Chapter 8: Fire!

Chapter 8: Fire!

Suddenly the decorations on the wall start moving. The bats are flying around the room. They are making strange noises.

“No!” screams a girl. “There’s a bat in my hair.” “Help!” screams a boy. “This bat is a vampire!”

Slowly the ghosts enter the house. They penetrate the walls. They are really spooky. They move around their victims.

Megan and Susan are terrified and say, “They’re waiting for midnight! Do you remember the twenty names on the floor? These are their ghosts!”

“We must find Kelly,” says Megan.

A candle on the table falls. The paper tablecloth is burning. “Fire! We must get out of here!” says Bill.

”Oh, no! It’s a big fire!” says Susan.

“We can’t open the door,” says Nick. “It’s five to midnight. At midnight the ghosts take our bodies. What can we do?”

“I must find Kelly,” says Bill.

He takes his torch and runs to the basement. He looks in all the barrels. Finally he sees Kelly. She is sleeping.

“Kelly, Kelly!” says Bill. “Wake up! Wake up!”

Kelly does not wake up. “Kelly!” says Bill. “Kelly!”

Bill takes Kelly in his arms and carries her upstairs.

It’s two minutes to midnight. There is fire everywhere. The room is full of black smoke. Everyone is terrified. Bats and spiders are flying in the air. The ghosts are waiting for midnight.

No one can open the door or the windows.

Suddenly the portrait is burning. The fire is destroying the evil spirit.

“Look!” exclaims Megan. “Abigail Cross is burning!”

“Yes,” says Nick, “and the other ghosts are burning too!”

“Look, the door is opening,” says Bill. “Quick, let’s go!”

Everyone runs outside. Bill carries Kelly outside.

“Is everyone here?” asks Nick. He counts. There are twenty people.

The fire destroys the house and the evil ghosts inside. Terrible noises come from the house.

“This is the scariest Halloween party of my life,” says one of the boys.

Megan and Bill are waking up Kelly. She is still sleeping. But no one can wake her up. “Is she in a coma?” asks Megan.

“I don’t know,” answers Bill. Everyone is standing near Kelly. “Oh, Kelly, please wake up,” says Megan.

Suddenly it starts raining. There is thunder and lightning. Kelly moves her head. “Where am I?” she asks.

“Oh, Kelly! You’re OK! I’m so happy,” says Megan.

“What’s happening?” asks Kelly.

Bill smiles and explains everything to her.

“Do you believe in ghosts now?” asks Nick.

Bill looks at him and slowly says, “Well… yes.”

Then they all go home.

Kelly has some strange dreams that night. The next morning she wakes up early. Megan is still sleeping.

She is happy to be home. She gets up and goes to the bathroom. She looks in the mirror and cannot believe her eyes. What can she see? A red mark around her neck. A mysterious voice in the mirror says, “When you play with fire, Kelly, you burn your fingers!”