When the Ghost Dog Howls Read online

  Marnie grabbed it. “I wish they bring me TWICE as many French fries as you!” she said.

  “Nice,” I muttered. I took the tooth back and tucked it away. “Do you really think you can use MY tooth whenever you want?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Don’t be selfish.”

  We both sat there staring straight ahead.

  Mom and Dad slid back into the booth. “You two are certainly quiet tonight,” Mom said.

  “We’re … uh … thinking about homework,” I replied.

  The waitress brought the food. She set down the plates of French fries. Marnie got twice as many fries as me. She giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” Dad asked.

  “So many fries!” Marnie said.

  I rolled my eyes. Sometimes my cousin is totally annoying.

  After dinner, we drove Marnie to her house. She opened the back door and jumped down from the Escalade. “Cool car!” she shouted to my dad.

  Then she leaned back into the car and whispered to me, “Be sure to bring the tooth to school.”

  “Huh? I don’t think so,” I whispered back.

  “Andy, just think,” Marnie whispered. “We’re never going to fail another test!”

  She slammed the door and hurried up the walk to her house.

  I sat back on the smooth leather seat and sighed. I suddenly felt very tense. My heart began beating fast.

  I could feel the big tooth against my chest.

  Was this thing too good to be true?

  Later in bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about the tooth.

  Okay. I admit it. I don’t just have a worried expression. I’m also a big worrier.

  I gazed at it on the nightstand next to my bed.

  Pale moonlight poured in from my open window. It made the tooth glow with an eerie green light.

  I grabbed the leather cord and held the tooth in front of my face.

  Do I really want to take it to school? I asked myself.

  I pictured Marnie showing it off to all her friends. Strutting around. Acting like it was her tooth.

  Then I pictured her friends grabbing for it, tugging it away, eager to make wishes of their own.

  A riot with kids fighting over the tooth, battling in the halls, wrecking the whole school, making crazy wish after wish.

  And who would get blamed?

  Good old Andy.

  A mistake, I thought, gazing at the glowing tooth next to me. Bringing it to school could be a horrible mistake.

  I shut my eyes. And heard a howl.

  “Huh?” My eyes shot open, and I jerked straight up in bed.

  What WAS that?

  I listened hard.

  And through the open window, I heard a long, mournful howl. An animal howl.

  Was it a dog? A neighborhood dog?

  I’ve lived here all my life, I thought. I’ve never heard a dog howling late at night before.

  The dog howled again, a long, warbling wail.

  A shiver ran down my body.

  Jonathan Chiller flashed into my mind. And once again, I heard his croaky voice telling the story of the Blue Kerlew Hound.

  The mournful howls on the hill … The villagers running through the stormy night … finding the sorcerer torn to pieces. Torn to pieces!

  Outside, I heard another sad animal howl.

  I slid down under the covers. I shut my eyes.

  And saw the big blue hound coming for me. It lumbered forward steadily with its tail raised straight behind it … with its head high. Eyes glowing red as fire.

  Howling … howling as it came to tear me to pieces. As it came back for its missing tooth.

  Another howl. Right outside.

  So close … so close. I pulled the covers over my head and pressed my hands over my ears.

  But still I could hear it. Even under the covers, I could hear it howling … howling into the night.

  How much sleep did I get? Maybe an hour or two.

  The next morning, I arrived at school with bloodshot eyes, yawning my head off. My head felt heavy, as if it were made of solid rock.

  Sure enough, guess whose cousin was waiting for me at my locker.

  “Did you bring it?” she asked. “Did you?”

  “Good morning to you, too,” I muttered. I turned the combination on my lock and pulled open the locker door.

  “I’m not going to make a wish or anything,” Marnie said. “I just want to show it to Judy.”

  I KNEW it!

  “The bell is going to ring,” I said. I squatted down to pick up books from the bottom of my locker.

  “Did you bring it or not?” Marnie demanded.

  I stood up and closed the locker. “Yes, I brought it,” I said. “It’s under my shirt, but —”

  Some kids were watching us. I grabbed Marnie’s arm and pulled her around the corner, out of sight.

  “What’s the big idea?” she said.

  “Sshhh.” I raised a finger to my lips. “Listen, Marnie, this is serious. I mean, really. I heard a dog howling last night.”

  Her green eyes went wide. “So? You heard a dog. Big whoop.”

  “The dog howled all night,” I said. “Right outside my window.”

  “Andy, why didn’t you close the window?”

  That’s when I lost it. I grabbed Marnie by the shoulders. “Don’t you get it?” I cried. “The Blue Kerlew Hound? Remember? They found the sorcerer torn to pieces? The dog came back?”

  Marnie laughed. “You think the ghost dog came back to get you? That’s nutty, Andy, and you know it. It was probably some dog down the street who didn’t want to be left outdoors.”

  I let go of her shoulders. “Maybe,” I said. “Maybe not. But listen, Marnie. Let’s keep the tooth a secret, okay? I mean, for now. Making wishes is cool. But … I feel kind of creeped out about it.”

  She tugged the leather cord around my neck. “Well … if you don’t want the tooth, you could give it to me. I mean, if you’re totally stressed about it, I’d be happy to take it.”

  I slapped her hand away. “You never give up — do you!” I said. “Listen, I’m keeping the tooth. I just want to be careful, that’s all.”

  “Okay, okay.” Marnie rolled her eyes. “No problem. We’ll be careful.”

  “Good,” I said. I let out a long sigh and started to relax.

  And that’s when Marnie grabbed the cord. She pulled the tooth out from under my shirt and squeezed her hand around it.

  Her green eyes flashed. A devilish grin spread over her face. And she called out, “I wish … I wish school will get out early because there’s a cow loose in the building!”

  “NO!” I cried. “Are you CRAZY?” I pried the tooth from her hand and started to jam it back into its hiding place under my shirt.

  But sure enough, somewhere down the hall I heard some kids screaming. Then … running footsteps.

  And then: MOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

  Sunday afternoon, Mom dropped me off at the Cloverfield Mall. She said I could buy my own sneakers, as long as I didn’t buy the ones with lights that flash when you walk.

  I said no problem. Why would I buy baby sneakers, anyway?

  But today was a big deal. She was actually trusting me to shop on my own.

  As I started out of the car, she tucked a ten-dollar bill into my shirt pocket. “You didn’t have much lunch, Andy. Buy yourself a snack.”

  Then she made a face. “Why do you insist on wearing that ugly tooth everywhere?”

  I shrugged. “Dunno. It’s like a good-luck thing.” I slid out of the Escalade and waved good-bye.

  I had no way of knowing that the tooth would not bring me good luck that day.

  The mall was really crowded. A high school band was playing in the rotunda. And across from it, a big mob gathered around a totally awesome sports car being auctioned off.

  I tried to push my way to the front to get a better look. But I felt a hand on my shoulder. And a familiar voice said, “Why don’t you trade the Escalade for the cool s
ports car?”

  I let out a groan. “Marnie, how did you know I’d be here?” I asked.

  Marnie wore a pale blue sweater and a short denim skirt over blue tights. She had a blue headband in her brown hair.

  She grinned. “I’m psychic,” she said. “Didn’t you know I can read minds?”

  “Really? What am I thinking right now?” I demanded.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated. “You’re thinking you want to use the tooth to get me all kinds of cool stuff at the mall today.”

  I burst out laughing.

  “I’m serious,” she said. She had her eyes on the tooth. “Let’s see what we can wish for.”

  “Let’s not,” I said. I turned and started walking toward Shoe Universe.

  She hurried after me. “Andy, you’re no fun. We haven’t had any fun at all with the tooth,” she complained.

  “Stop saying we,” I said.

  She made a pouty face. “Okay, okay.”

  “I don’t think it should be used for fun,” I told her. “The tooth is serious. It’s kind of scary. It’s like … having too much power.”

  “We could just get some little things,” she said. She inhaled deeply. “Mmmmm. Those cinnamon buns smell so great!”

  “My dad says it’s a trick,” I said. “He said they pipe that cinnamon smell out into the mall to get you to stop and buy one of their buns.”

  “I don’t care,” Marnie said. “How about wishing for cinnamon buns? One for each of us. That’s not too scary — is it?”

  “Here,” I said. I pulled the ten-dollar bill from my pocket. “Mom gave me this for snacks. We can buy two cinnamon buns.”

  Marnie made her pouty face again. “That’s a lot of fun. Not.”

  We walked past the Cineplex. Three teenage dudes were arguing with the girl in the glass ticket booth that they were old enough to go into some movie. It must have been R-rated. The girl kept shouting, “Just show me your ID!” over and over.

  “How about free movie tickets?” Marnie asked.

  I shook my head. “No way. I’m here to buy sneakers.”

  “Why don’t you just wish for the sneakers?”

  “I want to pick them out.”

  “How about just one crazy wish, Andy? You know. Something insane. Like a cow loose in the mall.”

  I sighed. “Give me a break, Marnie. You already did that — remember?”

  “And it was awesome!” she said, giggling.

  “No more cows,” I muttered.

  Marnie took off toward her favorite store, Boutique Boutique. The sign in the window said: SO NICE WE NAMED IT TWICE. She nearly collided with two women pushing baby strollers.

  “Andy, check it out.”

  I made my way slowly up to the shop window. Marnie had her face to the glass, staring at a pile of sweaters. A little sign read: PURE CASHMERE.

  “Don’t drool,” I said. “It’s very immature.”

  She shoved me hard in the ribs. “I just want the blue one and the pale green one,” she said. “Or maybe the creamy white one.”

  She turned to me. “I’m really not into sweaters, but those are amazing. Please, Andy? It’s so simple. Just make a wish for me to have two of them in my size? What can it hurt?”

  I’d been pretty calm and patient. But she grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me and begging, “Please? Pretty please …?”

  And that’s when I lost it. And I screamed, “You’re driving me CRAZY! I wish you’d STOP TALKING about the tooth!”

  Marnie made a hard swallowing sound. Like she was choking.

  Then she moved her lips — and no sound came out.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I can’t hear you.”

  Her face turned red. I could read her lips: “I … can’t … talk. I … can’t … talk!”

  She couldn’t make a sound — not even a whisper.

  I stared hard at her. “You’re joking — right?”

  She shook her head. Her eyes bulged. I could see she was trying to shout.

  But no sound came out.

  She really couldn’t speak.

  A chill ran down my back. My mouth dropped open in fright.

  What have I DONE?

  Marnie waved her hands frantically. She struggled to speak, to make a sound. A hoarse bleat escaped her throat, and she started to cough.

  My mind whirred from thought to thought:

  Serves her right. She was making me NUTS wishing for everything she saw.

  But then I thought:

  This is terrible! What if she can never speak again? What if I’ve ruined her life?

  She tugged my sleeve with one hand and pointed wildly to her throat with the other. I couldn’t read her lips. But I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to wish her voice back.

  “Okay,” I said.

  But she grabbed the tooth before I had a chance. She tugged it really hard.

  “OUCH!” I let out a scream as the leather cord dug into my neck. “Hey — you CUT me!” I rubbed the side of my neck where it throbbed. “Is it bleeding?”

  Marnie scowled at me. With a deep sigh I grabbed the tooth and made the wish for her.

  “Yes!” she cried. “It’s back. My voice — I can talk again!” She gave me a hard punch on the shoulder. “How could you DO that to me?”

  “I … I didn’t mean to,” I stammered. “It was a total accident. But you asked for it, didn’t you?”

  She started to sing at the top of her lungs. “I love my voice!” she said when she finally finished. “It’s beautiful!”

  I pressed one hand against my neck. “Look what you did to me. Is there a bruise? Is it bleeding?”

  She tilted my head to one side. “It’s a little cut,” she said. “Just a tiny drip of blood.” She wiped it with her fingers. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you. It was an emergency.”

  “Emergency?” I cried. “It wouldn’t be an emergency if you didn’t drive me crazy with all your wishes. If — if —”

  I stopped. People were staring at us. I recognized two kids from school. They were pointing at us and laughing.

  I spun away and started to walk. “Let’s go,” I said. “Shoe Universe is around the corner. Are you coming with me?”

  She trotted after me. “Tell you what,” she said. “I’ll make you a deal.”

  I shook my head. “No deal.”

  “Andy, you’re being a total jerk,” she said.

  “Stop trying to get on my good side,” I said.

  “One wish,” Marnie said. “That’s all. Come on. One wish — and I’ll shut up. I won’t even mention the tooth for the rest of the day.”

  I turned to face her. “How about for the rest of the week?”

  “Promise,” she said.

  “If we do one wish, you promise you won’t say the word tooth for a week? Raise your hand and swear.”

  “I swear,” Marnie said. “But it has to be a good wish.”

  “Okay. Deal,” I said. We were standing outside Shoe Universe. I pulled the leather cord over my head. I held the big tooth in front of me.

  “Let me make the wish,” Marnie said. She grabbed for the tooth — and it fell out of my hand.

  “Get back,” I said. I leaned down. The tooth had landed in some kind of sticky puddle. It looked like orange soda.

  I picked it up and wiped it with my hand. “Here goes,” I said.

  Marnie’s eyes flashed eagerly. She had an excited grin frozen on her face.

  I took a deep breath. “I wish for Shoe Universe to give you and me free pairs of their absolutely most awesome sneakers!”

  I waited. I realized I was still holding my breath.

  I heard a buzzing sound. It sounded like a hive of bees all buzzing at once.

  It took me a few seconds to realize the tooth was buzzing. And then it started to vibrate in my hand. Harder … harder … until it made my hand ache.

  “Huh?” I uttered a confused gasp.

  A blinding light made me shut my eyes.r />
  Marnie screamed.

  A white bolt of electricity roared over me.

  I didn’t even realize I was dancing. Caught in the jolting electricity, my body twisted and jerked.

  My arms flew over my head. My legs did a wild jig.

  The loud buzzing no longer surrounded me. It was in my head now. Like a thousand bees, buzzing … bumping against my brain … bumping me as I danced in the painful current.

  And then, nothing. Just silent darkness.

  My eyes slowly filled with light. As if someone were lifting a window shade in front of my face.

  I heard myself groan. My head throbbed. I could feel the blood pulsing at my temples.

  I shut my eyes and saw flashing red lights.

  “Andy?” A voice called my name from somewhere far in the distance. The red lights faded to gray.

  “Andy? Are you waking up?”

  I blinked, letting in the bright light again. Why did my head hurt so much? Why did my whole body ache?

  I felt as if I could feel every one of my bones.

  “He’s opening his eyes,” a girl said. Was it Marnie?

  “He’s coming around.” Another voice, still far away. Mom?

  My body twitched. My mouth opened with a gurgling sound.

  I tried to sit up. But a shock of pain to my head made me drop back down.

  “Where am I?”

  Was that my voice? So hoarse and husky.

  I blinked a few more times. I saw a red ceiling light. And then green curtains blowing at an open window.

  My room?

  No. The colors were all wrong. I didn’t have a red ceiling light and green curtains.

  Brown eyes floated over me behind black eyeglasses. Thinning brown hair. A bushy brown mustache.

  “Hello?” I uttered. “Where am I?”

  “Don’t you recognize me?” the man said, his face hovering over mine. “I’m your dad.”

  I made a choking sound. “My dad? No you’re not.”

  “Give him some air,” a woman said. She pulled the man back from my bed.

  I groaned again. Marnie sat by the bed, looking very tense and pale.

  “Marnie — where am I? Who are these people?” I asked.

  “They’re your parents,” she whispered.

  “But I’ve never seen them before!” I cried.