Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? by R.L. Stine Page A

Cha Cha?”
    “That's the deal,” I said, my heart thudding in my chest.
    Would he go for it? Did he love his cat enough to make a deal?
    He had to. He
had
to!
    “Sorry. No deal,” Phears said. “Say goodbye to your friends, Max.”
    He turned his white-eyed stare on me, and I felt a wave of heat sweep over my body. “Please— don't burn me! Don't burn me!” I cried.

29
    A CAT MEOWED .
    I had dropped to my knees with my head covered, trying to protect myself from the fiery heat. Suddenly, the burning stopped.
    The cat meowed again.
    “Cha Cha!” Phears cried. “It
is
you!”
    I climbed slowly to my feet, my skin still burning.
    “Bring him to me, Max!” Phears ordered. “Cha Cha! I'm coming! Can you hear me? Bring him to me right now, Max.”
    “And you'll let Nicky and Tara go? And send the Berserker Ghoul away?” I asked.
    “Of course,” Phears replied. “I promise. Cha Cha! Where are you?”
    I turned to Nicky and Tara. They were still held prisoner, wrapped in the disgusting fingernails. Tara nodded and smiled at me. Nicky flashed me a thumbs-up.
    That cat is going to save us after all, I thought. I moved to the wall and gripped the loose panel. Iheard the cat meow on the other side. I tugged the panel.
    It didn't budge.
    “Cha Cha? Where are you?” Phears' voice thundered behind me. “What is taking so long?”
    “The cat is right here,” I said. I tightened my grip on the wall panel—and pulled.
    Will the tunnel be here this time? It has to be! Please, please let it be there!
    I gave another tug—and the panel slid off the wall. Yes! I could see the dark tunnel behind it. I felt a whoosh of cold air. It smelled so sour, I gagged.
    With the wood panel in my hands, I staggered back to get away from the putrid smell. And as I backed up, a creature let out a wild shriek—and came flying out of the tunnel, sailing over my head.
    I spun around—and saw the black cat. A ghost cat—I could see right through it. It leaped onto Phears' arm. “Cha Cha! Cha Cha!” Phears cried happily. “You're back!”
    The black cat snuggled its head against Phears' cheek and purred softly. “Cha Cha, I've missed you
so
much,” Phears declared.
    “Now let us go,” Tara cried, tugging at the coiled fingernails around her waist.
    “Yes. Hurry, Phears,” I said. “You've got your cat. Now keep your promise. Get rid of the Berserker Ghoul, too.”
    The cat was tucked under his chin. Phears turned to me. “Here's the lesson of the day, Max,” he said. “You should never trust an evil old ghost. I've got my cat. And I've got my two prisoners. I guess I have everything I need—and you have nothing. Thanks for the cat, Max. Now say goodbye to your friends. So sorry to see you go.”
    “No!”
I screamed. “You can't
do
that! That's
not
fair!”
    Furious, I raised the wood panel above my head—and heaved it at Phears.
    It sailed right through him. But the cat let out a startled shriek—and leaped from Phears' neck onto me! It dug its claws into my shoulder and let out another shrill shriek in my ear, holding on tight.
    Phears' fingernails curled away from Nicky and Tara. The nails quickly slid back into his fingers. He came toward me, reaching out with both hands. “Give me that cat!”
    I felt a tremor of fear inside me. Felt the Berserker Ghoul move—fast. The ghoul was afraid of the cat. I could feel its fear!
    My right ear suddenly throbbed with pain. I grabbed it and felt a powerful whoosh of hot wind. Yellow smoke poured from my ear.
    No. Not smoke. The ghoul. Frightened by the cat, the Berserker Ghoul poured out of my body in a funnel cloud of yellow smoke.
    Phears grabbed the cat off my shoulder. “Give it back! Come back, Cha Cha!”
    As he held the cat to his chest, I saw the yellow smoke rise above him—then dive. Yes! The ghoul poured quickly into Phears' ear! The yellow smoke swirled down into Phears' ear until it disappeared completely.
    Holding on to the black cat, Phears turned to Nicky