Camp Fear Ghouls by R.L. Stine

Author:R.L. Stine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

13

“What was that?” I cried.

I raced to the side of the bridge and peered over. It seemed as if the scream came from underneath. Was someone there? I couldn’t tell. Everything was pitch black.

“Amy, didn’t you hear that scream?” I cried.

Amy didn’t reply. Or move.

“Didn’t you hear that scream?” I demanded again.

“What scream?” A girl’s voice floated up from beneath the bridge. “I didn’t hear a scream. Did you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” another voice said from below. “No one screamed.”

The voices sounded familiar. I ran around the end of the bridge. Then I scrambled down the steep bank to the river.

Shadowy figures moved toward me. I felt my throat tighten.

Then one of them stepped into the pool of light from the bridge lamp.

It was Trudy!

In fact, now I could see that all the Camp Fear Girls were there. They stood in a group, facing me.

“What are you guys doing under the bridge?” I asked.

Trudy gestured to a pile of discarded soda cans and shredded cardboard. “We’re cleaning up the Conononka River. We told you about it last night, remember?”

“It’s for our Save the Earth badges,” Violet explained.

What? I was totally confused.

“Didn’t any of you hear that scream?” I asked.

Trudy shrugged. “You hear lots of weird sounds when you’re by the river. It was probably a wild animal.”

I frowned. That scream did not sound like it came from an animal. It sounded like a girl.

I watched as Trudy tossed the pile of litter into a big plastic bag. The others joined in.

Everything seemed perfectly normal. If something awful had happened, the Camp Fear Girls sure weren’t acting like it.

“Lizzy, could you hand me that cardboard box by your feet?” Priscilla called. “It looks soggy, so be careful.”

“Okay,” I replied. I picked up the box and dropped it into the sack. Then I glanced around the group.

Everyone seemed perfectly fine.

But something was different. Someone was missing.

Who?

I wove my way through the group, taking in everyone’s faces.

“Pearl!” I announced. “Pearl’s missing.”

No one answered. No one even looked at me.

I tapped Amy on the shoulder. “Where’s Pearl?”

“Our troop agreed to clean up all the areas under Shadyside’s bridges,” Amy said.

Huh? She totally ignored my question!

“That’s great. Where’s Pearl?” I asked again.

“Okay, that does it, troop,” Trudy announced. “Let’s head ’em up and move ’em out.”

Wait! Why won’t anyone answer me? I wanted to yell. But I didn’t. What was going on? I felt so confused!

Could something be wrong with me? I wondered. Had I really missed an entire house? Had I forgotten some announcement about tonight’s meeting? Was I hearing things—like screams?

I shook my head, trying to clear out my brain. I turned for one last look at the river. In the moonlight the river looked like swirling black oil.

Then I caught a glimpse of something on the water. Something made of purple cloth.

“Oh, no.” I let out a low groan.

Pearl’s purple sash!

“Guys,” I called. “Look!”

But there was no one there.

The Camp Fear Girls had vanished!

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