I know, I promised this house in the beginning of the summer, and it's nearly autumn now! Please forgive the lateness. I'll try to update this often.

SUMMER HAUNTING

Chapter One

"Too Good To Be True"

The frayed windshield wipers on the old car smeared the rain more than anything else. It hit a rut in the road, causing the vehicle to shake violently. The rabbit in the back seat squealed as she fell over, bumping into the hedgehog girl sitting beside her.

The creature on the other side of the hedgehog was the strangest looking of the girls inside the vehicle. She had no nose, and flowers grew where her ears should have been. Cosmo, an alien plant, was staring forlornly out the window. When the lightning flashed, she cringed, then sighed and started staring again.

In the front seat, a pink hedgehog stared at a map. Every so often, she'd turn it from side to side, as if completely confused by it. Each time she did, the hedgehog in the back seat giggled. The driver, a bat, clearly didn't see the joke.

"Amy," the bat said at last, "if you can't read the map, then pass it to Anita or Cosmo. I think we're going in circles."

"No," I can do this," Amy Rose insisted, even though she knew full well that she was hopelessly confused. "Anita has no sense of direction, and Cosmo's too spacey."

"That's not nice," Cream said. "Cosmo's really smart. If it weren't for her, I'd've failed French. Right, Cosmo?"

"I'm sorry," the plant girl said. "Did you say something, Cream?"

"See?" Amy said. "Where were you just now, Cosmo?"

"Oh," Cosmo said, "I was just thinking, I'd really love to stick my head out the window, but I'm afraid of lightning."

"Why would you want to stick your head out the window?!" Rouge demanded, making a rude sound.

"It's raining," Cosmo said, as if that explained everything. The hedgehog sitting beside her giggled again.

"Quiet, you!" Amy said to the other hedgehog.

"Now, now," Anita said, grinning. "If you're mean to me, I'll have to tell my big brother, Sonic!"

"Blackmailer!" Amy said. She didn't really think Anita would fink on her, but couldn't afford to take the chance. Sonic had been overjoyed to find his little sister last autumn. Now that Sonic seemed finally over Princess Sally Acorn, Amy was hoping he'd finally start to pay attention to her. If Anita went whining to her brother that Amy was picking on her, he might change his mind about giving her a chance.

"Blackmail's a smelly word," Anita said. She was reading a manga with a penlight. Amy looked at it. "Vampires Versus Werewolves on Wheels." She rolled her eyes. Amy had thought that only Tails' crazy brother, Simon, had such wacky tastes.

"I can't believe this weather!" Rouge complained. "It was perfectly clear when we started!"

"It's like the place we're going to is haunted," Cream said.

"Well, the guy did seem really happy we were taking it off his hands, didn't he, Rouge?" Amy admitted.

"Oh sure," Rouge snorted. "Now you believe me?!?"

****

It was the last week in June, and Rouge and Amy had rented a beach house for everyone. Unfortunately, most of their friends had had business to take care of, and only Cream, Cosmo, and Anita had been free to go with them. Strangely, the agent had seemed very eager to let them have the building at a surprisingly low price. Too eager. Rouge had been suspicious, but Amy had laughed it off.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" Amy'd said.

"You don't get something for nothing," Rouge had insisted. "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

But Amy had been too depressed by the fact that Sonic couldn't come with her to listen. She had started her spiel about their destiny together.

"And we'll live in a big house on the beach, like the one we're renting," Amy had said, staring blankly into space and starting to drool a little, "and we'll have seven sons and seven daughters, and their names will be…"

"I don't want to hear the names of your fourteen imaginary kids again!" Rouge had yelled as they'd left the agent's office. "Seriously, you need to get a life!"

"You're just jealous because I'm getting closer to Sonic now than you are to Knuckles!" Amy had insisted.

"Seriously, you're delusional," Rouge had said. While Sonic was no longer running from Amy Rose, he had shown little interest in anything other than friendship with her.

"At least Sonic isn't dating other girls," Amy pointed out.

Rouge had spun around, intending to kick the hedgehog, but had stopped. Amy was right. Knuckles was seeing both Julie-Su and Shade. The fact that the other two girls were both echidnas like he was made her wonder sometimes if she really had a chance. There was Shadow, but he treated her like a nuisance. Then of course there was…No! No way! She'd go out with a hobo before she'd seriously consider dating Eggman!

****

"Turn left up here, Rouge," Amy said, looking back at the map.

"Amy," Rouge said, "you've been telling me to turn left every time we come to a fork in the road since we started. We might as well be on a merry-go-round!"

"Yeah!" Cream said. "That would be fun, wouldn't it, Cheese?"

"Chao chao!" Cream's best friend, a strange-looking blue creature, agreed.

"Cheese thinks so," Cream said. "How about you, Anita?"

"I like the rides where you go plunging into the dark and can't be sure you won't crash right into something!" Anita said, grinning fiendishly.

"Uh…okay," Cream said. "Uh…how 'bout you, Cosmo?"

"What?" Cosmo said. "Don't you just love rain, Cream?"

"It's like we're all on our own planet!" Cream muttered to Cheese.

"Chao chao!" Cheese agreed.

Anita giggled again. She was enjoying watching everyone get on each other's nerves.

Amy Rose was feeling the same way the bunny did. Cream was her best friend, and Cosmo had been invited onto Team Rose as soon as she'd come back, but the others were too different for Amy to care much for them. Anita had been emotionally scarred by her imprisonment by the mad scientist, Doctor Eggman, and Rouge…well, Amy had never really trusted Rouge. She would have preferred it if Shade the echidna warrior had come with them instead. But Shade had business in space. Hopefully, she'd be able to join them in a few days.

"I miss Tails," Cosmo said suddenly.

"I miss Bokkun," Cream said.

"You have got to be kidding me, kid!" Rouge said. "How can you miss that little weirdo?"

Cream folded her arms. "He makes me laugh," she said. "And he's completely loyal!"

"Is that a dig?" Rouge demanded. Knuckles had made no secret of the fact that he was seeing more than one girl. Besides Rouge and Shade, he was also going out with Julie-Su. It was the general consensus that Knuckles was an idiot.

"I miss Sonic," Amy sighed.

"I miss Sonic picking his nose!" Anita said, giggling uncontrollably. As Sonic's sister, Anita had known all of her brother's bad habits and idiosyncrasies. Amy had pumped her for information, but Anita was mischievous, and tended to just repeat things that Amy already knew.

"Quit it!" Amy cried. "I don't want to hear negative things about my Sonic!" She folded her hands and squealed. "Oh, I can't wait to see him again!" She sighed. "At least Tails will be by for Cosmo in three days. I won't see Sonic for five! Five days away from my one true love!"

"That would make a good name for a romance novel," Rouge admitted. "Like 'Crying Out Love In the Center of the World.'"

"Or 'A Tree Grows In Brooklyn,'" Cosmo said. Everyone stared at her. "I heard it in a cartoon," she admitted. They continued to stare at her. "I'm not sure what it means, but it sounded good to me." Well, she was a plant after all.

"Or 'He Makes Me Laugh,'" Cream added. That surprised no one.

"Or 'The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies,'" Anita suggested with a straight face. Everyone stopped staring at Cosmo and started staring at her.

"Boom!" Lightning just missed their car.

Cosmo jumped. "I hate lightning!" she cried. "So does Tails. That's important, isn't it? Having things in common with your boyfriend?"

"You and Tails don't have too much else in common, do you?" Rouge asked. "You love nature, he loves science labs."

"Well, what about you?" Amy demanded. "A jewel thief dating a jewel guardian!"

"Former jewel thief," Rouge pointed out. "And who better to guard something than a former thief? I know every trick a burglar can try to pull on somebody." Rouge grinned. "How about you and Sonic? A stalker and her stalkee!"

"I am not a stalker!" Amy yelled.

"Please, Amy, calm down!" Cosmo said. "There's no reason for fighting!"

"You're a real tree hugger," Rouge said. "Well, you've been a tree. What was it like?"

"Well…you can feel heat and cold and wind and water more, but you can't move except as much as the wind blows your branches," Cosmo said. "It's peaceful…but lonely."

"I'd…rather not remember that time," Cream said, shivering. The final battle against Dark Oak had affected everyone to some extent. Rouge the least, Cosmo and Tails the most.

"Me too," Cosmo agreed, looking out the window again.

"It's too bad Blaze and Shade couldn't make it," Cream said.

"I'm just glad Marine isn't with us," Amy said. "Five hours in a small, closed in area, with 'Oi'm the captain, mates!' I'd lose my marbles!"

"Oh?" Rouge asked. "When did you find them?"

"Oh ha hah!" Amy said. "Turn left here."

"Again?" Rouge demanded.

****

Back in Mobotropolis, Blaze went over the list of items she would bring with her when she joined the others on the beach. She hadn't gone with them because she needed to take care of a few things first. Among them, she wanted to try to decide what her true feelings for Silver were. Was he really just a friend, a naïve boy that made her laugh when she was unhappy, or something more? Also, Blaze didn't like Rouge or Anita. The bat was too rude and crude, and the hedgehog had a very weird sense of humor. Besides, while she liked Cosmo, the plant girl's death and resurrection brought strange images to her mind. Had she had a nightmare about dying?

"Hey, Blaze!" came a voice. The cat jumped, and spun around. She saw Mina Mongoose approaching her. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am," Blaze said, embarrassed that the other girl had scared her. "Did you want something?"

"I'm heading out for my concert tonight," Mina said. "I was wondering when you were going to the beach house? Maybe we can travel together."

"We'll see," Blaze said. She wasn't sure what she thought of the mongoose. Actors and musicians were strange people. Where she came from , many were thieves. "I may not be able to get away for awhile yet."

"Oh." Mina was a good judge of character, and sensed that the cat didn't like her. "Well…I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye-bye!"

"Yeah," Blaze said. "Good bye."

Blaze started packing the supplies she was taking. Being at the beach was no reason to be a slob. Paper plates and plastic utensils were degrading. She started placing her good china in a box.

"Hey, Blaze!"

Blaze jumped, dropping a plate. She fell on her face catching it. She looked up at the raccoon who had sneaked up on her.

"Marine, you are going to drive me up the wall!"

"You'd look funny, droiving a cah up the road, mate!" Marine said. She pantomimed driving. "Vroom! Vroom! Oi'm driving meself up the wall!"

"Nature beat you to it!" Blaze muttered. "What do you want?" she asked out loud.

"Just bored, mate," Marine said. "Oi was planning on going with those blokes what left this morning, but somehow me alarm clock got shut off. How d'ya suppose that happened?"

Blaze had a good idea. "I'm sure I don't know, Marine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy."

"Okay, mate, Oi'll see ya around!" Marine slapped Blaze on the back, causing her to drop another plate. This time the cat caught it with her face. "Nice catch! Good on ya, Blaze! Well, Oi'm off!"

"You certainly are!" Blaze muttered as the raccoon left. Most likely, Amy or Anita had shut off Marine's alarm clock hoping she'd oversleep so they could get away before she woke up. Blaze knew she definitely didn't want to be trapped in a car with that girl.

****

In the car, Anita decided she was bored, and turned on the radio. She changed the station several times. "…shades of night are fall…and in today's news…do you suffer from…R.E.S.P.E.C.T.…Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a…meanwhile, rain in the area…!"

"Anita!" Amy yelled. "Stop changing the station!"

"There's nothing good on," the other hedgehog complained. "I wish I'd brought my keyboard, I'd play some good music!"

"But…I liked the music you just played on the radio," Cosmo said. She and Tails tended to prefer oldies music.

"Let's sing!" Cream suggested. "I'm Henry the eighth I am…"

Rouge made faces as the others joined in. "I'm in a loony bin!" she muttered.

"Second verse, same as the first!" Cream shouted at the end of the first verse..

"NO!" Rouge yelled. "No second verse! Sing something else or shut up!"

The others looked at each other.

Cream shrugged. "It was a one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater…"

Rouge plotted several gruesome murders in her mind.

"You're not singing, Rouge!" Cream said after awhile.

"Yeah, how about that?" Rouge demanded. "Oh, look! A fork in the road! Which way should we turn, Amy? Left? Why, certainly!"

"Okay, okay," Amy said, turning her back on the bat while resisting the urge to bring out her pico-pico hammer. "I get the message." She squinted at the map. "We should turn…uh…where are we?!"

Rouge hit the brake. Amy hit the dashboard. Cream and Cosmo hit the windows. Anita, who hadn't fastened her seatbelt, went flying into the front seat and ended up between Rouge and Amy, upside-down.

"Well, hello there!" Anita said. "Fancy meeting you two here!"

Cream and Cosmo squealed as they grabbed Anita and pulled her back into the back seat.

"Are you okay, Anita?" Cream asked. She held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Yellow," Anita said.

Cosmo placed her hand against Anita's forehead. "Do you feel dizzy? I can help if you have a headache!"

"I'm fine, Mother," Anita said, pushing both girls away from her. "It's not a big deal!"

"It most certainly is!" Cosmo insisted. "You could have been seriously injured! What if you'd gone through the windshield?!?"

"Yeah," Rouge said, "this car is a rental."

"That's not what she means!" Cream said huffily.

"Chao chao!" Cheese agreed.

"Just kidding," Rouge said, rolling her eyes. "Let me see that map, Amy!" She snatched it out of the pink hedgehog's hands. Five pairs of eyes looked the map over. And five brains all came to the same conclusion.

"We're lost," Rouge said. "Now what?"

"I'll ask the trees nearby if they know where a house is," Cosmo said, getting out of the car. She walked up to a tree, laid a hand on the trunk, and shut her eyes.

"It really creeps me out the way she does that," Amy said. "It's a good thing Tails is really tolerant of that kind of thing."

"Be nice," Cream begged. "We almost lost Cosmo for good you know."

Amy made a face. "I know. I try not to think about that, because that freaks me out a lot more!":

"What does, Amy?" Cosmo asked, returning to the car.

"Uh…nothing," Amy said. "Find out anything?"

"May I see the map, please?" Cosmo asked. Rouge held it up. Cosmo placed her index finger on a small lake. "We should be just east of this lake. So we're probably around this area." She moved her finger around a small area on the east of the lake.

Rouge glared at Amy. "We're at least twenty miles out of our way!" She hit Amy with the map.

"Ow!" Amy yelled, covering her face. "Twenty miles isn't that far!"

"Yeah," Cream agreed. "Sonic could run there in about a second!"

Amy sighed. "Sadly, my Sonic isn't here, and…Cosmo's dripping all over the back seat!!"

"Oh!" Cosmo cried, just now noticing she was soaking wet. "I'm so sorry!"

"This is a rental car," Amy told the plant girl. "Rouge has to pay for any damages to it!"

The bat shrugged. "I would, if I'd filled out the forms using my real name."

Everyone except Anita stared at her. "That's dishonest!" Cosmo cried, trying to keep from dripping too much on the seat cushion. "Perhaps I should get out and walk."

"Don't be a ditz," Amy said. "Tails would get there before you did!"

The sky darkened. The rain became heavier, huge drops that seemed to explode as they struck the windows. Although it was still morning, it seemed like twilight. Cosmo got out two more times to ask directions from the flora of the area. While she was out the second time, Cream, digging through their luggage, found a couple of plastic bags, and spread them across Cosmo's seat.

"Your hair looks very pretty wet, Cosmo," Cream said.

"Why thank you, Cream," Cosmo said, smiling at her. "You're very pretty too."

"Hey!" Amy said, making a face. "What about me?"

"You're pretty too, Amy," Cream said.

"Hey, hey," Rouge complained. "You guys are going to make my teeth fall out!"

Cosmo stared at her. "What? I don't understand what you mean, Rouge."

"She means you guys are being so sweet, she can't stand it," Anita said. She laced her fingers together and tilted her head to one side. "Aww…but you're pretty too, Rouge!"

"Shut up!" Rouge said. "Don't make me go back there!"

"Well, you're pretty too, Anita," Cream said, unable to leave anyone out.

"Aw, I'll bet you say that to all the ugly girls," Anita said. She started singing a song called, "I'm An Ugly Girl." Amy joined her. Cream and Cosmo looked blankly at each other. Rouge hit her head against the steering wheel.

"But you're not ugly, either of you!" Cream insisted.

"Why would either of you say that?" Cosmo asked, staring wide eyed at both of them.

"You two take everything so seriously!" Anita said, throwing an arm around each of the two younger girls. "I remember when I was that innocent." Her eyes grew hard. She had never told anyone all that had happened to her during her imprisonment by Doctor Eggman. Like Cosmo, she had scars on the inside that didn't show, but never completely went away.

"Me too," Amy said. "How 'bout you, Rouge? Were you ever that innocent?"

"No, I was born with a cigar in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other," Rouge said.

"Huh?" Cream said.

"I beg your pardon?" Cosmo added.

"Never mind," Rouge said, noticing a large building in the car's high beams. "I think we're there!"

Amy squinted. "Gross!" she cried. "I hope not!"

****

Tails handed a large coil of wire to Knuckles. "Here, set this up around the perimeter of the area. Then I'll connect it to the electro analyzer and we'll be able to observe any hindering of the flow of the electromagnetic efficiency."

Knuckles stared at him. "Uh…I got 'set this up around the area,'" he said.

"It's very simple, really," Tails assured him. "Anyone approaching the Master Emerald will activate the security system we're assembling and communicate to the Guardian any contingencies that may need to be dealt with."

Knuckles smacked his forehead. "Simple for you! Difficult for me!"

Tails sweat dropped. "Sorry," he said. "I'm afraid I have a tendency to ramble on sometimes. I mean, once we've set all of this up, you'll be able to leave the Master Emerald for longing periods of time. I'll make a device you can wear like a watch that will warn you if someone breaks into the perimeter and attempts to take it."

"Do you talk that way around Cosmo?" Knuckles demanded, finally taking the wire. "Does she understand that techno babble any better than I do?"

Tails considered this for a moment. "She has seemed a bit overwhelmed once in awhile," he admitted. "But she's always insisted that she doesn't mind."

"That's because she's in love," Knuckles pointed out, starting to unravel the wire. "She puts up with your blathering the same way you put up with her walking in the rain barefoot."

Tails had considered that possibility, but had never had it pointed out so clearly to him.

"We've been trying so hard to be more open and honest with each other," he thought. "But I guess we're still holding back unpleasant information from each other. I've got to start trying harder on our relationship! If only I could have gone with her to the beach house." He looked around at the blasted area around the temple, caused by a recent Eggman attack. "But I have obligations! Anyway, she's with Amy and Cream and Anita. I just hope Rouge doesn't fall back into her old ways. She never did like Cosmo."

"Tails? Hey, fox boy!" Tails jumped. Knuckles was glaring at him. "I said I'm finished! Try staying on one planet for awhile, kid!"

"Sorry," Tails said. "I was just thinking about Cosmo. And the other girls, of course. I hope they're okay where they're going."

"A house on the beach?" Knuckles demanded. He let out a snort. "Why wouldn't they be? I'll be glad when we finish this so we can get out there with them!"

"Yeah," Tails said. He looked in the direction they were traveling. "Looks like storm clouds that way. I hope they didn't drive right into a hurricane or something! I wish Sonic were here so he could go check on them."

"He's over on the other side of the world, answering some whiny character's cry for help, right?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, I offered to go with him," Tails said. "But Sonic was sure he could handle it by himself."

"Sure he can," Knuckles assured him. "That guy is incredibly annoying, but there are very few characters out there that can give him any trouble in a fight." He snorted, then added, "let's get this over with so we can join the girls at the beach!"

"You bet!" Tails said, trying not to laugh. Despite his gruffness and complaining, it was obvious that Knuckles had a lot of respect for Sonic. Maybe they were finally becoming friends. Tails returned to his work. Eggman, or Rouge, or anyone else, wouldn't be getting near the Master Emerald again once they through!

****

The house they had been promised would supposed to be a great vacation home, big enough for all of their friends. The building they were now approaching was certainly large enough to accommodate them and at least a dozen more people. Unfortunately, it looked like it hadn't been occupied by anyone in more than a dozen years. It seemed to somewhat sag on its foundations. The windows were small and gabled, and most seemed to be boarded up. Even in the dim light, they could make out a hole in the roof, which seemed about to crumble to the ground. There were marble pillars in front of the house on either side, crackled and weatherbeaten.

"We've been took!" Rouge yelled, hitting the brakes. Anita would have been tossed into the front seat again if Cream and Cosmo hadn't grabbed her. "When I see the jerk that sold us the lease, I'm going to kick his teeth out!"

"I knew it was too good to be true when I read the price," Anita said.

"Well, I've got the key," Amy said. "We might as well go in."

Everyone except Cosmo grabbed a beach blanket and covered their heads. Cosmo, already soaked, just jumped out of the car without a second thought. Their shoes made soft squishing sounds as they walked along the driveway, which appeared to be nothing but mud. The steps leading up to the house were slick, and Cream slipped, nearly falling over backwards, on the third step. Amy quickly grabbed her with one hand, and the hand railing with the other. It shifted slightly under their weight, but held.

"Whew!" Cream sighed. "Thanks, Amy!"

"This place isn't safe!" Amy said, pushing the handrail back into positition. "We really need Tails here to fix this place up!"

Cream looked up at the old house and swallowed hard. "I wish that some boy were here," she said shakily. "This place looks haunted!"

"Ghosts are only lost spirits, unable to find their way into the next world," Cosmo said softly. Everyone stared at her. Cosmo, being a plant and an alien, had always been a bit odd to her animal friends. Since coming back from the dead, her strangeness had seemed to get worse. This was a constant source of worry for everyone, most especially Tails and Cosmo herself.

Amy put the key in the keyhole. "It's kinda stuck. Okay, here we go." She turned the doorknob, and gave the door a push. CRRRREEEEAAAAKKKKKKKKKKK! Cream grabbed Cosmo.

"That figures," Rouge said. "Who wants to bet the whole house falls over before the end of the summer?"

"Don't say things like that!" Amy cried. "You're scaring Cream!"

"No, I was scared before she said anything!" Cream said, burying her face in Cosmo's dress. Since it was soaking wet, that wasn't really a good idea. She snorted. "Sorry. I got water up my nose."

"That's my fault, Cream," Cosmo said.

"Oh, cool!" Anita said, stepping inside. "We'll have to tell ghost stories on U-bon."

"You mean you're going to say dreadful things about the dead," Cosmo said, following her. "Why do the living fear the dead so much?"

"Cosmo!" Amy cried. "That's enough!"

"Oh!" Cosmo cried, bowing. "Sorry!"

The inside of the house was so dark, they could barely see anything. Amy fumbled along the wall and found a light switch. She clicked it. Nothing. "No power," she said sadly. "We have flashlights, right?"

Rouge sighed. "I'm going to introduce the guy that pawned this off on us to all new kinds of pain."

"I'll get the flashlights," Cosmo said. "I don't mind being wet." She started back to the car.

Amy shook her head. "I'd better go with her in case she drops them in the water." She held her blanket over her head and started after the Seedrian, who was standing beside the car.

"Um…I don't have a key," Cosmo said, embarrassed.

Amy slapped her forehead. "Me neither! Hey, Rouge! Toss me the key!"

Rouge threw the key. It went over Amy's head and landed in a puddle next to Cosmo. "Nice toss," Amy said, snorting as she bent to pick it up. She opened the trunk, then started going through their bags. "We do have flashlights, don't we, Cosmo?"

"Uh…I think so," Cosmo said, helping her. "Oh, here we are!" She handed Amy a flashlight. "I hope it works." She picked up another, clicked it on.

"Hey!" Amy cried, covering her eyes with her hand. "Watch it!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Amy!" Cosmo said, clicking off the light.

Luckily, Tails had made out a list of items for them to bring on the trip, and had insisted that each of them stick to the list. They got flashlights for everyone, then Amy pulled out a big water cooler. "This should be enough food for us for awhile. Grab that orange bag over there, Cosmo, then let's get back to the house."

"Roger," Cosmo said, struggling to pull it out. She fell over backwards, the bag landing on her. Luckily, she'd placed her flashlight inside, and zipper up the bag.

Amy tried not to laugh. "You okay, Cosmo?"

"A little embarrassed," the plant girl said, starting to get up. "But otherwise I'm fine."

When they returned to the house, Anita said, "Nice comedy routine, you two! When's the next performance?"

"Oh, hush," Amy said, handing her a flashlight. She gave one to Cream and one to Rouge.

Unfortunately, the house looked creepier with light. Spiderwebs were everywhere. There were holes in the rug, which appeared in the dim glow of the flashlights to be an orangy-brown. There was the smell of dust and wood warped by water in the air. Cream gasped at the sight of large white objects, then realized they were only sheets covering furniture. A large black grandfather's clock stood in the center of one wall, its glass cracked, long stilled.

"No one's been here in years and years!" Amy said, wrinkling her nose. "And there's dust everywhere!"

Anita stepped inside. At the touch of her foot on the rug, dust flew up. "This place is almost as bad as my prison cell!"

"It sure looks haunted!" Cream said, hiding behind Amy. "I remember the ghosts on Earth! They got really, really, really mad when their slumber was disturbed!"

"Yeah?" Rouge said loudly, her voice echoing in the big old house. "Well, if anything in here says boo to me, I'll disturb it all right!"

"You sound disturbed," Anita muttered.

"Quiet, you!" Rouge said. "Let's see just how bad this place is!"

As the five girls walked through the living room, none of them noticed they were being watched. A shadowy figure observed them for a few minutes, then seemed to vanish into the walls.

Some summer beach house! Should Amy, Rouge, Anita, Cream, and Cosmo just turn around and go home now? Or is it already too late?