Wanted by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online

hoarse breathing was so nearby. Rapid, excited breathing.
    â€œYou — you’re not scaring us!” I choked out. A total lie.
    I took a few steps forward. Maybe I could make it to the stairs before our silent visitor attacked.
    I let out a cry as I stumbled over something on the floor. Something soft. Something alive. “Nooooooo!”
    I fell and hit my knee hard on the wooden floorboards. Pain shot through my body.
    â€œTh-there’s a creature up here,” I managed to whisper.
    â€œI can’t see it. It’s so dark,” Marcus whispered back. “What happened to the light?”
    The creature was breathing noisily now. Whatever it was, it knew it had us trapped.
    I forced myself to my feet. My knee throbbed.
    I stumbled forward. Bumped into something hard. And a white light flashed on.
    A floor lamp. I’d bumped into a floor lamp. And turned it on.
    I spun around, ready to face the creature. And burst out laughing.
    It was Buzzy. Polly’s big, friendly black Lab.
    Marcus and Brad let out long sighs of relief. Then they dropped down beside me on the floor. And the three of us petted Buzzy and told him what a good dog he was.
    I glanced up at the ceiling light. The old bulb must have gone out. The light switch was too high for Buzzy to bump.
    Buzzy panted and drooled and seemed to enjoy all the attention. But then the dog froze. His ears stood straight up. He arched his back. I could actually see the fur on his back stand up.
    Buzzy jumped to his feet. His brown eyes stared at something across the room. His entire body went stiff.
    â€œLook at him,” Marcus whispered. “He’s like that hunting dog my family used to have. It’s like he’s spotted his prey.”
    â€œPrey? What kind of prey is in this attic?” I said. I felt my skin tingle with fear again.
    The big dog was staring at the closet against the wall. He took a few timid steps toward it. His ears went down. He lowered his head — and started to whimper.
    â€œWhat’s wrong, Buzzy?” I asked. “What’s frightening you?” I tried to pet his back, but he shook me off. I saw his body tremble. He kept his head down, staring at the closet, and whimpered like a child.
    â€œThere’s something in the closet,” Brad said. “Something scaring him.”
    â€œWell, what could it be?” I said. I took a deep breath, worked up my courage. Then I crossed the attic to the closet, gripped the door handle, and pulled it open.

The attic rang with our screams as a hideous old man came roaring out of the closet. He was half skeleton, half human. Most of the skin was missing on his face, and I could see the yellowed bone of his skull.
    His eyes were sunk deep in their sockets. His nose was missing. Just a hole on the front of his face. His mouth was an open, empty gash.
    He wore a ratty black cape and baggy, torn black trousers. He was barefoot. One foot had skin. The other was just bones.
    He came screaming out at us, bony hands reaching in front of him.
    No time to escape. He grabbed me by the shoulders and tightened his grip until I gasped.
    â€œ The mask …” His voice was a hoarse crackle from somewhere deep in his throat. “ It’s haunted. …”
    â€œLet me go!” I shrieked. I pulled back — and slipped easily from his bony fingers. I stumbled backward into Brad and Marcus.
    â€œ Haunted … The mask …” the hideous man groaned. His sunken eyes studied each of us. His cracked lips kept moving, working over his toothless gums.
    â€œLeave us alone!” I screamed. “Go away — please !” I could still feel the iron-hard grip of his bony fingers on my shoulders.
    He nodded solemnly. I could see cracks in the top of his head. “ Listen to an old ghost…. Listen to a lonely old ghost…. The mask …”
    â€œNoooo!” I screamed. I grabbed the handle and slammed the closet door shut.
    The