Little Camp of Horrors

  “Your evil had to be stopped,” Mr. Roland said, holding on to Nicky and Tara.

  A cold grin crossed Phears' face. “But you didn't stop me. I escaped. And I helped to free all the other ghostly spirits you unjustly captured.”

  “Leave us alone!” Tara shouted. “Just go away and leave us alone!”

  Phears ignored her. “I locked the two of you in a life pod,” he continued. “I tried to hide the pod. I tossed it in your house. I always meant to come back and finish you off. Finish you. Yes, finish you.”

  He sighed. “But it took me all this time to get you all together.”

  “Run!” Tara screamed. She gave her mom and dad a shove. “Come on—run!”

  Phears tossed back his head in a cruel laugh. “You can't escape!” he bellowed. “I have you outnumbered!”

  Phears waved a hand over his head. I heard a rumbling sound. At first, I thought it was thunder far in the distance.

  A loud splash made me turn to the lake. A high wave crashed against the shore. The lake erupted in tall waves, smashing against each other.

  Another roar like thunder, much louder and closer.

  And then I turned to the tossing, crashing waters. And saw a scene of total horror!

  Curling on itself, snapping its jaws, a gray-green snake floated up from the waves. And then another, right beneath it.

  The snakes uncurled and raised their heads with a loud hiss.

  As I watched frozen in disbelief, snake after snake flew up from the lake. Their jaws snapped open and shut. Their hisses drowned out the crashing of the waves.

  A solid wall of twisting, hissing snakes, rising from beneath the water.

  The snakes rose higher and higher …. The hissing, wriggling wall reached to the sky.

  As the wall of snakes loomed over us, they began to crack apart. The hissing grew deafening, like an explosion that didn't end. I had to cover my ears.

  And then the hissing was replaced by the howl of ghosts. Black smoke poured out of the open snakes, poured out until it formed a black storm cloud over our heads.

  Behind the black cloud, the snake bodies fell back into the water. As they hit the surface, they didn't make a sound. Hundreds of snake bodies slid into the lake, silently, without a splash.

  And then the waves stopped crashing. The lake turned calm and flat again. No sign of the phantom snakes anywhere. The water lapped the shore gently, as if nothing had happened.

  And out of the thick black cloud of smoke came an army of Phears' ghosts.

  I trembled all over and my teeth started to chatter as I stared up at them. Shadowy men and women dressed in gray. Dull eyes and dead faces, blank and lifeless.

  They moved together like zombies—an army of the dead. They floated down from the black cloud with their hands at their sides, their bodies stiff, their eyes straight ahead.

  Phears waved his hands again. The ghosts all landed at the same time. They swept past me. Floated right through me.

  I could hear them jabbering to themselves. They murmured excitedly without moving their gray lips. They were excited about capturing Nicky and Tara and their parents.

  Another command from Phears, and the jabbering ghosts surrounded the Rolands. They formed a tight circle around them.

  I couldn't see them now. I stood helplessly watching the ghostly circle.

  And then I heard Tara's voice, muffled by the evil bodies. “Max—help! Help us!”

  32

  THE WALL OF GRAY GHOSTS parted for a brief moment. I saw four ghosts holding Mr. and Mrs. Roland down. Two other ghosts had Nicky's and Tara's arms pinned behind their backs.

  “Max—the pendant!” Mr. Roland shouted. “Put it back together. It's our only chance.”

  I turned and saw the two pieces of the pendant glimmering beside the rock on the shore. My legs were trembling. It seemed to take forever to get them to move.

  Finally, I took off running toward the pendant.

  I felt a cold wind on the back of my neck. Glancing behind me, I saw Phears, floating fast, coming after me.

  With a loud cry, I dove for the pendant pieces. Grabbed them in one hand. “I've got it!” I groaned.

  And then I cried out in pain as Phears' heavy, pointed boot kicked the pieces out of my hand.

  The pieces of the pendant flew to the mud.

  Howling, I shook my hand hard, trying to force away the pain.

  Phears lowered himself to the ground and grabbed for the halves of the pendant.

  I leaped onto his back.

  Groaning, kicking and slapping at each other, we wrestled in the mud. His body was sticky and hot. His back felt hard, like the shell of a turtle.

  His clothes were damp, and a slimy goo came off onto my body as I struggled with him. We rolled over and over in the mud.

  Finally, he rolled on top of me. Sat heavily on my chest. And stared down at me in a rage. Those white eyes burned right through me.

  And he bellowed, “You dare to challenge me? I'm going to turn you inside out now—like your dog!”

  I felt a hard pull on my skin. The skin of my face started to pull back. My lips stretched back over my teeth.

  He was doing it. Holding me down, he was pulling my skin back on itself, turning me inside out.

  “No!” I spun around. Facedown, I tried to get a good grip on the ground. Tried to push him off me.

  My hand felt something hard in the mud. Something metallic.

  Yes! I wrapped my fingers around both pieces of the life pod.

  Twisting my body, I freed my other hand.

  My head throbbed. The skin of my face pulled tighter.

  With a frantic swing, I brought my hands together. And shoved the two halves of the pendant shut. Back in one piece.

  It clicked into place.

  I heard the click—and then, with a high scream that shook the trees, Phears flew up into the sky— and vanished.

  My skin slid back over my teeth. Still on my back, I stared up at the clouds. No Phears. He really was gone.

  Panting, I climbed to my knees. I held the pendant high. “I've got the pendant back together!” I choked out. “Hey, I've got it!”

  At the sound of my voice, the ghosts all spun away from the Rolands. Jabbering, their dead eyes locked on me, they came rushing forward. Stampeding toward me. A wall of gray dead-faced ghosts, storming at me, muttering excitedly.

  Coming to finish me off.

  I fought off my panic and jumped to my feet. I turned and started to run.

  But my feet slipped in the wet mud. I went down face-first.

  I fell hard. Pain shot through my body. But I held on to the pendant.

  No time to climb back up. No time …

  The jabbering ghosts swarmed over me.

  33

  I STRUGGLED TO MY KNEES as the first ghost attacked.

  A whoosh of cold, sour air blew over me. The ghost's long gray hair flew up behind his head. His mouth was open in a silent scream. His bony, pale arms reached out, fingers cracking.

  And then he was gone.

  It took me a few seconds to realize that he had vanished into the life pod.

  The pod trembled in my hand as I held it in front of me.

  With a strong blast of air, another ghost disappeared inside it. And then another.

  The pod bounced and jerked in my hand. I tightened my fist and held on.

  The trees rang with the screams and wails of the ghostly army. They raised their hands as shields and struggled to hang back.

  But the pod acted like a powerful vacuum cleaner. Its pull proved too strong for them. One by one, it sucked them inside.

  The ghosts were gone in minutes. My hand trembled and vibrated. The air still smelled sour with the sick smell of death.

  Mr. Roland took the pendant from me and pressed it tight. “Thank you, Max,” he said, waving it in front of him. A tense smile spread over his face. “Now they're back where they belong.”

  Mrs. Roland had her arms around Nicky and Tara
.

  “And where do we belong, Dad?” Tara asked in a trembling voice.

  Mr. Roland sighed. “I wish I knew.”

  “We have to start all over again,” Mrs. Roland said. “If we can rebuild our lab, maybe we can find a way to be solid again.”

  “You mean maybe we can be alive?” Tara asked.

  “Maybe,” Mrs. Roland murmured.

  “At least we captured the ghosts,” Mr. Roland said.

  “All except Phears,” I said.

  That made everyone stop. We all glanced around the camp. A chill tightened the back of my neck.

  Phears could still be lurking.

  “Let's move on before Phears returns,” Mr. Roland said. He raised the life pod. “I want to hide these ghosts away somewhere safe, where no one will ever find them again.”

  We turned away from the lake and began walking toward the lodge. The sky brightened. A hazy sun poked through the parting clouds.

  Mrs. Roland walked with her arms around Nicky and Tara. Their father had a grim, determined look on his face. He held the life pod tightly in his hand.

  I saw something gleaming on top of an evergreen shrub. A large caterpillar. The sunlight caught it and made it shine.

  As I started to move past it, I saw the caterpillar grow.

  In seconds, it had puffed itself up to the size of a hot dog. A prickly green hot dog. I stopped with a sharp gasp. I knew what was happening.

  The caterpillar curled on top of the shrub. Soon it was as long and fat as a baseball bat.

  “Hey—” I called to the Rolands up ahead of me. “Hey, it's—it's—”

  My warning came too late.

  I fell back, startled, as the caterpillar burst apart with a loud pop. Its guts flew from its shattered body. The hot and sticky yellow glop splashed me in the face and covered my hair.

  “Ohhh.” I let out a moan and frantically tried to wipe the disgusting stuff away.

  When I raised my eyes, Phears floated out from the exploded caterpillar. I watched helplessly as his swirling black fog encircled Mr. Roland.

  Mr. Roland had no time to put up a struggle. Phears grabbed the life pod from his hand.

  Then Phears floated over us, and his laughter boomed through the trees.

  “Like taking candy from a baby,” he said.

  34

  BEAMS OF SUNLIGHT TRICKLED through Phears' black fog, though his face remained hidden in darkness. But we didn't need to see his face to know that he was smiling.

  He floated over the Rolands, waving the life pod, teasing them with it. “Phears wins,” he said. “Phears wins. You lose.”

  “Take it and leave!” Mr. Roland shouted up to him. “We won't go after you, Phears. Take your ghost friends with you and go away.”

  “I have a better plan,” Phears replied. “I let my friends out now. I put the four of you inside. Then I leave.”

  He snickered. “A much better plan. And this time I'll find a cozier hiding place for the Roland family. Someplace where you can enjoy being together forever.”

  He turned his gaze on me. “Don't think I've forgotten you, Max. Don't worry. I'll think of a good ending for you, too.”

  I hurried up to the Rolands. “Is there anything I can do?” I whispered. “Is there any way Phears can be destroyed?”

  Silence for a long moment.

  Then Mrs. Roland whispered, “Only one way he can be destroyed. He teased us with it when we first captured him. He can only be destroyed by someone shouting out his real name.”

  “But no one knows it,” Mr. Roland added. “And no one has ever been able to guess it.”

  I gazed up into Phears' swirling mist. His real name? Phears' real name?

  What could it be?

  Above us, Phears leaned out from his fog cloud. I could see his dark cloak and, above it, his pale face with its eerie white eyes. He held the pod in front of him and prepared to open it and release his ghostly friends.

  What could his name be? What?

  And suddenly, I knew. Suddenly, I figured it out.

  “I have it!” I shouted. “I think I know his real name!”

  35

  I WAS TREMBLING all over. I knew I had only one chance to save the Roland family—and to save myself!

  I cupped my hands around my mouth, cleared my throat, and forced a shout.

  “Seraph!” I screamed. “Your name is Seraph!” “Seraph” means “angel.”

  And “seraph” is an anagram of “Phears.” Angel is the last thing Phears would want to be called.

  But was it his real name?

  “Seraph!” I screamed one more time.

  At the sound of the name, Phears opened his mouth in a high wail of horror. It sounded like a dozen ambulance sirens screaming above us.

  And then he blew apart. His head flew off first—and exploded in a burst of red and yellow goo. And then his arms and legs shot off his body and disintegrated into powder.

  His body floated by itself for a moment. Then it turned brown and closed in on itself, like a marshmallow burning in a campfire.

  And then the sky was clear, except for a few lingering wisps of black fog, floating in the bright sunlight.

  “Max, you're a genius!” Tara cried. She and Nicky hurried over to hug me. Then we began jumping up and down for joy.

  “Phears is destroyed,” Mr. Roland said. “Gone forever.”

  See? My word games came in handy! What a shame I couldn't tell anyone about this. Who would believe it?

  “Oh, look. We're fading away,” Mrs. Roland said. “All this excitement has drained our energy.”

  She was right. All four of them were flickering like fireflies.

  “I guess we have to say goodbye,” Mr. Roland said. “Goodbye and thank you, Max.”

  “We'll never forget you,” Tara said.

  “Have a nice life,” Nicky said.

  “I'll … miss you,” I choked out.

  More hugs. More tears.

  And then they were gone.

  I stood blinking in the bright sunlight. A wave of sadness swept over me. What will my life be like without Nicky and Tara? I wondered.

  For the first time, I realized they were my best friends.

  And I had just lost my best friends forever.

  I turned and saw Uncle Joey standing in front of me, hands on his hips. “Max, what's up? Why aren't you in the lodge with everyone else?” he asked. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Not much,” I replied. “Just making up anagrams.”

  Was I happy to get home?

  I practically kissed the floor. I was so happy that camp was over, I was even glad to see Buster. He greeted me with a growl and snapped at my fingers. Good old Buster!

  Mom and Dad were happy to have Colin and me back. As I headed up to my room to start unpacking my stuff, Mom handed me a slice of my favorite cake.

  “See? Camp wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, was it, Maxie?” she asked.

  “No. It was much worse,” I replied.

  I had to tell the truth, right?

  I took the plate of cake and hurried upstairs. “

  What took you so long?” a voice demanded as I stepped into my room.

  “Where've you been?” another voice asked.

  Nicky and Tara appeared. “We've been waiting for days,” Tara said.

  I let out a cry and nearly dropped the cake. “But—but—” I sputtered. “What are you doing here?”

  “Mom and Dad thought we'd be safer here,” Nicky said. “They're going to rebuild their ghost-catching lab. Someplace secret. And they're going to try to learn how we can all be solid again—not ghosts.”

  “But it might be really dangerous,” Tara said. “So they told us to wait for them here.”

  “Guess we'll be haunting you for a while,” Nicky said.

  “Huh? For how long?” I asked.

  They both shrugged. “Who knows?”

  Tara grabbed the plate of cake from my hands. “My favorite!” she
cried. “And I'm so totally hungry!”

  “Whoa. So am I!” Nicky said. He grabbed the cake from Tara's hand.

  The cake was flying back and forth when Colin burst into my room. “Max—?” He started to ask me something, but he stopped when he saw the cake.

  “Max? That cake—it's flying back and forth by itself!”

  “Of course,” I said. “It's angel food cake.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Robert Lawrence Stine's scary stories have made him one of the bestselling children's authors in history. “Kids like to be scared!” he says, and he has proved it by selling more than 300 million books. R.L. teamed up with Parachute Press to create Fear Street, the first and number one bestselling young adult horror series. He then went on to launch Goosebumps, the creepy bestselling series that gave kids chills all over the world and made him the number one children's author of all time (The Guinness Book of Records).

  R.L. Stine lives in Manhattan with his wife, Jane, their son, Matthew, and their dog, Nadine. He says he has never seen a ghost—but he's still looking!

  Check out the next book in R.L. Stine's Mostly Ghostly series:

  GHOULS GONE WILD

  MAX'S PARENTS ARE PLANNING to sell their house and move the family far, far away. Max has to stop them! He can't leave Nicky and Tara, the two ghosts who live with him. They need him. He's the only one who can help them become real kids again!

  But Max has another problem right now—a figure dressed in black, with a face hidden in shadow. It's a boy—or is it? That's what Max needs to know, because this shadowy figure is following him. Watching him. Waiting for him …

  GHOULS GONE WILD

  Coming in April 2005!

  ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, I walked over to see my best friend, Aaron, to tell him the bad news. I knew he'd be upset about my family moving away.

  It was going to be really tough for both of us. For one thing, Aaron had Buffy, Season One, and I had Buffy, Season Two. How would we ever trade episodes?

  Aaron greeted me at the door and led me to his room. He closed the door behind us. “Shhhh.” He put a finger to his lips. “I brought home a jar of honey.”