“What?!” Danny exclaimed.
“It’s true, Danny!” Lil cried. “Sam was the one who figurered it out!”
“Actually,” Sam stated, “Chuckie was the one who came up with a good solution.”
‘Chuck?!’ Danny thought, glancing at Tommy’s best friend. ‘He’s just full of surprises today!’ “How did you come up with an answer like that?”
“I didn’t really.” Chuckie said quietly, his cheeks turning red. “I just told Sam to look up Mr. S.T. Sohg’s name in the phone books cause that’s what my Daddy does when he wants to find peoples names.”
“We quickly thought about this,” Sam continued, “and decided go check the phone book by the payphone near our parents’ cabins. And get this, S.T. Sohg’s name wasn’t even under the S list! We tried other sources too.” she stated. “He wasn’t in the old newspapers that were out for recycling or in Jazz’s famous people books. He isn’t even in any of the magazines with Vlad!”
“So we gots to thinking,” Tommy added, “what if S.T. Sohg isn’t real? What if he was something else other than a human bleeding?”
“Then we all gatherered in our cabin,” Phil explained further, “and put all of the puzzle pieces together.”
“And we camed up with this.” Lil finished. She reached onto her diaper, pulled out a small, folded, rectangular piece of paper, and toddled over to Danny. He took it with both nervous and eager anticipation.
Danny slowly opened the piece of paper. He really didn’t want this to be true. I mean, S.T. Sohg? The kind and friendly man that gave Danny and his friends a chance to fix their summer? He was holding Vlad hostage? It couldn’t be true.
On the small piece of paper, in Sam’s neat handwriting, stood one word:
GHOSTS
The big letters staring back at Danny confused him. “It’s the word ghosts.” he said dumbly. “How is this helpful?”
“Hold it up to the windlow.” Tommy answered.
‘The window?’ Danny thought. ‘How is that gonna help me?’ But he did what he was told, and slowly walked toward the busted up cabin. Danny held the piece of paper up to the window. What he saw shocked him. The word that stood in front of him now was:
STSOHG
“See, Danny?” Sam asked nervously. “S.T. Sohg isn’t real. He’s a ghost. He’s been taking advantage of Vlad and us this whole time, and we didn’t even know about it until just now!”
But Danny barely heard her. Sam and the babies were right, S.T., or whoever he was, was taking Vlad captive. S.T. was no friend. He had never wanted to help Danny or Vlad. All S.T. wanted was to get some help from the best, well known ghost hunters in the world and their kids. Danny felt like he was going to throw up, but he held back.
“Wait a minute!”
Danny’s friends lifted their heads up to look at him.
“What is it, Danny?” Chuckie asked.
“I just thought of something!” he answered. “If there are ghosts here, there has to be ghost portal near the camp!”
After a few seconds of silence, Tommy exclaimed, “You’re probably right Danny! That’s why the ghostys keeps coming here!”
“Okay,” Sam stated, “so we know now that the ghosts are coming from a portal. The question is, where is it?”
“Well,” Danny explained, “my Dad says anything ghosts require usually comes from a huge power source. But there’s nothing electric around here, so I’m not sure where we should look first.”
The babies were silent for a moment.
“You know,” Chuckie said after awhile, “I think someone would want to build a portal where no one would eggspect to look or somewhere that they wouldn’t wanna go to. And that lake looks pretty yucky so-,”
“Wait a minute!” Danny cried once again, “So you’re saying you wanna go across the lake and see if we find anything suspicious? Are you really Chuckie Finster?”
“Hey,” Chuckie said, shrugging, “it’s not that I wanna go to where all of the ghostys might be comin’ from. You told me the firstest day we met that life’s all about taking risks. And I’d better start taking them, one step at a time!”
J J J J
Danny was surprised that Chuckie was going to take a huge risk like this. Normally he would’ve panicked and said something like “I’m not sure if this is a good idea you guys!” or “No way! I’m not gonna do this!”. Then once the babies started off for their new adventure, Chuckie would hesitate and then run after them calling, “You guys, wait for me!” But this time, he was actually ready to go some place without worrying what was going to happen. And Danny thought that this was the wrong time for Chuckie to think so.
“Chuck,” Danny hesitated, “you’re taking a huge risk here. All of you guys in fact. I’m not sure if this is the best idea.” He turned around and entered the boys’ cabin. The babies followed.
“Danny,” Tommy asked his playmate as he slipped his feet into an orange jumpsuit, “what are you doing?”
Danny zipped the jumpsuit up comfortably around his neck. “I’m going across the lake to save Vlad.”
“HOO!?” Steve cried.
“By yourself?” Sam asked, with a scared look on her face. “Danny, you can’t!”
“I don’t want to do this as much as you don’t want me to, Sam. But Vlad was like a brother to my Dad and Mom. And he still is! Don’t you guys get it? If Vlad never comes back, my whole family will be devastated!”
“We gets it all right, Danny.” Phil answered.
“We just don’t wants you to goes and risk your lives!” Lil said finishing Phil’s statement for him.
“Please let us goes with you, Danny!” Chuckie pleaded. “We promless we won’t be in your way.”
Danny put his hand lightly on Chuckie’s shoulder. “I know you guys wouldn’t be, Chuck. But this is something I have to do on my own.”
Danny quickly walked over to the small refrigerator near his bed, opened it, and grabbed three juice boxes that were still kind of cold. He put them in his blue gym bag with all of his ghost equipment and zipped it up. Danny was about exit the cabin, until Tommy stopped him. “Danny, wait! Peas don’t goes!”
Danny froze, but didn’t turn around. He couldn’t bear looking at his playmate for possibly the last time ever. Danny especially didn’t want Tommy-or his other friends for that matter- to see him start crying. Tears were already brimming in Danny’s eyes. But he held them back.
“You’ve always told us to stand up for what we believes in.” Tommy started. “You tolded us that whenever bad things happen, we’ll makes it through together. All of us babies believes that. And we always will.”
Danny slowly turned around to glance at his friend.
“You’ve taughted us a lot of stuffs, Danny.” Tommy continued. “And we can’t go on learning new stuffs without you. I may not knows much, but I know leaders and fighters-,” he paused for a moment to find the right words and then explained, “Leaders and fighters always stand by their friends’ side. At least,” Tommy added, “that’s what I believes.”
Danny looked into his playmate’s eyes. He could tell by Tommy’s expression that he really didn’t want Danny to go across that creepy, murky, lake by himself.
‘That’s probably Tommy’s worst fear.’ Danny thought. ‘Losing someone he cares about.’
Danny suddenly thought back to two weeks ago. Dash almost beating up Danny and his friends on the last day of school, Tucker spending his summer in California, Speedy dying, Angelica trying to anger Sam, Tommy up in the luggage holder on the airplane…Then it hit him. Danny really didn’t want a perfect first summer; he had only wanted to make sure his friends didn’t get hurt with all of the excitement.
‘Wow.’ Danny thought. ‘I guess I’ve spent so much time with my parents in the past five years I’ve become a little overprotective.’ He glanced at his friends. They all looked like they wanted to join in this adventure together, like they always did. Danny sighed. He wasn’t sure what to do….
L L L L
Once he reached the other side of the lake (which wasn’t a very pleasant boat ride for him by the way), Danny quickly hid behind a bush nearby, for Chuckie was right. There was something suspicious here, and that was the building standing right in front of him.
It was a very tall, dark brick building. There were barbed wires covering the many square windows and a huge gate surrounded the giant building. Plus, there were two huge guards in big metal suits standing in front of the entryway with spears. Their guard dogs stood boldly in front of them, ready to attack anyone who got in their masters’ way.
“How did we not notice that before?” Sam asked.
Danny shrugged. “I guess none of us ever bothered to look across the lake.”
“I can see why.” Lil said holding her nose. “It’s stinks over here!”
“Sorry.” said Phil.
“You guys,” Danny whispered sternly, “be quiet! We can’t just let the guards see us. We have to get inside that building!”
“G-Goes inside?” Chuckie whispered, fearfully. “Are you crazy? We can’t goes in there!”
“We have to Chuck. It’s the only way this camp will ever be safe again.”
“Hoo?” Steve asked.
“Yes, Steve.” Tommy said, looking at the owl on his left shoulder. “He’s sure. But, Danny’s right. We can’t just walk through those doors. I gots a plan!” He paused. “Danny,” Tommy asked, “do you gots any more of those jumpy suits?”
J J J J
Tommy’s plan was a brilliant one. The only problem was that Danny wasn’t sure how they were going to convince the guards that they were grown-ups. After all, they were only two and a half feet tall. Or at least Danny was anyway.
He sighed, pulled the hood of the jump suit over his head, and secured the red goggles over his eyes. Danny had used these goggles before when he had first met Tommy. When you put them on and pushed the little red button on the left side, the goggles, along with the person who was wearing them, turned completely invisible. If you pushed both buttons, you could see things before the event that occurred happened. Danny had brought it on the trip with him because he would never know if he might need them.
Danny turned to his friends. They were all wearing orange jump suits and goggles just like his. “Are you sure you guys want to do this?” Danny still didn’t think this was a good idea.
“Are you kidding, Danny?” Sam asked. “We’re here, we’re wearing jump suits, and we have a plan to get inside the building already. We’re not backing out now!” The babies nodded in unison.
Danny gripped onto his sky blue gym bag that he carried ghost equipment in, and sighed again. “All right then.” he said nervously. “Let’s do this.”
Danny lifted the bag over his left shoulder, with Steve on his right, and headed toward the building. His friends followed.
Right on que, the guards spotted them. “HAULT! WHO GOES THERE?” The guards dogs started growling.
“You called for an exterminator?” Danny asked uncertainly.
“What?” one of the guards asked, with a puzzled look on his face.
“I asked if you called for an exterminator.”
“No.”
“I beg your pardon?”
This time the other guard spoke. “My brother said no, we did not call for an exterminator. Move along now.”
‘Brother?’ Danny thought trying hard not to laugh. “I’m sorry sir, but my address paper says you called for an exterminator. It says right here: Lake Eerie, across the lake, brick building, cockroaches and rats everywhere.”
“What?!” the first guard exclaimed. “Let me see that!”
Danny handed the paper to the guard, and he read it thoroughly. Once he finished, the guard started questioning Danny. “So, you’re exterminators, eh? Are you sure you guys are qualified for this job?”
“Of course I am! Here’s my card!” Danny pulled a small square piece of paper out of his right pocket and handed it to the second guard who read:
“Jimmy Johnson and Jenny Johnson
“We eliminate! We exterminate!”
1-800-222-4444”
The guard looked up from the card and glanced at Danny’s right shoulder. “What’s the owl for?” he asked suspiciously.
“Oh, you mean James here? We take him anywhere where there’s rats. He just can’t get enough of them!”
“Hoo!” Steve replied, happily.
“And where’s Jenny Johnson?” the first guard questioned.
“She’s right here!” Danny answered, pointing to Sam.
“It’s a pleasure doing business with you sir!” she exclaimed, holding a hand out to him.
“Look,” the first guard suddenly cried, “I’ve had enough of this! We didn’t call one, two, or-,” he paused and counted them, “six exterminators!”
“Plus,” the second guard added, “our boss is in there, and he would tell us if an exterminator was coming before hand! And how come you’re so short, and your little friends don’t talk?”
Not knowing what else to do, Danny cried, “Sir, I am offended!”
“Excuse me?”
“Excuse you!” Danny was yelling now. “I have been doing this job for over twenty years! These people are young trainees and they’re very shy! Plus, Jenny and I are really forty years old, we just look five!”
“I’m sorry sir! I-,”
“Just open those doors and let us do our job.” Danny said, madly. “You’re lucky we don’t sue you!”
“I’m sorry sir! Go right on in!” The guards stepped aside and the six of them entered the building.
Once they were safely inside and out of the guards hearing range the babies pulled down their hoods.
Danny chuckled softly. “Dummies.” he mumbled happily.
“C’mon Danny!” Tommy cried, shaking his arm. “We gots to get outta here! The ghostys might comes here soon!”
Danny nodded, looking down one of the dark, damp halls. If S.T. and his ghostly minions caught them before they even took one step forward, Dash’s message would only be clearer and more to the point.
And Danny wanted to prove him wrong. “You’re right Tommy.” he answered. “We’d better get going. Now, stay close behind me and whatever you do,” Danny continued, “don’t touch anything!”
They silently marched straight down the hall.
J J J J
Meanwhile, the guards outside were talking into their walkie-talkies. “Yes, boss.” the first guard was saying. “They said they were exterminators. They wore the uniforms, they had the phone number, the papers, everything.”
“And,” the second guard added, “those guys also had the owl. We had to let them pass.”
“Hmmm.” said a deep voice coming out of the second guard’s walkie-talkie. “Did you see what those ‘exterminators’ happen to look like?”
“Well,” the first guard thought for a moment, “they were all pretty short, the two who own the business seemed older than the others, and, uh…Oh yeah! The trainees didn’t talk at all.”
“Is there anymore information you can give me?” the man asked.
“Yes, boss.” the second guard replied, proudly. “The business man said he and his twin sister have been doing this job for a little over twenty years, but they just look like they’re five.”
“Wait, what did you just say?”
“I said-,” but the second guard didn’t even get a chance to answer the question.
“YOU IDIOTS!” the deep voice yelled. “THOSE WEREN’T EXTERMINATORS! THAT WAS JACK AND MADDIE FENTON’S SON AND HIS PLAYMATES! YOU LET THEM INTO THE BUILDING?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THOSE KIDS WILL DO IF THEY FIND OUT WHAT WE’RE DOING IN HERE?!”
“We’re s-sorry boss.” the first guard said, shaken. “W-We- We didn’t mean-,”
“YOU BONEHEADS APOLOGIZE ALL YOU WANT! NOW I HAVE TO GO AND FIND THEM MYSELF!”
“What do you want us to do, boss?” the second guard asked.
The man sighed. “You two will stay in your spot in case other little children want to come and inspect the building!”
“Will do, boss!”
The two guards went back to their job, like what had just occurred never happened.
Rugphan
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