R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 03 by One Night in Doom House

pointed his pod at Nicky and Tara.
    I watched in horror as my two friends floated up off the floor. They both screamed. They were being sucked into the life pod.
    They thrashed their arms and tried to twist their bodies free. But the force of the pod seemed too powerful.
    Nicky and Tara screamed again, more faintly this time. They started to shrink. The pod pulled Nicky closer. His head was about to disappear into the silvery pod.
    I gripped the windowsill. I knew I had to do something.
    But what?
    Could I distract the ghosts? Give Nicky and Tara just enough time to escape?
    I had to try.
    Holding on to the sill, I started to pull myself through the open window.
    But before I could move, I felt a sharp stab of pain in my back. I’m hit, I thought. The ghosts got me. I’m hit. …
    I let out a startled gasp—and slid to my knees in the snow.

28
    I HEARD LAUGHTER BEHIND me.
    The pain faded quickly. I spun around—and saw the Wilbur brothers’ grinning faces. Billy and Willy came running across the snow, heaving snowballs at me.
    The snowballs were hardpacked and icy. A sharp one had hit me in the back.
    “I don’t have time for this!” I shouted.
    Inside the house, my friends were in terrible trouble. I didn’t have time to waste on a snowball fight with the Wilburs.
    “Go away! Get away!” I screamed.
    Furious, I picked up one of their ice balls and heaved it back at them. Billy ducked and it sailed over his head.
    He pulled back his arm, launched a big snowball at me—and it flew through the open window of the house.
    A shrill scream burst out the window. A ghostly wail.
    The Wilbur brothers dropped their snowballs.Their eyes bulged in fright. “Who screamed?” Willy asked. They both stared at the house.
    Another long, loud howl of pain floated from inside.
    “I’m outta here!” Billy cried.
    Slipping on the snow, the two Wilburs took off running. Willy's cap blew off his head, and he didn’t stop to pick it up.
    I watched them disappear through the scraggly hedges at the front of the yard. Then I turned to the window and peered inside.
    To my surprise, one of the bearded ghosts was doubled over in pain. I watched him frantically brushing snow off his chest.
    The other ghosts were frozen in place, watching the bearded ghost's struggle. Nicky and Tara backed themselves against the wall.
    What happened here? I asked myself.
    What happened?
    And suddenly, it became clear.
    I spotted a snow shovel leaning against the side of the house. I ran over to it, grabbed it, and hurried back to the window.
    Bending low, I plunged the shovel into the deep snow and filled it. Then, using all my strength, I heaved a huge pile of snow high into the window.
    I heard cries and screams. Howls of pain.
    But I didn’t stop to see what was going on in there. I dug the blade in again, deep into thesnow—and swung another shovelful into the room. Then another. Another. Not stopping to take a breath. Making the snow fly fast and hard.
    More screams rang out. Shrill wails of pain and terror. And then the screams were drowned out by a sizzling hiss. It reminded me of fried eggs and bacon crackling on the stove.
    As I heaved in shovel after shovel, I remembered Tara's pain when she was hit by snow. Remembered how it had burned her. And I remembered how the snow had burned Morgo, too.
    And I remembered the words that Lulu had murmured to Nicky and Tara:
“Colder than the grave.”
    That's what it would take to defeat these ghosts. Something colder than the grave. Like
snow!
    Yes! I listened to the sizzling hiss. The sound of ghosts burning, burning in pain. And knew I had melted them all, melted them with something
colder than the grave.
    My arms ached. Sweat poured down my face.
    Silence now. The sizzling had stopped. No more ghostly howls and screams of pain.
    I lowered my hands to my knees and struggled to catch my breath. My gloves were soaked. My chest ached.
    I grabbed the windowsill and hoisted myself up. I squinted into the