R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 06 (7 page)

And then it all went crazy.

The pins flew out of my hands. Flew out over the audience as if I had flung them.

“Ohh!” Billy Wilbur uttered a cry as one of the pins thudded into his chest.

I stood and watched in horror as another pin soared across the room. It made a horrible
thunk
as it crashed into Marci's forehead.

She let out a groan, raised her hand to her head, and collapsed to the floor.

“You killed her! You
killed
her!” Ashley screamed.

“M
Y HEAD. OHH, MY
head,” Marci groaned from the floor.

Ashley dropped beside her. “Okay. Erase that. You
didn't
kill her,” she shouted. “But she's going to have a big bump on her head.”

“I'll sue you!” Marci croaked. “I'll sue!”

I let out a sigh.

Billy Wilbur was holding his chest and gasping for breath. The pin had knocked the wind out of him.

“You did that deliberately!” Willy Wilbur shouted. He ran across the room and dove over the card table. He grabbed me around the waist and tackled me to the floor.

“Get off me!” I shouted, trying to squirm away. “Get off!”

He landed several gut punches before a bunch of kids pulled him away.

“I'll sue!” Marci screamed. She was standing up now and rubbing her forehead. A red lump had swollen to about the size of a tennis ball.

“I'll sue!” She shook her fist at me.

Ashley started to help her out of the house.

“No, wait!” I cried. “Don't miss the best part of the show! I have some great tricks. Really.”

The two girls disappeared out the front door. The door slammed behind them.

“Don't you want your party bags?” I called weakly.

Too late.

“Settle down, guys,” I said, turning back to the rest of the kids. I motioned for everyone to sit down again. “Accidents happen, you know.”

“It wasn't an accident!” Billy Wilbur shouted. “You're dead meat, Max.”

“Yeah,” his brother chimed in. “Happy birthday, Dead Meat!”

Nice guys.

Of course I knew it wasn't an accident. My hands hadn't slipped while I was juggling. I knew that Nicky and Tara had sent those pins flying.

They probably didn't mean to hit anyone. They just wanted to mess up my juggling, the way they'd messed up my birthday candle blowing.

Would they try to mess up my magic, too?

I'd been looking forward to this day for so long. Looking forward to the party and to performing my tricks.

And so far, it had been a total disaster.

Quentin had disappeared. The creepy ghostboy
in black was still outside, waiting for I-don't-know-what. One of the cool kids I'd wanted to impress had a major lump on her head and had to leave. Traci Wayne had never even shown up.…

The list of horrors went on and on.

And there were Nicky and Tara. So angry at me, they were trying to ruin my party.

Okay, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have told them to stay away. But I never dreamed they'd be this mean.

Well … I'm a brave guy. I stepped up to the table and started my show.

First I performed a few easy card tricks.

The tricks went well. The cards didn't fly out of my hands and hit people in the eye or anything.

I did a few tricks with the wand. Whipped the wand into the air, and it turned into a bouquet of flowers.

No problem. Worked perfectly.

A few kids clapped. I was starting to win them back. Time to do one of the harder tricks.

“Okay, everyone! Take a look inside this top hat,” I said. I held up the hat so they could see inside it.

“As you can all see, it's totally empty.”

I moved it in front of them slowly so they all could see.

Then I set the hat back down on the table.

“The eyes can be deceived!” I said. “Sometimes a great magician can make something appear where there was nothing! Watch carefully!”

Slowly, I waved my wand back and forth over the hat.

“Come to life!” I cried. “Come to life!”

I reached a hand inside the hat. I snapped open the secret compartment.

Then I lowered both hands to lift out the bunny rabbit.

My fingers curled around something thin and crackly. I heard a high screech from inside the hat. Something scratched my palm. And then fluttered up between my hands.

And I opened my mouth in a horrified scream.

T
HE FIRST BAT FLEW
out of the hat, screeching, its red eyes f laring. It soared up to the ceiling and then shot across the room.

Kids started shouting and ducking.

The second bat f luttered out silently. It hovered in front of my face for a few seconds, then turned and swooped forward —and landed on a girl's shoulder.

She screamed and slapped it away.

Flapping its wings hard, the bat hopped onto her head and let out a screech.

She slapped at it frantically, swatting it off with both hands.

The first bat came swooping down over the birthday cake in the dining room. Then it f lew back into the living room, dropping low, and shot into a boy's chest.

The boy let out a choked cry. The bat bounced off him and onto the lap of the girl beside him.

“Open the front door!” I shouted. “Somebody — open the door!”

My mom was already there. She swung the door open. Some kids ran to the front window and hoisted it up all the way.

Kids were running and screaming and ducking and covering their heads as the bats swooped down at them.

Your typical birthday party.

If you have two ghosts who want to teach you a lesson.

Finally, the two bats turned and darted out the front door, side by side. Mom slammed the door behind them.

I saw Colin on the bottom stair, leaning on the banister. He had a big grin on his face. “Nice trick, Maxie,” he said. “Do another one.”

“No —please! No more tricks!” Mom cried.

“No more tricks! No more tricks!” Billy and Willy and some other kids started to chant. “No more tricks! No more tricks!”

“Okay, okay,” I muttered. I slammed my magic case shut.

“Is the party over?” a boy shouted.

“Can we go now?” a girl asked.

“Yes. Can we go?”

Well, score another success for Max, I thought. Kids are
begging
to leave.

Awesome party.

“Are you satisfied?” I screamed at Nicky and
Tara. I couldn't see them, but I knew they had to be there. “Are you happy now?”

Kids stared at me.

“Max, are you okay?” Mom called, hurrying over. “Did one of those bats bite you?”

“I'm fine,” I said. “Just fine.”

“He's rabid,” Colin called. “Look out, everyone. Maxie is rabid!” Laughing, he went back up to his room.

I wanted to save the party. I didn't want everyone to go home now and tell their parents it was the worst day of their lives —and they'd been attacked by bats.

“Wait. We're going to play Twister!” I shouted. “Come on, guys. I've got two Twister mats. Double Twister! Come on. Let's do it. I've got prizes for the winners!”

Some kids were halfway to the door. But they stopped when I said the word “prizes.”

“What kinds of prizes?” Willy Wilbur asked.

I had to think fast. I didn't really have any prizes. “Uh … some new PlayStation games,” I said. Colin had every PlayStation game ever made. I could probably sneak some from his shelves.

A few minutes later, everyone was playing Twister.

I had two mats. We cleared away the furniture,
and I spread them out side by side in the living room.

The game was funny. Kids were climbing all over each other. Lots of laughing and groaning and joking.

Then suddenly, the room grew silent.

“I…can't move,” a girl said. She was on her hands and knees on the mat.

“Whoa. Weird. I'm stuck here, too,” another girl said from down on the floor.

“Hey, what's up with this?” a boy cried.

I gazed around the room in horror. My friends had all frozen in place, as if they were locked in a photograph.

“Max —help me up!” a boy shouted.

“You're joking about this, right?” Billy Wilbur said. He was flat on his back between the mats. I watched him struggle and strain to sit up.

“My back is
glued
to the floor!” he wailed.

“I'm stuck to Sarah!” a girl named Susan shrieked. “Help us! We're totally stuck together!”

“My shoes are glued to the rug! I can't move!” someone cried.

I looked for my mom. I didn't see her.

Kids were struggling and straining, grunting and groaning as they tried to stand up. A boy under a pile of kids started to cry. Other kids began screaming.

“Let us up! Let us up!”

“Help me! I can't move!”

“We're all glued together!”

Frozen in horror and disbelief, I stared at my friends as they screamed and struggled, unable to move. Finally, I shook off my fright.

I reached down to pull a boy up —and realized I couldn't move either.

My feet were glued to the floor!

I M
ADE A GRAB
for my friend's hand. Missed. And fell facedown onto the carpet.

I struggled to pull myself up.

But now my hands and knees were glued down.

“Help us!”

“Somebody call 911!”

“This is totally impossible!”

“Max, is this one of your stupid magic tricks?”

The cries and shouts rang against the walls as kids pulled and twisted themselves, pushed and strained. But no one could move.

It wasn't one of
my
tricks, I knew.

It had to be one of Nicky and Tara's.

“Nicky! Tara! Let everyone go!” I shouted. “I'm sorry! Do you hear me? I'm sorry! I should have invited you!”

A hush fell over the room.

“Max? Who are you talking to?” the girl named Susan asked.

“Nicky? Tara?” I cried. “I know you can hear me!”

“Max, you're freaking us out!” Susan said. “There's no one here named Nicky or Tara.”

“Good trick, Max,” Willy Wilbur said. “You got us all scared. Now let us up. I'm warning you, dude.”

“Yeah. I'm warning you too,” his brother added. “If I could raise my fists off the floor, I'd be pounding you with them.”

“Tara? Is this one of your spells?” I called out.

I struggled to lift my right hand off the carpet. But it wouldn't budge.

“Tara? Did you get this spell from that old spell book you have?” I cried. “This isn't funny. We're not enjoying this.”

No reply.

“You've gone too far this time!” I shouted.

“Max, we know you're not talking to anyone real,” Sarah said. “Please —stop the magic trick and let us up.”

“Yeah. We're all impressed,” Willy Wilbur said. “But let us up so we can punch out your lights.”

“This is the worst party I've ever gone to,” I heard someone mutter.

“Worst party in
history,
” someone else whispered.

“We're gonna
get
you for this,” Billy Wilbur growled.

I ignored them and called out to Nicky and Tara again. “I'm sorry!” I shouted. “Did you hear me? I've apologized six times. So stop this! Let my friends get up!”

I let out a gasp as Nicky and Tara suddenly appeared in the doorway. They both stood awkwardly, jerking their arms around as if trying to balance.

“We just got here, Max,” Tara said.

“And we're frozen too!” Nicky exclaimed.

“I'm glued to the floor!” Tara wailed. “It's not us, Max!”

“Who is
doing
this?” Nicky cried.

I heard a sound behind me. A crackling sound. Some short pops.

I turned —just in time to see the birthday cake explode.

E
VERYONE SCREAMED AT ONCE.

The cake blew up with a deafening roar. Chunks of white and chocolate cake shot across the room. They splattered the walls and ceiling and dropped onto my friends.

A thick glob of chocolate icing slopped into Willy Wilbur's face and dripped down his shirt. Kids were sputtering and shouting.

And suddenly, they were on their feet.

I saw kids stand up and stretch and help other kids up to test their arms and legs.

Kids were checking out their hands. Making sure their knees worked.

I lurched forward, startled that I could walk again. My shoes slid in a puddle of chocolate icing. I grabbed the back of a chair to keep my balance.

I helped Susan and Sarah to their feet. Then I turned and saw the smoke shooting up from the remains of the cake.

A column of thick black smoke hissed up to the ceiling.

Kids were running now. Pushing each other, stampeding for the front door.

I stood and watched the smoke as it divided in two. It hissed and crackled, billowing off the ceiling. Two waves of smoke now, f loating over my head.

Swirling, crackling, the smoke lowered itself over me. And I saw two figures form, like dark clouds.

The two dark-winged creatures sailed up, just beneath the ceiling, like the shadow bats you make with your hands. Just like those bats — except ten times as big.

My mouth dropped open in horror. My breath caught in my throat.

I stared up at these two bats, formed from the smoke of the cake explosion. I stared up at them, trembling as they circled me slowly.

The two shadow bats circled me, round and round —till I shut my eyes from dizziness. And over the whistle and hiss of the flying smoke creatures, I heard Nicky and Tara calling to me.

“Shades!” I heard Nicky scream, his voice high and shrill with terror.

“Max, they are
shades
!” Tara cried. “Not human, not ghost! Shades from the underworld!”

“The shades are the ones making all the problems!” Nicky called. “They did it all. They ruined your party.”

With a rush of hot wind, the two shades swooped in on me, covering me in smoke. Smothering me.

I started to cough. I couldn't breathe.

“Help me!” I cried to Nicky and Tara. “Do something!”

I couldn't hear a reply.

The twin smoke bats wrapped themselves around me, covering me in a hot, choking darkness.

I shielded my face with my arms, trying to protect myself. I struggled to breathe. My throat and chest burned with each breath.