Part 4 (2/2)

I was having a hard time concentrating on my cla.s.ses. In Math, while I was supposed to be figuring out what ”X” equaled, I was really thinking about flames and bony hands and swarms of flies. I don't even remember what we talked about in English cla.s.s, because I wasn't listening. I was remembering that face at the window. And forget about gym cla.s.s. The volleyball bounced right off my head as I stood there trying to recall exactly how that moaning had sounded.

I was a mess.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, I was dying to see my friends. I could talk to them about this. They would understand. They were all obsessed with the house, too.

I met up with Dawn on the lunch line. She and I were both picking and choosing very carefully from what was available. Dawn usually brings some kind of whole-grain stone-ground organic stuff, but she must have been running late that morning, too. We both avoided the ”chicken chow mein” (gluey-looking gray stuff over noodles) and reached for fruit, milk, and plain cheese sandwiches.

”Are you okay, Stace?” she asked, as we walked over to our usual table. ”You don't look so hot.”

”I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, I guess,” I said. ”I had a terrible nightmare last night.”

By that time we'd gotten to our table, and everyone else was already there. They all wanted to hear about my nightmare, so I described it in all its gruesome glory. Then I told them that Charlotte had also had a nightmare, and I repeated her scary details.

I guess they could tell that I was really frightened, because they took it seriously.

”We've got to get to the bottom of this,” said Kristy. ”Is there really something going on at that house? It sounds like it might be very dangerous. There are a lot of kids living in that neighborhood. What if something happened to one of them? I hereby call an emergency meeting of the Baby-sitters Club!”

Wow. We rarely have emergency meetings, and when we do, they're usually about babysitting or club problems.

'I'll be there,” said Claud. ”Today's art cla.s.s was canceled. I can't think about anything else, anyway.”

”Me, neither,” said Mary Anne. ”That house really gives me the creeps. And if the whole town of Stoneybrook really is built over a burial ground, just-think of all the terrible things that could start happening.” I knew she'd seen that Stephen King movie Pet Sematary. Pet Sematary. She'd let Dawn talk her into going, but afterward they were both sorry. They were robably thinking about the movie a lot these days. She'd let Dawn talk her into going, but afterward they were both sorry. They were robably thinking about the movie a lot these days.

Everybody agreed that an emergency meeting was a great idea. As it turned out, Jessi was the only one who wouldn't be able to make it. She had ballet cla.s.s.

I felt better knowing that we were all in this together. I was able to pay a little more attention to my afternoon cla.s.ses, but even so, the day seemed to drag on forever.

When school finally ended, I ran home to meet Charlotte. She'd had a rough day, too. She was thrilled to hear that an emergency club meeting had been called and that she'd been invited again.

”I'm almost like a real member now,” she said.

I knew it would be a few years before Charlotte would be a sitter, but I also knew that being invited to the meeting meant a lot to her. ”That's right, Char,” I said. ”Maybe someday you'll be president of your own babysitters club. You could wear a visor to every meeting, just like Kristy.”

We headed over to Claudia's early, since we were both so eager for the meeting to start. I guess everybody felt the same way, because by four-thirty they were all there. Except for Jessi, of course.

Kristy called the meeting to order and announced a special agenda. ”This is an emergency meeting to address the mystery of Stoneybrook, and especially to figure out what's going on at that old house. Let's go over what we know so far,” she said.

We know that there are some very weird things happening there,” I said, ”and that the house has - or the spirits of the people buried beneath it have - some kind of power.”

”That's right,” said Claud. ”The power to drive us crazy!” She was sitting on her bed, chewing grape bubble gum and blowing purple bubbles, which matched her tie-dyed T-s.h.i.+rt dress. ”I mean, really. None of us can think about anything else.”

”I hear you had a nightmare last night, Charlotte,” said Mary Anne. ”That sounded scary.”

”It was!” said Charlotte. ”Those bony old hands . . . I'll never forget them.”

”Tell us again about everything you saw and heard at the house,” said Dawn.

Charlotte and I told the whole story once more, from faces to flies to flames. Then Kristy told us again about what she'd found in Watson's old books, and Claud repeated the stuff she'd learned at the library.

”There's something else, too,” she said. ”I wasn't going to tell you all, because it sounds so weird. I thought you'd think I was crazy. But I went by the old house today, just before I came here.”

We all leaned forward. She looked scared, almost as if she didn't want to think about what had happened.

”I was standing there looking at the house. I wasn't even very close to it. All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my arm, but when I looked, n.o.body was there. It was like an invisible person was standing next to me, and he - or she - wanted my attention.” Claud was being very serious. She was not kidding about this.

My mouth was hanging open. So was Charlotte's. I was glad that had never happened to me! That would have really been the last straw. Maybe we should just forget all about this house, I thought. This was getting too scary. I looked around the room. Everybody looked as scared as I felt, but they all looked fascinated, too. I knew we'd never give up now.

”What did you do, do, Claud?” asked Mary Anne. Claud?” asked Mary Anne.

”I ran!” said Claudia. ”I wasn't about to hang around and find out what it was they wanted from me. They probably wanted to steal my soul!”

”More likely they wanted to steal your Ding-Dongs,” I said. ”Even spirits like junk food.” . We all laughed. I think everybody was feeling a little tense, and we just needed an excuse to giggle for awhile.

But the laughter stopped when Mallory spoke up. ”You know,” she said, ”I just remembered something that happened to me a long time ago. It must have been last year some time. It was spring, and Vanessa and I had gone hunting for flowers together. We wanted to make a Mother's Day bouquet for our mom. We walked over to that house because I had remembered that old overgrown garden there. Sure enough, there were some really pretty flowers hidden in the weeds.”

I had noticed those old flower beds. They lay along the side of the house.

”We picked the flowers and went home. My mom loved her bouquet, but that night I had the strangest nightmare.” Mallory's voice was kind of dreamy. ”In it, I was back at the house, staring up at it. In every window and doorway there were people, looking at me and holding out their bony hands. They didn't say anything, but I got the strongest feeling that they were angry at me for stealing their lowers. They wanted them back.” She s.h.i.+vered. ”Of course, I couldn't give them back - they'd already been picked and given to my mom. What a scary dream. I just remembered it today!”

We all sat there quietly. We'd succeeded in scaring ourselves silly. Kristy tried to calm us down.

”Maybe we're letting this get to us too much. You know, I showed Watson that map I found, and he said it's just of a part part of Stoneybrook - the part where the cemetery is of Stoneybrook - the part where the cemetery is now.”

”I found a map, too. Remember, Kristy?” said Claud. ”And at first I thought that mine showed the same thing yours did. But you know how I am at reading maps and following directions.”

Charlotte spoke up in a timid voice. ”Does it really matter if the house - and the town - is built on a burial ground? Everybody's still having all these weird experiences.”

As usual, Charlotte had gotten to the heart of the matter. She may be a kid, but she's sharp.

”You're right,” said Kristy. ”It doesn't matter at all. There are too many other strange things going on. That's why it's time to find Mr. Ronald Hennessey and pay him a visit. Any volunteers?” She raised her own hand.

We all looked at each other. Slowly, Charlotte put up her hand, so I did, too. I had to stick with her. After all, I was her baby-sitter. Then Claud's hand crept up, too.

”That's enough,” said Kristy. ”We don't want to overwhelm him. He might be sick or something.”

Dawn, Mary Anne, and Mallory all looked relieved. Charlotte, Kristy, and Claud looked terrified, and I'm sure I did, too.

Chapter 12.

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