• • •
The ghost of Cally floated up from the basement in time to hear Bo’s words.
Cally laughed to herself, a scornful snicker.
“One more bad thing?” she wondered. “One more bad thing? That can be arranged.”
Cally watched her sister and the movie director hurry out the front door. She floated to the window and stared out at them as they made their way down the rain-puddled driveway to his car.
“One more bad thing?” Cally repeated, watching them drive away. “No problem, guys.” A cruel smile crossed Cally’s once-pretty face. “How about tomorrow?”
Chapter 19
“Ernie, you’ve double-checked everything?” Kody heard Bo ask the special effects person as she stepped into the attic, closing the door behind her.
“Checked, double-checked, triple-checked,” Ernie reported, giving Bo a comical salute.
Kody liked Ernie. He was funny. He looked sort of like a squirrel, with short brown hair, pouchy cheeks, and two front teeth that stuck out.
He and Bo leaned against the attic wall, studying the black metal machine that Ernie christened the Goo Works.
In addition to the Goo Works, the attic room was cluttered with cameras, cables, and lights. The lights were already on, so bright they drowned out the morning sunlight beaming through the closed window.
Crew members huddled around the equipment, talking quietly, sipping from cardboard coffee cups, waiting for the shoot to begin.
Kody hesitated at the door. Bo and Ernie were concentrating so intently on their work, they hadn’t noticed her come in.
Finally Bo turned around, and a smile crossed his face. “Right on time. How are you today, Kody? You look terrific. But how are you underneath the makeup?”
Kody smiled back at him. “Underneath the makeup, I’m a quivering mess!” she confessed. “It is my first day of shooting, after all.”
“Hey, leave the quivering mess to me!” Ernie declared. “Quivering messes are my job.” He patted the machine.
“Ernie is going to explain the goo machine as soon as Rob arrives,” Bo said, studying his clipboard. “Remember, we rehearsed this scene back in L.A.?”
Kody nodded. “I have to scream a lot,” she remembered.
“A lot,” Bo agreed. “Hope you’re in good voice this morning, dear.”
The attic door opened and Rob entered. He greeted everyone cheerily and flashed Kody a warm smile as he walked over to her.
“Where were you last night?” Kody whispered. “Why did you drive away and leave me?”
“Huh?” Rob’s face was confused. “You told me to go on without you. Don’t you remember?”
“I what?” Kody cried, equally confused.
“You ran out to the car. You told me to leave. To go back to the hotel.”
“I did not!” Kody whispered, very confused.
“But you did!” Rob insisted. “I never would’ve driven off if you hadn’t told me to!”
“Let’s get to work, kids,” Bo scolded.
“Oh. Right. Sorry,” Rob replied, blushing. “What’s up?”
“You’re going to be up—up to your knees in green goo,” Bo told him. “Come over here, guys. I want to block this out quickly. Once the goo starts pumping, we have to get it right.”
“That’s for sure,” Ernie added. “If we have to do a second take, it’ll take hours to clean this stuff off the floor first.”
“Better alert that cleaning woman we hired!” Bo joked. “Tell her she may be getting a lot of overtime.”
Bo positioned Kody and Rob for the scene, moving them to spots marked in chalk on the floor, then checking with the camera operator to make sure they looked okay.
He instructed the crew to move some lights. Then he returned to Kody and Rob.
“A quick run-through, okay? You rehearsed this yesterday on your own, right?”
“Kind of,” Kody lied. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got it.”
Bo’s eyes narrowed at her disapprovingly. “Kind of?”
“It’s getting close to our break,” Ernie called from behind the machine.
“Let’s get started,” Bo replied impatiently. He pointed down at the floor. “See those ducts? Don’t stand on them,” he instructed.
“Those are the goo ducts?” Rob asked.
Bo nodded. “Ernie has four of them hidden in the floor.”
“When I throw the switch, the green stuff is going to come pouring up,” Ernie told them. “Now, don’t be surprised. It’s going to come pumping up really fast.”
“Be surprised,” Bo corrected him. “Be very surprised, okay, kids?” He put a hand on Kody’s shoulder. “I want you to be more than surprised when that goo starts flowing. I want you to be terrified, got it?”
“It’s thick and it should be a little warm,” Ernie told them. “It looks real lumpy, like oatmeal. But don’t worry. It doesn’t smell. It has no odor at all.”
Kody let out a sigh of relief. Rob laughed, nervous laughter.
She felt glad that Rob was nervous too.
What if I mess up? she asked herself. They say it’ll take hours to clean the floor so we can start again. If I mess up the scene, I’ll be so embarrassed.
“If it’s pumping right, it should rise up to your ankles in no time,” Ernie explained.
“You don’t notice it until then,” Bo reminded them, flipping through green-tinted script pages on his clipboard. “Cally and Anthony have sneaked up to the attic to make out. You’re standing there with your arms around each other, kissing passionately. We see the green gunk rising up from the floor. But you don’t even feel it till it’s practically to your knees.”
“Then we scream in horror,” Rob said. “And do we try to get to the door right away?”
“We have to see you struggle in the stuff,” Bo instructed. “It’s pulling you down, sucking you under. It’s rising higher and higher, and you’re trapped in it.”
“How high is it going to rise?” Kody asked warily, staring down at the large, round duct at her feet.
Ernie laughed. “Don’t worry. There’s only enough goo in the machine to go up to your knees. And it’s not really that sticky. Like I said, it’s sort of like oatmeal. You won’t have any trouble walking out of it when the scene is over.”
“Now I understand why they gave me this yellow shirt. It’s because it’ll look good with the green!” Rob joked.
“I’m all in blue. I’m going to clash,” Kody complained playfully.
“As you struggle, try to splash the stuff over each other,” Bo instructed, ignoring their jokes. “Make it look good. You know. You’re thrashing your arms frantically. You’re struggling. Struggling. And the more you struggle, the more you get covered in the yucky stuff.”
“What if I fall facedown in it?” Rob suggested. “You know. Just take a nosedive.”
Bo shook his head. “It’s not a comedy, Rob. If I wanted a comedy, we’d have a pie fight up here.”
“I see where you’re coming from,” Rob replied seriously.
“I want to see the disgust on your faces,” Bo told them, turning his gaze on Kody. “You’re up to your knees in vomit, right? You’ve got to make the audience feel it. You’ve got to make them squirm like you’re squirming. You’ve got to make them smell it!”
“Break, everyone!” a crew member called from the attic doorway.
The lights were shut off. The floorboards creaked under the weight of the workers as they hurried to the stairs. They took their breaks seriously.
“Hey, guys—back in fifteen!” Bo called to them. He turned to Kody and Rob. “You coming down? Want a muffin or something? Some coffee?”
Kody and Rob exchanged glances. “I’d rather stay up here and rehearse,” Kody replied.
“Yeah. It’ll be quiet. We can get it all worked out,” Rob agreed.
Bo gave them a wave and hurried out the door.
Rob turned to Kody. “So? How are you feeling? You okay?”
r /> She shrugged. “You help cool me out,” she told him. “You’re always making jokes, keeping it light. That helps a lot.”
“I’m just covering up the fact that I’m in a total panic!” he exclaimed.
They both laughed.
“What part do you want to rehearse? Where do you want to start?” Rob asked.
She flashed him a teasing smile. “Why don’t we start with this?” She moved close, swung her arms around his shoulders, and pulled his head down for a kiss.
When the kiss ended, she started to step away. But Rob pulled her close. “Not quite right,” he said playfully. “I think we’d better rehearse it again.”
“My lipstick—” Kody protested. “I’ll have to go back to Makeup.”
“Who cares?”
Rob started to kiss her again—when the attic door slammed.
Startled, they both turned to see who had come in.
No one there.
“Must be a breeze or something,” Rob suggested. “Now, where were we?”
She raised both hands in front of her to keep him away. “Let’s go over the lines, okay?” she asked.
Rob started to reply. But a sound against the wall made them both turn.
With a loud click, the lever on the side of the goo machine slid down.
The machine hummed softly, then louder as the pump started to churn.
“Hey—what’s going on?” Rob cried.
Chapter 20
Kody jumped as warm green goo splashed up over her white sneakers.
“I—I don’t believe this!” she cried. The thick green liquid was spouting up from all four ducts.
Something started up the machine, she realized. We’ve got to turn it off before it messes up the whole scene.
“Ow! It’s hot!” Rob exclaimed as the green goo splashed the leg of his jeans.
Dodging around a spouting duct, her sneakers sliding over the chunky green liquid, Kody reached the machine first. She grabbed the lever and tried to tug it back up.
“Hey—!” she cried out when it wouldn’t budge.
The machine chugged away.
Turning back, she saw the green goo spreading over the attic floor. It made a sickening plopping sound as it poured out from the four ducts.
Kody tried the lever again. No success.
Rob bent to help out. Kody stepped back to let him try his luck. He strained with both hands. “It—won’t —move!” he cried. “I can’t turn it off!”
“I thought Ernie said the stuff didn’t smell!” Kody exclaimed, her face twisted in disgust. The foul odor brought back a flood of awful memories.
“Ooooh.” The sour aroma invaded Rob’s nose too.
“It smells like really sour milk,” he groaned.
Kody took a deep breath and held it, trying to stop the nausea that gripped her stomach.
Rob gave the lever one more hard pull with both hands, putting all his strength into it. “Aaaaagh!” He let out a cry of frustration and stepped back.
“Ow! The stuff is hot! It’s burning hot!” Kody declared. She raised her knees high as she backed away. The green liquid bubbled and gurgled up over her sneakers.
“We’ve got to get Ernie and Bo!” Rob cried. “The lever is totally stuck.”
Kody started to the attic door. “Ow! The machine —it must be broken! Why is the goo so hot?”
Her sneakers stuck. She struggled to raise them. She felt a stab of fear in her chest. “It—it’s holding me down, Rob!”
“Me too!” he called, close behind her. He leaned his weight forward, trying to move. “Ohhh, the putrid smell!”
Kody heard him cry out. She spun around in time to see him fall forward, his hands shooting out to break the fall.
“Ow!” He landed with a hard splat Then raised his head, his eyes wide with fear. “I—I can’t get up, Kody! It’s holding me—holding me down!”
“Huh?” Kody let out a surprised cry. She turned back to him, her sneakers sliding in the hot green liquid.
The goo made a slapping sound as it washed over her ankles and spread onto the legs of her jeans.
She stretched out both hands, reached down for him.
“Hold on,” Kody urged. “I’ve got you!”
She grabbed his hands. They were sticky with goo. Thick clots of it rolled down his bare arms, onto the front of his yellow T-shirt.
“Help me,” Rob pleaded. “I really feel sick, Kody. I think I’m going to hurl.”
She helped to pull him up. He grabbed her shoulder and hoisted himself to his feet. “Stop! You’re smearing it all over me!” she cried.
The chunky green liquid rolled over the floor like ocean waves, rolled up under their jeans, halfway up their legs.
“Where is everyone?” Kody demanded. “Can’t anyone hear the pump going? Can’t anyone hear that the stupid machine started up?”
Rob didn’t reply. He was concentrating on raising one foot, then the other, making his way slowly, with enormous effort, toward the attic door.
The sour aroma swept over Kody. She tried to breathe through her mouth. The gurgling, lapping green liquid rose higher, nearly to her knees. It burned her legs, clung to her jeans, splashed against her as she struggled to move.
Rob made it to the door first. Kody saw that his forehead dripped with sweat. His face was bright red. He was breathing hard from his efforts.
“Pull the door open!” Kody urged. “Quick, Rob. It’s up to my knees!” She watched him grab the knob. His sticky hand slipped off it.
He wiped his hand on a dry patch on the side of his jeans and grabbed the doorknob again. He turned it and pulled.
Kody saw his face grow redder. “Hey—!” He let out a startled cry.
“Hurry, Rob!” she urged. “It’s really burning me now! My legs are on fire!”
“Mine too!” he choked out. He tugged at the door.
She saw his feet slip on the thick, slimy surface.
He caught his balance by throwing his shoulder against the door. Then he pulled again, pulled until his face was nearly purple.
“Rob—what’s wrong?” Kody called shrilly, struggling to reach him.
He turned back to her, his eyes wide with horror. “The door—” he cried. “It’s locked!”
Chapter 21
“It can’t be!” Kody cried.
The hot green liquid rolled against her legs, wave after sickening wave. She kept shifting her weight, lifting her legs high, struggling not to become stuck.
Rob tried the door again, pulling with all his strength. He screamed for help. There was no reply.
She saw his hands slip off the doorknob again, saw him stumble backward. The sticky green goo swept up against Rob’s waist.
He turned to her, his features tight with fear. “Didn’t Ernie say there was only enough goo to come up to our knees?”
Kody nodded. “It won’t go much higher,” she said, trying to sound hopeful. “It’ll turn off any second now.”
But so far, everything Ernie had said had been wrong.
“They should be back from their break,” Rob said, pounding with both fists on the attic door. “Where are they?”
He screamed again. Still no reply.
Kody was fighting hard. Trying to forget. But still remembering.
Remembering the horrors her family had faced in this frightening house. Remembering the night the disgusting green goo had poured down the bathroom walls.
Ernie’s machine isn’t pumping this green goo, she realized.
This is the evil of the house.
“Cally—are you here?” Kody called suddenly. “Cally?”
Rob’s mouth dropped open. He leaned forward, pushed his legs up, trying to cross the swirling, seething sea of green to her. “Kody—are you okay?”
“Cally is here,” Kody replied, her eyes darting around the room. “I can sense it.”
“But, Kody—” Rob was pushed back by a high wave.
“Cally will help us, Rob,” Kody ass
ured him. “She’s here. I know she is. And she will help us get out of here.”
“Kody—please,” Rob begged, struggling harder to pull himself through the swirling hot liquid. “Take a deep breath. I’ll get us out of here.”
“You think I’m crazy—don’t you,” Kody accused him sadly. Turning away from him, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Cally! Cally?”
“If it gets any higher, we can swim out!” Rob called.
“It’s too thick to swim in,” Kody replied grimly. She called to her sister again.
No reply.
The only sound in the room now was the gurgle and splash of the green liquid as it rose higher and higher.
“It—it’s so gross!” Kody complained. “I can’t move, Rob. I feel as if it’s pulling me down into it.”
“Stay on your feet,” Rob ordered. “It can’t get much higher—can it?”
They raised their arms to keep them out of the roiling goo, which had climbed waist-high. Thick chunks washed against their bodies, swirling in the steaming broth. The aroma grew stronger, choking them, sickening them, forcing them to breathe hard through their mouths.
“Cally? Cally—can you hear me?” Kody cried frantically. “Are you here? Can you help us?”
No reply.
“Your sister is dead, Kody,” Rob said softly. “She can’t help us now.”
She’s here, Kody told herself.
She’s here. I know she is.
Why isn’t she helping us?
Sweat poured down Kody’s face. Her wet hair matted against her forehead. “I feel as if I’m melting,” she moaned, “melting right into it.”
Rob didn’t answer. He was wiping green chunks off the front of his T-shirt.
“Rob—it’s getting higher,” she said weakly. “Pretty soon, we won’t be able to move.”
Kody searched desperately around the room. “Hey —the window!” she cried. “Rob—that window leads out to the roof.”
“All right!” Rob cried excitedly, his enthusiasm quickly fading. “What makes you think we can get over to it, Kody?”
“We have to!” Kody declared.
Leaning forward, pressing into the thick swirls of green, she started toward the window.