The Barking Ghost

30

Panting excitedly, I charged into the kitchen and leaped up at the table.

Mom screamed and dropped the plate of liver on the floor.

In a flash, I bent down and began lapping it up. Delicious!

"See, Mom? Look, it's me! Your son, Cooper!" I yelped in between bites.

"Sam! Do something! That animal is eating our dinner!"

Huh? Animal? "No, Mom! It's me! Your son! Look, I love liver!"

But it was no use.

All Mom heard was, "Woof, woof! Woof, woof! Woof, woof! Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Dad shoved his chair away from the table and grabbed a newspaper from the counter. He rolled it up, then swatted my nose.

"Ow!"

That hurt!

"I'll see if the line to the pound is still busy," Mom said, picking up the phone. "Try to chase the dogs into the pantry and lock the door. We'll hold them in there until the pound can come get them."

The fake Cooper and Margaret helped Dad back us toward the pantry. "Bad dogs! Bad!" the phony Margaret shouted.

"Dad, do you think the pound will use a tranquilizer gun on them?" the phony Cooper asked.

"Maybe," Dad replied.

I glanced over at Fergie.

Tranquilizer guns? No thank you!

I never ran so fast in all my life. I even ran faster than Fergie.

"Got any other bright ideas, fleabag?" she asked when we were safely in the woods.

I growled at her and turned away. The sun was setting over the trees. The air felt cool. It would be dark soon.

"And thanks for saving some of that liver for me," Fergie snapped. "I'm hungry, too, you know!"

I ignored her.

I gazed longingly through the trees. Through the window of my house as Mom and Dad washed the dishes.

I couldn't help myself. I felt so bad. I started whimpering.

If only I could be inside my warm, comfortable house right now. In a short while, it would be dark. I didn't want to spend a night in the woods.

Think, Cooper! Think! I urged myself. There must be a way to get our human bodies back.

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" I cried. "I just thought of something!"

Fergie awoke from a nap. "What?" she asked lazily.

"We're dogs, right?"

"Right."

"So we should act like dogs!"

Fergie narrowed her eyes. "Cooper, what are you talking about?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, listen," I explained. "Remember how those ghost dogs got us out to the shack?"

Fergie nodded.

"That's what we should do! We should pull those kids back there, the way they pulled us! That's what dogs would do!"

Fergie raised her head. Her ears perked up. "Not bad! Not bad at all!"

"We're dogs," I continued. "We have sharp teeth, right? Very sharp teeth. We'll drag them into the woods and into the Changing Room — and before you know it, we'll be Cooper and Fergie again!"

Fergie bounced up and began panting happily and wagging her tail. "Excellent!" she cried.

"Okay, here's the plan." With my paw, I drew a diagram in the dirt. "The phonies are here, in the den. We'll walk through the wall and haul them out through the kitchen door. It's okay if Mom and Dad follow. We can outrun them."

"I'm ready. Let's do it!" Fergie exclaimed.

We trotted to the house and pushed through the wall, as planned.

Inside, the fake Cooper and Fergie were watching MTV on the den TV. We burst through the den wall and surprised them.

"Mom!" the fake Cooper screamed at the top of his lungs. "Dad! Help! It's the dogs!"

Fergie and I moved in on them, snarling as ferociously as we knew how.

I clamped on to the fake Cooper's ankle just as my parents and Mickey burst into the room. I motioned to Fergie to get on with it. In a flash, she leaped on to the phony Fergie and clamped her jaws around her wrist.

Then we tugged.

"Mom! Dad! Help!" the phony Cooper yelled.

"Mr. Holmes!" the phony Fergie cried. "Do something! They're attacking us!"

Mom ran for the broom. But before Dad could swing into action, Fergie and I had dragged the imposters through the kitchen.

I caught a glimpse of Mickey as I tugged. He was hiding in the corner, shaking all over.

Too bad I didn't have time to enjoy that picture.

We were out the door now. Everything was working perfectly. Fergie and I would be back to normal in no time.

The phonies knew where we were taking them. But there was nothing they could do about it. Fergie and I were too strong, too ferocious.

"Dad! Help!" the fake Cooper cried again.

"Don't worry!" Dad called out to him. "The dogs don't seem to want to hurt you! I think they want us to follow them!"

Way to go, Dad!

A short while later, I spotted the clearing where the old shack stood. It won't be long now, I thought happily. In a few minutes, Fergie and I will walk home with my parents. On two legs. No more fleas. No more food from garbage pails. I couldn't wait!

We panted wildly as the struggling imposters attempted to break free. But Fergie and I held on to them for dear life, tugging them, tugging with all our canine strength.

And, then, finally, we were there. The old shack. We pushed the phonies up against the door.

I released the fake Cooper from my grip for a second. I had no choice. I had to scratch a flea.

The phony tried to make a run for it.

"Cooper! He's getting away!" Fergie barked.

"No way!" I barked back. I bounded off after him and clamped my jaws down on the hem of his shirt. Then I dragged him back to the shack.

The fake Fergie screamed with all her might. "No! No! Not in there again!"

I glared up at her.

"Hold on, Margaret," I heard Mom call. "Don't be afraid. Let's see what the dogs are trying to show us."

It was time. Time to make the switch.

"Now!" I yelped.

Fergie and I jumped on the imposters and sent them tumbling into the shack. Then we leaped in after them.

All four of us fell down, down, down. Down into the solid blackness.

Once again, I felt dizzy and warm.

Warmer. Warmer. As if the warm blanket were being pulled over me.

I could feel myself changing. Changing in the darkness, in the sweltering heat.

I gazed above my head. A glowing shadow hovered over me. A shadow with tiny red eyes.

My body shuddered. I began to shake.

And all at once I knew. Something wasn't right.

"Fergie!" I cried out in a harsh whisper. "It's not working! Something is wrong! Something is very wrong!"