Ghouls Gone Wild by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online

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    The ball bounced twice on the pavement and into my hands.
    “Heave it, Max!” Quentin shouted.
    I pulled back my arm—aimed at Willy Wilbur's gut—and tossed the ball with all my might.
    “Oh noooo!”
    Too hard. The ball flew over Willy's head and out toward the playground.
    No. No. No.
    Traci Wayne came walking by. Traci, the most beautiful, hottest, coolest, most awesome girl in school.
    Am I in love with Traci? I don't know. I only know I got all out of breath and almost swallowed my tongue twice the last time I tried to talk to her.
    Traci came walking by—and the ball hit her smack in the face.
    She let out a startled “Huh?” Blood poured from her perfect nose. And she dropped to herknees in the grass, shaking her blond hair, totally stunned.
    “It was an accident!” I shouted. I took off running toward her.
    I had been planning to invite her to my birthday party next month.
    But maybe this wasn't the best time.
    She was holding her head and howling in pain. Blood flowed from her nose, through her fingers.
    “An accident,” I choked out. “I wasn't aiming. Really. I don't know my own strength. I'm just too awesomely powerful. That's why I don't play dodgeball. It isn't fair to the others.”
    I don't think she heard me. She was howling at the top of her lungs. Maybe she had a concussion or something.
    I bent down to help her up. But I stopped when I saw a figure at the side of the school building. A figure dressed in black.
    The evil boy!
    He followed me to school!
    Pressed against the brick wall, he stared at me.
    I saw Mrs. Wright, the principal, running over to help Traci. “Traci, are you okay?” she called.
    “Noooo,” Traci replied, still covering her face. “Noooooo.”
    “Mrs. Wright, can I ask you a question?” I said. “Is there a new kid in school? A kid who wears black?”
    She squinted at me. “No, Max. The only new kid in school is Quentin Jones.”
    I turned to Quentin. He was still in the dodge-ball game.
    “Well, do you see that kid in black over there?” I asked, pointing.
    Mrs. Wright looked toward the school.
    No one there. The boy in black was gone.
    “My faaaaace,” Traci Wayne chimed in. “It's broken. It's broken.”
    Mrs. Wright pulled Traci to her feet. “I don't see any kid in black, Max,” she said. “I have to help Traci now.” She hurried away, guiding Traci toward the nurse's office.
    I turned back to the school and saw the kid again.
    A chill ran down my back.
    No one else seemed to notice him. He stood there pressed against the building. Watching me …
    Watching me …
    Late that night, sound asleep in my bed, I felt a hand grip my shoulder.

19
    “H UH ?” I JERKED UP with a startled cry. “Who's there?” I called out in a choked whisper.
    The little lamp on my dresser flashed on. Blinking, I saw Tara beside me, her hand on my shoulder. Nicky stood by my dresser, his body tensed, his face tight with worry.
    I forced myself to wake up. “What's going on?” I asked.
    “Time to go to war,” Tara whispered.
    “We're going to chase away those ghouls,” Nicky said. “Before they do any more damage.”
    I climbed to my feet, yawning. My pajama pants were all twisted. I nearly fell over. I untwisted them and turned to the two ghosts. “I'll come with you,” I said.
    Tara pushed me back. “No way, Max.”
    “We told you before,” Nicky said. “Humans can't chase away ghouls. They aren't afraid of humans.”
    I swallowed. My mouth felt totally dry. “But they're afraid of ghosts?” I asked.
    “We hope so,” Tara said. Her voice trembled. “We're new at this ghost thing. We don't really know what we're doing.”
    “It might be a tough fight,” Nicky said, brushing back his dark hair.
    “But we're doing it for
you,”
Tara said, squeezing my shoulder again. “Because we like you, Max. And we know you're our friend.”
    “Our friend who won't move away and leave us,” Nicky added.
    I swallowed again. I could see they both were