Chapter 12: Vampires And Screams

We slowly got off the table as they came closer with their fangs ready. They let out ugly hisses like a snake. My heart began to raise when my anxiety went up a notch, sweat coming to my forehead. "Grab your phone, quick," I urged, motioning Hannah to get it. She quickly snatched the phone off the ground just as one of the vampires almost grabbed her with his skinny fingers. "Does your phone still work?" I asked.

She didn't answer and began to press the button that turns on the phone. "Is it working?" I repeated.

"My phone's broken," she declared, answering my question. "The screen is broken and so my phone isn't working. And I just got this two days ago!" She let out a frustrated grunt, throwing the phone back on the ground, causing the back of it to pop off. "Now I can't call dad," she said. She gazed at the vampires that came closer, with me and her backing away. "We need to use something against them," she told me.

"Like what?" I questioned.

"Well... What do you use against vampires?" Hannah quizzed me. My eyebrows wrinkled together, trying to think of what we can use to get rid of these vampires. "Okay...how about this. What do vampires hate?" she asked since I'm having a hard time figuring this out.

"A wooden stake...?" I guessed.

"We would use one, but the problem is that we won't be able to find one in time," she clarified. "What else?" A vampire stepped closer to her, reaching out to grab her. She picked up her foot, kicking it in the shins. "Back off!" Hannah yelled. "Hazel, what else do vampires hate?"

"Garlic?" I answered, even though I wasn't sure it was the right answer.

"That's right. Now let's out run things as best as we could."

"Um... hello?" I waved my hands. "Did you know that vampires have super speed? Like in those Twilight Saga movies?"

"Vampires don't have speed, Hazel," Hannah corrected me. "But they do turn in vampire bats and fly." She put her mouth close to my ear, whispering. "On a count of three, we run as fast as we can."

"Got it," I confirmed.

"One..." she began to count. "Two..." We got ourselves ready to dash away from these monsters. "Three!" As fast as we can, we began speeding away from them, my feet picking off the ground. "Go, go, go!" Hannah hollered.

The vampires let out hisses. I turned my head over my shoulder, my eyes going wide when I saw them transform into bats. They let out screeches, flapping their wings, flying towards us. "Yah!" I let our a holler when one of the bats landed in my hair, its talons scraping my scalp. I reached and grabbed the critter, pulling it out of my hair, then flung it away from me. The bats screeched when that one bat hit them, sending them a few feet back.

"Where are we suppose to find garlic?" I cried, catching up to Hannah.

"Over there!" Hannah pointed at one of the snack stands that you normally find at any amusement park. We went up to it, seeing a Horror wearing a vampire cape just like the ones that are now bats. "Do you have anything with garlic?" she puffed.

"Yes, I do," the Horror exclaimed in his rough voice. "I have animal blood with mix garlic, raccoon with garlic on top. In fact a lot of our food stands in Vampire Village has garlic on everything. We even have garlic powder for those who just wants to eat that instead."

"We'll take the garlic powder," I said, looking back to see if the vampires are still coming after us.

"Small, medium, or large?" he asked, putting each container of garlic powder on the stand.

"The large, thank you," Hannah quickly said, grabbing the container. "Let's go," she directed towards me. We ran back to where the bats are. "Hey!" Hannah grabbed a handful of the powder, throwing some at them. The powder hit them, and they turned back to regular vampires, all letting out angry hisses.

I grabbed a handful, throwing some at them, as well. "Does your dad know where we are?" I threw another hand full at them. "Because I don't think we can keep these things away from us for long."

"How is he supposed to know?" she replied back. "If these-" She threw more powder at them. "-vampires hadn't made me drop my phone, I would have called him. Then he and the boys-" Another toss of powder. "-will find us and help fight these things."

"...sorry," I apologized. "...I was just asking..." Now I felt bad since I forgotten that her phone isn't working anymore.

"It's fine," she sighed. "Let's just throw as much garlic powder as we can. If we keep throwing this stuff at them, maybe they'll die." As we went to grab more hand full of garlic, one of the vampires transformed back into a bat, landing on her head. "Bat in my hair, bat in my hair, bat in my hair!" She flared her arms around, dropping the container, the garlic powder spilling everywhere.

Taking the bat out of her hair, I threw it at the vampires, hitting one of them in the face, knocking the vampire onto the ground. The vampire let out a nasty hiss, picking himself off the ground, and began to transform again, along with the others, turning back into bats.

"Uh... Hannah...?" I pointed at the bats, getting her attention. "I think they're more thirsty than ever..."

"Quick, grab as much garlic powder as you can," she said. Reaching down, she went to grab some, but one of the bats almost bit one of her hands, making her let out a short scream. "Yikes!" she cried out in alarm.

The bats let out ear piercing screeches, showing their fangs, flapping their wings very fast that our hair blew back behind us. They flapped closer and closer, with us slowly backing away, until we hit our backs against a building. And that's when I remembered something else.

Just like with werewolf bites that turn people into werewolves, vampire bites will turn people...

Into vampires!

"We gotta get out of here!" I panicked. "Vampire bites turn people, like us, into... vampires."

"But we're trapped," Hannah proclaimed. And that's when the bats started to attack us and we dropped to the ground. "Cover your neck!" she hollered over the screeching bats.

"Why?" I had to yell as well.

"That's where they bite!" Quickly, we cover our necks with our hands. "Help!" she yelled out. "We're being attacked by bats!" Never in my life did I hear such fear in her voice. Most of the time I see her help stop the monsters. "Dad, Zach, anyone, help us!"

"How are they gonna find us at this place?" I questioned in my hollering voice.

Hannah picked up her head, seeing something. "Quick, into that barn!" Brushing the bats off of her, she picked herself up, helping me off the ground, shooing the bats away. "This way," she said.

Running away from the vampire bats, we made it to the building with a sign that reads Bat Barn.

"What's a Bat Barn?" I asked. Not waiting for her answer, I grabbed the handle of the door and opened it.

"Duck!" Hannah declared, bending down.

"Huh?" I looked into the barn. "Whoa!" A huge swarm of bats flew out and I ducked, covering my head and neck.

By the time they cleared away, we ran into the barn, closing the door. Not a lot of moonlight came in, though. So it was kind of dark. "Were those vampires that turned into bats, or were they just bats?" I said.

"I'm not sure..." she replied. "I think they're just bats." She leaned her back against the wall. "Now we just wait for dad and the others. They're looking for the book, and since I didn't call him, he'll start to worry. If we had a chance, they might end up here."

"Are those bats gonna come back?" I can still feel the bat talons on my head.

"I hope not," Hannah answered.

"Well, we can't stay here for long in case they come back," I told her.

She nodded. "Good point. Let's just get out of this village and try not to get bitten." Opening the door, she poked her head out, looking around. "The coast is clear," she slightly whispered.

Stepping out of the barn, we only got a couple feet away, when all the bats swooped back into the barn, making us scream as we threw ourselves back in, the door slamming shut.

"Is there another door?" One bat swooped onto my shoulder and I smacked it away.

"Yeah, this way!" Hannah ran across the barn.

By the time we reached the other side, I grabbed the handle, opening the door, and we dived out of the barn. I got up and slammed the door shut behind us. "Well, that happened," I exclaimed after that experience. "I think we should find another building that has a phone."

"I don't think they have phones, Hazel," she said to me. "I haven't seen any payphones ever since we got here. How about we just go find dad and the others instead?" she suggested. "I'll tell him about what happened to my phone."

"Don't forget to ask him if I can stay with you guys," I reminded as we began walking. And while we began to leave out of this village, the rain began to clear away. But that didn't change my depressed mood.

"Don't worry, I won't forget. Now let's go find the others." We stepped out of the village and began to look for the others.

Stine

"Why hasn't Hannah called me yet?" I held my phone in my hand all while looking for the book. "She was supposed to call me when she finds Hazel," I said.

"Maybe her phone battery died," Zach theorized.

"Or a Horror took it," Champ shivered.

Those words sent chills down my spine and I stopped. "Zach, Champ, we'll have to look for the girls first and then find the book so we can put everything back in there. Including that lying and annoying Boy."

They both stopped walking and turned to me. "Are you sure...?" Champ seemed to hesitate.

"I'm sure," I stated with a firm nod. "They may be in one of the other areas at the park." I looked around, until I spotted a sign that says Carnival Of Screams."This way, you two." I began to walk there, hearing one of the boys' footsteps, and as I walked I turned to see Zach was right behind me except for Champ, who stayed at his spot. With an annoyed look, I stomped over to him. "Let's go," I ordered in a slight harsh voice.

"You guys go there, I'll look for the book," he told us, not budging at all. So not wanting to argue, I grabbed the kid by the ear again. "OW!" he screamed as I forced him to come with us, keeping a tight grip on his ear. "Stine, I don't want to go to that area," Champ wailed. Of course, I ignored his pleas, not wanting to hear it. I gave him a harsh look.

"Champion, I need to see if the girls are okay, alright?" I replied through clenched teeth. "If something bad ever happened to them, I'll not have a good life anymore." That made him shut up and he winced in pain when I gripped his ear even tighter in case he tries to get out of my grasp.

"So you think that Hannah and Hazel are in here?" Zach asked, shoving his hands into his pockets of his hoodie.

I shrugged. "I'm sure..." I answered honestly.

"You know, not only you're worried about your own daughter..." he began to bring up. "...but you also seem to treat Hazel the same way."

"I know," I replied. "I just wish I knew why she got angry and upset at us when she thinks that we're not her friends." I sighed. "Hannah did say she wants answers from her, and I hope she did. I hate seeing Hazel so unhappy... I wonder what happened to her."

"And I guess it wasn't a good idea just to leave her alone," he pointed out the mistake we've made.

"You're right." By the time we got to the Carnival Of Screams, I released Champ's ear, and he began to rub the pain away.

"My ear is gonna be sore tomorrow," he complained once he finished. He looked around. "I don't like this place," he whimpered with a shiver. "I'm gonna go," he said, turning around.

"Oh no, you don't." I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him back. "Not until we find the girls," I told him. While I held him by the shirt, I saw a ride not too far from us that reads Calamity Canyon. "They could be over there," I pointed. And while Zach didn't refuse to come with me, I had to drag the awkward teen to that ride.

Champ gasped once we got there. "A roller coaster?!" he freaked out. "We're not going on that thing, are we?!" He began to sweat. "I hate roller coasters!" he cried with fear. "Even kiddie coasters," he added.

Feeling bad for him, I changed my demeanor. "We're not going on it," I assured him, releasing him. "We'll just go see of Hannah and Hazel are there, okay?"

"You sure...?" he said in a quivering voice.

"I'm sure," I promised. "I don't lie."

"Except when you did that to the cops," Zach brought up.

"Thanks, Zach." I rolled my eyes. "Come on, we won't know if the girls are here if we just, well... stand here." I walked over to the ride. "Hazel? Hannah?" I stepped onto the platform. "Hazel? Hannah? Are you two in here?" I walked over to where the tracks a train for people to get on so they can ride the ride. "Hello?" I called out. "Huh," I shrugged. "They don't seem to be here," I confirmed.

"Do you see them, boys?" I asked them once they came up to me.

Zach shook his head. "I don't see them, either," he replied.

"Me neither," Champ also replied back.

"God, where are they?" I raked my fingers through my chestnut hair. "Maybe they're over by the Dead Ringer..." I thought out loud. "Or maybe... over at the Wheel Of Misfortune. Or could they be over at the Bumper Carnage." I kept on thinking, pacing around, rubbing my chin with my index finger and thumb. I began to get very worried for those two.

"They could be over at the Ghost Train," Champ brought up.

I gave him a suspicious look. "How do you know about that ride?"

"I have the Goosebumps Horrorland game for my Nintendo Wii," he explained to me. "Plus, I know the other rides from reading the Goosebumps Horrorland series. I also know about the attractions like The Wolfsbane Forest, which I believe Hazel was at before we saved her and when she got mad at us. Good thing she didn't get attacked by the rare werewolf which is called the White Wolf."

"Oh," I understood. "That makes sense..." I said, nodding my head. "Okay, we'll check over at the Ghost Train and see if they're over there. If not, we'll keep looking around here." I started walking with Zach at my right side with a worried look on his face. I can tell he's concerned about the girls just as much as I am. I look back to see Champ standing around for a little bit. "Champ." I gestured my head for him to come with us.

Champ looked behind him as if they would appear over at the tracks, then started walking. "I wish Taylor was here," he muttered. I was glad that I didn't have to force him over to that ride because when we got to that area, the girls aren't there, either. "I was hoping they'll be here," he stated, scratching his head. "After all, Hannah's a ghost."

"She was a ghost, Champ," I corrected him. "I wrote her back to where she can age with Zach and all the other kids," I explained.

"Oh." He nodded. "Should we check over at the Horrorland Derby?" he suggested with a hint of nervousness.

"Yeah," I replied. "We'll check there, and if they are not there, we'll check over at the Monster Mash." Walking away from the Ghost Train, we all made our way over to the Horrorland Derby, and saw that they weren't there, either. There is a Horror, though, so I went up to him. "Have you seen two girls?" I asked him, even though he scares me. "One has short, light brown hair that stops at her shoulders, has hazel colored eyes, wearing yellow shirt and jeans and blue-ish sneakers. And the other one has dark brown hair in a ponytail, brown eyes, a denim hoodie, along with jeans as well, and sneakers that are the color of white with light blue stripes," I described to him.

The Horror shook his fury, green head, rubbing his left horn. "No girls came here," he stated. "By the way... would you like to try the Horrorland Derby?" He gestured his hand at the game.

"Um... no thanks," I declined. "We'll just keep on looking," I said. I turned to the boys. "Let's go," I whispered. "Let's see if the girls are over at the Monster Mash." We started walking over that area. Only when we got there, we looked around at the Horrorland Derby. Except, they weren't not here, either. "Where can they be?" I questioned out loud. "Could they be over at the Terrible Teacups or at the Ferris Squeal?" I began to pace around again.

"Well, if they aren't at the rides and games that we already checked, how can we be sure if they'll be at those rides?" Zach crossed his arms as questioned me. "They could be somewhere else," he said.

"Maybe you're right," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "They might be at The Tunnel Of Screams..."

"Oh no, not that place." Champ shook his head. "Isn't that the tunnel that walk you through with worms dropping from above and you can hear... screaming around you?" he asked.

"Yes, Champ," I answered. "That's why it's called The Tunnel Of Screams. Come on." I began walking. "I have high hopes that they will be there," I said.

"Can we go somewhere with a ride that is... oh I don't know... less scary?" Champ asked, catching up to me since I was speed walking down the path.

"What kind of ride would be less scary, Champ?" Zach replied. "This is Horrorland, remember?" He gestured his hands at the rides and games that we went up to, even the Terrible Teacups and the Ferris Squeal. "Besides, the book might be at the tunnel," he believed. "Right?" he asked me.

I raised my brow. "Could be..." I responded feeling very doubtful. "I just want to see if the girls went through there," I shrugged.

So we continued on our way to The Tunnel Of Screams.

When we got there, we stared at the large tunnel that is the shape of a skull with empty eye sockets. Champ's teeth chattered with fear. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Ignoring him, I started towards the tunnel when he grabbed me by the sleeve. "Do we have to go in there?" he whimpered, biting his bottom lip. "I can stay out of the tunnel in case the girls come here," he offered so he can have an excuse to stay out of the tunnel.

"If you don't come with us, I'll pull your ear. Again," I threatened the kid.

He blinked. "I'm gonna run," he said. He turned and ran, just like he stated.

Of course, he didn't get very far when I went after him, grabbing him by the ear. "There's no use running away, kid," I stated, hauling him towards the tunnel. "We have to find the girls, and if Zach is right, the book might be in there. Now..." I forced him to face me. "...are you in? Or are you in?" I glared at him, waiting for his answer.

"Um...what should I choose...?" he began to think. "In or in..."

"Oh, good God, man!" Getting fed up by him by the minute of each second, I clenched my fingers around the collar of his shirt, and both me and Zach headed to the entrance of the tunnel with Champ struggling to get free from my grasp. I almost smirked since he doesn't have a lot of strength then I do. "Don't fight me, kid," I warned. "I told you, there's no use running away. So do you promise to not run off again?"

"Y-Yes, sir," he quickly nodded.

I squinted my eyes at him. "...I don't believe you," I said. After I said that, he continued struggling to get free, not wanting to go into that tunnel.

"Stine, I promise I won't run off." I gave him a disbelief look in his eyes and he switched his gaze away from me. "Really," he insisted.

I released him. "Okay..." I nodded. "But-" I raised my finger. "-if you try to head off again, I'll... I'll..." I try to think of another threat. "Ugh! I can't think of anything! All I want to do is fine the girls, get the book, so we can trap everything in it. I can't believe that the Boy lied to us."

"I'm hungry..." Champ complained.

"So am I. Hey, maybe there's snacks in Hazel's backpack." Zach pointed at the backpack that had been hanging by one strap on my left shoulder. I had forgotten that I had that thing. "She did say that she packed things for us to survive the night," he stated.

"Okay, but we need to walk through the tunnel and then we can eat," I said.

"But I want food now!"

I glared at Champ. "And how old are you?" I asked him.

"...sixteen..." he muttered. "But I haven't eaten all day," he told me. "I think I'm gonna die with starvation!" he declared. "In fact, we're all gonna die!" He then buried his face into his hands. "We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna-"

"We're not gonna die!" Zach yelled.

He took his face out of his hands. "We're gonna die!" he declared again, freaking out.

"Here." I tossed him an apple that was in Hazel's backpack that I'd opened. "She does have snacks in here. Would that fruit make you shut the hell up?" He was about to answer, but I interrupted him.

"Good," I said. I zipped the backpack shut. "Let's get going." I began walking into the tunnel. I looked to make sure that both of them were behind me, and they are.

While we walked into the tunnel, horrified screams surrounded us. "I hope you girls are okay..." I wished.

"Ah!" I stopped when I heard Champ scream and I spun around.

"What? What is it?" I walked over to him.

"A worm dropped on my apple..." He plucked the worm off, tossing it to the ground. "Great, there's worm slime on it." He tossed the apple to the side, until another one plop in front of us, landing on the ground. Then another and another, until it began raining worms.

"Let's get out of here!" Zach exclaimed.

"Good idea," I agreed and we began running, the worms falling all around us, even on our heads and shoulders.

"I hate worms!" Champ proclaimed. "In fact, I hate all bugs. Even butterflies!" I can hear the boys shoes clattering on the ground with Champ still proclaiming with fear. "Why can't we go to a fun amusement park?" he said.

"Because we need to get rid of this park," I responded over my shoulder. By the time we made it out, we stopped to catch our breath. "Well, that was terrifying," I exclaimed once I manage to regain my breathing. "Let's just hope that the girls don't walk through that," I pointed at The Tunnel Of Screams. "Plus, I didn't spot the book, did you?"

Zach and Champ shook their heads as the took the worms out of their hair and off their shoulders.

"No," they answered.

I sighed. "I thought so..." I took the worms off my shoulders and out of my hair. "I basically need a shower to get all the worm slime out of my hair," I said.

Champ threw the last worm onto the ground. "I think I lost my appetite..." He looked at the worms that are now wriggling away back into the tunnel, making him shiver. "I probably won't eat apples for a few weeks," he shuddered.

"Man... where can those girls be?" I repeated the question, then I snapped my fingers. "I know, they might be at the Werewolf Village," I proclaimed.

"Are we gonna go into The Wolfsbane Forest?" Champ questioned with another shiver. "I don't want to be face to face with the White Wolf."

"No, but we can check the other attractions that are there," I clarified, and began walking. "Besides, the book might be at those areas..." I paused. "So let's go over there now, and to see if the girls or the book is there, got it?" I said, looking at the boys.

"Got it," Zach replied.

"Can we split up?" Champ asked. "I don't want to go Werewolf Village."

"I said this twice before I believe, so I'm going to say it again. We're in this together, kid," I ignored his suggestion.

"But-" he started to protest and I kept on ignoring him with Zach walking along side me. "Guys, come on..." He began to catch up with us. "Why don't we just wait for them?"

I immediately stopped, turned, and cast a sharp glare at Champ. "Are you out of your mind?" I walked up to him. "If we wait for the girls, the Invisible Boy is going to do more havoc if we don't get everything back in the book. In fact, I believe he's doing it now. But I'm not sure since he's invisible."

"But we might never find the book," he stated, gesturing at all the areas.

"Yes, we will," I replied. "The book is here somewhere at this park, and the girls are around here somewhere. So let's keep on going. Forget about having a rest break and let's find the girls, then the book so I can get everything in it." Turning around, I began to hurry off.

"Wait for us," Zach called out from behind me as I heard them run up to me, then began to follow me to Werewolf Village.

"I hope we don't run into werewolves," Champ mumbled with a shake of his head. "This is the worst night ever..." He kicked a rock out of his way.

"I hope that the girls are there," I responded. Then I thought: Hannah, Hazel, if you aren't over there, then... where are you?

Where are you, girls?

Hazel

We trudged on the path, looking for Stine and the boys, but with no luck. My shoulders slumped and I turned to Hannah. "Sorry that I'd got angry at you guys," I apologized, and I mean it. "I know it wasn't right at all... You were right about Slappy and the Invisible Boy. I shouldn't have ever listened to those two. And since you asked me if I was okay as we were coming to this creepy park and I told you I was having...flashback of my...childhood, and told you to forget about it... Well, the reason is..." I slumped my shoulders a bit lower, looking down at the ground as we continued to walk. "...that I was afraid that you won't believe me..."

"Why wouldn't I believe you?" she questioned me with surprise. "Hazel, you should tell us if something is bothering you. Besides, it might be a problem, too. Having flashbacks from traumatic events can be serious. I learned that in health class at school that I take," she told me. "Unless it keeps on happening," she added.

I shoved my hands into my pockets of my jeans. "...They only happened in my dreams... but now I'm getting them when I'm not sleeping... and they only did...twice, I think..." I replied, before letting out a sad sigh. "Although, I did have a dream in the car..." I brought up.

Her brows went up. "What kind of dream?" she inquired.

"About you and Zach," I mentioned, pulling my hands out of my pockets, my hair almost covering my face as my head dipped a bit lower. "I dreamt that I was at that abandoned amusement park, and you were there, smiling and waving me to come over to you. In that dream, you wanted a hug from me, so I shook my head, and you told me that with just one hug, I might get used to physical contact since I don't like to be touched anymore thanks to my god father... And so, I went to do it when..." I had to squeeze my eyes shut because they began to water, forcing them to dry. "...you shoved me to the ground. You called me ugly and I also think you said worthless, too. You even told Zach that I was a... thing. And told him lies just like Travis did to his parents, which again are my god parents, and at the end of the dream... I got kicked in the face."

"I'm sorry to hear that... But me and my friends will never fib at you," she said sincerely. "My wish is that you would be happy again. You could be suffering with depression..."

"Maybe..." I shrugged. "Only how can you be sure? You're not a doctor," I questioned.

"No, I'm not a doctor, but you could sure you one in case you have depression or anything else," she advised. "That's another thing I'll tell my dad."

"Alright," I merely repeated with the same frown on my face. "Maybe they went in there," I pointed to a sign that reads Carnival Of Screams.

"Maybe..." Hannah repeated, not feeling very sure. "But we won't know unless we check, right?" she said turning to glance at me.

"Right," I confirmed, feeling a bit more confident with a serious look that I most likely held. We both went into the Carnival Of Screams, and the first ride we went up to is Calamity Canyon, which is a roller coaster that has a train on the track.

"Want to ride?" We both jump and turned to see a Horror right behind us. "Want to ride?" he repeated his questioned.

"Uh...no thank you," I declined.

"We're wondering if my dad and the boys came here," Hannah added.

"Sorry, didn't see them. I was on break," the Horror explained and gestured his hand at the train. "Want to ride?"

"You already said that..." I told him. "...three times," I added.

"Yeah? So?" he responded with crossed arms. "Look, since you're here, why don't you have a ride?" he suggested. "Just one ride."

I looked at Hannah. "Run." After I said that, we both took off.

"Hey!" the Horror exclaimed. "Come back here, humans!" he hollered.

We kept on running until we stopped at a tunnel, catching our breaths. "If they weren't..." I puffed, filling my lungs up with air. "...over at the Calamity Canyon, then I doubt that they are at any of the other rides and attractions."

"I believe you," Hannah agreed once she caught her breath then saw a sign that is above the tunnel. "The Tunnel Of Screams..." she read. "Hey!" she declared. "They could've walked through there..."

"And went to the other side," I finished, getting where Hannah was at. "Come on." We both walked into the tunnel with screams all around us. "If they're still at the other side, then we-" I was cut off when something wet and slimy fell on my head. My eyes widened when I reached and grabbed something out of my hair, lowering it to my eyes. "Ew, it's a worm!" I screamed, dropping it onto the floor.

"Hazel, it was just one-" A worm fell on Hannah's shoulder, cutting her off. "Huh...?" She looked up and so did I. The ceiling was covered with worms and they began falling to the ground. "Run!" she cried.

We ran full speed across the tunnel the screams piercing in our ears and the worms continuing to fall of the ceiling, barely missing our heads, plopping onto the ground.

Once we made it out of the tunnel, we stopped to catch our breath again. I looked around for Stine and the boys. "They're not here," I reported.

"Then where can they be?" Hannah questioned out loud. I can tell she was worried, especially with her dad.

That was the thing I wanted to ask as well.

Where could they be...?