With the last of my strength I pulled her back over the banister and we both collapsed on the floor.
“What happened?” said Katie, dazed and shivering.
Before I could answer there was a CRACK! of lightning. In the flash I could see Katie’s terror-stricken face.
Thunder rolled over the house, shaking it to the core.
We huddled on the floor as a violent wind battered the house. Somewhere downstairs a window broke.
The wind shrieked—suddenly every window in the house shattered with a huge explosive crash.
The wind invaded the house, howling from every direction, gathering force as it rushed up toward us.
“Sally!” I shouted. “We’ve got to get to my sister!”
The wind tore the sound out of my mouth, but Katie nodded. She understood.
Gripping one another, we pushed down the hall, fighting the wind every step of the way.
We managed to get back to the bedroom.
Inside, Sally was clinging to the bedpost with one hand, her hair streaming out behind her. With her other arm she clutched Winky.
“Hang on!” I screamed.
Poor Sally was crying and frightened but didn’t seem hurt. Our feet crunched broken glass as we ran to her.
As I gathered her up she cried, “Bobby’s scared!”
I felt a leap of hope. “Is there anything we can do to help?” I asked.
“No,” Sally said, sniffling. “The witch-thing is too strong. She’s come back to get him.” She buried her head on my shoulder and sobbed.
“We’ve got to get out of this house!” shouted Katie.
Sure, if the house would let us go.
We kept to the wall in the hallway, pressing our backs against it as we inched along, the wind batting us around like cat toys.
When we reached the stairway we threw ourselves against the banister and held on.
Slowly we pulled our way down the stairs, gripping the railing.
I could see the front door! We were almost there.
At the bottom of the stairs we held tight to one another and inched across the hallway. Under the roar of the wind I heard the echo of evil laughter.
I refused to listen. We were going to make it.
We reached the front door and Katie grasped the doorknob.
She turned the knob and pulled.
The door opened.
Outside it was a beautiful starlit night without even a puff of breeze.
As I lifted my foot to cross the threshold, I felt the house sigh.
And then we were hurtling backwards, sucked up the stairs.
The house had breathed us in again!
The front door banged shut—SLAM.
The wind was too powerful to resist.
Our feet never touched the floor.
The brim of Katie’s hat flapped in my face and her dress flew up to blind us. Sputtering, I pushed it off my face, fighting off the smell of the grave.
As we were blown upstairs the attic door opened with a BANG! so hard the doorknob smashed through the wall.
The wind dragged us up the stairs and tossed us into the attic.
It was Bobby’s attic. In the corner was the child’s rocking chair. No other furniture, not even the toy chest.
The wind stopped abruptly.
As we started to breathe again the attic door slammed shut behind us. We were locked inside.
What did the ghost want with us? Why had the house dragged us back inside?
Before I could figure anything out there was another sharp CRACK! of lightning that made us jump.
Katie screamed.
In the flare of light we saw a tall, hooded figure raising a sledgehammer, ready to strike.
35
We were trapped!
I shoved Sally behind me and pressed against the wall. I could hear the creature coming closer but it was too dark to see clearly.
Somehow, though, I was sure that darkness was no problem for this creature, the witch-thing that finally had us cornered.
There was nothing up here to use as a weapon.
“Get away!” I shouted. “Leave us alone!”
I kicked out with my foot but knew it was no use, I couldn’t even see where I was aiming.
Then suddenly a dim, cool light sprang up behind us. It was like the soft, bluish light that came from my closet mirror.
Now I could see clearly—and what I saw was the witch-thing standing right directly in front of me! The evil red eyes glowed inside the black hood.
Then it smiled, revealing hideous teeth.
The sledgehammer came down—SMASH!
I dodged out of the way and the hammer crashed into the floor right where I’d been, putting a jagged hole in the floor.
“Die, Jason! Diiiiiiieeeeee!”
The creature threw back its head and howled with rage. The hood fell back and for the first time I could really see its horrible face.
It looked a thousand years old, a wrinkled white mass like crumpled paper.
The face of an ancient witch with tiny, glittery eyes. Not a skeleton at all. Worse. Much worse.
She shrieked again and fixed me with those evil eyes. I felt like a bug pinned to the wall.
Raising the sledgehammer, she lunged at me.
There was no room to get out of the way.
I ducked and she came at me again.
I slipped. I was sprawled on the floor with the witch-thing looming over me.
There were no second chances.
She threw back her head and let out a shriek of triumph. I felt her foul, garbage breath and saw her stumps of rotted teeth.
“I’ve got you now, you wretched boy!”
She swung the sledgehammer right at my head.
36
I rolled sideways and the hammer missed by inches.
The witch-thing just laughed that evil laugh.
“Leave him alone!” Katie screamed. In her oldtimey get-up she almost looked like a ghost herself.
“Don’t touch my brother!” shouted Sally.
But the witch-thing ignored them and raised the hammer again, ready to squash me like a bug.
I was finished.
And then what would happen to Sally? Or Katie? They’d never get out of this alive.
I had to fight even if it was no use.
I tensed my shoulders. When the witch-thing swung at me, I would try to catch the hammer.
I got ready, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach.
The creature’s glittering eyes bored right through me. She raised the hammer higher, poised to strike.
And suddenly the rocking chair rocketed up out of the
