Who Let the Ghosts Out? Read Online Free Page A

over me.
    Phears floated above me. The light swept right through him. He let out a hoarse gasp. I saw his hands fly up to protect his face as if the light was painful to him. Twisting away from the glow, he curled into a tight ball. Then he disappeared into his fog, and the fog vanished too.
    Phears can't stand light, I realized.
    I turned to Buster—still inside out. He was lying on his side in the grass. His purple heart was pounding hard. It made a
sliccck sliccck sliccck
sound, sort of like windshield wipers.
    “Hey, Max—” The car stopped. Mrs. Murray, one of our neighbors, poked her head out the driver's window.
    “Oh. Hi, Mrs. Murray.” I climbed to my feet, feeling shaky and dazed. Phears' terrifying voice still boomed in my ears.
    Mrs. Murray pointed to Buster. “Did you drop your garbage there? Need help picking it up?”
    “No thanks,” I said. “It's just my dog.”
    Her mouth dropped open. She raised her eyes from Buster to me. “You're such a strange boy, Max,” she said. The car roared away.
    I shook my head, trying to clear it. What just happened? Did I really see what I thought I saw?
    I couldn't stop trembling. My legs felt like rubber bands. My breath rattled in my throat.
    It had to be a hidden-camera TV show, right? And now people were going to come jumping out of the bushes, telling me how scared I looked and how hilarious the whole thing was.
    But no. No cameras. No hidden TV crew in the bushes.
    It really happened. Who was Phears? Some kind of ghost or zombie or something? Why did he travel inside animals? And why did he think I was hiding someone from him?
    He said he had been in my room. That thought sent a chill down my back. And he said next time he'd peel me like an orange.
    Oh, wow. I had to make sure there
was
no next time. But—how?
    I squeezed my hand. The skin was back niceand tight. I shuddered and pictured it all peeled again with the yellow tendons and blue veins showing.
    At least Phears is gone, I thought.
    But I was wrong.
    As I turned to Buster, the black cloud floated over me again. I blinked, struggling to see in the heavy mist. And once again, I heard Phears' booming voice.
    “I know Nicky and Tara Roland are back,” he said. “And I know you are hiding them.”
    I raised my hands to shield myself. “Please—no more pain. You've made a big mistake.”
    “You are the one making the mistake,” Phears boomed from inside his ghostly fog. “But I am leaving now. I am clouding your mind so you will not remember me. I don't want you to warn them. I don't want them to know that I am coming. So I am erasing your memory for now. But don't worry—I will be back!”
    Everything went bright red for a minute. So bright, I had to shut my eyes.
    When I opened them, I was standing on the street corner with Buster's leash in my hand. Why did my hand ache? Had Buster snapped at me?
    I gazed around the dark street. Something had just happened, I knew. Something strange. I struggled to remember. I felt kinda shaky and weak.
    But I couldn't remember anything strange.
    Buster bared his teeth and started to growl at me. He swung his head around and tried to take a bite out of my leg. At least
he
felt totally normal.
    I tugged him home and locked him up in the garage. Then I hurried inside, still feeling weird.
    I found Mom and Dad in the den, side by side on the brown leather couch, staring at the wide-screen TV. “What took you so long, Maxie?” Mom asked, her eyes straight ahead on the screen.
    “I … don't know,” I answered. “I feel kinda dizzy, kinda weak. And my hand hurts.”
    “Hold it down!” Dad snapped. “Wrestling is on.” He leaned toward the TV screen so that his face was nearly in the ring with the two hulky wrestlers.
    “Max, you'd better go up to your room,” Mom said. “You're interrupting a grudge match.”
    “Aren't they
all
grudge matches?” I asked. They didn't hear me. They were cheering on one of the wrestlers, shouting and shaking their fists