“You’re not!” a voice screamed behind us.
I gave a yelp of surprise.
I whipped my head around.
Mrs. Marder!
“I warned you!” she shrieked. “Now you’ll pay!”
9
Mrs. Marder took a step toward us. The green bandanna on her head fluttered in the wind.
“You!” she screamed.
Was she pointing at me?
“Run!” I cried. “Let’s get out of here!”
Louisa, Frankie, and I charged out of the yard. We didn’t stop running until we reached Max’s house.
I put out my hands and stopped myself on a tree trunk, gasping for breath.
“Did you see the awful look in her eyes?” I cried.
“I did.” Louisa’s voice shook. “I’m scared, Brit! Maybe we should tell Mrs. Davidson what happened.”
Jeff stood on the front steps, looking smug. When he saw us, he turned and rang the bell.
Mrs. Davidson opened the door wearing a jade-green T-shirt and dark jeans. “Hi, kids!” she greeted us. “Come in! Max can’t wait to get started today. He has the cards all shuffled.”
“Mrs. Davidson, we have to talk to you,” Louisa declared.
“Of course.” A look of concern came over Mrs. Davidson’s face. “Is something wrong?”
“You know the house right behind yours?” Louisa asked as we entered the living room.
Mrs. Davidson nodded. “The Marder house.”
“Mrs. Marder is evil!” I blurted out. “She’s a witch!”
“Oh, that poor woman!” Mrs. Davidson said. “She isn’t evil! She doesn’t take much time with her appearance, that’s all.”
“But all those stories about her—” I began.
Mrs. Davidson shook her head. “You mustn’t believe those stories. They are so silly! Especially the one about the kids who trespassed in her yard.”
“What kids?” Louisa asked. “I never heard that story.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a ridiculous rumor.” Mrs. Davidson frowned slightly. “I shouldn’t repeat it. These kinds of rumors are so mean.”
“Please tell us,” I begged. “Please!”
“Oh, all right.” Mrs. Davidson sighed. “But remember—it’s just a story. A silly story.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. Not at all.
“One day,” Mrs. Davidson began, “four children supposedly wandered into Mrs. Marder’s backyard. They were only seven or eight years old. Too young to know any better. They stepped on one of her plants or something. When she saw what they’d done—so the story goes—she got really angry and put a spell on them.”
“A spell?” My heart was racing. “What kind of spell?”
“Oh, it’s too silly to tell.” Mrs. Davidson started to leave the room. “Let’s go see Max.”
“No!” I yelled. “I mean, please tell us the rest of the story. Please.”
Mrs. Davidson’s glance moved across each of our faces. “Oh, all right. I suppose everyone likes a scary story now and then. But remember—it’s just a story.”
We all nodded, eager to hear the rest. And dreading it at the same time.
“She chased the children out of her yard,” Mrs. Davidson went on. “But from that moment on, the children complained that little creatures followed them everywhere. Attacking them when they least expected it.”
Blood drained from Frankie’s face. He looked scared to death.
I gasped.
“Oh, kids! It’s only a silly story.” Mrs. Davidson shook her head. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Yes, we do!” Louisa cried. “We ran through her garden. And Frankie dumped over her wheelbarrow and smashed a big plant in her birdbath!”
I glanced at Frankie. Now he had a strange grin on his face.
“I told you—it was just a silly story,” Mrs. Davidson said soothingly. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”
We stared silently at Mrs. Davidson. We all looked pretty scared. All except Jeff. He still looked smug. Like he wanted to say “I told you so.”
“Listen.” Mrs. Davidson broke the silence. “Why don’t I phone Mrs. Marder and tell her you’re very sorry for ruining her plant? I’ll tell her how nice you’ve been to Max. She won’t stay mad long.”
“Oh, would you?” I cried with relief.
“I’ll do it right now.” Mrs. Davidson stood up and went into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.
Soon I heard her talking. I couldn’t make out what she was saying. But the sound of her voice on the phone made me feel better.
Mrs. Davidson returned, smiling. “I told Mrs. Marder you didn’t mean any harm,” she reported. “And I told her how much your visits have helped Max.”
“Is—is she still angry at us?” I stammered.
“Well, yes,” Mrs. Davidson admitted. “But don’t worry. She’ll calm down. I offered to pay for the plant—but she said no. Then I promised her that you wouldn’t do anything like this again. Now, run on down the hall. Max is waiting!”
I followed my friends to Max’s room, thankful that Mrs. Davidson had called Mrs. Marder. Even though Mrs. Marder was still angry, I felt a little better. At least she knew we were sorry.
Max sat at the table shuffling the cards. When we walked into his room, he glanced up. The circles under his eyes seemed darker than ever.
“Hi, Max!” I slid into a chair next to his. I leaned toward him. “Listen,” I whispered, “you think we could play something besides cards today?”
Max stared at me with his pale blue eyes. Then he shook his head. “No. Let’s play cards,” he said. “That’s why you’re here.”
“We’re not here to play cards, Max. We’re here to visit you because you’re sick,” I told him. “Can’t we play something else? I don’t really like cards.”
A smile appeared on Max’s lips. But he only shoved the cards toward me so I could cut them.
As he began dealing, I thought I heard him whisper, “I don’t either.” But when I glanced over at him, he was staring straight ahead, dealing.
We didn’t pick up our cards until they were all dealt. Mrs. Davidson said that was good card manners.
I opened my hand one card at a time. I’d looked at about half of my cards, when I heard it.
A piercing scream.
So loud, I dropped my cards and covered my ears.
The scream went on and on, louder and louder.
And then it stopped. Suddenly.
Now all I could hear was Louisa.
“No!” she was yelling. “Get it away!”
She flung a card out of her hand.
It landed on the table, faceup.
We all stared at it.
It was the face of another hideous joker! But this one was different from the one Frankie had been dealt. This one had green skin and small, bloodshot eyes. Its mouth turned down in a frown.
It wore the same green hat with bells at the tip. And it held the same stick—a skull at the top, with awful, gleaming eyes!
I couldn’t take my eyes off the joker’s hideous face.
As I stared at it—the mouth suddenly began to move!
The joker’s frown widened into a cruel snarl. The joker’s little eyes twirled around and around in their sockets.
And the joker opened its mouth in another horrifying wail.
10
Mrs. Davidson burst into Max’s room.
“What’s the matter?” she cried. “Who screamed?”
“It was this!” Louisa wailed. She pointed to the card.
“The joker?” Mrs. Davidson gasped. “You mean the card screamed?”
Louisa nodded.
“Nonsense!” Mrs. Davidson exclaimed. “You know that’s impossible. You’re all upset because the card is so ugly.”
She slipped the card in her pocket. Then she reached for the deck. “I don’t know how it got in there. I thought I took all the jokers out myself. Sorry, I guess I missed
this one.”
I peered over Mrs. Davidson’s shoulder as she studied the cards one by one. “Okay, no more jokers. They’re all gone.” She smiled and handed the deck back to Max.
“I don’t want to play anymore,” Louisa said the minute Mrs. Davidson left the room. “Max—please. Let’s play something else.”
Max ignored her. He shuffled a few times. He asked Jeff to cut, and then he dealt. We picked up our cards. We didn’t know what else to do.
Instantly, the screaming began!
“Get it away!” Louisa cried. She threw her cards down on the table and leapt from her chair. “It’s here!” she shrieked. “It’s screaming!”
There it was!
On the table.
The joker!
And it was screaming!
I gaped at the joker’s awful face. Stared at its horrible mouth as it let out its hideous scream.
How could this be? How did it get back in the deck?
How could it scream?
How could a card scream?
Suddenly, it fell silent again.
My eyes darted from Louisa, to Jeff, to Frankie.
Louisa and Jeff stared at the card in horror.
Frankie’s glance was cool, almost amused.
Then I heard the sound.
Hssssssss!
I glanced toward the window.
A black cat crouched on the sill outside Max’s window!
It shifted its gaze—until its eyes rested on me. Its evil, gleaming green eyes.
That was when it hit me.
“It’s Mrs. Marder!” I cried, tossing my cards down. “She’s the one making these jokers appear. She’s the one making them scream!”
Everyone stared at me.
Then Frankie started laughing like a maniac.
“It’s not funny!” I yelled at him. “It’s true. One of her cats is here right now! Look!” I pointed to the windowsill.
But the cat had vanished.
“It was there!” I insisted. “Didn’t any of you see it?”
Jeff, Louisa, and Max shook their heads.
Frankie started laughing again.
“I know Mrs. Marder’s behind this somehow,” I declared.
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Davidson entered the room and scooped up the joker from the table. “Two cards must have been stuck together,” she said softly.
She turned to Louisa. “Did you scream, dear? Did you scream at this ugly, ugly card?” Mrs. Davidson stared at the card in her hands and shuddered. “I can’t blame you.”
“I—I wasn’t screaming,” Louisa stammered. “It was the card. The card was screaming!”
“What imaginations you kids have!” Mrs. Davidson smiled. Shook her head. Then she left the room.
“You heard it!” Louisa exclaimed. “You heard it screaming. Didn’t you?” She turned to Frankie and Jeff.
“Yeah, right,” Jeff laughed. “Screaming card. Good one, Louisa.”
Frankie’s face was uncertain. “It doesn’t make sense, but . . . ” he began. Then he trailed off.
“Max?” Louisa asked. “You heard it. Right?”
“I heard the screaming,” Max said evenly. “I heard you screaming.”
But Louisa didn’t scream.
I was sure of it.
It was the joker—and Mrs. Marder’s evil magic made it happen. Now I was sure of that too.
Somehow—some way—I had to prove it.
* * *
“Thanks for coming home with me, Brit,” Louisa said after we left Max’s. We were in her kitchen, hunting for something to eat. “My mom’s meeting won’t be over until eight,” she went on. “I couldn’t stand coming into a dark, empty house tonight. Not after what happened today.”
I told Louisa all about Frankie falling off the ladder, and how he got the diamond-shaped mark on his arm. “What are we going to do?” I asked her now. “Mrs. Marder is behind all of this. I know it.”
The color drained from Louisa’s face. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she said. “It’s too creepy. Let’s look at my new Seventeen magazine instead.”
Louisa ran upstairs to her room to get the magazine.
I peeled the foil off the top of a container of yogurt. I took a spoonful—and froze.
Hsssss!
I listened closely.
Hsssss!
There it was again.
Coming from upstairs.
Growing louder.
I jumped up and ran for the steps.
The hissing turned to rattling. Loud rattling.
“Louisa!” I cried.
Louisa answered—with a terrified scream!
I bolted to the staircase.
Started to run up the steps.
But Louisa was rolling down them—headfirst.
“Louisa!” I shrieked as she tumbled into me.
Dizzy, I struggled to sit up—and saw the three short figures. Dressed all in black, except for their green hats.
They zoomed down the steps. Leapt over us. Flung open the front door.
And ran out into the night.
11
“Ohhhh!” Louisa moaned. “I—I hurt my ankle.”
I helped her up. She hobbled into the family room and collapsed on the couch.
I ran to the front door and slammed it shut. I made sure it was locked.
“Those things—they appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly they were there—right next to me!”
“I—I saw them too.” My voice shook.
“They lunged at me. They pushed me down the steps!” Louisa exclaimed.
“It’s Mrs. Marder,” I whispered. “It’s Mrs. Marder’s magic. Just like in the story Mrs. Davidson told us. It’s just like what happened to those little kids! This is horrible!”
“It’s worse than horrible,” Louisa wailed. “One of those—those things said something to me.”
“What? Louisa, what did it say?” I asked.
Louisa closed her eyes. Then she repeated what she had heard. “ ‘Her army strengthens day by day.’ That’s it.”
Her army strengthens day by day. I repeated the words in my mind. What did it mean?
“Brittany, I’m scared!” Louisa hid her face in her hands.
I gasped.
“Louisa! Your arm!”
Louisa stared down at her left arm. “No!” she screamed. “No!”
On her arm was a bruise. A bruise in the shape of a black club.
She began rubbing it furiously, trying to make the mark disappear. But the club stayed—as if permanently printed on her skin.
I ran into the kitchen for a pencil and piece of paper. I wrote down what Frankie’s attackers had said to him. Then I wrote down what Louisa had heard.
“Listen to this,” I told Louisa. I read:
“We shake the skull with eyes that gleam
We make our marks, we laugh and scream
Her army strengthens day by day
“It’s part of the rhyme!” I decided.
Louisa shrugged. “I don’t get what it means.”
“Me either,” I confessed. “But it must mean something!”
I stared down at what I had written. “Let’s see—the skull. There’s a skull in the base of Mrs. Marder’s birdbath. Did you see it?”
Louisa shook her head.
“Well, it’s there. Maybe at night its eyes gleam.”
“Wait.” Louisa gazed off into the distance. Trying to remember something. “The joker card. It had a stick—and on top was a skull!”
“That’s right!” I snapped my fingers. “And the skull had weird, glowing eyes!”
Now we were getting somewhere!
I read the next line. “We make our marks. We laugh and scream. The marks—they must be the club and diamond shapes,” I said.
The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together.
“The first time we went to Max’s, Frankie was dealt a joker,” I murmured, thinking back. “Then, on the way home, we heard hissing an
d rattling— and a scream. Then someone pushed Frankie down. After that we saw the club shape on his arm.”
Louisa nodded.
“Today you were dealt the joker,” I went on. “Then we heard hissing and rattling and a scream—and you were pushed down.”
“But why?” Louisa whispered. “Why is it happening to us?”
“Mrs. Marder is doing this! She put a spell on us!” I exclaimed. “She said she’d make us pay for ruining her plants! She’s evil. She’s really evil!”
Louisa’s face twisted as if she were about to cry. “What are we going to do?”
“We have to stop her,” I declared.
“How?” Louisa demanded.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I’m going to come up with a plan.”
Louisa’s mom came home then. I left a few minutes later.
I live just a few houses away from Louisa. I started for my house—in the dark. It’s woodsy at Louisa’s end of the street. The houses are spread out among the trees.
As I hurried home, something moving in the woods caught my eye.
I heard rustling.
And a high-pitched wail.
Terrified, I glanced over my shoulder.
Something shifted behind a bush. Something green!
And then I saw it—the top of a green hat.
As I stared in horror, the green hat rose. Up from behind the bushes.
No—not a green hat.
A green bandanna—on the head of Mrs. Marder!
She stared at me with the strangest smile on her face.
A completely evil smile.
12
“I’m so happy it’s Saturday!” I sang as I passed the basketball to Jeff. “No cards at Max’s house today!”
We were playing hoops in my driveway. Louisa and Frankie against me and Jeff. Jeff shot the ball back to me.
“Let’s take a break,” Louisa suggested. “My ankle’s starting to hurt.”
We sat down at the picnic table by our driveway. Our house is at the top of a high, steep hill. For a minute we all gazed down at the view of Shadyside.
“Only three more days of visiting Max,” I said at last.
Jeff glanced at me. “Max is nice. Why don’t you like him?”
“I like him fine,” I protested. “I just don’t want to play cards anymore!”