R.L. Stine: Ghost Beach (Goosebumps #22)


1

I don't remember how we got to the graveyard.
I remember the sky grew dark - and we were there.
My sister Terri and I walked past rows of crooked, old tombstones, cracked and covered with moss. Even though it was summer, a damp, gray fog had settled on everything, sending a chill through the air.
I shivered and pulled my jacket closer. "Wait up, Terri!" I called. As usual, she had plowed ahead. Graveyards get her all excited. "Where are you?" I yelled.
I squinted into the gray fog. I could see her shadowy figure up ahead, stopping every few seconds to examine a tombstone.
I read the words on the tombstone tilted at my feet:

In memory of John,
son of Daniel and Sarah Knapp,
who died March 25, 1766,
aged 12 years and 22 days.

Weird, I thought. That kid was about my age when he died. I turned twelve in February. The same month Terri turned eleven.
I hurried on. A sharp wind swept in. I searched the rows of old graves for my sister. She had disappeared into the thick fog. "Terri? Where did you go?" I called.
Her voice floated back to me. "I'm over here, Jerry."
"Where?" I pushed forward through the mist and the leaves. The wind swirled around me.
From nearby came a long, low howl. "Must be a dog," I murmured aloud.
The trees rattled their leaves at me. I shivered.
"Jer-ry." Terri's voice sounded a million miles away.
I walked a little further, then steadied myself against a tall tombstone. "Terri! Wait up! Stop moving around so much!"
I heard another long howl.
"You're going the wrong way," Terri called. "I'm over here."
"Great. Thanks a lot," I muttered. Why couldn't I have a sister who liked baseball instead of exploring old cemeteries?
The wind made a deep sucking noise. A column of leaves, dust, and dirt swirled up in my face. I pinched my eyes shut.
When I opened them, I saw Terri crouched over a small grave. "Don't move," I called. "I'm coming."
I zigzagged my way around the tombstones until I reached her side. "It's getting dark," I said. "Let's get out of here."
I turned and took a step - and something grabbed my ankle.
I screamed and tried to pull away. But its grasp tightened.
A hand. Reaching up through the dirt beside the grave.
I let out a shrill scream. Terri screamed, too.
I kicked hard and broke free.
"Run!" Terri shrieked.
But I was already running.
As Terri and I stumbled over the wet grass, green hands popped up everywhere. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Pop! Pop!
The hands rose up. Reached for us. Grabbed at our ankles.
I darted to the left. Thwack! I dodged to the right. Pop!
"Run, Terri! Run!" I called to my sister. "Lift your knees!"
I could hear her sneakers pounding the ground behind me. Then I heard her terrified cry: "Jerry! They've got me!"
With a loud gasp, I spun around. Two big hands had wrapped themselves around her ankles.
I froze, watching my sister struggle.
"Jerry - help me! It won't let go!"
Taking a deep breath, I dove toward h...

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