Free The Howling Ghost by Christopher Pike Page A

wants,” Cindy said, gasping.
    â€œOne of us,” Adam whispered. “Maybe both.”
    Just then they heard the cries of a young boy.
    The sound came from even farther above them.
    The attic had an attic.
    â€œNeil!” Cindy cried. “That’s my brother.” She let go of Adam and strode toward the ghost, anger in her step. “You old ugly ghost!” she swore at the thing. “You give me back my brother!”
    â€œYou might not want to insult it,” Adam suggested. “Try saying please.”
    But Cindy was too furious. Overhead, her brother continued to shout, pounding on the ceiling. It was only then that Adam noticed a ladder pinned to the ceiling. Obviously, it could be used to reach the second attic. If he could get to it. Between him and the ladder stood the ghost, and the thing didn’t look in the best of moods. Cindy raised a finger and shook it in the ghost’s face.
    â€œYou had no right to take him,” Cindy said. “He never did anything to you.” Cindy paused and shouted at the ceiling. “We’re coming, Neil!”
    â€œTry getting around to its other side,” Adam whispered loudly.
    Cindy glanced over her shoulder. “Why?”
    â€œJust do it,” Adam said. “I’ll explain later. Keep it distracted.”
    Cindy nodded and turned back to the ghost, whichstill looked angry, but unsure of what to do with them. Cindy moved to Adam’s right. The ghost followed her. Adam began to move to the left.
    â€œJust let Neil go and I won’t file criminal charges,” Cindy told the ghost. “We can forget the whole thing, pretend it never happened.”
    The ghost fixed its attention on Cindy. It even moved as she moved. Adam was able to use the opportunity to jump up and grab one end of the ladder. It folded down smoothly, barely creaking. Adam felt a wave of triumph. If he could get up into the second attic and grab Neil, they could be out of here and home in time for dinner. He pushed one end of the ladder to the floor and started up the steps. There was another trapdoor above with a metal catch. He’d have no trouble opening it.
    Adam almost made it. Another couple of steps and he’d have reached Neil. But the ghost was not blind.
    Adam felt a strong hard hand grip his ankle.
    He glanced down, not really wanting to see what had a hold of him.
    The ghost glared up at him. Fire burned in its violet eyes as it growled. The other hand wrapped around his other ankle. Then he was falling. The ghost had pulled his feet out from under him.
    Adam hit the floor hard. Pain flared through hisright side, and he had trouble drawing in a breath. Before he could recover, the ghost was on him. It was awfully strong for an old woman, especially one that had been dead thirty years.
    It grabbed him by the arms and lifted him right off the floor. For a moment Adam stared directly into its face. He could still see through it, but it seemed with each passing second the ghost was becoming more solid. It actually had bad breath. It gloated over him and then threw its head back, opening its mouth wide. The howling again shook the attic.
    â€œMaybe we could discuss this,” Adam said. “Work out some kind of trade.”
    The ghost was not in the mood to talk. It carried Adam to the wall, and with one stiff kick it broke a hole in the wall. Adam felt the cold air pour in. The ghost gave another kick and a large section of the wall collapsed. The ghost pushed Adam through the opening. Far below him—one hundred feet at least—he saw the waves crashing against jagged boulders. The wind tossed his hair. The ghost was slowly loosening its hold on him. This was it, he thought, he was going to die. No way could he survive such a fall.
    â€œAdam!” Cindy cried.
    The ghost dropped him.

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    M eanwhile Sally and Watch were very busy themselves. When the searchlight first came on, they both stumbled around half blind,