Page 66 of Ghost in the Night

Myah grabs the paint can and hurls it at Britney’s head. It hits with a loud DINK, bright blue paint splatteringacross the floor and walls. She screams, paint dripping into her mouth.

“Come on!” I scream, dragging Myah out and shutting the door. Right as Myah yanks a nearby chair to shove against the knob, we hear screams and a loud crash behind us.

“What was that?”

Robby’s howl from down the hall makes my insides ice over.

“Robby!”

TWENTY

Itake off in the direction of  his cries, but we don’t have to run far. In the kitchen, Robby has fallen through a small hole in the floor.

I dive for his hands, hearing my camera lens crack beneath me as the flashlight rolls into the corner. I scoop my arms under his armpits, holding him in a tight squeeze. The wood around us snaps like fallen branches. Is the whole floor going to go?

In the corner, something squeaks and skitters. A rat runs out of a crack in the wall, right into the beam of theflashlight, right in our direction. I let out the biggest scream before a Ouija board sweeps through the air, knocking the rat away. Myah tosses the board aside and grabs hold of a sobbing Robby.

“Pull!” Myah orders.

There are more snaps, the floor groaning a loud moan. I don’t think it’s gonna hold all our weight. It’s gonna cave in and we’re going to die! I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be with Grandma and Mom yet. I don’t want to leave Dad behind. But I can’t leave Robby either.

I wiggle back, pulling Robby with me, my glasses falling off in the struggle. Wood scrapes against my arms, splinters in my fingers.

“Pull! Pull!”

With every bit of energy I have, I tug and we heave Robby out, dragging him away from the hole.

“Are you okay?” I ask, catching my breath.

“My leg,” he cries, his face wet. “It really hurts.”

I grab the flashlight and point it in the direction of his leg for two seconds, which is just enough time to see blood. Lots of it.

“I think it’s broken,” I say to Myah.

Myah scans the room. “Where’s Jabari? Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know,” Robby whimpers, squeezing my arms.

I grip him. He can’t walk in this condition.

“We can’t move him like this.” I turn to Myah. “Go get help!”

“What? No! I’m not leaving you!”

“And I’m not leaving Robby.”

Myah’s face struggles. “I can fix this … I can … I can—”

Down the hall, a door creaks open. Myah freezes. Robby’s eyes go wide, and I throw a finger to my lips.

“Shhh, hide!”

Myah looks left and right, backing into a wall. I scoop an arm under Robby’s legs and drag him into a corner, behind the long dining table turned on its side. Robby put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming, but his muffled breathing is still loud. We need a distraction.

I grab a nearby rusted can and throw it in the opposite direction of the next room. It hits a window, breaking more glass.

Britney grunts, stomping toward the sound. I stare intoRobby’s terrified eyes, tapping my pockets, frantic to find my phone, but it must have fallen in the shuffle. There’s no way to call for help!