was Adam Spanker and his gang of bullies. They had their fancy paintball guns and wore Army helmets and camouflage uniforms and big black boots.

Adam Spanker had been Freddy’s worst nightmare for years. One of his legs was larger than Freddy’s chest. His stomach was so big that it was rumored he had actually swallowed a whole person. His hair was cut so short he looked bald. Some kids at school said Adam’s mother was a witch who had taken all his hair when he was born and used it to make poisons. Other kids said that Adam had green blood – a sure sign of a monster.

“Cluck-cluck, Funky Funkhouser!” roared Adam Spanker.

Freddy’s teeth chattered uncontrollably. “Yo… you’re… you’re tre… tress… tresspa… passing,” said Freddy.