Free Ghost Town by Phoebe Rivers Page B

slightly unfocused. But the weight of his need pushed upon me, squeezing my lungs.
    â€œDo you hear me?” I asked in a shrill voice I almost didn’t recognize as my own.
    But he didn’t. This wasn’t a conversation. I realized that I could hear him, but he couldn’t hear me.
    Save them . . . help them . . .
    His desperation weighed on me. Spots appeared before my eyes, and my head ached. I had to get away.
    â€œNo!” I screamed. “I’m not helping you! Ever!”
    I wrenched my body away as a huge gust of wind rolled in. The haunted house sign rocked violently on its rusted hinges. Then there was a sharp snap! The ancient wood splintered directly above my head.
    I dodged, just as the sign crashed to the ground.
    â€œSara!” David ran toward me from the entrance to the pier, probably on his way to work.
    I gazed in amazement at the broken sign strewn near my feet. So close. It had almost hit me. I raisedmy eyes slowly to the old man. He shimmered by the fractured sign, pointing to it with his cane.
    This is what happens. . . . He slid toward me, until he was just inches away. It is up to you . . . without your help they will die. It is up to you.

CHAPTER 11
    â€œOh, wow! I saw that.” David ran up to me, panting.
    â€œHuh?” My eyes roamed the pier. The old man had vanished.
    I tried to focus on David’s concerned face but kept hearing the man’s words. It is up to you.
    â€œDid any of the wood hit you on the head? You look out of it.” David spoke fast. “Maybe I should go get someone.”
    â€œNo, no, I’m fine. Really.” I forced another smile. I was getting good at these forced smiles and pretending that everything was all right when it clearly wasn’t. “It totally missed me.”
    â€œSay the alphabet backward,” he commanded.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI need you to say the alphabet backward. Tomake sure you don’t have a head injury,” he insisted. “They taught us that in Nature Guides.”
    â€œSeriously?” I sighed when he nodded. “Okay. Z, Y, X, W, V . . . uh . . . Listen, I don’t know the alphabet backward, but my head is fine. I didn’t even get scraped.” I spun so he could see I was unharmed.
    â€œWell, you’re lucky, then.” He surveyed the mess in front of the haunted house. “I’m going to have to call the guy at Pier Management to clean up and get a new sign. He’s not going to be happy.”
    I trailed David to the ticket stand. He pulled his cell phone from his backpack and made the call about the sign.
    I wondered about the sign. Did it crack because it was old and the winds from the coming storm destroyed it? Or did the spirit make it fall because I said I wouldn’t help him? I pushed back the hair blowing in my eyes and stared at the splintered wood. The old man had definitely pointed to it. Was the broken sign a threat or was it some sort of clue?
    â€œThis place is a dump,” David remarked when he finished.
    â€œSo . . . do you think it’s unsafe?” I followed him through the swirling wind to the side door of the mansion.
    He chuckled. “I knew you were scared.”
    â€œI’m not scared,” I insisted. “Well, okay, maybe a little.”
    â€œAll the monsters and ghouls are safe and sound.” He unlocked the side door and flicked a switch, bathing the mansion in light.
    â€œI wasn’t worried about them,” I quipped, stepping into the small utility room beside him. “I was worried about the real people. The people who almost get crushed by falling signs.” I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. I’d never been sarcastic before. Something about this town was making me bolder.
    â€œPoint taken.” David opened a huge panel on the wall and ran down a row of switches with his fingers. “I assume this place is safe. It’s just rundown. The company that owns it