Free R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 04 by Little Camp of Horrors Page B

ghosts were gone in minutes. My hand trembled and vibrated. The air still smelled sour with the sick smell of death.
    Mr. Roland took the pendant from me and pressed it tight. “Thank you, Max,” he said, waving it in front of him. A tense smile spread over his face. “Now they're back where they belong.”
    Mrs. Roland had her arms around Nicky and Tara.
    “And where do
we
belong, Dad?” Tara asked in a trembling voice.
    Mr. Roland sighed. “I wish I knew.”
    “We have to start all over again,” Mrs. Roland said. “If we can rebuild our lab, maybe we can find a way to be solid again.”
    “You mean maybe we can be alive?” Tara asked.
    “Maybe,” Mrs. Roland murmured.
    “At least we captured the ghosts,” Mr. Roland said.
    “All except Phears,” I said.
    That made everyone stop. We all glanced around the camp. A chill tightened the back of my neck.
    Phears could still be lurking.
    “Let's move on before Phears returns,” Mr. Roland said. He raised the life pod. “I want to hide these ghosts away somewhere safe, where no one will ever find them again.”
    We turned away from the lake and began walking toward the lodge. The sky brightened. A hazy sun poked through the parting clouds.
    Mrs. Roland walked with her arms around Nicky and Tara. Their father had a grim, determined look on his face. He held the life pod tightly in his hand.
    I saw something gleaming on top of an evergreen shrub. A large caterpillar. The sunlight caught it and made it shine.
    As I started to move past it, I saw the caterpillar grow.
    In seconds, it had puffed itself up to the size of a hot dog. A prickly green hot dog. I stopped with a sharp gasp. I knew what was happening.
    The caterpillar curled on top of the shrub. Soon it was as long and fat as a baseball bat.
    “Hey—” I called to the Rolands up ahead of me. “Hey, it's—it's—”
    My warning came too late.
    I fell back, startled, as the caterpillar burst apart with a loud
pop
. Its guts flew from its shattered body. The hot and sticky yellow glop splashed me in the face and covered my hair.
    “Ohhh.” I let out a moan and frantically tried to wipe the disgusting stuff away.
    When I raised my eyes, Phears floated out from the exploded caterpillar. I watched helplessly as his swirling black fog encircled Mr. Roland.
    Mr. Roland had no time to put up a struggle. Phears grabbed the life pod from his hand.
    Then Phears floated over us, and his laughter boomed through the trees.
    “Like taking candy from a baby,” he said.

34
    B EAMS OF SUNLIGHT TRICKLED through Phears' black fog, though his face remained hidden in darkness. But we didn't need to see his face to know that he was smiling.
    He floated over the Rolands, waving the life pod, teasing them with it. “Phears wins,” he said. “Phears wins. You lose.”
    “Take it and leave!” Mr. Roland shouted up to him. “We won't go after you, Phears. Take your ghost friends with you and go away.”
    “I have a better plan,” Phears replied. “I let my friends out now. I put the four of you inside.
Then
I leave.”
    He snickered. “A much better plan. And this time I'll find a cozier hiding place for the Roland family. Someplace where you can enjoy being together forever.”
    He turned his gaze on me. “Don't think I've forgotten you, Max. Don't worry. I'll think of a good ending for you, too.”
    I hurried up to the Rolands. “Is there anythingI can do?” I whispered. “Is there any way Phears can be destroyed?”
    Silence for a long moment.
    Then Mrs. Roland whispered, “Only one way he can be destroyed. He teased us with it when we first captured him. He can only be destroyed by someone shouting out his real name.”
    “But no one knows it,” Mr. Roland added. “And no one has ever been able to guess it.”
    I gazed up into Phears' swirling mist.
His real name? Phears' real name?
    What could it be?
    Above us, Phears leaned out from his fog cloud. I could see his dark cloak and, above it, his pale face