9

I stepped back from the window, dropping my toothbrush to the floor. Normal the very idea of my toothbrush hitting the floor would have been enough to freak me out.

This was much worse, though.

My pulse sped up and my heart thumped in my chest like it was striking a drum of some kind.

I was so tense that I even jumped when I heard the sound of the phone ringing downstairs.

I heard Mom’s low voice answering the call; but I was too stunned to pay attention to what she was saying.

My sight was stuck on the dead boy, the same way his own was stuck on me.

Then I began to hear Mom climbing the stairs quickly.

“Cameron,” she called.

I turned away from the window as she came to the bathroom door, the phone in one hand.

“Telephone,” she said.

I took the phone with a shaky hand.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Only because I had seen a ghost… Or something similar.

“I’m fine,” I answered. “I just felt dizzy for a moment. That’s all.”

“You kids probably should have gone a little easier on the sugar yesterday,” she said, turning to go.

“Maybe that’s it,” I agreed, putting the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Cameron,” Polly’s shaky voice spoke on the other end. “Cameron, you’re not going to believe this. That kid from the playground followed me home.”

I felt my skin crawl and tighten around my muscles.

“What?” I croaked.

“He followed me home,” she said again. “He’s here now.”

“There’s no way,” I responded, darting to the window.

The dead kid no longer stood outside, looking up at me through the window. He wasn’t there at all… Vanished.

“He’s here now,” Polly went on, “and I’m scared, Cameron. I told you we shouldn’t have gone to the Forbidden Playground.”

“Just calm down, Polly,” I urged.

“I can’t calm down,” she returned. “It’s hard to be calm when you’re being hunted by a dead kid.”

“We need to find your friend, Nick and get the gem back�"the one we took from the kid’s headstone. I have a feeling that’s what he’s after. It doesn’t make sense that he’d be after us just for crossing into his woods.”

“How are we going to do that?” she returned. “Find Nick, I mean.”

“You mean you don’t know where he lives?”

“No�"I don’t.”

“How can you be friends with the guy and not know where he lives.”

“I guess I was�"I don’t know. It just slipped my mind�"I guess.”

I sighed heavily.

“That sounds really dumb,” I said.

“Don’t call me dumb, Cameron.”

“Whatever. Look, we have to tell the others that they are in danger,” I said. “You need to sneak out of the house and head over to Squire’s place. Marcus and Taylor are most likely gaming over at his house. We have to find Nick and get the stone back.”

I could tell by the sound of Polly’s voice she was on the verge of crying. She was terrified. I was terrified. And when the others found out what was after us now, they would be terrified, as well.

“I don’t think I can do it, Cameron,” Polly admitted.

“You can do it,” I assured her. “I’m going to hang up now and head for Squire’s place. Meet me there A.S.A.P.”

Like that, I hung up the phone, got dressed and darted down the street on my bike.

My mind was racing the entire bike ride to Squire’s house.

I couldn’t believe Polly could be as dumb as all that�"not knowing where Nick lived, that is.

My heart was racing faster than I think it ever has in my life. As my pulse sped up, my bike sped up, as well.

I began pouring sweat less than two minutes away from Squire’s place. By the time I arrived, my shirt was soaked.

I came to the driveway in front of his house and jumped off my bike furiously. The bike dropped on its side at the curb, and I went running across the front yard. That was when I heard Polly’s voice behind me.

“Wait for me, Cameron,” she cried.

She jumped off her bike and it dropped beside mine.

When she ran up to the front door, I could see she was soaked to her skin with sweat the same as I was.

I knocked on the front door of Squire’s house, and no one came.

I heard his dog, Twig, on the other side of the door. The dog was yapping his head off at whoever dared to knock on his home.

I knocked louder. Then I did it again.

I reached to knock again, but I withdrew when I heard Squire approaching the front door.

“Hold your horses, whoever you are,” he said.

The door opened and Polly and I darted in.

Squire had a look of confusion on his face as he spoke.

“Hey guys. What’s up?” he asked.

Neither of us stood around long enough to answer him though. I ran upstairs to his bedroom and Polly followed close behind me.

Squire came running up after us.

When we entered his room, we found�"just as I had suspected�"Marcus and Taylor. They had been playing a video game that was now paused.

“You guys aren’t going to believe what’s happened to us,” I said, trying to catch my breath.

Marcus and Taylor both sat their game controllers on the floor. After Squire walked in and shut his bedroom door behind him, Polly and I filled them in on what had happened.

After I told them about the dead kid coming to my house (and Polly assured them he had been to her house, as well) all three of them snickered in disbelief.

“Do you really expect us to buy that?” Marcus asked.

“It’s true,” Polly said.

Marcus asked, “Are you guys still mad that we went along with Nick, just to scare you?”

“Polly started to answer, “No. It’s�"“

“Yes, we are,” I interrupted. “But we’ll worry about that later. Now we have a real problem. And we have to find him.”

“Find who?” Taylor asked.

“We have to find Nick,” Polly answered.

“Then why don’t you try going to his house?” Squire asked.

“Because I don’t know where he lives,” Polly admitted.

“You mean you’re friends with the guy and you don’t know where he lives?” Taylor asked with a snicker.

I could tell that annoyed Polly, but I was only concerned with the finding of one kid and the losing of another.

“That’s not a problem,” Squire assured me.

“How so?” I asked.

In the background I could hear his dog, twig. The pup was at the top of the stares now, and he was barking again.

“My sister knows him,” Squire returned. “I told her about scaring the pants of you last night. She said the kid comes into the library sometimes.”

I forgot for a moment that Squire had a sister at all, let alone one who had the name and address of almost every kid in town on a computer.

“That’s great,” I said, trying to ignore the sound of Twig barking just on the otherside of Squire’s bedroom door. “Where does he live?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I didn’t ask. But she’s at work now. Just ride over and ask her.”

“You guys have to come with us,” Polly said.

She looked back to Squire’s bedroom door. Twig was bark more aggressively now, and I could tell it was annoying her.

“But we’re in the middle of the game,” Taylor said.

“It can wait,” I said.

Now Squire was getting annoyed with the sound of his barking dog, as well.

“Shut up, Twig!” he shouted through the door. “How do we know that you’re not trying to get us to play along so that you can get us back for last night?”

“You don’t,” I responded. “But you have to trust us.”

“How do we know you’re not trying to get us in on a plan to get even with Nick?’ Marcus asked.

“You don’t,” Polly replied. “But�"”

She stopped talking and looked to the door again.

Twig was barking his head off now. The dog was really angry about something.

“Shut up, Twig!” Squire shouted, opening his bedroom door violently.

He walked out onto the landing toward the dog, which was barking furiously and showing his teeth.

“If you don’t stop that,” squire said, approaching the dog, “I’m going to put you�"”

Squire’s voice dropped off suddenly, as if the boy had dropped of the earth.

“Squire?” I said, stepping onto the landing�"Polly close behind me. “What’s wrong?”

Squire didn’t respond. He only turned and looked at us coldly. His face had lost all color, and he was pale as a ghost.

My blood ran cold, and my skin broke out in goosebumps.

I ran to him, to have a look at what he was seeing.

Then I saw the dead boy looking back at us.