He called out once more before he turned and started to run.
“Don’t go!” he warned. “Don’t go to that party! If you do, you won’t return!”
8
“Hey—wait!” Tristan started to run after the vampire. But his hat sailed off his head again.
He bent to pick it up. When he stood up, the figure had vanished.
“Who was that? Was it Michael Moon?” Rosa asked. “It had to be him—right?”
“Why is he always following us?” Bella said, still squinting at the hedge.
“Because he’s crazy?” Ray answered. “Because he’s a total wack job?”
“You’ve got that right,” Tristan said. “But for some reason, he keeps trying to warn us about something.”
“Or scare us,” Bella added. “Maybe it’s just some kind of weird Halloween prank.”
They continued walking. Ray picked up a stone and sent it bouncing down the street. Another group of trick-or-treaters came laughing and shouting out of the house on the corner.
“Why was Michael out here?” Bella asked. “Why isn’t he at his dad’s party?”
“Maybe he wasn’t invited!” Rosa said.
They all laughed.
Bella stopped walking. “No. I know what that was about,” she said. “It was part of the party. Mr. Moon sent Michael out here to scare us. He told Michael to warn us—to make the party seem really scary. It’s all a joke.”
“Yeah. You’re right,” Ray replied. “Mr. Moon is trying to make his party seem cool.”
“Well, so far he’s doing a lousy job.” Tristan sighed. “Let’s go get this over with.”
A few minutes later, they stood in Mr. Moon’s driveway, staring up at his house. It was a big, rambling house. Old and kind of creepy-looking.
Dark shingles. A high, slanting roof. Black shutters on the windows. A jack-o’-lantern, candlelight flickering behind its jagged grin, stared out the front window at them.
Tristan led the way as they climbed the rickety front porch. Fake cobwebs had been stretched along the wall. A large gray skull was perched on a stand near the door.
“Here goes,” Tristan whispered. He raised his hand to ring the doorbell.
But the door creaked open before he had a chance to push it.
Orange light poured onto the porch. A vampire leaned his white face out. A different vampire. Taller. Older.
Mr. Moon.
“Welcome. Welcome to the House of Pain!” he declared in a low, scary voice.
He stepped back to allow them to enter. Tristan saw more thick cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. He saw black and orange streamers stretching over the living room.
“Angela, our victims have arrived!” Mr. Moon called in his movie vampire voice. He pushed back his shiny black cape, motioning for them to step farther into the hall.
“This is my wife, Angela,” he said.
A large, pink-faced woman swept into the room. She wore a silky white dress that swirled out as she walked. Sparkly wings were attached to her shoulders. And a gold halo bounced on top of her piles of white-blond hair.
“Welcome! Happy Halloween!” she called. She also had a deep voice. One wing scraped against the wall as she made her way across the living room.
“Angela is an angel tonight,” Mr. Moon said.
Tristan glanced into the living room. A fire danced in a wide fireplace. The lights had been turned low.
Grinning skulls had been placed around the room, along with jack-o’-lanterns with long knives stuck through their middles, and a tall cutout of a witch with her head tossed back in a cruel laugh.
Great decorations, Tristan thought. Very spooky.
He heard the front door slam hard behind him.
From somewhere past the living room, a high witch’s cackle repeated over and over. The floorboards creaked as Tristan followed the others into the living room.
Tristan glanced around the room. No one else here.
No one.
He stepped up close to Rosa. He saw the frightened expression on her face.
Tristan swallowed hard. “Where is everyone?” he whispered. “Where are all the other kids?”
9
The fire popped and crackled. Mr. Moon stepped into the orange light from the fireplace. He grinned at Tristan and his friends. His eyes moved slowly from one to the other.
The four of them stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.
“It’s such a cold, windy night,” Angela said, straightening a candle on the coffee table. “We thought it would be nice to have a fire.”
“The house looks…awesome,” Tristan said. He had his hands jammed into the pockets of his jeans. The mask over his eyes was really itching now.
“Yes, it’s terrific,” Rosa jumped in. “You must have worked so hard.”
Angela smiled at her husband. “Yes, we want this to be our best Halloween party ever.”
“Angela, let me introduce you to everyone,” Mr. Moon said. “The wrestler is Ray. The mermaid is Rosa. This one is, um, Bella. And—”
He stopped as Michael entered the room.
Michael tugged his black cape behind him. His face was covered in white makeup. Thick black eyebrows had been painted over his tiny round eyes. He looked like a shorter, thinner version of his father.
So it was Michael outside a few minutes ago, Tristan realized.
“There you are!” Mr. Moon said. “Where were you? We were looking for you, Michael.”
“Uh…nowhere really,” Michael replied, gazing down at his shiny black shoes. “Just getting my costume ready.”
“You know everybody—right?” Mr. Moon asked his son.
Michael nodded. “Do we have to have this party, Dad?” he asked, still not raising his eyes. “Can’t we just stop it now?”
Rosa leaned close to Tristan. “He is really weird,” she whispered.
Tristan shrugged.
“We’re not stopping now. We’ve prepared so many surprises,” Mr. Moon boomed. “You have to get into the party spirit, Michael.”
Michael grumbled something Tristan couldn’t hear.
Tristan’s throat suddenly felt dry. He glanced around the living room but didn’t see a refreshment table.
“Let’s break the ice with a little game,” Mr. Moon said, rubbing his hands together. His tiny eyes flashed inside his white, painted vampire face.
“Uh, shouldn’t we wait for everyone else to show up?” Rosa asked.
Mr. Moon smiled. “Everyone is already here! You’re the only people I invited!”
Tristan gasped.
“What kind of a freaky party is this?” Bella asked her friends quietly. Her voice shook slightly.
Angela disappeared into the next room, her halo bouncing on her head. A few seconds later, she returned carrying a large silver bowl.
Mr. Moon raised a black blindfold. “This should get us in a party mood. It is a guessing game,” he announced. “I’m going to blindfold you one by one. Then I want you to feel what is in this bowl and tell me what you think it is.”
“Yuck. It’s going to be something really gross, isn’t it?” Rosa said.
Mr. Moon chuckled. “That depends,” he said. “One of you might not think it’s so bad.”
What does that mean? Tristan wondered.
Mr. Moon blindfolded Tristan first. Then he led him across the room to Angela.
Holding him by the wrist, the teacher lowered Tristan’s hand into the bowl.
“Oh.” Tristan’s fingers wrapped around something cold and squishy. Wet. Kind of rubbery.
“Is it raw liver?” he asked.
“Keep feeling it. Move your hand around,” Mr. Moon instructed.
Tristan felt around in the bowl. “It’s kind of like cold, soft hot dogs,” he said. “Yuck. Whatever it is, it’s really slimy.”
Mr. Moon led Tristan back across the room to the others. Then he blindfolded Bella.
She let out a gasp as her hand explored the bowl. “Yuck!
Oh, gross. It’s wet and cold. It is liver—isn’t it!”
Angela laughed as she held the bowl. “Not quite. But you’re warm,” she said.
Rosa and Ray took their turns. When she felt the slimy, soft objects, Rosa’s face turned nearly as green as her mermaid suit.
Ray didn’t say a word. He dipped his hand around in the bowl. Then just shrugged.
Michael refused to take a turn. He sat glumly on the edge of the couch with his arms crossed tightly in front of him. “I already know what it is,” he said.
“Everyone give up?” Mr. Moon asked. He took the bowl from his wife. Then he tipped it so they all could see inside.
Tristan stared at the wet pile of yellow and red pieces. They looked like meat or maybe sausage wrappings.
“It’s animal guts,” Mr. Moon announced. “Real organs and intestines from animals that live in our woods.”
“Ohhhh, sick,” Bella groaned.
Ray laughed. “Cool.”
Mr. Moon’s eyes locked on Ray. “You think it’s cool, huh? You don’t think it’s disgusting?”
“Well…” Ray hesitated.
“You like it?” Mr. Moon asked Ray eagerly.
“Uh…not exactly,” Ray replied, confused.
Mr. Moon handed the bowl to Angela. Then he turned back to Tristan and his friends. “One of you likes animal guts—a lot,” he said. “Because one of you is a werewolf!”
“Huh?”
“Excuse me?”
“What did he just say?”
The room erupted in cries of surprise.
Tristan’s throat turned dry. He realized his hands were suddenly as cold as ice.
Mr. Moon had the strangest smile on his face. His tiny eyes sparkled excitedly in the firelight.
“This is going to be an exciting Halloween party,” he said. “Because, as you know, it’s not only Halloween—it’s a full moon tonight.”
Taking long, heavy strides, he stepped up close to the kids. His eyes moved from one to the other as his smile slowly faded.
Tristan jumped when he head the loud click of the doors locking.
He turned and saw heavy black metal bars slide downward and clang into place over the living room window.
He turned to Rosa with a frightened gasp.
Her chin was trembling. She chewed her bottom lip. Her eyes were narrowed on Mr. Moon.
“Someone in this room is a werewolf,” the teacher said. “And we’re not going to leave this house until we find out who it is.”
10
“You—you’re kidding, right?” Tristan blurted out.
“Yeah. It’s a joke?” Ray asked. “You’re just trying to scare us because it’s Halloween?”
Mr. Moon’s face went blank. “Why would I joke about such a serious thing?” he replied.
“We cannot allow a werewolf to run free,” Angela said. “It’s our duty to stop him. Or her.”
Tristan pulled off his mask and folded it between his hands. “But this is crazy!” he cried. “We’re kids. We’re not werewolves. There’s no such thing as werewolves!”
Mr. Moon studied him. “One of you is dangerous,” he said softly. “One of you has made several attacks in this town. One of you is a werewolf! Is it you?”
“Me?” Tristan’s voice cracked. “A werewolf? I don’t think so.”
The teacher turned to Ray. “You’re the tough guy, right? Always looking for a fight?”
“Huh?” Ray gaped at him. “I’m just into the WWF, that’s all.”
Mr. Moon stared hard at Ray. “You just told us you enjoy feeling real animal body parts.”
“That…that was a joke!” Ray stammered.
Mr. Moon turned to the girls.
Rosa and Bella took a step back. Bella’s eyes were suddenly filled with fear.
“Who is it?” he demanded. “One of you? Why not step forward now and save us all a lot of time?”
“Is your dad joking?” Tristan turned to Michael.
But Michael had vanished from the room.
“We…we have to get home early,” Rosa told the teacher.
“Yes. We all have a curfew,” Tristan said. “We promised our parents.”
Mr. Moon scratched the side of his face. The white vampire makeup on his cheek smeared onto his hand. He studied the smear on his fingers for a moment.
“I’m afraid you won’t be home early,” he told Rosa. He pointed to the window.
Through the bars, Tristan could see the moon still rising in the black night sky.
“The full moon won’t reach its height till the clock strikes midnight,” Mr. Moon said. “At that moment, the werewolf will be revealed to us all. I have no choice. I must keep you here until then.”
“But we can’t stay. We have an eleven o’clock curfew!” Tristan insisted.
The teacher shook his head. “You cannot leave.”
“This is a joke. I know it is!” Bella cried. “But it isn’t funny!”
She turned to Angela. “Can’t you help us?”
Angela turned away.
“Let me show you something,” Mr. Moon said. He motioned for the kids to follow him. He led them down a short hall.
Against the back wall stood a wire cage. The kind of cage pet stores use to hold very large dogs.
“This is where I will keep the werewolf,” he announced. He slapped the top of the cage, making it ring. “The werewolf will stay here as my prisoner.”
Tristan blinked. The man is serious, he realized. He is totally serious about this.
He plans to keep the four of us here until midnight.
And then what?
Mr. Moon rubbed his hands together. The smile returned to his face. “Don’t look so glum, everyone,” he said. “This is a party. Let’s have some fun.”
Fun? Tristan thought.
He locks us in and bars the windows? Then he tells us to have fun?
“Let’s play some more games,” Mr. Moon said, leading them back to the living room.
Tristan felt another chill of fear. “Games?” he asked. “What kind of games?”
The teacher narrowed his eyes at Tristan. “Werewolf games,” he whispered.
11
“My wife and I will be right back,” Mr. Moon said. “We have to prepare the next game. But—”
“We really have to leave now,” Tristan Interrupted. “We can’t stay, Mr. Moon. Our parents will wonder what happened to us.”
Mr. Moon pretended that Tristan hadn’t spoken. “While Angela and I are out of the room getting ready, don’t try to leave,” he said.
“There is no way out,” Angela added. Her smile never faded. It was frozen on her round pink face. “So don’t waste your time trying to escape.”
Her wings scraped the doorway as she followed her husband out of the room.
As soon as they were gone, Tristan turned to the others. “Quick—there has to be a way out.”
“He can’t do this to us,” Ray said angrily. He clenched his hands into fists. “They’re both crazy.”
“It has to be some kind of a sick joke,” Bella said. “Totally sick.”
“Do they really think one of us is going to turn into a werewolf at midnight?” Rosa asked. “Do they really think they’re going to capture a werewolf and keep it locked up in that cage?”
“Of course not,” Tristan said. “They’re just trying to scare us.” He swallowed. “And it’s working. I’m pretty freaked out.”
“Me, too,” Bella confessed. “I mean, if they’re really crazy, who knows what they will do?”
“And where did Michael go?” Ray asked.
“He tried to warn us,” Tristan replied. “Remember? He kept telling us to be careful. He told us not to come here!”
“We’re wasting time,” Rosa said. “Quick—try the front door.”
They ran to the front door.
Tristan reached it first and tried the knob. It wouldn’t budge.
He turned the lock, then tried again.
“It’s locked. This bolt won’t move,” he said. He used both hands to try to shove the heavy metal bolt. “No way.”
Ray dove to the front window. He knocked over a jack-o’-lantern. It bounced onto its side. The candle inside sizzled out.
Ray grabbed the metal bars over the window and tugged hard. “They’re solid,” he reported. “I can’t move them.”
Rosa made her way to another window and pushed back the curtains. “This one has bars, too,” she said.
She wrapped her hands around the bars and pulled. She tried pulling them apart. Then she tried tugging the bars up.
They didn’t budge.
“The back door!” Tristan cried. “Maybe they didn’t lock the back door.”
Rosa spun around. “Which way?” she cried. “This way?” She pointed to the back hall.
“There’s another hall over here,” Ray said. He took off, running through thick cobwebs, under the tangle of black and orange streamers.
Tristan and the two girls followed close behind. Tristan’s heart was pounding. And his mouth was so dry, he couldn’t swallow.
Please, he thought. Please, let us find a door that’s open.
The hall was dark and narrow. Their shoes thudded on the hard floor. The hall ended at a closed wooden door.
“Where does this lead?” Bella asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Ray said. He grabbed the handle and pulled open the door.
“YAAAA-HAHAHAHAHA!”
A cackling monster—open, jagged-toothed jaw, bulging red eyes—burst out.
With a high shriek, it landed on Tristan and sent him sprawling to the floor.
“NO! PLEASE—NO!” Rosa screamed.
12
It-it’s got me! Tristan struggled beneath the creature, kicking and thrashing.
Then he realized it was light. Too light to be a living thing.
He sat up and pushed the monster off easily.
Tristan scrambled to his feet and stared down at the ugly creature.
A costume.
A Halloween costume on a big stuffed animal. A big toy dog wearing a frightening rubber mask.
The cackling must have been on a tape or something, he realized.