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

frightened. “Maybe you don't need to fight them,” I said. “Maybe the ghouls will just go away.”
    “Ghouls
never
just go away,” Tara replied. “Once they've found a cozy place to live and make mischief, they stay forever.”
    “But—but—”
    Were these ghouls really vicious? I didn't want my friends to get hurt.
    “Don't worry, Max,” Tara said. “We'll sneak up on them. We'll scare them to death.”
    Nicky smacked his fist against his palm. “They won't know what hit them,” he said. “Bam, boom. They're history.” Tough words—but I noticed his voice cracked.
    I started toward the door. “I'm coming with you.”
    Tara pushed me back again. “Hel-
lo
. How can we surprise them if you come with us?”
    “Okay, okay.” I dropped back onto my bed.
    Nicky clicked off the dresser lamp. We were left in a deep darkness.
    Then the two ghosts disappeared into the hall.
    “Good luck,” I whispered.
    They didn't reply.
    I stared into the blackness, hugging myself to stop my shivers. I sat up straight, alert to every sound.
    I waited…and I listened.

20
    T HE SILENCE RANG in my ears.
    I shut my eyes and tried to picture what the two ghouls looked like. How did Nicky and Tara plan to scare them? Did my friends really believe the ghouls would just turn and run?
    My heart started to beat like a bass drum. I clasped my hands together. They were wet and cold.
    I should have talked them out of this, I decided. What makes them think they can fight two vicious ghouls?
    The questions kept repeating in my mind as I listened to the silence. Staring into the blackness, I just wanted it to be over.
    Silence.
    Silence. So quiet I could hear the hum of the refrigerator as it clicked on downstairs.
    More silence.
    And then a loud
thud
made me jump to my feet.
    I heard a choked gasp. Another
thud.
    I shut my eyes tight. My hands were squeezed into tight fists. My pajama shirt was damp, clinging to my back.
    I heard a hard bump. The sound of someone hitting the floor. More gasps. More thuds.
    And then a high, shrill laugh. Not a human laugh at all. An eerie laugh like an ambulance siren, rising and falling.
    I jumped to my feet and staggered to the doorway. I poked my head out into the hall.
    I heard scrapes and bumps, sounds of a struggle. But I couldn't see a thing.
    I heard a soft cry. And then a long, scraping sound—like someone sliding down the banister.
    Another shrill laugh. More hard bumps. Someone being heaved into the wall? Were they wrestling now?
    I jammed my hands over my ears. I couldn't stand it. My legs were trembling. I had to lean against the doorframe to keep from falling.
    I pictured my poor friends being beaten by two hideous ghouls. Wrestling on the hall rug. Being smothered by the creatures.
    Even with my hands pressed over my ears, I could hear the bumps and thuds of the battle.
    And then silence again.
    I lowered my hands to my sides. I hunched tensely in my bedroom doorway, every muscle tight.
    Silence. That ringing, hollow silence.
    I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
    “Nicky?” I called down the hall in a hoarse whisper. “Nicky? Tara? Are you okay?”
    No answer.

21
    H OW LONG DID THE SILENCE LAST ? I don't know. I only know it was the most terrifying silence of my life. And it seemed to go on for
hours!
    And then finally, I heard the scrape of shoes on the hall rug. A cough. A soft groan.
    Footsteps approaching me.
    “Nicky? Tara? Is that you?”
    Or was it the ghouls?
    Listening to the slow footsteps, I staggered back into my room. I clicked on the ceiling light.
    Nicky stepped into the doorway. I saw his hair standing on end as if he'd received an electric shock.
    And then I saw that he had an arm around Tara.
    He dragged her into my room. She was bent nearly in half. His left arm was wrapped around her waist. And his right arm…
his right arm was missing!
    Then Tara stood up—and I opened my mouth in a scream of horror.
    “Tara!” I wailed to Nicky. “Her head!”
    Her head…No