They Call Me the Night Howler! Page 8

  Trust me. It was like being dead.

  I didn’t see stars or hear bells ringing or birds chirping. I sprawled there in a heap on the floor, lost in total blackness.

  How long was I out?

  I don’t know. But when I finally opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that my chest really hurt. I’m talking throbbing pain that made every breath hurt.

  The second thing I noticed was that Randy Revenge was gone.

  I struggled to sit up and glanced around. The fishing rods were gone, too. All of them. The store was bare.

  Why did he want fishing rods? Why was he taking revenge on this store?

  I would never know the answers. I had been defeated again. I wasn’t the Night Howler. I was the Night Loser.

  I sat on the floor, still dazed. Breathing slowly in and out. Waiting for the pain in my chest to fade.

  The sound of the door opening made my heart jump. I turned to the front with a groan. Pain soared over my chest.

  I saw a flash of red. Boots clicked across the floor.

  Blue Strawberry strode into the aisle. She stopped when she saw me on the floor.

  “You’re too late,” I said. My voice came out hoarse and strained.

  She squinted at me through her red mask.

  “You’re too late,” I repeated. “You can’t rescue Randy Revenge because he rescued himself. He’s gone.”

  She didn’t speak. Just stared down at me. I could see she was thinking hard.

  “I know it’s you,” I said to her. “I saw the costume in your closet.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  I suddenly realized I had her off guard. Maybe the night wouldn’t be a total defeat after all.

  “I know it’s you,” I repeated. “Your game is over.”

  “I … don’t understand,” she stammered.

  Before she could move, I raised my hands and formed a dark shadow cloud above my head. I waved my hands forward and the shadow slid over Blue Strawberry.

  I lowered it over her till she was trapped inside it.

  I jumped to my feet. My chest throbbed with pain, but I ignored it. “Your little joke is over, Stella!” I cried.

  I dove forward. Reached into the shadow. Grabbed her mask with both hands. And ripped it off her face.

  “Oh noooo!” I cried.

  I let out a scream and stared at the face of a woman I’d never seen before.

  Not Stella. Not my sister.

  Her green eyes flashed angrily.

  I lost my concentration and the shadow cloud drifted away.

  Blue Strawberry yanked the mask from my hands. “What’s your problem, Night Howler?” she snapped. “You’re acting like a super-psycho.”

  “I—I—I—” I sputtered.

  “Maybe you need a nice cool dessert,” she said. She raised both hands over her head.

  I felt something wet and soft hit my shoulders. Something splattered the top of my head. I looked up and saw little chunks of fruit—hundreds of them—raining down on me.

  Pineapple. Apples. Grapes. Fruit cocktail! A downpour of fruit cocktail, pounding me, thundering like a powerful waterfall.

  I dropped to my knees and covered my head as the fruit splashed and thudded and battered me. When it finally stopped, my costume was drenched and sticky. I pulled chunks of pineapple off my shoulders. I shook the cape hard, tossing out pieces of fruit.

  Of course, Blue Strawberry was gone.

  Another night. Another major fail.

  What kind of superhero was I? Wreckage, the Juggler, OverTime, Randy Revenge, Blue Strawberry—they had all escaped. I was a joke, that’s what I was.

  I hurried home. I knew there was only one way to prove that I deserved to be the Night Howler. I had to capture Dr. Maniac.

  But would I even get the chance?

  I darted up to my room and hid my costume under the floorboards. I pulled on my pajamas, still thinking gloomy thoughts about my defeat.

  I jumped when Stella came bursting into my room. “You weren’t in your room. Where were you?” she demanded.

  “I just went downstairs for a glass of water,” I said.

  She narrowed her eyes at me, studying me.

  “I owe you an apology,” I said. “I was in your room. I saw that Blue Strawberry costume, and I thought—”

  “That’s my Halloween costume,” Stella said. “Cool, huh? Mom and Dad bought it for me at the comic art museum.”

  “Yeah. Cool,” I muttered. “See you in the morning.”

  It took hours to get to sleep. My chest still throbbed, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what a loser I was. I kept picturing the insane grin on Dr. Maniac’s face. And I kept imagining myself grabbing him, twirling him around, burying him in deep shadow, all the time howling the Night Howler howl.

  Two nights later, I had the chance to make it all come true.

  * * *

  I was asleep when the special buzz on my phone woke me up. The message on the screen told me that the evil supervillain was robbing another house across town.

  “This is it,” I murmured to myself. I could feel the excitement wash over my whole body. I pulled up my costume. My hands trembled as I tugged it on. The mask felt snug and warm against my face.

  I took a deep breath and pushed back my cape. I started to my bedroom door.

  “This is it. This is it,” I kept repeating to myself. “The night for the Night Howler to shine!”

  I pulled open the door and took a step into the hall. I stopped. I heard something. Footsteps. Someone walking around.

  Stella’s room was dark. I listened. More footsteps. Someone on the stairs. Was Mom or Dad still awake?

  I held my breath. All my muscles tensed. I listened some more.

  And gasped as Dr. Maniac stepped off the stairway. His head bobbed up and down as he strode toward me with long, rapid steps.

  “No need to look for me, Howler,” he said in a harsh whisper. “Here I am.”

  “Uh … uh … ” I was too shocked to speak. I backed into my room.

  I couldn’t think straight. The walls spun all around me. I could feel the blood pulsing at my temples.

  Dr. Maniac followed me.

  “What are you doing here?” I blurted out. “How did you find me?”

  “I have an Enemy Tracker,” Maniac said. “Don’t you have one? You should order one online.”

  I took a deep breath. “I guess I am your enemy,” I murmured. “I mean, I’m going to capture you.”

  He shook his head. “That makes me as unhappy as a moose in a BarcaLounger.”

  I cleared my throat. My brain was starting to work again.

  “This is it,” I murmured. “This is it.”

  “I have bad news and good news for you,” Maniac rasped. “The bad news is that you are doomed.”

  “What’s the good news?” I asked.

  “The good news is it’s not going to rain tonight! Hahaha!”

  “You’re crazy!” I cried.

  “I’m not crazy—I’m a MANIAC!” he screamed.

  He moved toward me.

  I raised both hands above my head. I formed a dark gray cloud. I motioned my hands to send the cloud floating over him.

  I quickly lowered it. Covered in shadow and—

  A beam of white light broke through the darkness.

  I uttered a startled cry. Squinting, I saw the flashlight in Maniac’s hand. A blinding, bright halogen flashlight.

  His light cut through my shadow. Shattered it. Destroyed it.

  Then he raised the circle of light to my face.

  I covered my eyes. Too late. The hot white light glowed on my eyelids. Pain shot down my face.

  “What’s wrong, Howler?” Maniac cried. “Don’t you enjoy the spotlight?”

  His laughter rang off the walls.

  He’s right. I’m doomed, I realized. It’s over.

  He kept the light on my face. I covered my eyes with my arm. I could still see the glare.

 
Suddenly, I heard Maniac let out a cry.

  The light fell from my face.

  Blinking hard, I opened my eyes—and saw Blue Strawberry wrestling with Dr. Maniac. He tried to swing away from her. But she grabbed his hand and stole the flashlight from him.

  He swiped for it, but she tossed it out the open window.

  Through his mask, he glared at her angrily. “Hey—what’s your problem? Whose side are you on?” he boomed.

  I realized this was my chance. I raised both hands and formed another deep shadow. I sent it swirling over Maniac.

  He thrashed at it with both hands. Tried to squirm out of it.

  “Got you!” I cried.

  I didn’t have time to celebrate. Trapped in the shadow, he staggered across the room. “Howler,” he said, “do you know my frequent-flier number? Oh, never mind!”

  Then he lowered his shoulder. Burst out of my shadow cloud. And jumped out the window.

  I watched him fly away.

  Then I turned back to Blue Strawberry. I shook my head. “He got away,” I murmured. “But you saved my life. Thank you.”

  “No big deal,” she said. She pulled off her mask.

  “Oh, wow!” I cried.

  It was Stella. Not Blue Strawberry. Stella in her Halloween costume.

  “Mason, you owe me forever!” she said.

  Yes, I owed her forever. Stella saved my life. But she also ended my career as a superhero.

  She knew my identity. She saw me in the costume. That meant the costume lost all its powers. It was useless. And I was back to being twelve-year-old Mason Brady.

  * * *

  Later, I rolled up the Night Howler costume and stuffed it into a shopping bag. I begged my parents to take me back to the comic art museum. And they finally said yes.

  It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. The museum was crowded with comic and superhero fans from all over.

  My plan was to find a museum worker to return the costume to. But they all seemed to be busy.

  My parents went to the restaurant to get coffee. I wandered down a long hall, searching for someone with a museum badge.

  I stepped into a dimly lit room in a corner of the hall. I stopped to look at the superhero posters. A video was playing on a screen near the back.

  I turned and started to leave when I saw Dr. Maniac standing beside the video screen. He was pulling off his leopard-skin cape.

  He turned when he saw me approach.

  “Are you an actor?” I said. “Do you work for the museum playing the part of Dr. Maniac?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’m the real deal, kiddo. I’m Dr. Maniac.” He didn’t recognize me. He didn’t know that I was the Night Howler.

  He tugged off his mask.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I’ve had enough,” he said. “The whole Maniac thing is stressing me out.”

  He folded the mask and set it down beside the cape.

  “Huh?” I gasped. “You’re really giving it up?”

  He nodded and swept back his blond hair. “It’s hard being a maniac, kid. All that shouting gives me a sore throat. And I’m tired of the narrow escapes. Too scary. Bad for my blood pressure.”

  I stared at him. I didn’t know what to say.

  He pointed at me. “Hey, I have an idea. Would you like to be Dr. Maniac?”

  My mind spun. “Well …”

  How much fun would it be? I asked myself.

  A LOT!

  Maniac smiled as he handed the cape and mask over to me. “Here. Don’t forget the feather boots,” he said. He bent and started to pull them off his feet.

  My heart was racing with excitement as I stuffed the costume into my backpack.

  “Hey, enjoy!” Maniac said, slapping me on the shoulder. “And good luck, kid.”

  “I’m not a kid,” I said. “I’m a MANIAC!”

  Hahaha! Those are big boots to fill, Mason. Hope you’re not allergic to feathers!

  I think Mason will make a great villain—don’t you? He was such a loser as a hero. He has to be better as a bad guy.

  At least we know he’ll be healthy. Blue Strawberry will always be there to make sure he has plenty of fruit in his diet! Hahaha.

  Well, that’s the exciting adventure for this time.

  Let’s all catch our breath. Then I’ll be back with another scary Goosebumps story.

  Remember, this is SlappyWorld.

  You only scream in it!

  R.L. Stine says he gets to scare people all over the world. So far, his books have sold more than 400 million copies, making him one of the most popular children’s authors in history. The Goosebumps series has more than 150 titles and has inspired a TV series and two motion pictures. R.L. himself is a character in the movies! He has also written the teen series Fear Street, and the Mostly Ghostly and Nightmare Room series. He is currently writing a series of graphic novels entitled Just Beyond. R.L. Stine lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, an editor and publisher. You can learn more about him at rlstine.com.

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  First printing 2020

  Cover design by Maeve Norton

  Cover art by Brandon Dorman

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-35576-5

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