Scare Scape

by Sam Fisher

  “The fingers?” Melissa yelled. “Where are the fingers?”

  Morton leaped to his feet and raced over to the center of the preening circle of cats. Relief flooded through his entire body when he saw that the Zombie Twins were floating just beside the now-tattered but still intact leather pouch as if guarding a trophy.

  “They’re here,” he yelled.

  Melissa burst out from the porch and ran over. “Well, don’t just stand there,” she yelled back, pointing to the moon, which was almost completely hidden behind the roof of the house.

  “We need to get the gargoyle into the attic,” Robbie said urgently.

  “No time,” Melissa snapped. “Just grab the book and bring it down here.”

  Robbie nodded and tore off into the house.

  Morton picked up the soggy pouch and fished the three fingers from inside. He clutched them tightly in his fist and followed Melissa over to the bottom of the yard where the gargoyle lay abandoned, facedown on the grass.

  Wendy helped James off the porch and brought him to join the others.

  “What do we do?” James asked, his voice half growl, half human.

  “Brown said we just put them back on,” Melissa said forcefully.

  “It can’t be that simple,” James protested.

  “Maybe it is,” Melissa said. “Maybe, just this once, we’ll get a lucky break.”

  A second later Robbie practically skidded to a halt beside them, holding the jewel-embedded book in his hands. “There’s a bookmark on the right page,” he gasped, flipping the book open.

  “Well?” Melissa said. “Read it!”

  Robbie squinted at the book and shook his head. “I … It’s too dark. Does anyone have a flashlight?”

  Morton stood behind Robbie to look at the book. There at the top of the page was an unmistakable etching of the gargoyle and several paragraphs of flowing script below, but in the darkness Morton simply couldn’t make out the words.

  “Here,” James said, holding out his spiny hands. “I can see.” Robbie looked questioningly at Morton. Morton nodded, and Robbie handed him the book.

  “It says the person who made the wish should replace the finger on the full moon and recite the verse:

  As the Moon is full bright,

  I restore my wish unto the night.

  Last one first, first one last,

  I replace the fingers, I forgive the past.

  “That’s it?” Wendy said. “Can it really be that simple?”

  “It could be,” Morton said, although he had to admit it sounded too good to be true.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Melissa said, pulling the gargoyle to an upright position.

  “I broke the finger last,” James said, looking down at the assortment of fingers in Morton’s palm. “But how do I know which one’s mine?”

  “The one that fits in the middle,” Morton said, remembering the day that seemed like a lifetime ago.

  James seemed to have no trouble finding the finger that fit the middle of the gargoyle’s hand. “Wish me luck,” he said.

  “Uh-uh!” Melissa said firmly. “No more wishes. Just real life.”

  James nodded. He leaned forward and twisted the finger until the rough edge at the base lined up perfectly with the fractured stub on the gargoyle’s hand, and he recited the verse in his now deep gurgling voice. “As the Moon is full bright, I restore my wish unto the night. Last one first, first one last, I replace the fingers, I forgive the past.”

  For one horrible, heart-stopping moment Morton thought nothing was going to happen. James looked at them sadly, but then, there was a sudden crackling sound and blue light flashed in a ring around the severed finger joint. Morton saw the crack around the base of the finger vanish completely.

  James let out a terrific howl of agony and fell backward into the damp grass. He rolled and yelled until he finally curled into a ball and began trembling and making small sobbing noises. Melissa rolled him onto his back. His skin had lost its silver-gray pallor and the spines had vanished completely and his eyes … Morton almost wept with joy. His eyes were a clear deep blue. That’s when Morton realized that even though tears were streaming down James’s face, he wasn’t sobbing at all, he was laughing.

  “Are you okay?” Melissa asked.

  James pushed himself up onto one elbow and waved his arm.

  “Never better,” he said. “Now hurry!”

  Melissa stepped forward and took her finger next. She glanced longingly up to her bedroom window. After a brief internal struggle she dutifully put the finger in place on the gargoyle’s hand and recited the verse. A second spark of blue fire spun like a healing ring around the cracked stone, and an instant later the finger was fused back into place as if it had never been broken. A light burst out from Melissa’s bedroom window like a small, silent explosion and then faded quickly to darkness.

  Melissa sighed sadly.

  Morton gripped the last of the fingers and turned to face the Zombie Twins, who were floating attentively nearby. “I’m sorry about this,” he said, feeling suddenly sad.

  Melissa dropped her jaw in disbelief. “Morton! Don’t apologize to those things!”

  “They saved our lives! King saved our lives.”

  “They have to go.”

  “I know. It’s just … well, it wasn’t all bad, was it?”

  “No, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about magic,” Melissa said, “it’s that you can’t control it. So hurry up and put that finger back.”

  Morton nodded gravely and put the finger back in place. After reciting the verse a third ring of fire flashed around the break and then faded, leaving the final wound magically healed.

  Slowly the Zombie Twins’ red eyes grew dimmer and they seemed to lose their ability to hover. Like deflating balloons they keeled sideways and settled to the grass. One of them raised its right hand and pointed at the moon and then it froze. For a moment Morton felt sure he was looking into the eyes of the legendary John King, but then the eyes went out and whatever spirit had animated its tiny body was gone. The Grunts too toppled over, lifeless foam toys once again and, from somewhere up on the house, the King-Crab Spiders fell limply through the air, landing with a soft thump in the shrubbery below.

  Morton turned to look at the impossibly large swarm of cats. Quite suddenly they all began hissing and screeching at one another, no longer happy to be so closely packed. A few savage fights broke out, and more violent yowling filled the night, but this time it didn’t last long. Very quickly the cats began to disperse, running in every direction off into the night.

  “It’s over,” James said, looking at his hands. “It’s really over.”

  Morton realized he was trembling, as if the stress of the night’s events were only now taking hold, but he was determined not to give in to it. There was still a lot to do. First he got Robbie and Wendy set to work shooing away the remaining cats because, as he pointed out, it wouldn’t be good if the entire town’s cat population was discovered on their lawn the next morning. Then he went to check on James, who was sitting in a daze, rubbing his arms and legs.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

  James smiled broadly. “I feel great, but you’ll be glad to know I don’t feel so great that I want to sing.”

  Morton laughed and gave James a big hug. He really was back this time, no doubt about it.

  “We still have to decide what we’re going to do,” Melissa said. “Should we come clean and tell Sharpe everything?”

  “Well, I for one am sick of lying,” James said, and Morton couldn’t have agreed more.

  “I’m not sure honesty is the best policy this time,” Robbie said.

  “Why not?” Wendy said, looking confused.

  “What will you tell her?”

  “The truth,” James said.

  “Do you have any idea how ridiculous that’s going to sound?” Robbie asked.

  “Yeah, but …”

  “She’ll wa
nt proof,” Robbie added.

  “So? We have all kinds of proof,” James said. “We’ve got the book, and the gargoyle, and —”

  “Robbie’s right,” Morton cut in, realizing suddenly where Robbie was going with all of this. “If we tell the truth, they’ll take the gargoyle and King’s book away from us as evidence. And after what we’ve just seen, can we really trust anyone not to use the wishes themselves?”

  “Are you suggesting we keep the gargoyle?” James said.

  Wendy shook her head. “We can’t keep it. I don’t know if I could ever trust myself with that thing always lurking in the back of my mind. It’s like putting a giant chocolate bar on your desk and telling yourself you can never eat it.”

  Melissa nodded vigorously. “Wendy’s right. We have to get rid of it.”

  Morton looked down at the fully restored gargoyle. “So are we agreed? We get rid of the gargoyle forever?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Right,” Morton said, hoisting the heavy statue into his arms. “If King’s body was lost in that well, then I guess that’s the best place to put the gargoyle.”

  He marched quickly over to the well and without pausing, without giving himself a chance to think about it for one more second, he dropped the gargoyle into the inky black depths and watched it tumble silently until it vanished from sight forever.

  Nobody spoke for several minutes. Only now that the gargoyle was gone did they each realize just how heavily it had weighed on their minds. Morton knew that the others were, like him, thinking of all the good things they could have wished for. But he knew that, in truth, nothing genuinely good could come from dark magic.

  “That only leaves the book,” Morton said at last.

  “We’ll burn it,” Robbie said.

  “We can’t do that,” Morton said, surprising himself.

  “Why not?” Melissa said.

  “You know what Dad says,” Morton replied. “Nobody should ever burn books, no matter what’s in them.”

  “I don’t get it,” Melissa said. “You get rid of the gargoyle but you want to keep the book? They’re both the same aren’t they?”

  “I agree with Morton,” James said. “The book contains knowledge. Maybe it’s knowledge that’s too dangerous for us to use right now, but it’s still knowledge.”

  “King wouldn’t have burned the book,” Morton added.

  In the end they took a vote, and only Melissa and Robbie wanted to destroy the book.

  “So what do you propose to do?” Melissa asked gruffly.

  “We hide it in King’s attic, cover the hatch, and never go in there again,” James said.

  “Then that only leaves one problem,” Robbie said. “What are you going to tell Sharpe?”

  “We’re not going to tell her anything,” James said. He yawned fiercely. “There’s no evidence left now. Even the cats will probably find their way home by morning.”

  Morton wandered across the garden and picked up the soft, foam Zombie Twins. He looked at them and sighed heavily. “You know, I only wish that —”

  Morton never finished his sentence. James and Melissa bounded over to him and clapped their hands over his mouth.

  “No more wishes!” they chorused.

  The next morning the sun shone crisp and golden through Morton’s bedroom window. He bounced out of bed and flung the curtains wide, basking in the cool bright light. He’d expected to be tired beyond words. It had been almost dawn by the time they’d finished putting the house back in order. Yet Morton found that he was bursting with energy. Today, he thought, was going to be a completely normal day. What an exciting idea.

  Morton arrived at the breakfast table to find James and Melissa were also wide awake and chattering energetically.

  Dad bustled in from the kitchen with a large jug of orange juice and a steaming pot of tea.

  “Morning, Dad,” Morton said, smiling.

  Dad returned the greeting and they settled down to what Morton thought was a completely ordinary breakfast. After a few minutes, however, Dad began scratching his head and looking curiously at all three of them.

  “Has somebody stolen my children and replaced them with aliens?” he said lightly.

  “Huh?” everyone said.

  “Well, not only are you not arguing but I also just heard James ask for the milk, and not only did he say ‘please,’ but Melissa passed it to him and then James said ‘thank you,’ and Melissa said ‘you’re welcome.’”

  “We’re always polite, Dad,” Melissa said teasingly.

  The kids giggled, and Dad scratched his head again. “You know, I might be slow, but I’m not stupid. Something is going on here, and I intend to find out just exactly what it is.”

  “Actually, Dad,” James said, “for once you’re dead wrong. Absolutely nothing is going on. That’s what’s so great about today.”

  Dad looked even more perplexed.

  Melissa got up from the table and kissed him on the head. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. You should save your brain for more useful things, like figuring out why the universe is expanding, or how old the galaxy is.”

  James too got to his feet. “Come on, Morton. We better get to school. It looks like Dad needs his beauty sleep.”

  Morton ran over and threw his arms around his father. “I love you, Dad,” he said, before heading to the door.

  Dad smiled, but looked more confused than ever.

  “Bundle up,” he said. “It might be sunny, but it’s getting wintry out there.”

  A moment later the three kids stood outside on the porch ready for their first normal day of school. The air was indeed quite cold, and Morton noticed with some lament that the last of the leaves had fallen from the trees, leaving them utterly bare.

  “It’s Halloween in a couple of weeks,” James said as they paced down the driveway.

  “That’s right,” Morton said. “I can’t believe I keep forgetting that.”

  “Well, I for one am glad nothing magical is going to happen on Halloween,” Melissa said. “Although, we could have gotten some pretty awesome costumes from my closet….”

  Melissa fell silent. They were just crossing the lawn, and she had stopped in the very spot where Brown had fallen to his doom. “It’s a pity about Brown,” she said solemnly.

  “Pity?” James said. “I thought you wanted to stab him through his ‘black heart.’”

  “Well, obviously I was bluffing.”

  “You were?” Morton and James said in unison.

  Melissa began to wriggle uncomfortably. “I … I think I was. But, I mean, even if I wasn’t, that wouldn’t make me a bad person, would it? We were in a tight spot, right? We had to reverse the wishes. We did the right thing, didn’t we?”

  “You did the right thing,” James said, putting his hand reassuringly on Melissa’s shoulder. “I won’t forget that.”

  Melissa looked back into James’s eyes and then quickly looked away. “We better get going,” she said, pacing off toward the street. “Don’t want to be late.”

  Morton and James followed.

  “I think I’m going to be a Zombie Twin,” Morton said, changing the subject back to the topic of Halloween.

  Melissa stared at him in amazement. “You are joking, aren’t you?”

  “No!” Morton said. “The Zombie Twins saved our lives! I can’t wait to reread all their stories now. They’re my new heroes.”

  “I guess some things don’t change,” Melissa said. “What about you, James?”

  James shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”

  They reached the foot of the driveway and found Wendy sitting on the wall, waiting. Morton noticed that James straightened his hair with his hands and smiled broadly at her. She gave a little wave and then turned to walk off with Melissa.

  The boys ambled away in the opposite direction, and Robbie came running up behind them soon after.

  “Hey! It’s Halloween in a couple of weeks. You wanna buy some cool de
corations? I’ve got a basement full of the stuff, including a life-size Sweeney Todd that —”

  “No, thank you!” Morton and James chimed loudly.

  “Oh, uh, right. I guess not,” Robbie said, looking suddenly embarrassed.

  Just then they all heard a high-pitched squeak and looked over to see a perfectly normal white cat chasing what looked like a two-headed rat along the gutter on the other side of the street. The rat squealed and shot down the nearest drain, and the white cat perched on its haunches, meowing hungrily and peering down after it.

  “Was that a two-headed rat?” James said.

  “It was,” Robbie replied. “I’d recognize those nasty teeth anywhere.”

  “But shouldn’t it have turned back into a toy?”

  Morton scratched his chin. “I wonder if that was one of Timmy’s rats. I mean, reversing my wish might not have affected those.”

  “Well, let’s hope the cats finish them off quickly,” James said.

  They were about to start walking again when Morton spoke up. “Wait a minute! Doesn’t that cat look familiar to you?”

  James and Robbie exchanged quizzical glances.

  “Yeah,” James said. “I’ve seen that cat before because I’ve seen every cat in Dimvale. They were all in our yard eating Mr. Brown last night, remember?”

  “No,” Morton said. “That’s not just any cat.” In fact this was the little cat he’d seen on the poster, the one with eyes of green like jelly beans. “It’s Squiffy,” Morton went on. “Willow’s cat. Do you think he’s lost?”

  “Well, cats don’t usually get lost,” James said, “but maybe you should bring him along, just to make sure he finds his way home.”

  “That’s what I hoped you’d say,” Morton said, and he ran across the road to scoop the small white ball of fur into his arms.

  A few minutes later the three boys arrived in the school yard to find it boiling over with excitement. It seemed everyone had a story to share about how their cats came home in the night.

  “Marmalade woke me up at six o’clock scratching on my window.”

  “I couldn’t believe it! I tripped over Tibbles walking out the door this morning.”