Who Let the Ghosts Out? (7 page)

The squirrel spewed up more black tar, covering my feet completely. And then, to my horror, the little animal exploded. It blew apart—fur and bones and squirrel guts flying all around me. The two little eyeballs bounced and rolled down the hill.

I felt sick. I doubled over and grabbed my churning stomach—and saw a big blob of the black goo at my feet begin to move. It floated up and dissolved into a heavy gray fog.

And in the fog, I saw a ghostly figure—a man in a long black cloak. He moved forward quickly, a black shadow against the billowing gray mist.

“Remember me, Max?”
he shouted in a booming voice that made the trees rattle even harder.

Huh? I was too terrified to speak. I just stood there gaping up at him.

“Of course you don't remember me. I clouded your memory,” he said, floating closer. “Well, let me give you a little reminder of what I can do. Ever go to the dentist, Max? Ever had all your teeth drilled at once?”

“Who are you?” I shrieked. I tried to run, but the black goo over my shoes held me in place. “Leave me alone!”

He smiled an ugly smile. Then, with a wave of his hand, the pain began.

It felt like dentist drills, whirring and whistling, digging deep, digging into all my teeth at once.

“
Ow!
Please—stop! Oh no! It hurts! It hurts! Stop!”

M
Y HEAD EXPLODED IN
pain.

No way to escape it … the hot, sharp drilling …
in all my teeth
! The horrifying sound rose like a shrill siren. Steam poured from my open mouth.

“Ohhhhh.” I shut my eyes and grabbed the sides of my face.

“Stop—please!” The raging pain seared through my head, into my
brain
. I could feel my face swell up like a balloon. I opened my mouth to scream, but the whistle of the invisible drills drowned out all sound.

I fell to the ground, pulled free of the black goo, and began rolling in the grass, still holding the sides of my face.

Finally, the drilling stopped.

The sudden silence seemed so
loud
.

My face pounded and ached. I tried to blink away the dizziness.

“Now let me introduce myself,” the ghostly figure's voice boomed from inside his dark storm
cloud. “My name is Phears, and I am the Animal-Traveler.”

I buried my face under my arms, wishing him away, wishing the pain would stop.

“Where are they?” Phears demanded, hovering over me. “I know they are with you. Don't lie to me.”

I kept my face covered and my eyes shut. My mind whirred.
Phears
. He said his name is Phears. He's the guy Nicky and Tara are looking for.

And he must be looking for them.

But he's terrifying. He's totally evil. Should I tell him Nicky and Tara are looking for him? Should I tell him they're in my room?

“I…I…” My voice came out in a faint whisper. I opened my eyes and peeked up at him through my hands. I couldn't see his face. It was covered in swirls of fog. But I could see two pale eyes glowing angrily at me.

My ears still whistled from the roar of the drills. I slid my tongue back and forth over my teeth. Were they full of holes?

“I must see Nicky and Tara Roland,” Phears said. “Can you help me find them, Max? I only want to
talk
with them.”

“I…I…”

“Stop stammering, Max!” Phears boomed. “I'm tired of playing nice with you.”

Playing
nice
?

“You know where they are!” Phears shouted. “Tell me where they're hiding.”

Should I tell him?

No. He didn't want to help them. He wanted to hurt them. I knew it.

“No,” I said. “I … can't help you. I …”

“Let me help you remember,” Phears said. He raised a shadowy hand. The shrill siren whirred to life inside my head. The drills bore down again.

My mouth shot open in pain. Gobs of saliva poured down my chin.

Choking, I buried my head in my hands. I tried to hold my head together. But I knew it was about to explode—just like that poor squirrel!

“Okay. Okay!” I screamed, holding my head. “I know them! I know where they are! Please— make it stop!”

Everything went bright red, then black. I may have fainted. I'm not sure. When I opened my eyes, my mouth ached but the drilling had stopped.

Phears hovered over me, floating in his dark storm cloud. “Now we're getting somewhere. Where are they hiding?”

He raised his hand, ready to start the drills again.

“No. Please—” I said. “They're looking for you. They're in my bedroom right now.”

“Liar!”
Phears cried. “I've already searched
your bedroom. I didn't find any sign of them.” He raised his hand menacingly.

“Sometimes they're invisible. But they're both in my bedroom right now!” I screamed. “They want to see you. I promise. You'll find them there.”

Phears stared at me for a long moment. “They want to see me? How bizarre.” He turned away quickly. Then his body melted into a heavy gray mist.

I saw a brown and black chipmunk scampering down the hill toward me. It darted one way, then the other as it came near. It ran right into the mist. And with a loud
whoooosh,
the gray fog shot into the little creature's mouth as if the chipmunk was drinking up the fog.

I climbed slowly to my feet. I watched the chip-munk's whole body shudder. I knew Phears was inside it now. And I knew where he was heading.

To my house. To my bedroom.

The two ghosts would soon be gone. My life would return to normal.

Did I feel good about it?

Not exactly. I felt like a rat.

I clicked my teeth together. They seemed to be okay. But just
remembering
the pain of those invisible drills made my stomach tighten and my heart start to pound.

I had no choice. Phears was going to destroy me. I
had
to tell him where Nicky and Tara were
hiding. Besides, they couldn't wait to see Phears. Maybe I helped them after all. Maybe I did a
good
thing. Maybe …

I took my time getting home. I walked as slowly as I could. I didn't want Phears to still be there when I arrived.

One of our neighbors had raked his leaves down to the street. I walked slowly through the pile, kicking up leaves as I walked.

Then I stopped to wave to Edgar. The Swansons' black cat sat on his usual perch in their front window. I waved and called his name. I think he was glad to see me. It's hard to tell with cats.

Finally, I let myself into the house through the kitchen door. “Anyone home?” I called.

No reply.

Too early for Mom and Dad to be home. Colin was probably at school practicing with the basketball team.

I made my way to the stairs. “Anyone up there?” I called, cupping my hands around my mouth.

Again, no answer.

I climbed the stairs slowly. My legs felt a little shaky, and my mouth suddenly got dry. “Hey— anyone?” I shouted.

I stepped into my room—and let out a horrified cry.

What a mess!

The whole room had been trashed! Turned upside down!

My bedcovers were balled up on the floor. My mattress stood on its side. All my clothes had been pulled from the closet and strewn over the room. The dresser drawers had all been heaved out and emptied, everything dumped in the middle of the floor.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.” I shook my head over and over. “Oh no. Oh no.” I couldn't stop saying it.

And there … there on my desk … “Oh no. Oh no.”

I squinted hard at it until it came into focus. Tara's red hat. The floppy red hat she never took off.

There it stood, ripped in half on my desk.

“Oh no. Oh no,” I moaned. “Nicky? Tara?
What have I done?
”

W
HAT DID
P
HEARS DO
to them?

I picked up the torn red hat and moved it around in my hands. A sob escaped my throat.

Phears must have done something horrible to them, and it was all my fault.

I tossed Tara's hat aside, and then I dropped onto the pile of clothes on my floor. I buried my face in my hands.

They wanted to be my friends. They were all alone and totally confused, and they needed me to help them.

They thought they were safe with me. And what did I do?

I gave away their hiding place. Phears probably tortured them. Then he made them disappear forever. And now they'll never find their parents.

Did I ever feel more miserable in my life?

I don't think so.

I felt so bad, I was shaking. I hugged myself to try to stop it. I could barely breathe.

I made a silent promise to myself. If the two
ghosts somehow escaped Phears, I would help them. I would stop fighting with them and try to help them find their parents.

And then I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Startled, I jumped. And stared up at Nicky and Tara. I blinked several times. Was I seeing things?

“You missed all the excitement,” Nicky said.

“We were so scared,” Tara said. “We thought Phears could help us. We wanted to talk to him. But as soon as he saw us, he started screaming about Mom and Dad.”

“He's crazy,” Nicky said. “He kept asking us, ‘Where are they? Where are they hiding?' We told him we didn't know. But he didn't believe us.”

Tara's chin trembled. “It was so horrible. Phears made a grab for me. I ducked, and he got my hat. Then Nicky and I went invisible. Phears was so angry, he ripped the hat in two. Then he trashed the room. He just went berserk.”

My heart pounding, I jumped to my feet. “But—but you're both okay?”

“I guess,” Tara said. “It was really frightening.”

I was so happy to see them, I hugged them both.

Nicky stared at me in surprise. “Max, you're starting to
like
us?”

“I … was worried about you,” I said. “I saw Tara's hat and …”

Nicky scratched his head. “Who
is
this guy Phears? What is his
problem
?”

“Lulu said he knows about Mom and Dad,” Tara said. Her chin trembled again. “I … hope he hasn't done something bad to them.”

I squinted at her. “Lulu? Who is Lulu?”

“Our old nanny,” Tara said. “We saw her in the kitchen. She's a ghost too.”

So
that's
who I heard late at night, I realized. I knew it. I knew our house was already haunted!

Nicky started to pace back and forth. “Phears was our only clue to finding Mom and Dad. But we can't talk to him. He's evil. Maybe Lulu was trying to
warn
us about Phears.”

Tara turned to me. “Whoa. Wait a minute. How did Phears know where to find us?”

I swallowed. “Well …”

I could feel my face turning red. I suddenly felt sick. I didn't want to tell them I was the one who ratted on them. Now that I realized they were my friends, I didn't want them to hate me.

“Max—!”

A cry from the doorway saved me from having to answer. I turned to see Mom standing there, her eyes wide with horror. Her mouth kept opening and closing as she stared at the total mess, but it took her a long time to speak.

“Max—this mess! You—you—you—”

Think fast, Max. Think fast. “It's all an optical illusion, Mom,” I said.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, it's part of my magic act for the Halloween party. I'll make the mess totally disappear before supper.”

Mom stared hard at me. “You'd better make it disappear, Max. Your dad is
not
going to be in a good mood when he gets home from work. We got a call from the principal. She said you were very rude to her.”

“It's all a big mistake,” I said. I turned to Nicky and Tara, but they had disappeared.

Mom frowned at me. “I always taught you good manners, didn't I, Maxie? Did you really tell Mrs. Wright to shut up?”

“No. No way,” I said. “She didn't hear me right. I said
thumbs
up. Yeah. That's what I said.
Thumbs
up. I was being cheerful, see? Showing her some good attitude.”

Did Mom believe me? I couldn't tell. “Get this mess cleaned up, Max,” she said. “Fast. And you can stop rehearsing your magic act. You're going to be grounded for Halloween.”

“No—!”
I screamed. “You
can't
!”

But she was already on her way down the stairs.

“No! No way! What am I supposed to do with my bear costume? I promised Aaron we'd
go trick-or-treating. And what about my magic act?”

Nicky and Tara appeared beside me. “Take it easy, Max,” Nicky said. “We'll help you clean your room up.”

“No!”
I screamed.
“I can't be grounded! I can't!”

Furious, I picked up my backpack—and heaved it across the room. It hit the wall hard. I heard a loud
crack
. And to my shock, a wall panel fell off. It broke off the wall and toppled to the floor.

“Huh—?” I could see a square of darkness behind the wall. An opening.

Nicky, Tara, and I crossed the room and stared into the hole.

“Just like Lulu said,” Tara murmured. “A tunnel.”

S
TARING INTO THE DARK
hole, I felt a chill. The air on the other side of the wall felt cold and damp.

I took a few steps back, into the warmth of my room. “How can there be a tunnel up here?” I asked. “We're upstairs. And you can't see any tunnel from outside the house.”

The two ghosts stared silently into the black tunnel opening.

“This is so exciting!” Tara exclaimed. She slapped Nicky a high five. “Lulu said that Mom and Dad discovered a tunnel. This must be it.”

“Wow! Maybe it will lead us to Mom and Dad,” Nicky said.

I could tell they were excited. They kept fading away, then reappearing brightly, flickering at the tunnel opening like fireflies.

“Are you going in there?” I asked.

“We can't. Lulu said we can't go in the tunnel,” Tara answered. “She said if we went in, we'd never return.”

“But we have to find out what's in there,”
Nicky said. “We have to find out if it leads to Mom and Dad.”

“Then who's going to go?” I asked.

They both turned to me. “Max—?”