The Barking Ghost

13

Sunday morning I woke up early as usual. I had only a few more things to unpack, and I knew I could finish before breakfast.

I unrolled my Red Sox poster and tacked it to the wall, over my bed. Same place I'd hung it in Boston.

Then I rummaged through a box, searching for my lucky pair of red socks. As I was slipping them on my feet, I heard the doorbell ring.

"Cooper!" my mother called to me a few seconds later. "There's someone here to see you!"

Who could it be? I didn't know anybody here.

Then I had a thought. Maybe Gary asked his dad to drive him and Todd up to Maine to surprise me!

Wow! What a great surprise!

I closed the box and charged out of my room, down the hall, and to the front door. I was so excited!

But no Gary and Todd.

Fergie stared at me from the front doorway. I could see at first glance that she was kind of nervous. She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other. And she twirled a lock of her bright red hair between her fingers.

"Oh. Hi," I mumbled, unable to hide my disappointment.

"I need to talk to you," she said. "Right away."

"Okay, sure," I replied.

"Not here," she said, nudging her head toward the den where my mom and dad were reading the newspaper.

I sighed. "Okay, wait a sec." I ran back to my room and pulled on a pair of sneakers.

"Let's go out back," I suggested. She nodded solemnly and followed me outside.

I swung on the tire and listened to Fergie. "It was all your brother's idea!" she blurted out.

"Excuse me?" I cried.

"I don't know why I agreed to do it, but it was really all his idea. Every bit of it."

"What was?" I asked.

"Everything I told you yesterday. About your house. And the woods."

"You mean they're not haunted?" I asked, confused.

Fergie shook her head. "Of course not."

"But why did you tell me they were?" I asked.

"I told you, it was all Mickey's idea. I met Mickey the day you moved in," Fergie explained. "He told me it would be funny if I played this trick on you."

"He what?" I cried.

"He told me the two of you always played all kinds of tricks on each other," Fergie replied. "He said you would think it was a riot."

"A joke?" I asked. "It was all one of Mickey's jokes?" I couldn't believe it.

Fergie bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Mickey said to tell you the woods were haunted. He said to tell you the house was haunted, too." Fergie sighed. "So I did it. But when I saw how scared you were, I felt really bad about it. I wished I hadn't listened to your brother."

Mickey. That jerk.

"But how did you know about the dogs?" I asked.

Fergie stared blankly at me. "Dogs? What dogs?"

"That's the word you whispered to me," I explained. "Dogs."

Fergie twisted her face, thinking hard. "No, I don't remember saying that. Are you sure I said 'dogs'?"

I nodded. "Definitely. That was all you said. Dogs. And, then, after you ran off, two mean-looking black Labradors chased me through the woods."

"Really?"

I nodded. "They chased me all the way home. Then they just vanished."

"Weird," Fergie mumbled.

"Tell me about it," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Where did you first see the dogs?" Fergie asked me.

I pointed into the woods. "Back there. Near a stream."

"That's the stream that leads to the Martells' house," Fergie said. "They're friends of my parents. They don't own any dogs, Cooper."

I shrugged, then batted a fly that buzzed in my ear. "Well, someone around here must have dogs," I told her.

"I'm scared of dogs," Fergie admitted. "I'm glad I didn't see them yesterday."

"They weren't nice dogs," I muttered. "You wouldn't like them."

"Hey, did you see a big rock in the shape of an arrowhead when you were near the stream?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I didn't."

"It's really cool," she gushed. "You should check it out. I go there all the time. It's a great rock for climbing."

"Let's check it out now," I suggested. I still thought the woods were scary — haunted or not. But I didn't feel like hanging around the house.

I hopped off the tire and followed Fergie into the woods. I spotted a long, thick stick and picked it up. "In case the dogs come back," I told Fergie.

We walked a little while until we reached the stream. Fergie searched around for her rock.

"I know it's here somewhere," she said, turning to me. "I can never — "

She stopped short when her eyes met mine.

"Cooper!" she whispered. "What is it?"

I stumbled backwards. My hand trembled as I pointed to the trees directly behind Fergie.

"Mar — Margaret!" I whispered in terror. "The dogs! Look out! They're coming! They're coming right at us!"