I nodded.
Crying out happily, they both ran from my bedroom. I followed them down the stairs.
By the time I reached the bottom, they were hugging their parents. Everyone was crying. Everyone was talking at the same time.
All four of them had their arms wrapped around each other in a massive tight hug. They moved around and around in a circle, holding each other.
I felt my cheeks. Wet. I was crying too.
Well, how could I help it? I mean, Nicky and Tara hadn't seen their parents in so long.
And now here they were. They just walked up to the front door, and here they were.
Finally, the hug broke. All four of them took a step back, breathing hard. They wiped tears from their cheeks. They were laughing and crying at the same time.
His arms around Nicky and Tara, Mr. Roland smiled at me. “Thank you for being their friend,” he said.
Then Tara turned to her mom and dad. “I have a million questions,” she said. And she began to ask them. “What happened to us? Why are we ghosts? Did someone kill us? Where have you been all this time?”
6
MRS. ROLAND LAUGHED. “Tara, not so fast. Not so fast!”
“We'll answer all your questions,” Mr. Roland said. “It's a long story. But don't worry. We'll explain everything.” He stuck out his hand. “But quick—give us the pendant.”
“We really have to hurry,” their mom said, glancing at the front door. She turned back to them. “Which one of you is wearing it?”
“Max was wearing it the whole time,” Nicky said.
Both parents moved quickly across the room to me. “Could we have it back, Max?” Mr. Roland asked. “It's the master life pod. We need it to capture any other ghosts who might come after us.”
Mrs. Roland sighed. “We won't be safe until we have it.”
I took a step back. “I … I don't have it,” I stammered.
Mrs. Roland's mouth dropped open. Mr. Roland tensed his shoulders.
“My brother took it,” I said. “He took it to Camp Snake Lake with him.”
Both parents stared at me, horrified expressions frozen on their faces.
After a few seconds, Mr. Roland spoke in a growl. “Phears isn't going to like this. We have to go there and get it back!”
Huh? Did he say Phears?
Confused, I took another step back.
Mr. and Mrs. Roland kept their gaze on me. They started to change. Their faces drooped and began to shrink. Their bodies hunched. They curled in on themselves like gloves closing up.
Hard brown shells formed over their clothing. Their heads were small and round now, with tiny black eyes and threadlike tongues lapping the air. They looked like the beetles we studied in science class. Giant growling beetles.
“Oh noooo.” A low moan escaped my throat.
They floated off the floor. Floated over me, growling and muttering.
I ducked my head and staggered to the front door. I saw Nicky and Tara, frozen in shock in the middle of the living room.
“Run!” I screamed. “It's a trick. They're not your parents! Run!”
But before Nicky and Tara could move, the two giant insects skittered over to them. Grabbed them with their long spindly legs.
They pulled Nicky and Tara against their hard ribbed bodies. Held them tight and started to drag them out the front door.
I staggered to the door. I tried to spin one of the insect creatures around, but my hand slid off its shell.
I grabbed for Tara. Struggling and squirming to free themselves, Nicky and Tara both reached for my outstretched hands.
But the insect creatures wrapped ropelike legs around their middles and held them tight. The giant insects bounced across the front yard like rubber balls, dragging Nicky and Tara with them.
“Let us go! Let us go!” Tara wailed.
My heart pounding, I darted over the grass. I could see Mrs. Benson in the window of her house next door. I knew she couldn't see the ghosts. She could only see me. She probably thought I was totally crazy as I went screaming down the lawn and leaped into the air.
I jumped onto the back of one of the enormous insects. I gripped the hard shell with both hands. It felt slick and hot. My hands nearly slipped off.
The ghostly creature had Tara wrapped in its grasp. “Help me, Max!” she screamed. “I … I can't get loose!”
With a groan, I lurched backward, trying to pull the insect onto its back.
A puff of black steam shot out from under its shell. I gasped as a putrid smell invaded my nose.
I started to choke and gag. It smelled like dayold vomit. The rank odor surrounded me, clung to my clothes, my hair. I could even taste it on my tongue.
Another strong puff of the disgusting vapor made my stomach heave.
And then the creature twisted its body hard— and sent me flying to the ground. I landed with a heavy thud—and made a grab for one of its wiry legs.
The leg slipped from my hand. Groaning, I jumped to my feet.
“Help—Max!” Nicky screamed.
Holding Nicky tightly, the creature spun around. It stretched out two tendril-like legs and grabbed my head.
The sharp pincers poked through my skin. The legs jerked hard, and I started to spin.
And spin …
I couldn't stop twirling.
The trees, the houses, the cars on the street— all spun around me as I twirled, faster and faster.
As I spun, I saw the two insect creatures skittering away with their captives, Nicky and Tara. But I was helpless. No way to save them.
My arms flew wildly in the air as I twirled and twirled.
Dizzy now.
So dizzy. The ground met the sky, and the world became a green and blue blur.
7
SO DIZZY …
So dizzy, I wanted to fall down. But I couldn't stop twirling.
Then I felt something clamp down on my shoulders. I felt a whoosh of air as I came to a sharp stop.
Something held me tight. I couldn't open my eyes. I knew I'd stopped spinning, but the world still seemed to be shooting around and around me.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. I saw blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds. I saw the grass of the front yard … my driveway.
And I looked up at Mrs. Benson, who had clamped her hands onto my shoulders and was gripping me tightly. “Max? What on earth were you doing?” she demanded.
I had to think fast. It wasn't easy. The ground was tilting and the trees were still spinning. “Uh … I was practicing for school,” I said.
Mrs. Benson squinted at me. “Practicing? Practicing for what?”
“Uh … I'm making a top in wood shop,” I said. “I was trying to see how it works.”
She stared at me some more. Then she finally let go of my shoulders. “Max, you've always been such a weird child,” she said.
“Thanks, Mrs. Benson,” I replied. I staggered into the house. My legs kept twisting like pretzels. I felt as if my head was spinning on my neck.
I pulled myself up the stairs to my bedroom and dropped down on the edge of my bed.
Now what?
I sat there for a long time, holding my head in my hands and trying to think.
I have to save Nicky and Tara, I decided. The two ghosts were going to Camp Snake Lake to get the pendant. They probably dragged Nicky and Tara with them.
I have to save my friends. And I have to get that pendant away from Colin before those two creatures attack him.
Yes, that's what I have to do.
And how do I do that?
I looked up and saw Mom and Dad at my bedroom door. “I changed my mind,” I said, standing up. “I'm going to camp.”
A big grin spread over Dad's beefy face. He charged into the room. “That's my man!” he boomed. “I knew you weren't a pathetic worm!”
He gave me such a hard slap on the back that I went crashing into the wall.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said. “Sweet.”
“W
e've got to get you packed right away,” Mom said, fluttering around my dresser. “You're going to have such a good time, Max.”
Oh, yeah. For sure. Such a good time with a couple of evil ghosts who will do anything—maybe even kill—to get that pendant.
Forget about a good time. Is there any way I'll survive?
8
THE NEXT MORNING, I helped Mom and Dad load my stuff onto the camp bus, and then I climbed aboard.
“Go get 'em, Tiger!” Dad shouted through the bus window. “Kill 'em at camp! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Thanks for the great send-off, Dad. And thanks for embarrassing me in front of everyone.
I could feel my face burning. I kept my head down and moved quietly to the back of the bus.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!” a little boy repeated. Everyone laughed.
The bus bounced down our street and turned onto Powell to make more stops. Most of the seats were filled. Kids were talking and joking and laughing. Two boys kept bouncing a rubber ball off a girl's head.
“Stop it!” she cried.
“Make us!” they said.
I slumped low in my seat and stared out the window, thinking hard.
What if the ghosts were already at Camp Snake Lake?
What if my brother tried to keep the pendant, and the ghosts did something horrible to him to take it away?
What if the ghosts got the pendant away from Colin—and destroyed Nicky and Tara?
So many questions, all of them terrifying.
The bus jerked to a stop. I saw Traci Wayne climb on. I felt my heart skip a beat.
I don't know if I'm in love with Traci or what. But every time I see her, my ears start to burn, my skin tingles, and I start breathing out of my mouth like this: whee whee whee, as if I've just run ten miles.
Traci is blond and beautiful and totally awesome. And she's not stuck up. She just has no time for pond scum like me.
Traci took the empty seat right in front of me. She turned and smiled. “Hi, Max.”
Whoa.
Traci Wayne said hi to me!
Normally, I'd do a few somersaults down the bus aisle or maybe sing and dance a jig. But today I was so worried about Nicky and Tara and Colin, I just muttered “Hi” to her. Then I turned back to staring out the window.
The bus rolled along another few blocks, then stopped again. I groaned when I saw who was climbing on this time. The Wilbur brothers—Billy and Willy Wilbur, the worst kids at Jefferson Elementary School.
For some reason, Billy and Willy don't like me. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because the kids at school all call me Brainimon because I'm the class brain. And these two chimps are still chewing on their books.
Luckily, they didn't see me. They took two seats in the middle of the bus, next to a skinny boy with curly blond hair and a face full of freckles.
The bus roared on. Pretty soon we were out on the highway, rolling past farms and empty fields.
The kid next to me—a short pudgy kid in a gray sweatshirt that said I HATE YOU in drippy red letters—had an iPod around his neck and big headphones over his ears. He was snapping his fingers, grooving in his own world.
After a while, I heard the Wilbur brothers talking to the freckle-faced boy next to them. His name was Jakey, and he said he'd never been to camp before and he didn't know what to expect.
Billy Wilbur started telling him about Snake Lake. “It's loaded with poisonous snakes. No lie,” Billy said, grinning at his brother.
I heard Jakey gulp.
“Before the end of camp, they make you swim across Snake Lake,” Billy said. “Across and back.”
“Most kids don't make it all the way,” Willy added. “Because snakes wrap around you and cut off your air.”
“No way!” Jakey exclaimed in a tiny voice.
Billy lowered his voice to a whisper, but I could still hear him. “When I did it last summer,” he said, “a long fat snake curled around my neck. And two snakes curled around my waist.”
“And … what happened?” Jakey asked.
“I drowned!” Billy replied.
The two Wilburs hee-hawed like donkeys and slapped each other a hard high five.
“You're joking, right?” Jakey said. “You're making it up about the snakes?”
Billy and Willy snickered to each other. “You'll see,” Willy said.
I stopped listening to them and stared out the window at the passing trees and fields. I thought hard about Snake Lake. Is it really filled with poisonous snakes? Do we really have to swim in it?
I suddenly felt cold all over. The Wilburs were telling the same story as my brother. It had to be true.
The bus rolled along the highway for another two hours. I spent the time thinking hard about how to get the pendant from Colin and how to rescue Nicky and Tara.
But all my thinking led me nowhere. I didn't have a clue.
The bus pulled off the highway onto a smaller road. We turned at a wooden sign shaped like an arrow that proclaimed CAMP SNAKE LAKE. Then we followed a dirt road through the trees until we came to the camp.
Through the bus window, I saw two rows of small white-shingled cabins. A few larger buildings built of logs. An asphalt basketball court. A tetherball pole.
Behind the cabins, I saw a thin line of trees. And between the trees shimmered the blue water of a lake.
We piled out of the bus onto a gravel path. Billy Wilbur had his hand on Jakey's shoulder. “Watch out for tarantulas in the trees,” he whispered to Jakey. “If you see a tree shaking, don't walk under it.”
Jakey stared around, his eyes wide. I could see that he was pretty frightened. I shivered too.
A chubby red-faced man came jogging across the grass. His head was shaved bald. He wore a red and white bandanna around his neck. His baggy khaki shorts went down to his knees. His stomach bounced up and down beneath a Camp Snake Lake T-shirt.
“That's Uncle Joey,” Billy Wilbur told Jakey. “He owns the camp. If he doesn't like you, he'll send you into the woods at night to look for wolves.”
“Wolves?” Jakey squeaked. “There aren't any wolves in these woods—are there?”
I saw a bunch of campers run onto the basketball court. Squinting into the sun, I searched for Colin. I knew I had to find him—fast.
“Hey, people—welcome!” Uncle Joey boomed. He wiped his bald head with his bandanna. “Good to see you guys. And welcome to all you new campers.”
A group of girls was heading to a set of cabins up on a hill. I guessed that was the girls' camp. I could hear voices from the lake. Were kids swimming there?
No sign of Colin anywhere. “
This is Artie,” Uncle Joey said, slapping a young guy on the shoulder. Artie was a short wiry guy with spiky blond hair and a dangling silver earring in one ear. “Artie is the go-to guy at this camp. You got a problem? Go to Artie.”
“Hey, dudes, welcome,” Artie said, flashing us a double thumbs-up.
“I'm going to take you people to the lodge now,” Uncle Joey said. “You'll get your cabin assignments there. And we have camp T-shirts for you. Just tell us your size.”
He gazed at Jakey. “I think you'll take an extra small.” He chuckled. “Don't worry. We'll pump you up this summer. We'll make a super-hero out of you.”
He squeezed Jakey's skinny arm. “I've seen bigger muscles on a chicken,” he said.
Jakey looked really embarrassed. Uncle Joey laughed. He had a deep voice and a booming laugh.
A bunch of crows flew overhead, cawing loudly. I watched them swoop into the woods.
Suddenly, I shivered again. Were the two evil ghosts here already? Had they already found my brother?
“Uncle Joey? Do you know where Colin Doyle is?” I asked.
But he didn't hear me. He and Artie were already jogging over the grass, leading us to the lodge. I was desperate to get to Colin. But I had no choice. I had to stay with the group.
A smiling young woman with blond hair that hung down past her shoulders was waiting
for us at a table outside the lodge. She told us her name was Ada and we should come to her if we had any questions. Then she gave us our cabin assignments.
The cabins all had Indian tribe names. Mine was Navajo. And guess who I shared my cabin with? You got it. The Wilbur brothers and Jakey.
Bad news.
As we walked along the dirt path to find Navajo, Jakey broke away from the Wilburs and ran over to me. “Can I have the bunk next to you?” he asked in a tiny voice.
“Yeah, sure. No problem,” I said. “Why?”
“Those two brothers are kinda scary,” Jakey said.
Tell me about it.
We stepped into the cabin. It was really small. Just enough room for two bunk beds and four little dressers. Where was the bathroom? Outside, at the end of the row of cabins.
Jakey and I claimed the bunks away from the window. He wanted to be against the wall in case a bat swooped in through the open window at night.
Counselors brought our bags and trunks for us to unpack.
A knock on the cabin door made me turn around. Colin strode into the cabin. “You got the crummy cabin,” he said, glancing around. “I think some kids died in this cabin. Because of germs and mold in the walls.”
I didn't have time for that stupid nonsense. I grabbed Colin by the arm and dragged him outside.
“Listen to me,” I said, gripping his arm tightly. “That pendant. I need it. I'm not kidding. I need it back. Please.”
Colin pulled his arm away and stepped back. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you crazy? That stupid pendant? You'll never find it. I threw it into the woods.”
9
“NO!” I SCREAMED.
Colin nodded and laughed. “Yes. I didn't like it. I threw it away.”
“You're lying!” I cried. “You didn't—did you?”
He grinned and danced away from me. “Poor Maxie. You can't cry to Mommy. She isn't here.”
“But I need that pendant!” I wailed.
What if Nicky and Tara's parents really were inside it? Did this mean the kids would never see their parents again? All because of stupid Colin?
“Call the other geeks in your cabin,” Colin said. “I'm supposed to give them a tour of the camp.”