Scare School (8 page)

Then I had an idea. A desperate idea.

As I danced, I reached out—and grabbed an imp by the hands. Dancing, dancing frantically, I tugged it to the front of the stage.

“Eeeeee!” The imp howled in surprise. The audience laughed at the strange high-pitched sound.

The imp tried to pull away, but I held tight.

And holding the imp’s hands in front of me, I forced it to dance with me.

Kick kick. Kick kick. Sway kick.

I got up on tiptoe and twirled one way, then the other. I kicked and bowed and swayed. And forced the confused imp to follow along.

The auditorium had been silent. But now a few
people started to laugh.

As the imp and I danced, one of the snare drummers began to drum along. Some people started to clap.

More people were laughing now.

The imp frowned at me, desperate to pull free.

But its grip was growing weaker. I could see its color fade. Its eyes grew wide with panic.

Behind us, I saw the other imps step back. Their faces were tight with fear.

They knew what I was doing.

I could feel their power fading. They were losing control of me.

Gripping the imp’s hands tightly, I pretended to slip. I fell backward to the floor. The imp fell on top of me.

The audience roared now.

Onstage, kids in the band were laughing, too.

I could see the light fading in the imp’s eyes. I could feel its strength ebbing away.

The other imps faded. They appeared to be shrinking, caving in on themselves.

I got up and twirled the imp around in another wild, crazy dance.

The audience laughed louder.

They didn’t know that their laughter was my weapon. They didn’t know that laughter could kill.

But I remembered my research about imps. I
remembered everything I read about them.

I remembered that they love jokes of all kinds …
but they cannot stand to be laughed at!

I danced crazier and crazier, stomping my shoes on the floor. Tangling my legs. Falling again. Whipping my head from side to side. Twisting and shimmying.

And the audience roared …

Roared until the four imps faded away. Laughed as the horrified imps shrank … shrank until they were tiny round green puddles on the stage floor.

And then finally, I stopped my dance.

And collapsed to the floor. And listened to the applause, the wild applause.

Applause that I knew I would never forget.

A few days later, Mr. Kelly was named acting principal of the school. That afternoon, he called me to his office.

His expression was solemn as he closed the office door behind us. “First of all, Sam,” he began, “I want to congratulate you. You did a real service to Wilton Middle School by destroying the imps.”

“Uh … thank you,” I said awkwardly.

He shook my hand. “That took real courage, Sam,” he said softly. “Those imps ran wild for years until you came along. You should be very proud of yourself.”

“Thank you,” I repeated.

He let go of my hand. “But we have one other little problem,” he said, sighing.

I swallowed. “Problem?”

He nodded. “You see, now that the imps are gone, the
troll
has come out of its hiding place.”

Mr. Kelly’s eyes locked on mine. “Think you could help us with this one?”

“You guys, I’ve got something so amazing to show you!” I hung my camera around my neck, grabbed my friends Summer and Ben by their arms, and dragged them downstairs.

“Hello, it’s nice to see you. Thank you for coming over … ” Jeff teased. “There are dozens of greetings you could have used, Ben.”

“Where are you taking us?” Summer asked.

“Just follow me,” I told them. “You’ve got to see this for yourselves.”

I led them outside. It was a beautiful, clear night. I paused in the backyard to gaze up at the sky. There were millions of stars and planets.

Which ones had aliens living on them? Which ones had sent visitors to Earth?

We flicked on our flashlights and started into the woods. There was no wind that night. Everything was very still.

“It’s kind of spooky out here,” Jeff whispered.

We walked for about ten minutes. I hoped I could find my way back to the figure eight. What if I
couldn’t? Jeff and Summer would never believe anything I had to say then.

“How much farther?” Summer asked. “It feels like we’ve been walking forever.”

“Are you sure you know how to get back?” Jeff asked.

“We won’t get lost,” I promised. “I think we’re almost there.”

A few minutes later, I stepped into the clearing.

There was the figure eight. The moon had risen, and the figure seemed to glow in the moonlight.

“This is it,” I told them. Even though it was dark, I lifted my camera and snapped a few pictures.

Summer and Jeff stared at it. Summer rolled her eyes. “Here we go again,” she mumbled. Then she turned to me.

“This is it?” she echoed. “What’s it?”

“The figure eight!” I cried. “Look it at! It’s huge! Something burned it into the grass!”

Summer and Jeff stepped closer. “So?” Summer said.

“Don’t you think it’s mysterious?” I cried. “I mean, how did it get here? Who made it? Why?”

“It’s just smushed-down grass,” Jeff said.

“Step inside it l” I dared them. “Just step over that line. You’ll see.”

“You go first,” Jeff said to Summer.

“Wimp,” Summer muttered. She stepped across
the line in the grass and stood inside one of the loops of the eight.

I waited for her body to jolt the way mine had. But she just stood there calmly.

“Come on in, Jeff,” she said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Jeff stepped inside the loop. Nothing happened to him, either.

“Don’t you feel anything?” I asked them. “Don’t you feel the power?”

“Ben, stop it,” Summer pleaded. “You’re really scaring me.”

“Look!” I moved carefully toward the figure eight. I hesitated because I wasn’t eager to get shocked again.

I stepped quickly over the line.

Zzzip!

I felt a sharp shock and jumped right back out.

“Did you see that?” I demanded.

“I saw you jump,” Jeff said. “But I already knew you could do that.”

“You don’t feel a shock or anything?” I cried. “Ben, is this supposed to be another alien thing?” Summer asked.

“Well—”

“All you think about is aliens,” Jeff said. “You see signs of them everywhere!”

“Face it. You’re obsessed,” Summer said. She
paused and looked me straight in the eye. “Ben, you’re starting to sound really crazy.”

My jaw fell open. “How can you say that?” I asked. “You guys are my best friends!”

They exchanged that look again. My heart sank. If I couldn’t count on Summer and Jeff, who could I count on? I was beginning to feel so alone.

Then I heard something. A rustle.

I glanced up at the treetops. The air was dead calm. Not a breath of wind.

I froze, listening. Something rustled again.

“Did you hear that?” I whispered.

“Now what?” Summer said. “Are the aliens landing?”

“Sshhh!” I held one hand up to shush her. We all stood still.

Behind us, a twig snapped. I heard feet shuffling through the leaves.

“Now did you hear something?” I whispered. Summer and Jeff nodded.

There was someone else in the woods!

I ran toward the sound. Whoever was out there, I was going to catch him—or her, or it.

“Ben, what are you doing?” Summer called. She and Jeff hurried after me.

I dashed into the woods. I heard footsteps running away from me, back toward my house.

The moonlight filtered through the tall trees. I
flipped on my flashlight. I stopped for a second to listen.

Someone was running to my left. I ran in that direction, my flashlight beaming.

I was getting closer. I could hear the person breathing heavily.

“Who’s there?” I called.

No one answered.

At last I got close enough to catch a glimpse. The beam of my flashlight grazed the back of the person’s head.

I saw a flash of blue. Bright blue. A glowing, bright blue.

A roaring boom—like thunder—made me gasp. An alien!

It was finally happening. I was chasing an alien! “Come back!” I shouted. “I just want to talk to you! I won’t hurt you!”

The flash of blue vanished behind a clump of tall bushes.

“Please—come back!”

I dove into the bushes. My feet tangled in a long, twisting vine.

With a cry, I fell to the ground.

My heart thudding, I scrambled quickly to my feet. I searched for the eerie, blue color. Listened for footsteps.

No. The alien had disappeared.

Summer and Jeff caught up with me. “Did you see that? A flash of blue!”

They shook their heads. “We heard someone running,” Summer said. “But we didn’t see anyone.”

“But did you hear that boom?” I went on. “It sounded like thunder. And look! It’s perfectly clear tonight. There are no clouds in the sky!”

“Calm down, Ben,” Jeff said. “Maybe it was a sonic boom from one of those new jets at the military base in Roswell.”

“Maybe,” I replied. “But the flash of blue light—it’s one of the signs.”

“Signs of what?” Summer asked. “Of Ben Shipley losing his mind?”

“One of the signs of alien life,” I said. “I’m not crazy, you two. First that weird figure eight. Then the flash of blue … ”

They started back toward the house. My mind spinning, I hurried to keep up with them.

Summer and Jeff didn’t say much. I could tell I was freaking them out.

I’m not losing my mind, I thought. I know I’m right.

I saw an alien tonight. It
had
to be an alien!