R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 04 (6 page)

“Huh? I didn't do anything, Max!” Traci said, taking a step back.

I gave Nicky and Tara a thumbs-up. “That was good timing,” I said.

“Max, did you land on your head down there?” Traci asked.

“I'm not talking to you,” I told her.

Traci glanced around. “I'm the only one here.”

“We can't talk now,” Tara said.

“We
have
to talk,” I told Tara.

“Excuse me? Talk? Talk about what?” Traci asked.

“Meet me later,” I said to the two ghosts.

“No way!” Traci cried. She made a disgusted face and stomped away. “Artie,” she called. “You'd better check out Max. I think he's gone psycho.”

“Okay, guys,” Artie called. “Let's all jump back over the gorge and head back to camp!”

L
ATE THAT NIGHT
,
I waited till everyone in my cabin was asleep. I grabbed a can of bug repellent off the dresser and sneaked outside to meet Nicky and Tara. As I sprayed myself with the bug spray, Nicky and Tara floated beside me.

“I'm so glad to see you!” I cried.

Nicky frowned at me. “Max, next time you take a dive, make sure there's water in the pool.”

Tara slid her arm around my shoulders. “Where would you be without us, Max?”

“Where have you been?” I cried. “I—I've been looking for you for days.”

“We just escaped,” Tara said. “We … we were so scared.”

“We're still scared,” Nicky said. “Those two creatures who pretended to be our parents? They're still here. Hiding in that abandoned cabin in the woods.”

“And so is Phears,” Tara added.

I let out a cry. Huh? Phears? Oh no. Oh wow.

I knew Phears. I knew he was the most frightening
ghost of them all. He called himself the Animal Traveler. He hid inside animals. Then he blew the animals apart and came sailing out.

Phears has terrifying powers. His hobby is hurting people. He once pulled back my dog's skin and turned him completely inside out. Then he started to do the same thing to me.

“He's here. We saw him,” Tara said. She chewed her bottom lip.

“The two insects dragged us to camp. They really want that pendant,” Nicky whispered.

“Our parents
have
to be inside it,” Tara said. “Why else would they be so desperate to get their hands on it?”

“The insects hid in the empty cabin. They planned to go after your brother. But Phears appeared,” Nicky said. “Guess what? He's their leader. They work for him.”

“Phears has been here all along,” Tara said, glancing around the dark camp. “He's been watching you, Max.”

I swallowed. The night suddenly grew a lot colder.

“Phears got in a big argument with the two ghosts,” Nicky said. “He was furious because it was taking them so long to get the pendant. He called them all kinds of names. They started shoving each other. It turned into a real fight.”

“That's how we escaped,” Tara said. “Nicky
and I slipped away while they were fighting. They didn't even see us go.”

“But we know what their plan is,” Nicky said, lowering his voice. “They're waiting for
you
to do the work, Max. They're waiting for you to get the pendant. Then they're going to pounce.”

I gulped. “Pounce?”

Tara nodded. “They're here. They're watching. They're ready to pounce.”

And then I heard a cracking sound behind me.

I spun around. And cried out, “Phears!”

N
ICKY GRABBED ME
.
“Shhh. Max, don't lose it. That was a tree branch creaking.”

My heart had leaped to my throat. I blinked several times, then glanced down the long row of cabins, all dark and silent.

“We have to get out of here!” I cried. “I can't face Phears again!”

“We can't leave,” Tara said. “We have to find that pendant. We have to find Mom and Dad. They are so close. I know they are.”

“Where is Colin?” Nicky asked me. “Maybe Tara and I can slip into his cabin and take the pendant away from him while he sleeps.”

I shook my head. “He isn't here. He went on a two-day canoe trip with some kids.”

“Was he wearing the pendant?” Tara asked.

“I don't know. He keeps teasing me with it. Pulling it out from under his shirt and showing it off to me. It doesn't belong to him. He's a total thief.”

“Thief?” a voice cried.

I turned and saw Uncle Joey standing beside me. “Who is a thief, Max?” he demanded. “Who are you talking to?”

Tara poked me in the side. “Tell him to mind his own business, Max.”

“I can't say that!” I told her.

Uncle Joey squinted at me. “You can't tell me who you were talking to? Was it a girl? Did you sneak out to meet a girl?”

“Is there room for us in your cabin?” Nicky asked me. “Do you have a lot of other guys in there?”

“No. Three,” I said.

Uncle Joey's eyes bulged. “You sneaked out to meet
three
girls?”

“I wasn't talking to you,” I said.

Uncle Joey studied me. “Max, did you hit your head when you fell down the gorge?”

Tara grabbed my arm. “Max, tell him to go away. We have to talk.”

“No,” I said. “Shut up.”

Uncle Joey's face twisted into an angry scowl. “You're telling me to shut up? Would you like to be on latrine duty and mop up the bathrooms for a week?”

“Tell him to get lost!” Tara said.

“Make me!” I cried.

Uncle Joey shrugged. “Okay, I will. You're on latrine duty for a week, Max.”

I turned angrily to Tara. “Thanks a lot!” I shouted.

“You're welcome,” Uncle Joey said. “Now get back to your cabin.” He crossed his arms and glared at me.

I had no choice. I had a hundred things I wanted to ask Nicky and Tara. But with Uncle Joey watching, I turned and trudged up the path to the cabins.

Owls hooted in the trees. A strong breeze off the lake made the trees creak and shiver. Flying low overhead, a bat fluttered back and forth across the path.

I was almost to my cabin when I heard the whispers.

“Max … Maaaaaax … ”

Again. Someone whispering my name. From the empty cabin in the woods. The Haunted Cabin.

“Maaaaaaaax … ”

No. Not from the cabin. Too close.

Right behind me!

I spun around—and stared at the two insect creatures.

Taller than me, standing on their back legs. Buzzing excitedly. Whispering,
“Maaaax … Maaaax … ”

Their tiny black eyes glowed in the moonlight. Their antennae rattled over their heads.

I let out a loud gasp and tried to run.

But they were too fast for me. One scrabbled in front of me, and I stumbled into it. Its ribbed chest felt hard as iron.

The other one bumped me from behind.

“Maaax. Maaax.”
A raspy, metallic sound.

“Too slow, Max. You're too slow.”

“We need the pendant now. We warned you.”

“Too slow.”

“And now it's too late.”

With loud grunts, they shoved their hard ribbed bodies against me. One from in front, the other from behind.

Pain jolted my body.

They're crushing me, I realized.

They're not going to wait for Colin.

They're crushing me right now.

M
Y CHEST ACHED
.
I couldn't breathe.

I felt the warm vibrations of their chests as they tightened themselves against me, pressing harder, smothering me against their insect bodies.

Then I heard a loud
crack
.

My bones breaking!

But no. I heard a soft explosion. And then a powerful stinging odor spread over me.

It took me a second to realize what it was. The can of bug spray. Crushed between the two creatures, the can had exploded.

The stinging mist floated up around us.

I heard the creatures sigh.

Their chests went soft. I could feel the ribbed flesh collapsing.

They toppled off me and began to stagger crazily, coughing and sputtering. Their antennae drooped. The glow faded from their tiny round eyes. They grabbed at their chests, wheezing, heads tossed back, roaring hoarsely like elephants.

And then they collapsed. Their bodies made a wet smacking sound as they hit the muddy ground. Their heads slid into their shells. Their spindly legs curled into their chests.

They didn't move.

Dead. The two creatures were dead.

I stood over them, still panting. I pressed my hands to my knees and struggled to catch my breath.

The two insect creatures were dead. But I knew I couldn't celebrate. I knew Phears was still around.

Waiting to pounce.

Phears would be angry now. Phears would be coming after me soon.

And I knew it would take more than a can of bug spray to get rid of him.

A
FTER KILLING TWO DANGEROUS CREATURES
,
mop-ping the latrines wasn't that difficult. In fact, it helped take my mind off my troubles. I held the mop in one hand and pinched my nose with two fingers of my other hand. No problem.

I mopped all six latrines after breakfast, and it only took an hour. While I worked, I made up word games in my head.

Did you know that an anagram for
SmallCAMP SNAKE LAKE is SNEAK LAME PACK?

I know. It doesn't make any sense. But what do you expect from someone cleaning toilets?

I did the word games to keep my mind off Colin and the pendant and Phears. Artie told me that Colin was supposed to return from his canoe trip later that afternoon.

It was a chilly gray day. Dark storm clouds gathered overhead. In the woods, a white blanket of fog rolled along the ground.

Right after lunch, the rain started to come
down. Thunder cracked overhead. We all gathered in the lodge.

Uncle Joey showed a movie on the big-screen TV. It was a Jackie Chan film, very funny with lots of kicking and guys flying through the air.

The girls groaned and complained about how stupid and violent it was. But the guys liked it.

Some kids sat cross-legged on the floor. Some sprawled on their backs and used other kids for pillows.

The rain pattered down on the roof of the lodge, making it hard to hear the movie. I couldn't concentrate on it anyway. I knew Colin would be back in camp any minute.

About halfway through the film, I sneaked out the back door. I stood outside the lodge and let the rain pour over me. It was almost as dark as night. I squinted into the eerie gray light, watching for my brother.

To my right, the pounding rain had turned the dirt path to the cabins into a river. To my left, the lake stretched dark and still. Raindrops sparkled like little diamonds as they hit the surface.

Thunder rumbled, far in the distance now. And I saw a pale streak of lightning high in the gray-purple sky.

I sighed. I could be home safe and sound in my
room. Instead, here I was somewhere far out in the woods, surrounded by ghosts.

And just as I thought about ghosts, Nicky and Tara appeared in front of me. I watched the raindrops fall right through them and hit the ground at their feet.

They were standing in the rain, but they weren't getting wet.

“What's up, Max?” Tara asked.

“Is Colin back?” Nicky asked.

I opened my mouth to answer them but stopped. A figure moved down by the lake. A chill swept down my back. Phears?

No. I recognized Colin. Colin back from his trip, dragging a canoe, holding it upside down over his head as an umbrella. He was moving slowly, like some kind of lumbering animal.

“Th-there he is,” I said, pointing.

“Let me handle this,” Tara said, blocking my path.

“Handle it?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“He can't see me, right? I can just pull open his shirt and remove the pendant before he knows what's happening,” Tara said.

“But—but he's really strong. He'll fight you,” I said.

“I'll go with you,” Nicky said. “I'll hold Colin's arms behind him while you get the pendant off.”

“Let me help,” I said.

Tara pushed me back. “It's
our
mom and dad inside the pendant,” she said. “Let
us
rescue them, Max.”

Nicky and Tara became invisible.

The wind shifted, splashing cold rain in my face. Wiping it away, I watched my brother move slowly across the lakeshore. And I crossed my fingers.

T
HE RAIN POUNDED
down hard. Colin trudged along the shore, holding the aluminum canoe over his head. Suddenly, the canoe rose into the air.

Colin let out a startled cry. He gripped the sides of the canoe. I knew Nicky and Tara were trying to pull it away from him. I watched my startled brother struggle to hold on.

“Stupid wind!” Colin shouted.

Did he really believe it was the wind?

Finally, the canoe appeared to sail away from him. It landed upside down on the ground. Colin stared down at it, looking confused.

Colin's hands suddenly flew behind his back. His eyes bulged. “Hey—!” he cried out. “Let go! Who's there?”

He was wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt over a T-shirt. I watched the buttons start to come undone, one by one from the top down.

Hurry, Tara, I thought.

Colin stared down goggle-eyed as his shirt
appeared to unbutton itself. He squirmed and struggled. But he couldn't free his arms.

The third button came undone—and Colin's shirt flew open, flapping in the wind.

Colin let out a frightened shriek.
Now
he knew it wasn't the wind! The wind doesn't unbutton your shirt!

He squirmed and ducked and tried to twist free of whatever was holding him. “Who's there?” he screamed again. “I can't see you! Let me go!”

I loved watching him squirm. He always made fun of my ghost stories. Maybe he'd believe me the next time I told him I was haunted!

Suddenly, Colin dropped onto his back and started to kick his feet. “Stop it! Stop it!” he shouted, wriggling like a worm. “I'm
ticklish
!”