Muriel had turned the television back on and was searching for somthing to watch but the only thing on was the news. She settled on one station that had a special bulletin. The reporter was standing in front of the Nowhere police station talking to a police officer. The report was basically the same as all the others except for this time a man had gone outside to get a good look at what was on his front porch. The power was out so he shined a flashlight on it. The police officer went on to say that the man described the creature as being about eight feet tall and looking like 'one of those ugly statues you see in front of buildings'. The creature was all black and had wings. When it turned to face the man it's eyes turned red then it suddenly flew away. The reporter continued to ask the police officer a few more questions but the answers were basically the same as they had been over the last two days. The police had no leads and all residents were advised to stay indoors and not try to confront the creatures.

Muriel muted the t.v. and turned to face Mr. Worth. "David, I've asked ye before and now I am asking you one more time. Could ye please kindly tell me is going on around here?" Her normally cheerful voice sounded very stern and impatient.

The ghost looked over at Eustace then looked down. "That thing that busted your front door in last night was a demon."

"Oh my!"

Mr Worth looked up at Muriel allowing her to see the fear in his eyes. "There are several of them. We don't know why they're here or who brought them here. All we know is that they're getting stronger by the minute and, if we don't find a way of stopping them ..." The ghost's voice trailed off as he returned his gaze to the floor in front of him.

"Why didn't ye tell me this before?" Muriel was obviousely somewhere between shocked and angry but getting closer to angry by the minute.

Eustace cleared his throat. "It's my fault Muriel. I asked him and the dog both not to let on about what was going on because I didn't want you getting any more upset and worried than you already were. I was worried about you Muriel." The old man took a moment to gather his thoughts. His hands were visibly shaking as he continued. "Those dreams I've been having ... awful dreams Muriel that something came and took you away.. I didn't want to tell you because I was hoping that it was nothing. Then those things started showing up and I was worried that if you knew how scared I was you would be even more scared."

Muriel smiled gently. "I understand Eustace, but you really should have told me the truth in the beginning."

"I'm sorry Muriel. I - I ... " The old man stammered and sighed unable to put words to his feelings.

"It's okay Eustace," Muriel said gently, "I forgive you."

Eustace smiled up at Muriel while everybody else just looked on in stunned silence. Nobody could believe what they were seeing! Normally Eustace never was never this nice to anybody for any reason and the only thing he seemed to care about was money.

The stunned silence was broken by a knock at the door that startled Courage inside out. The pink dog took a deep breath, which looked kind of strange because his lungs were on the outside, and turned himself right side out again before following Eustace to the window.

Eustace glanced out the window to see a man standing on the porch. The farmer scratched his bald head, wondering who could possibly be visiting this time of night, and went over to turn off the alarm before opening the door.

The man standing on the porch seemed very calm and relaxed considering that it was so late at night and there were demons terrorizing everybody. "Hello sir, I am so sorry for coming over this late at night but I saw your lights on so I figured that you were all still awake. Is Courage here?"

Stunned, Eustace turned to Courage who was still standing over by the window. "Hey dog, it's for you."

Courage padded over to the door to see Alden Dillon standing on the front porch. He gave Alden a big toothy grin as his tail wagged happily.

"Hello Courage, we just got back into town after taking a trip back to my old house to get some of my stuff. We were watching the news when they showed the story about Shirley's disappearance. We started worrying about you and David and the children. Have you seen David and the children lately?"

Courage nodded and motioned for Alden to come in.

Alden smiled brightly as Mr. Worth and the children materialized in front of him. "Good to see you David! How are all of you?"

Mr. Worth smiled happily. "Hello Alden, we are okay given the circumstances." Mr. Worth introduced Alden to Eustace and Muriel then told Alden about the demons and everything else that had been going on.

"We have been watching the news all night. We were worried about you when they showed the story about the graves being dug up outside the cemetary."

Muriel and Eustace looked at each other then at Alden. "Graves outside the cemetary?"

Alden nodded. "Something was digging up the graves that were part of the old Nowhere cemetary - the one that was destroyed by the earthquake."

"Why would somebody do such a thing?" Muriel asked.

Mr. Worth shivered. "Believe me, dear lady, you do not want to know."

A noise on the front porch startled everybody except for Alden. He looked back outside. "It's okay come on in."

Eustace and Muriel were shocked to see four bright white lights hovering on the front porch just outside the front door. One by one the lights began to take on human form. One of them stepped forward just ouside the open door to look Mr. Worth in the eye. Mr. Worth silently nodded and the ghost glided in followed by the other three ghosts.

The first ghost stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Caleb and these are my friends, Shane, Arie, and Kiel."

The ghosts each stepped forward as their name was spoken. Mr. Worth smiled and introduced himself, Eustace, Muriel, the children, and finally, Courage.

When everybody had been introduced, Eustace looked over at Mr. Worth. "Are these the ones you were talking about who were released from those stones?"

Mr. Worth nodded.

Eustace took another surprised look at the ghosts as he closed the front door and turned the alarm back on. Muriel whispered to Courage to follow her as she went into the kitchen. A few minutes later she returned carrying a tray with a pot of coffee and several mugs. Courage followed behind with a large try of cookies.

Muriel and Courage set the trays on the coffee table. Several hands reached out for the mugs while a swarm of little ghosts surrounded the cookies. Courage managed to sneak his paw into the swarm to draw back several cookies for himself. Alden and the four ghosts sat down on the floor near the coffee table while Mr. Worth and some of the children settled on the couch. Eustace sat down in his chair with a cup of coffee and couple of cookies that he had managed to sneak from the tray amidst the smaller ghostly hands. Muriel went back into the kitchen then returned after a few moments to settle down in her rocking chair with a cup of her favorite tea.

Eustace and Mr. Worth were telling the Alden and the other ghosts in detail about the demons when Arie suddenly stood up. "I think we may have a visitor outside."

Shane, Caleb and Kiel rose and went to the window while Arie stayed behind standing in the center of the room. A loud noise came from outside then the alarm on the celler door startled everybody. A few seconds later the alarm from the back door could be heard. Mr. Worth glided over to Arie and spoke quietly with him for a moment then signalled to the children who formed a circle around Courage, Eustace, Muriel, Mr. Worth and Arie. Soon the now familiar chant started up. The other three ghosts retreated back into the center of the circle as the children continued their chant. A moment later the sound disappeared from the t.v. then the lights went out leaving the room illuminated by the ghosts.

Courage shivered in fear huddling close to Muriel who was huddled close to Eustace. Mr. Worth looked a little nervous but didn't seem to be as afraid as before. Suddenly the froth door burst open, the sound of the alarm shrieking out as a large shadowy figure loomed in the open doorway. Shane and Caleb looked over to Arie then nodded and slipped out of the circle to grab the startled creature. A few seconds later a commotion could be heard outside as the lights came back on. Muriel quickly shut the t.v. off as everybody stared at the two ghosts who were holding a strange creature that looked something like the statues outside the Nowhere library.

Arie glided forward as the circle of children broke apart. The ghost pulled a glowing chain from around his waist. Caleb and Shane released the creature as Arie fastened the chain around the creature's neck. The chain instantly turned into a bright silver metal. "Well, what do we have here?" Arie grinned as the creature began to shrink down until it was the size of a large owl. "It's a little gargoyle. Decided to join in on the fun did you?"

The little creature cowered as the ghost stared down at it. Slowly it shook its head. Caleb gazed thoughtfully at the little gargoyle. "Maybe he was summoned by whoever summoned those demons out there?"

The little gargoyle nodded looking hopefully up at the menacing ghosts.

"Well, what should we do with it? We don't have the spell to return it to stone and we can't just release it. It would become just as much of a threat as those demons out there."

The little gargoyle looked pleadingly up at the ghosts visibly afraid of all of them. It obviously did not want to be turned back into stone.

The children moved closer to get a better look at it. The oldest boy reached out a careful hand to touch the creature who shrank back from the little boys touch. The boy turned to Mr. Worth. "Can I keep it?"

Mr. Worth considered the boys request carefully. "Well, Stephen, you know gargoyles don't always make good pets. If you're not as powerful as it is then you could have a lot of trouble on your hands."

Arie grinned at the little boy then looked over at Mr. Worth. "This little guy's not so bad David. He doesn't seem to have very much negative energy about him at all. I'm sure that Stephen could handle him."

Mr. Worth looked a little uncertain but nodded. "Okay, let's see how well Stephen can handle him."

Stephen stepped forward to take the chain that Arie offered him. The frightened little gargoyle shrank back from the little boy for a moment then obediantly sat by his feet when as the little ghost gave the chain a gentle pull. Stephen reached down to scratch the gargoyle's ears like a puppy and the little creature leaned against him appreciatively.

One of the little girls giggled. "He's kind of cute. What are you going to name him?"

"I don't know." Stephen replied. "Do you give gargoyles a name or do they already have one?"

Arie stepped forward to pick the little gargoyle up and held it in front of himself looking it straight in the eye. He spoke to it in another language while keeping his eyes locked on the gargoyle's. The creature trembled in the ghosts unforgiving stare but said nothing. "This one cannot speak. You'll have to give it a new name and then it will have to be bound to you so that you will always have control over it. We don't want it trying to frighten anybody else like it did earlier tonight now do we?"

Stephen looked over at Mr. Worth who just shrugged. "It's up to you Stephen. If you're going to keep it then you will have to agree to be bound to it and you will have to give it a new name."

Stephen thought it over then said. "I know, I'll name it Midnight because we caught it in the middle of the night."

Arie smiled. "That's a good name." The ghost knelt down and recited a few words then had Stephen repeat those words. Then Arie handed the little gargoyle back to Stephen. "He's all yours. Take good care of him."

Stephen grinned as the little gargoyle shrank down a little more until it was small enough to perch upon the little ghosts shoulder. "Ummm... what do gargoyle's eat?"

"That one came from stone so he probably won't eat very often. He might want to catch a rat or something like that once in a while. Don't worry, he'll let you know when he is hungry and what he wants to eat. He'll also let you know when he wants water and he will need to recharge his energy just as you recharge yours.."

"Does he always have to stay on the chain?"

Arie shook his head. "You can take the chain off of him now if you want. He has been bound to you so he won't go too far away from you and he will listen to whatever you tell him to do."

Stephen happily removed the chain from his pet and returned the chain to Arie who put it back around his waist.

The other children circled around Stephen to admire his new pet. One of the little girls went over and tugged Mr. Worth's sleeve. "Now that Stephen has a pet, can I have one too?"

Mr. Worth looked down at her. "What kind of pet do you want Dianne?"

"I want an undead puppy! Please, can I have one? They're so cute!"

Muriel, Eustace, Courage, and Alden just stared at the little girl. "Undead puppy?" They all said in unison.

Mr. Worth nodded. "There are a few of them down by the old pet cemetary next to the Nowhere Cemetary. I have no idea how they got that way but somebody had a very sick mind." He turned back to the little girl. "I don't know Dianne. An undead puppy would be a huge amout of responsibility. You would be stuck with a dog that never grows up and one that has to be fed several times a day."

Courage gulped and asked the question he was afraid to ask. "What do you feed an undead puppy!"

The teacher grinned over at him. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Courage shuddered then nodded.

"They don't eat normal food at all. They eat flesh of the living just like a wild animal does and they usually drink blood instead of water."

Dianne looked up at her teacher. "I could take him out to hunt. There are plenty of rats in the fields around the cemetary!"

Mr. Worth looked down at her. "You would also have to keep it from chewing on its own bones."

Everybody else in the room looked sick.

The tall ghost chuckled as he looked around the room at all the green faces. "Well, you know how puppies love to chew on bones." He said mischievously.

After taking a second or two to recover from the wave of nausea Alden aksed, "What about the smell? Those things have got to be pretty rancid smelling."

"To tell you the truth, I cannot smell anything unless I really put a lot of energy into it so I wouldn't know." Mr. Worth replied. "But I have seen people around the cemetary when the puppies are out playing and the people don't seem to be bothered by them. So I would guess that they've been that way long enough that there is no smell."

Muriel looked even more sickly but managed to speak. "How do people react when they see those things running around the cemetary?"

"They usually don't notice them."

"Actually, depending upon the spell used and how well preserved they are, the puppies probably wouldn't have any kind of odor. They might even eat regular food instead of living flesh and blood. There is also a chance that they might not eat at all." Arie explained as he glided back to the center of the living room. "Oh, by the way, I believe we have visitors outside again."

A loud sound could be heard comming from the alarm on the back door.

"Here we go again." Kiel said as everybody moved to the center of the room to be surrounded by the circle of children.