by R. L. Stine
And then I went crashing through the net. I stood roaring, ripping the net to pieces.
The shouts of the crowd broke through the yellow haze. And I was back. Yes. It was me again. My teammates were crowding around me, slapping me high fives, pounding my back.
I had tied up the game with less than five seconds to go. The Terrible Tiger Cubs were going home without a victory. And once again, Max the Monster had triumphed.
Traci Wayne ran up and slapped me on the shoulder. “Max, you're the man!”
Did she really say that? Or was my imagination running away from me? Traci Wayne wouldn't say that to me—would she?
Dad wrapped me in a bear hug, so tight my tongue popped out of my mouth. I expected him to say something about how proud he was or how surprised. But instead, his words filled me with dread:
“They need you at the Plover School, Max. You'll be a superstar at that school!”
No. Oh no.
All my fear suddenly came crashing down on me. It was a big moment of victory. But it wasn't my victory.
It was the ghoul's victory.
Rain started to pour down. Everyone ran toward the parking lot. But I dropped to my knees on the grass and let the cold raindrops soak me.
I need help, I told myself.
I need to get rid of this ghoul. Get rid of Phears. Get rid of all the talk about that horrible Plover School.
Nicky? Tara? Where are you?
You promised to help me. And you didn't show.
I really need your help now. We need to help each other.
So where are you? Why didn't you keep your promise?
25
“NICKY, WE HAVE TO hurry,” Tara said. “We promised Max we'd be at his game.”
“I keep drifting in and out,” I said, trying to shake myself awake. “It's like I take short naps or something.” I pounded my fists together. “I hate being a ghost.”
Tara stood in front of Max's dresser mirror. She leaned toward it and started to straighten the sleeves of her sweater. She sighed. “I hate it too, Nicky. I keep forgetting that I have no reflection. Every time I look into a mirror and don't see myself, I feel really sad.”
Phears' cat let out a low sad whimper. It seemed to be right on the other side of the wall. But I knew it might be deep inside the mysterious tunnel.
“Poor Max,” I said. “He's so scared of going back in that tunnel.”
Tara turned to me, tugging at the floppy hat on her head. “I don't blame him. Who knows what kind of creatures are in that tunnel? I wish we could go with him. You know. Help him. But you remember what Lulu said. She said only living people can go in—and come back out.”
I swallowed. “Once we have the cat, your plan will work, Tara. I know it will. Phears will be desperate to have his cat back. And he'll help us find Mom and Dad.”
Tara shook her head. “It's our only chance. Mom's note just isn't helpful at all. And we don't have any other clues.”
I pulled Tara away from the mirror. “Come on. Let's go find Max.”
We started to the door—but stopped when we saw the little white mouse. It stood in the doorway on its back legs and sniffed the air with a twitching pink nose.
“Look, Nicky. Isn't he cute? He's so tiny.”
“I don't think Max's parents would be too thrilled to know they have mice,” I said.
Tara bent down to see the little guy better. “He looks like a cartoon mouse,” she said. “Look at those little round button eyes.”
She reached her hand down to pick it up—and the mouse exploded.
The blast made me cover my ears. It rocked the room— and pieces of mouse blew all over me. Frantically, I brushed mouse fur and guts off my shirt with both hands.
Thick smoke filled the bedroom. Tara and I started to choke.
“Nicky—what's happening?” Tara gasped.
I didn't have a chance to answer. The smoke swirled around a tall figure. Hidden in the haze, I recognized Phears! He looked exactly as Max had described him.
He raised his arms and his cloak slid around him like the swirling smoke. Lowering my eyes, I saw pieces of mouse fur and bones all over the carpet.
“This was easier than I thought,” Phears boomed in a deep, vibrating voice. Each word made the black mist shiver.
I saw his hands reach out. Something slid from his fingers. It took me a moment to realize that his fingernails were stretching—sliding toward us, coiling around us like long snakes.
Tara let out a scream.
I opened my mouth to protest. Too late. The fingernails curled around our waists, taut as wire. Then they tightened, pulling us toward him, holding us prisoner.
“Too tight,” I gasped. “Please—I can't breathe.”
But the hard nails coiled tighter around my waist, cutting off my air. I couldn't move. I tried desperately to back away, to squirm free.
In the billowing black mist, Phears tossed back his head. And for a moment I saw his white eyes, solid white, no pupils at all. And I heard his soft laughter.
“Too easy,” he whispered. “This was too easy, kids, wasn't it? I didn't even need my friend Max after all.”
“Phears—” I choked out, struggling with both hands to loosen the sharp coils that stretched from his fingers. I turned and glimpsed Tara struggling too.
“Why do you want us?” I gasped. “What are you going to do to us?”
26
THE LONG, SNAKELIKE FINGERNAILS from Phears' left hand were wrapped tightly around Tara. The nails from his right hand circled me tightly, cutting through my clothes into my skin.
I tried backing up hard. Could I break the nails?
I twisted around and shot forward, leaning with all my weight. Then I dropped to my knees, trying to crack them. But no. The slender fingernails held as if made of steel.
“Stand still, Nicky,” Phears boomed. “I'm in such a good mood because I've finally caught you. You don't want to spoil it for me, do you?”
The nails cut sharply into my waist. I turned to my sister. “Tara—we're ghosts. Why can't we disappear? Go invisible?”
“I … I've been trying,” Tara whispered.
Phears snickered. “You won't escape that way. Try all you want. I'm holding you here.”
“Well, what do you want?” I asked again. “Why have you been chasing us?”
“It's simple,” Phears replied. And again I saw his glowing white eyes through the mist that covered his face. “I want you to take me to your parents.”
“But we don't know where they are!” Tara cried.
“Liar!” Phears screamed. His snakelike fingernails lifted from Tara—then smacked her hard, like slender whips. “Don't ever lie to me!” Phears boomed.
“We … we're not lying,” I stammered. “We thought you knew where they are.”
“Liars! Liars!” Phears shouted. The five sharp fingernails slapped me hard. I staggered back, but the nails caught me, curled around me, and held me up.
The fog darkened around Phears. I could barely see him now. “It's so easy,” he said softly. “Take me to your parents, and I'll let you go. I'll never bother you again.”
Was he telling the truth?
It didn't matter. Tara and I didn't have a clue where our parents were.
“Take me to them,” Phears repeated. “Take me there—now.” And again the wiry nails pulled back like whips and slapped Tara and me hard.
“Please—stop!” Tara cried.
We're ghosts, I thought. Why does it hurt so much?
“Where are they hiding?” Phears growled. “I'm not going to wait much longer. Just tell me where your parents are hiding. Are they here? Here in this room?”
The nails tightened around my waist. “I … I can't breathe,” I gasped.
I heard footsteps behind me. A cough. I turned to see Max step into the room.
“Hey, what's up?” he asked.
27
A FEW MINUTES EARLIER, I had no idea what was waiting for me in my room
. I was hurrying home through the rain after the soccer match. I was drenched. My hair was soaked and raindrops poured down my face. But I didn't care. I needed to find Nicky and Tara and find out why they didn't keep their promise to show up.
I was angry and upset, and I could feel the Berserker Ghoul moving around inside me. I ran up the stairs in my wet soccer shoes, trailing mud on the carpet. My bedroom was dark, as if a black fog had settled inside. The fog should have been a warning, but I wasn't paying attention. I saw Nicky and Tara. I thought they were just standing there side by side.
I called, “Hey, what's up?”
And then I saw that they were tied up, with rope or something. And then I raised my eyes and squinted through the dark cloud—and saw Phears.
I finally caught on. This was why my two ghost friends did not show at the soccer match. Phears had captured them.
“Welcome to the party, Max,” Phears thundered. “You came just in time. We were about to leave to find their parents. Now you can join us.”
“Uh, well … I'm kinda busy,” I said, stalling for time.
Phears stared at me with his solid white eyes. My skin prickled. My hair stood straight up on end. “No jokes, Max. We've come to the end of the jokes. It's time to get serious. How have you enjoyed my Berserker friend? Have you and he become close?”
I didn't answer. I turned to Nicky and Tara. They were both struggling against the long cords wrapped around them. They seemed to be in a lot of pain. I followed the cords to Phears' hands, and I gasped when I saw that they were his fingernails.
Phears turned his stare on me again. And again my skin tingled and my hair stood straight up.
“Nicky and Tara are taking me to their parents,” Phears said. “If they don't cooperate, they will disappear forever. And you, my friend Max … you …”
I felt a stab of fear run down my body. “Yes?” I asked, trembling.
“You will also disappear forever. You know too much. And you are of no use to me.”
“Leave Max out of this!” Tara screamed.
“Too late,” Phears said. “Too late for Max. Say goodbye to him now, kids. Max is history.”
His eyes glowed brighter, like twin headlights through the fog. He turned them on me—and my skin started to burn. Wave after wave of heat rolled over me.
I couldn't turn away from the glowing eyes. Burning … burning me … as if my whole body was in flames.
“Goodbye, Max!” Phears shouted.
The last words I'd ever hear.
28
“NO—WAIT!” I SCREAMED.
My body thrashed and twisted and doubled over, collapsing in the heat of Phears' stare. My hair felt on fire. My arms and legs burned. My tongue burned.
“Wait! Phears—I can be useful!” I cried. “I have something of yours that you want!”
The fiery heat vanished as Phears turned his eyes away from me. I climbed back to my feet, my legs trembling.
“What do you have of mine, Max?” Phears demanded.
He held Nicky and Tara tightly in place. They both stared at me openmouthed, breathing hard.
“I … I have your cat!” I cried.
It was Phears' turn to let out a gasp of surprise. “You? You have Cha Cha?”
I nodded.
Would Tara's plan work? Would Phears make a deal with us for his cat?
If he didn't, we were doomed.
“Where is Cha Cha?” Phears demanded. His voice had changed. It was softer now. He couldn't hide how eager he was to see his cat. “Where is he? Are you lying, Max? It won't save your life.”
“I have the cat,” I lied. Was it still in the tunnel in the wall? I didn't hear it now. “But you'll have to make a trade.”
“Trade?” he boomed. “Give me my cat, Max. Give Cha Cha to me now, or else—”
I took a deep breath. My whole body was shaking.
I wasn't making a trade with a kid on the playground. I was trying to make a deal with an evil ghost!
The words burst out of me: “I'll give you the cat if you let Nicky and Tara go. And if you remove the Berserker Ghoul from my body.”
Phears glared at me. “Do you dare try to make a bargain with me?”
I stared back. “Let Nicky and Tara go,” I repeated. “And get this ghoul out of me.”
“And you'll give me my precious cat?” Phears said. “You'll give me back my Cha Cha?”
“That's the deal,” I said, my heart thudding in my chest.
Would he go for it? Did he love his cat enough to make a deal?
He had to. He had to!
“Sorry. No deal,” Phears said. “Say goodbye to your friends, Max.”
He turned his white-eyed stare on me, and I felt a wave of heat sweep over my body. “Please— don't burn me! Don't burn me!” I cried.
29
A CAT MEOWED.
I had dropped to my knees with my head covered, trying to protect myself from the fiery heat. Suddenly, the burning stopped.
The cat meowed again.
“Cha Cha!” Phears cried. “It is you!”
I climbed slowly to my feet, my skin still burning.
“Bring him to me, Max!” Phears ordered. “Cha Cha! I'm coming! Can you hear me? Bring him to me right now, Max.”
“And you'll let Nicky and Tara go? And send the Berserker Ghoul away?” I asked.
“Of course,” Phears replied. “I promise. Cha Cha! Where are you?”
I turned to Nicky and Tara. They were still held prisoner, wrapped in the disgusting fingernails. Tara nodded and smiled at me. Nicky flashed me a thumbs-up.
That cat is going to save us after all, I thought. I moved to the wall and gripped the loose panel. I heard the cat meow on the other side. I tugged the panel.
It didn't budge.
“Cha Cha? Where are you?” Phears' voice thundered behind me. “What is taking so long?”
“The cat is right here,” I said. I tightened my grip on the wall panel—and pulled.
Will the tunnel be here this time? It has to be! Please, please let it be there!
I gave another tug—and the panel slid off the wall. Yes! I could see the dark tunnel behind it. I felt a whoosh of cold air. It smelled so sour, I gagged.
With the wood panel in my hands, I staggered back to get away from the putrid smell. And as I backed up, a creature let out a wild shriek—and came flying out of the tunnel, sailing over my head.
I spun around—and saw the black cat. A ghost cat—I could see right through it. It leaped onto Phears' arm. “Cha Cha! Cha Cha!” Phears cried happily. “You're back!”
The black cat snuggled its head against Phears' cheek and purred softly. “Cha Cha, I've missed you so much,” Phears declared.
“Now let us go,” Tara cried, tugging at the coiled fingernails around her waist.
“Yes. Hurry, Phears,” I said. “You've got your cat. Now keep your promise. Get rid of the Berserker Ghoul, too.”
The cat was tucked under his chin. Phears turned to me. “Here's the lesson of the day, Max,” he said. “You should never trust an evil old ghost. I've got my cat. And I've got my two prisoners. I guess I have everything I need—and you have nothing. Thanks for the cat, Max. Now say goodbye to your friends. So sorry to see you go.”
“No!” I screamed. “You can't do that! That's not fair!”
Furious, I raised the wood panel above my head—and heaved it at Phears.
It sailed right through him. But the cat let out a startled shriek—and leaped from Phears' neck onto me! It dug its claws into my shoulder and let out another shrill shriek in my ear, holding on tight.
Phears' fingernails curled away from Nicky and Tara. The nails quickly slid back into his fingers. He came toward me, reaching out with both hands. “Give me that cat!”
I felt a tremor of fear inside me. Felt the Berserker Ghoul move—fast. The ghoul was afraid of the cat. I could feel its fear!
My right ear suddenly throbbed with pain. I grabbed it and felt a powerful
whoosh of hot wind. Yellow smoke poured from my ear.
No. Not smoke. The ghoul. Frightened by the cat, the Berserker Ghoul poured out of my body in a funnel cloud of yellow smoke.
Phears grabbed the cat off my shoulder. “Give it back! Come back, Cha Cha!”
As he held the cat to his chest, I saw the yellow smoke rise above him—then dive. Yes! The ghoul poured quickly into Phears' ear! The yellow smoke swirled down into Phears' ear until it disappeared completely.
Holding on to the black cat, Phears turned to Nicky and Tara. “Jabba gubbba!” he bellowed. Then he did a wild cartwheel into the wall.
“Hubbba gubbbba!” Phears screamed. He began to spin crazily. Then he turned another cartwheel. “Gubbba gubbbbba?”
His eyes were no longer white. They had a yellow glow, bright as the sun. He bounced off the walls, jabbering nonsense words. Then he jumped out the window and went running down the street, turning somersaults, the cat clinging to his back.
“Yes—!” A major victory. Without the ghoul inside, I felt so light, so free, so … me!
“We're free!” Nicky cried. “He's gone!”
Tara shook herself hard as if she didn't believe it. “Thank you, Brainimon!” she shouted.
Nicky, Tara, and I slapped high fives all around. We shouted for joy. We couldn't stop laughing. Phears looked like such a jerk, possessed by that insane ghoul!
Was he gone for good?
I didn't want to think about that. I just wanted to celebrate being normal again.
But the celebration was cut short when Dad suddenly came striding into the room. Nicky and Tara vanished.
I took a deep breath and tried to act calm and nonchalant. “Hey, Dad, what's up?”
“Good news,” he said, grinning. “You have an interview at the Plover School first thing tomorrow morning!”
30
Dear Diary,
The Plover School looks more like a prison than a school. It has dark green walls and low ceilings—and some of the windows even have bars on them. I didn't hear any laughing or shouting or loud voices. I think it's because the kids have to wear gray uniforms all day, and that puts them in a dreary mood. (And the uniforms probably itch really bad too.)