“My feet hurt,” Haylie complained after the sixth block.
Blue pointed the wand at them. “Abracadabra!”
“I feel better!”
“I guess we should head back,” Adam said.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I glanced at the screen. “Yikes, we’re fifteen minutes late.”
“It’s okay. Charlie won’t mind.” Adam hummed as we walked down the sidewalk.
That’s when I spotted Candice and Todd. What if she recognized Blue? Those eyes …
There was no time to warn him. “Cross the street!” I said frantically. “Now!”
But it was too late. “Hey look, it’s Lurch and Linda.” In three seconds, Todd and Candice were standing right in front of us.
“Hi, Todd,” Adam said, his voice muffled behind his mask. “What are you supposed to be?”
Todd tapped at the nametag on his shirt. “I’m Bob.”
“And I’m a shipwreck victim,” Candice announced. Her costume looked great. She even had added dried starfish and sand dollars to her hair.
“Barrettes and hot glue.” She shook her head. “You like it?”
“Yeah, that’s super original.”
“Do you guys want to trick-or-treat with us?” she asked. “We’re just getting started.”
“I thought trick-or-treating was for babies,” Adam reminded Todd, who shrugged.
“Well, you know, free candy.” Then he reached and took Candice’s hand. My eyes met hers and she sucked in her lips to hide a smile.
It made perfect sense. How had I not noticed the clues?
“And who are you?” Candice asked, turning her attention to Haylie and Blue. “Let me guess—a fairy princess.” Haylie nodded.
Candice focused on Blue, eyeing the ridiculous straw hat and John Deere sweatshirt. “Er, are you a goblin farmer?”
Blue didn’t answer. He stared at Candice like he was hypnotized. “Candice,” he whispered.
She frowned. “That’s right. How’d you know that?”
“Oh, haha,” I squeaked. “I must have said your name when we saw you. He has a really good memory.”
“You look so familiar,” Candice muttered, leaning closer. “What’s your name?”
Before Blue could respond, Haylie ripped the wand from his hand and smacked Candice. “I want to go home!” she screamed, whacking her again.
“Ow!” Candice let go of Todd’s hand and shielded her arms. “What’s wrong with her?”
Adam hoisted Haylie over his shoulders and I grabbed Blue. “Too much sugar,” I said, tugging him along the sidewalk. “I’m so, so sorry. Haylie, say you’re sorry.”
“I’m sorry,” she said from upside down, waving the wand. Her face was turning purple.
“That’s … okay.” Candice rubbed her arms.
The four of us were already halfway down the street. “Bye, guys!” I called. “See you on Monday!”
Adam put Haylie on the ground as soon as we were a safe distance away. “Violence is not the answer,” he told her, snatching the wand.
“But the magic worked!” she insisted. “It kept Blue safe.”
SCENE THIRTEEN:
KEEPING WATCH
Haylie and I walked through the front door to the twang of country music. Mom appeared from the master bedroom, fastening a pair of earrings. “Ta-da! How do I look?” she asked as Haylie escaped to her room with her candy.
Mom was Marilyn Monroe. She wore the famous white halter dress—you know, the one Marilyn wore when she stood on the subway grate—one of the most iconic movie moments of all time.
“Woo-hoo, Mom. You’re hot!”
She patted her hair, tilting her head. She’d applied a mole to her left cheek. “Thank you. You know, I’d always wanted an excuse to wear this dress, and now I have one.”
She and Dad were going to a party thrown by another doctor from Dad’s hospital. I might have worried about them leaving us alone on Halloween, but my plan to keep Haylie safe was foolproof.
Mom lifted her foot. “Look at my shoes!” They were silver, glittery heels that looked like they pinched.
“Nice. Dad, what are you?” I asked him as he appeared from the hallway.
“I’m one of Marilyn Monroe’s husbands.”
“What do you wear?”
“This.” Dad picked up his suit jacket lying across the living room couch and stuck his arms into it. “And an expression like I’ve just won the lottery. Since I’m with the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Which is true in real life, too.” He wrapped an arm around Mom’s waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
“Gross.” I covered my face with my hands. “I don’t need to see that.”
“Okay, fine.” Mom pulled away from Dad and scanned the room. “There it is.” She grabbed her clutch and waved it at me. “Be good!”
“Always.”
The door slammed behind them, and I headed to Haylie’s room. She was sprawled on her bed, empty sack in front of her. Candy covered the bed, and she was industriously categorizing it by type. Everything with a stick—Tootsie Roll Pops and Blow Pops and suckers—had its own pile. So did plain chocolate, chocolate with nuts, gummy candy …
“Whoa.” I sat on the edge of Haylie’s bed, careful not to disturb the piles. “Pretty organized there, Hails.”
She looked up. “I have one hundred and thirty-four pieces.”
“You made out like a bandit.”
She cocked her head. “I’m not a bandit. I’m a fairy princess.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know. It’s an expression. It means you got a lot.”
The doorbell rang and Haylie’s eyes widened. “Who’s that?”
“Just Adam. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed.
That was a cardinal movie rule in protecting someone from monsters: never let them out of your sight.
When I opened the door, I sighed. Adam was back to jeans and a sweatshirt. “Aw. I was expecting a Sasquatch.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” Adam glanced into the living room. “They’re gone, huh?”
“Yup. Want anything to eat?”
“Yeah, a celery stick. I’ve been eating Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups all night.”
“How about popcorn? I’ll put on a movie.”
“That’ll work, too. Corn is good for you.” He looked down at Haylie. “Do you want some popcorn, too?”
“Are you supposed to be here?” she asked innocently.
Adam and I exchanged a look. “Yes, he is,” I replied. “See, tonight, Adam and I have a very important job. We have to keep you safe until after midnight.”
“Safe from what?” Haylie asked as I led them both into the kitchen, where I removed a package of microwave popcorn from the pantry.
I turned, ripping open the plastic wrapping. I’d dreaded this conversation. “Here’s the deal, Hails—there are monsters other than Blue out there.”
“There are?” I could tell she was imagining a monster tea party.
“But not like Blue,” Adam said. “These monsters are bad. They take kids away.”
“Hmm.” Haylie wrinkled her nose like she didn’t understand.
“And because that’s a bad thing,” I said, crouching to look into her eyes, “Adam and I are going to watch you like a hawk until midnight. That’s when their time runs out to take you.” I pointed to the microwave. “See? The clock says 8:30. That means the monsters have three and a half hours left to try.”
Haylie clapped her hands. “Monster games! Monster games!”
I shook my head. “No, Haylie. It’s not a game. It’s for real.”
I needed her to understand she was in danger. According to the movies, when you’re protecting someone, you should always give them a proper warning. How else will they know not to get into a villain’s car?
“Here’s what you do,” I said with a sudden flash of inspiration. I didn’t need to actually scare her, as long as I taught her how to protect herself. “You see a monst
er, you scream.” I threw my head back and screamed. “Just like that.”
She screamed.
“Good! That’s perfect!” I shoved the popcorn into the microwave. “Haylie, why don’t you pick out a movie? Adam and I will bring out the popcorn.” She ran to the living room and opened the cabinet doors below the TV.
“What’s the plan?” Adam murmured.
“It’s easy. We’re going to avoid the Sleeping Beauty plot hole.”
“What’s that?”
“In Sleeping Beauty—all five million versions of it—everyone knows that Sleeping Beauty’s in danger only one day of her whole life. A witch curses her to prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her sixteenth birthday, which will make her sleep forever. So what do her parents do? They hide her away in the woods with a bunch of fairies, and don’t tell her, hey, don’t touch any spinning wheels, and then lose track of her on the one day it matters.”
“And … ?”
“It’s a huge plot hole! Where’s the danger if all they have to do is lock her in a windowless room away from pointy objects for one day? Their stupidity creates the danger. They don’t protect her on the one day it matters. They don’t even warn her.”
“Oh.”
“With Haylie, we do the opposite. One, we warn her. Check. Two, we protect her by staying with her until midnight. And three, we monster-proof any place we sleep.”
“How do we do that?”
I waved my hand. “Make sure there’s nowhere we can fall asleep that has any space between it and the floor. Remember what Blue said: Monsters can crawl out from beneath anything. It doesn’t have to be a bed.”
“Pretty impressive.”
The microwave beeped and the red digits readjusted to display the time. “See that?”
“What’s that?”
“The time. If the monsters wanted to mess with us, they could sneak in and reset the clocks so we think it’s safe to go to bed. Like how the gremlins messed with the clock in Gremlins to trick Billy into feeding them after midnight.”
“Good thing you’re smarter than Billy.”
I swiped at him. “I’ll make you watch that movie one day. It’s a classic.”
We settled onto the couch and started the movie Haylie had chosen, Frozen. After it, we put on Cars. We were halfway through it when the doorbell rang.
I put Haylie on the floor before I jogged to get it. “Stay there,” I told her. “No matter what, okay?” A monster could crawl out from underneath the sofa if she went to sleep there.
It was Upchuck. “I’ve been sent by the parental units. They figured out you were gone,” he told Adam. “Sorry.”
Oh, man. “Why don’t you both stay?” I asked Upchuck. “He’s here because I’m scared of being alone. Right, Adam?”
“Right. She’s a complete fraidy cat,” Adam agreed.
Upchuck scratched his head. “Um …”
“I’ll give you twenty dollars,” I added.
He laughed. “I don’t need your money. Besides, Freeburg’s about the safest place on the planet.”
“What about last Halloween?” I shot back.
“That was terrible, but it was totally a freak thing. Come on, Adam.”
I couldn’t really be annoyed. Upchuck didn’t know why I was so worried.
“See you guys later.” I sighed.
“I’ll keep my phone by me,” Adam said as the door closed behind them.
Once I was alone with Haylie, I assessed the situation. Maybe Adam was gone, but I could keep Haylie safe for another hour. I just needed to stay awake, and not let her out of my sight. Easy-peasy.
“Lissa?” Haylie sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I want to go to bed.”
“No, let’s finish the movie! Um … I’ll let you have more candy.”
She made a face. “My tummy hurts.”
I picked her up and shut off the TV. “I’ll get you some medicine.” Carrying her into our bathroom, I doled out one level teaspoon of pink liquid. “Swallow this.”
She obeyed, and I glanced through the door to her bed. Would it really matter if I put her into it? It was after eleven. So long as I stayed there watching her, surely she’d be fine. Kids only get kidnapped in monster movies when people aren’t watching.
I tucked her in and settled next to her, careful to stay sitting up so I wouldn’t accidentally fall asleep.
In about three seconds, Haylie’s eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly. She clutched her wand like a stuffed animal, and I smiled. Her latest toy obsession. I only hoped she wouldn’t hit someone with it again.
“Good n—”
Something grabbed my feet and yanked me off the bed. I landed hard on my butt, my head cracking against the floor a second later. Black spots danced across my vision, and I barely registered what was happening.
A monster crawled out from underneath the bed. Furry and black, it looked like a large, shaggy dog. It didn’t even glance in my direction.
“Hey!” I tried to yell, but nothing came out.
I couldn’t move. It was like I was nailed to the floor.
It took less than two seconds. The monster grabbed Haylie and disappeared back under the bed. Its feet were the last thing to go—hairy with soft animal pads.
“H-h-how?” I stuttered to an empty room.
I dove for the floor and lifted up the ruffled bedspread. Nothing but solid wood.
“Noooo.” It came out as a gurgle.
When I climbed to my feet, the room tilted and spun. I wasn’t sure if it was from hitting my head or from what had just happened—probably a little of both.
As the room stopped moving—and with a wicked headache—I imagined breaking everything in sight: smashing the mirror and tearing the pictures off the walls and bashing the lamp in. I screamed again and again, until my throat burned.
My hands were shaking so badly it took me four tries to hit the button to dial Adam’s number.
“Haylie. It’s Haylie—” I could barely suck in air. “She’s gone.”
“What? Gone? How?”
“They took her right in front of me.”
“Holy cow.” There was a scuffling sound on the line. “I’m getting Blue and coming right over.” The line went dead.
I went to my room and pulled on jeans and sneakers. Putting my hair in a ponytail, I stared at my face in the mirror. I looked pale and wild-eyed.
They took her right in front of me. How?
I believed in monsters already. Maybe that was how one could steal Haylie in my presence. It didn’t need to hide from me.
That must have been it! It was a monster movie rule I’d overlooked. I felt sick.
Stumbling to the kitchen, I put together an ice pack and swallowed a few Advil from the cabinet next to the fridge. I needed to be clearheaded for whatever was coming next. I walked back to Haylie’s room, sticking the ice pack against my head. It was so cold, it burned.
I sat down on the bed. Something hard poked me in the butt, and I shifted and pulled out a plastic figurine that had been snared in the covers. It was the blob from Monsterville. The game was peeking out from under the nightstand, the cover ajar and cards scattered all over the floor. I shoved the missing piece back inside the box.
Dropping to my knees, I pulled up the bedspread again. All I saw was hardwood floor, a brown-haired Barbie in a shiny purple dress, and dust. I slid underneath and pressed my hands against the boards.
Solid wood.
The doorbell rang, and I dropped the bedspread. “Coming!” I screamed, readjusting my ice pack and racing down the hall. I yanked open the front door and burst into tears as soon as I saw Adam and Blue.
“It’s okay,” Adam said, wrapping his arms around me. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” He kept repeating the words as I clung to him like I was drowning and he was the last life preserver.
My nose was running, and I wiped it with the edge of my sleeve. “You’re going to get in trouble for sneaking out again.”
Blue hid in t
he shadows cast by the porch light, clutching his tail. “What happened?”
I ushered them inside and closed the door, bolting the lock. “A monster came out from underneath the bed. I saw it happen. And I couldn’t even do anything.”
“That’s a nasty lump,” Adam said, moving the ice pack to examine my head. “You might have a concussion.”
I waved him off. “I’m fine. The ice helps with the swelling.” Tears welled in my eyes again, and I brushed them away. Crying wouldn’t help Haylie. “Come on.” I stumbled to her room, and they followed.
As I explained what happened, Adam hovered in the doorway, his backpack slung over one shoulder. Blue walked inside and perched on the edge of the bed. He put his hands in his lap and glanced around the room.
I hated the monsters. Hated them! Snatching Sammy Squirrel from Haylie’s bookshelf, I hurled it across the room. “They have Haylie!” I screamed. “How could I let this happen? What is wrong with me?”
Headlights washed over the wall. Mom and Dad were home.
“Oh, no.” I rubbed my hand across my face. “They’re here. They’re here. What do we do?” When they walked in and found Haylie missing, they’d call the cops. I’d end up stranded in a police station, unable to go find her.
A car door slammed outside, and I heard Mom laughing. Car keys jangled. I crossed the room and shut the door, my hand trembling.
Blue picked up Sammy Squirrel, cradling it in his long, bony hands. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and then nodded. “I can take you Down Below,” he said, almost inaudibly.
“You can? Seriously?” Mom and Dad’s footsteps came up the front steps, and a key turned in the front lock.
“Yes, but we have to be quick.” He hopped off the bed and pulled up the bedspread. Reaching underneath, his arm disappeared into the hardwood floor. “Ready?”
The front door opened and closed.
“Wait!” I barreled through the bathroom to my room, tossing the ice pack in the sink as I went. Snagging Aunt Lucy’s journal from underneath my mattress, I rearranged my pillows and drew up the covers. Maybe, if I got lucky, my parents wouldn’t realize I was missing. I raced back to Haylie’s room and did the same thing with her pillows.
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